Microsoft Dynamics CRM Is Rich with Functionality for Importing and Exporting Data.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM was developed with the understanding that traditionally companies have multiple data sources across the organization, and Dynamics CRM is the tool they have chosen to end data siloing. Because of this, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is rich with data import and export functionality.
Whether your data is stored in spreadsheets, databases or other systems, you’ll probably want to import the data into Microsoft Dynamics CRM so you can keep track of all your customer information in one place. You can import any type of information, such as accounts, leads, or opportunities – even activities or cases. The different types of information are called “record types.”
Options for importing data into Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online can be found under Settings > System Data Management. There are templates for data import that allow you to import data nearly anywhere in the system. Locations are available in a dropdown menu, and once you select the appropriate location, Microsoft Dynamics CRM downloads a template ready-made with columns indicating the data fields you seek to input.
In addition, you may create custom templates if those available in Dynamics CRM Online don’t fit your needs or if you need to do more specific data mapping.
A particularly impressive inclusion by Microsoft is a duplicate detection feature that flags data that looks like a copy of information already existing in the source which may in fact be separate customers with the same name, or different locations of a single customer. Rather than eliminating what looks to be a duplicate, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online queries the user as to whether one or more records should be deleted.
For exporting data from Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, provided a user has credentials, he or she can click the “Export to Excel” option, and under the dropdown, choose to export data to Excel online, to Excel on your desktop, to a dynamic worksheet or a dynamic pivot table.
The last two options refresh views as the data in the CRM system changes. So if a user exports five active accounts the day she creates the dynamic worksheet but two days later has seven accounts, her dynamic Excel sheet will reflect the increase. There are somethings that need to be configured in Outlook to allow for the auto refresh, but once configuration is complete, the automatic updates work pretty seamlessly.
Let’s say you want to get sales opportunities information out of Dynamics CRM online, but your Sales > Opportunities view doesn’t include the columns you want or you want to filter opportunities through information not available directly from the Opportunities view.
To get more specific information or a combination of information on the account as well as export the opportunities outside of Dynamics CRM, use Advanced Find to create an export of opportunities and an additional type of account data. Advanced Find brings you to the Advanced Find screen, where you may choose a new or saved view, then select relevant Opportunities (i.e., those you own or those of someone on your team). Next look for related account information.
Once you find what you need, you can add or remove columns from the view before exporting the Advanced Find as you’d like it.
To learn more view the on-demand webinar to begin to explain importing and exporting options in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.
If after viewing the webinar you have questions, you can reach out, and we can take you deeper into what you can achieve with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.