Migrate from Crelate to Bullhorn ATS & CRM

Crelate Contacts where the record type indicates a job seeker map to Bullhorn Candidate. We identify candidate records by examining Crelate's contact type property, tag assignments, and job submission history. Standard Candidate fields (firstName, lastName, email, phone, address) map directly. The original Crelate contact ID is preserved in a customText field for reconciliation. If Crelate's Activities module is enabled, candidate notes and tasks migrate as Bullhorn Note and Task records linked to the Candidate entity.

Crelate Contacts associated with Companies that represent employers map to Bullhorn ClientContact. The mapping resolves the ClientContact's clientCorporation reference to the migrated ClientCorporation record by matching on company name or Crelate company ID. ClientContact fields (firstName, lastName, email, phone, title) map directly. Custom fields on Crelate employer contacts migrate to ClientContact custom fields if under the 20-field destination cap.

Crelate Companies map to Bullhorn ClientCorporation. This is the first object imported because ClientCorporation is a required dependency for JobOrder, ClientContact, and Placement. Company name maps to clientCorporationName, address fields map to address fields, and website maps to url. We deduplicate on company name during import and flag any Crelate company that has no associated employer contacts or job orders for manual review before parent record sequencing continues.

Crelate Jobs map to Bullhorn JobOrder. The ClientCorporation reference resolves to the migrated ClientCorporation record by name or ID match. Crelate job status (Open, Closed, Filled) maps to Bullhorn jobStatus (Open, Interview, Offer, Extended, Placed, Closed). Custom fields on Jobs migrate to JobOrder custom fields subject to the 20-field cap. We preserve the Crelate job ID in a custom field for placement chain resolution later.

Crelate Placements map to Bullhorn Placement. This is the last object imported because Placements require existing JobOrder, Candidate, and ClientCorporation records to satisfy foreign key constraints. We resolve the parent JobOrder by matching on the preserved Crelate job ID in the JobOrder custom field, the Candidate by matching on name and email, and the ClientCorporation by name. Placement pay rate, bill rate, fee percentage, start date, and end date migrate directly. Crelate's 15,000-record export ceiling does not typically affect Placements because volume is lower, but we check during scoping if the customer has exceptionally high placement counts requiring segmented export.

Crelate Opportunities track business development activity in the CRM layer. Bullhorn does not have a direct Opportunity object equivalent; business development tracking in Bullhorn is handled through JobOrder pipeline stages and Placement fees. We map Crelate Opportunities to Bullhorn JobOrder records if the Opportunity represents a job to be filled, or to Note records attached to the relevant ClientCorporation if it represents a qualified lead without an active job order. The customer chooses the mapping strategy during scoping based on how they use Crelate Opportunities.

Crelate's 20 custom fields per entity cap is the primary constraint on this mapping. We audit the customer's Crelate custom field inventory during discovery and rank fields by usage frequency, reporting dependency, and business criticality. Fields above the cap are flagged for customer decision: migrate only the top 20, split some fields into multi-value text storage, or accept data loss. We configure the Bullhorn customText and custom1-99 fields via Bullhorn's Field Mappings tool before import and map each Crelate custom field to its Bullhorn equivalent by name and type.

Crelate Company custom fields migrate to ClientCorporation customText fields. Same 20-field cap applies. We flag any Crelate company with more than 20 custom fields during scoping and provide a ranked field inventory for the customer to decide which fields to prioritize. Industry classification, staffing-specific compliance fields, and billing terms are typically higher priority than internal notes fields for staffing agencies.

Crelate Job custom fields migrate to JobOrder customText fields. Staffing-specific fields like pay range, bill rate range, security clearance requirements, and remote/hybrid status are prioritized above general notes fields. We map these fields by name and data type, with date fields going to JobOrder customDate fields and currency fields going to customCurrency.

Crelate Activities (if enabled on the source plan) migrate to Bullhorn Note, Task, and Event records. Calls migrate as Task with TaskSubtype=Call; emails migrate as Note with type=Email; meetings migrate as Event; general tasks migrate as Task. Activities are linked to their parent record (Candidate, ClientContact, or JobOrder) via the Bullhorn entityType and entityId references. Bullhorn's Activity module must be enabled on the destination Bullhorn subscription for activity records to save correctly; we verify this during pre-migration setup.

Crelate documents attached to Contacts, Companies, Jobs, or Placements migrate to Bullhorn's ContentDocument library via Bullhorn's document storage API. We export documents from Crelate via bulk export, re-upload them to Bullhorn as ContentVersion records, and link them to the appropriate parent record (Candidate, ClientCorporation, JobOrder, or Placement) via ContentDocumentLink. Resume files attached to Candidates map to the Candidate's primary resume field.

Crelate tags applied to Contacts, Companies, and Jobs migrate to Bullhorn as custom tag fields on the respective object. Bullhorn supports tagging on Candidates, ClientContacts, JobOrders, and Placements natively. We extract the distinct tag values during discovery, configure the Bullhorn tag field, and apply tags during import. If tag count exceeds Bullhorn's practical limit for a single field, we advise splitting into multiple tag categories during scoping.

Crelate Users who own records map to Bullhorn Users. We match on email address. Any Crelate User without a matching Bullhorn User is placed in a reconciliation queue for the customer's Bullhorn admin to provision before record import resumes. Bullhorn User provisioning requires the admin to assign a Bullhorn role and division, which we cannot automate.

Crelate Job pipeline stages map to Bullhorn JobOrder status values. Bullhorn uses a fixed set of status values (Open, Interview, Offer, Extended, Placed, Closed) that can be extended with custom status fields. We map Crelate stage names to nearest Bullhorn equivalents and configure any custom status fields required to preserve stage granularity. Stage-specific automations do not migrate; we document the stage-to-automation mapping for Bullhorn rebuild.

Crelate Sequences represent automated outreach cadences with templated emails, tasks, and text steps tied to timing rules. This is a platform-native feature with no Bullhorn equivalent in standard Sales Cloud ATS. We do not migrate Sequences as code. We document every active Crelate Sequence (name, steps, timing, enrollment criteria) during migration discovery and deliver a written sequence inventory for the customer's Bullhorn admin or Bullhorn Automation Engine partner to rebuild using Bullhorn's workflow builder or a sales engagement tool like Salesloft or Outreach that integrates with Bullhorn.

Crelate automations tied to pipeline stage changes, record creation, or property updates do not migrate. Bullhorn's Automation Engine is a separate module with a different rule-builder model. We document every active Crelate automation with its trigger, conditions, and actions, and deliver a written automation map recommending equivalent Bullhorn Automation Engine rules or Bullhorn-supported third-party workflow tools. Rebuild is outside migration scope.