Outlook / Microsoft 365
Freshsales Contacts12 fieldsHow to import Outlook / Microsoft 365 data into Freshsales
Outlook and Microsoft 365 contact exports include business phone, mobile phone, and the full business address. This template maps all of them to Freshsales's snake_case contact fields. Freshsales splits phone numbers into Work and Mobile, so Business Phone goes to work_number and Mobile Phone goes to mobile_number.
Field-by-field mapping
This is the complete column mapping from Outlook / Microsoft 365 to Freshsales. The left column is the header in your CSV export. The right column is the Freshsales field it should map to.
| Outlook / Microsoft 365 column | Freshsales field | |
|---|---|---|
| First Name | First Namefirst_name | |
| Last Name | Last Name*last_name | |
| E-mail Address | Emailemail TransformLowercased and trimmed | |
| Business Phone | Work Numberwork_number TransformStandardized to international format (+1, +44, etc.) | |
| Mobile Phone | Mobile Numbermobile_number TransformStandardized to international format (+1, +44, etc.) | |
| Company | Company Namecompany_name | |
| Job Title | Job Titlejob_title | |
| Business Street | Addressaddress | |
| Business City | Citycity | |
| Business State | Statestate | |
| Business Postal Code | Zip Codezipcode | |
| Business Country/Region | Countrycountry |
Required by Freshsales.
Columns we don't use
Your Outlook / Microsoft 365 export includes 10 columns this template doesn't map. Each one below explains why, plus the workaround if you want the data in Freshsales.
- Home Phone
Freshsales contacts have Work and Mobile phone fields. Business Phone maps to work_number and Mobile Phone maps to mobile_number. Home Phone doesn't have a default home.
If you need it. Add a custom phone field on the Freshsales Contact called Home Phone, then re-run this template to map it.
- Home Street, Home City, Home State, Home Postal Code, Home Country/Region
Freshsales contacts have one address per record. Business address maps to it; Home address doesn't have a default home.
If you need it. Add custom address fields on the Freshsales Contact for the Home address block, or pick whichever address (Business vs Home) is more useful and remap.
- Web Page
Freshsales doesn't have a Website field on contacts by default. Websites live on the Account record in Freshsales's data model.
If you need it. Update the matching Account record's website after import, or add a custom URL field on the Freshsales Contact called Website.
- Notes, Categories, Birthday
Freshsales stores notes as separate Note records attached to the contact, not as a field value. Categories and Birthday don't have default Freshsales contact fields.
If you need it. After import, add Notes as separate Note records on each Freshsales contact. For Categories, build saved filters or add a custom multi-select field. For Birthday, add a custom date field on the contact.
Formatting and cleanup
Outlook / Microsoft 365 exports rarely match the format Freshsales expects. Fix these before you import.
- 1.Lowercases and trims email addresses
- 2.Standardizes both Business Phone and Mobile Phone to international format (+1, +44, etc.)
- 3.Renames Outlook columns to Freshsales's snake_case API names
- 4.Maps Business Phone to work_number and Mobile Phone to mobile_number
- 5.Renames Outlook's Business address block to Freshsales's address, city, state, zipcode, country fields
Or skip the manual work
Operelio runs this cleanup and mapping for you. Upload your Outlook / Microsoft 365 export and download a clean, import-ready file for Freshsales.
Outlook / Microsoft 365 to Freshsales FAQ
How do I export contacts from Outlook?
In classic Outlook for Windows, go to File, Open & Export, Import/Export, then choose Export to a file as Comma Separated Values. In the new Outlook or Microsoft 365 web, go to People, click Manage contacts, then choose Export contacts.
Are both phone numbers preserved?
Yes. Business Phone maps to Freshsales's work_number and Mobile Phone maps to mobile_number. You keep both numbers for each contact.
Why don't you import the Home address?
Freshsales contacts have a single address per record on the standard layout. Business address is more reliable for CRM purposes since it's typically required. See 'Columns we don't use' below for the custom-field workaround.
Will this create duplicate contacts in Freshsales?
Freshsales uses email as the unique identifier on contacts. Contacts with matching emails update the existing record. New emails create new contacts.
What about Outlook Categories?
Categories don't have a default Freshsales field. Build saved filters in Freshsales matching your Outlook categories, or add a custom multi-select field on the contact.
