To make Excel to Salesforce data transfers easy, Admins need to keep in mind how an Excel spreadsheet connects to objects in Salesforce. When Excel data is formatted in a table, the entire table can be thought of as an object in Salesforce. Each column is treated as a field of the object, and each row is a separate record. When each column is named, it will be recognized in Salesforce and all data is consistently formatted with your Salesforce platform.

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          There are three ways Admins can make Excel to Salesforce data transfers easy without formulas. Admins can format ease the data transfer process by formatting columns and organizing data both textually and numerically.

 

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1) Formatting Columns

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          A good method for Admins looking to make Excel to Salesforce data transfers easy is to match columns with fields. Admins can check each Excel column header to ensure it has the same name as the corresponding object field in Salesforce.

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          Admins can also create relationships between imported data and the data already in the Salesforce org by adding one or more identifying columns. Two common identifying columns are the Account ID column, which links an imported record to a parent record, and the Record Owner ID column, which specifies which user owns a record.

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          If no Record Owner ID column is present, then Admins performing the import will own all imported records. These columns should contain the record or user’s Salesforce ID, if you need help matching users and records to their Salesforce ID, check out this article on Salesforce security.

 

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          Why Organize Data before Transferring from Excel to Salesforce?

 

          After organizing columns, the next step for Admins is to ensure all data is consistently formatted. Incorrectly formatted data can become a major obstacle for Admins effectively transferring data between Excel and Salesforce. If an Admin tries to import data that isn’t correctly formatted, the Admin risks an incomplete data transfer from Excel to Salesforce.

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          To make Excel to Salesforce data transfers easy, Admins need to ensure data expresses the same phenomenon consistently. Fortunately, there’s no need to comb through your spreadsheets for errors because Excel has powerful tools to make organizing data much easier. Here are some methods to organize textual and numerical data.

 

 

          2) Textual Data

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           The next way for Admins to make Excel to Salesforce data transfers easy is to eliminate duplicate records. To eliminate duplicate records, select the record name column, then click the Sort and Filter menu in the editing tab of the home ribbon, and select Sort A to Z.The next way for Admins to make Excel to Salesforce data transfers easy is to eliminate duplicate records. To eliminate duplicate records, select the record name column, then click the Sort and Filter menu in the editing tab of the home ribbon, and select Sort A to Z.

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           This reorders the records alphabetically and allows Admins to easily identify duplicate records, rectify any discrepancies, and create a single accurate entry.

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           Next, ensure Excel data entries with several formats are consistent with your Salesforce format. For instance, you may record the country your clients are based in using multiple abbreviations. To enforce a single abbreviation before importing from Excel to Salesforce, return to the Sort and Filter drop-down menu and select Filter.

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           This will create a drop-down filter for each column, where the column’s unique entries will be listed alphabetically. In our example, all the abbreviations for the same country, such as the US and USA for the United States will be listed together.

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           If you select all the abbreviations for a single country and click OK, all the rows without those abbreviations will be hidden, allowing you to copy a single abbreviation to every cell.  When you are finished sorting, you can turn off the filter by reentering the Sort and Filter menu and deselecting the filter option.

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           3) Numerical Data

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           The final step for Admins to make Excel to Salesforce data transfers easy is to remove unnecessary symbols from numerical data. In Salesforce, numerical data is stored without any contextual symbols. Dashes, spaces, parentheses, and currency symbols aren’t included in Salesforce to make information appear in a standard format. Often, Excel spreadsheets contain these unhelpful characters, slowing the data import process for Admins.

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           Commas and Currency Symbols can be removed by setting the data type to Number. To do this, highlight the column containing your numerical data, select the dropdown menu in the number tab, and select number.

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           Next, remove spaces, parenthesis, and dashes. Highlight the column containing your data, click on the Find and Select dropdown menu in the editing tab, and click Replace. A window will appear with a find field and a replace field. In the find field, enter the undesired character, and leave the replace field blank. Clicking ‘Replace All’ will delete every character of that type in the column.

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          One Final Thought

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          With these steps completed, you should be ready to import from Excel to Salesforce. Now that duplicate entries are removed and data is in a standard format, your information should be optimized for Salesforce import. Learning how to make Excel to Salesforce data transfers easy can help every Admin on their journey to become a Salesforce master. Go forth and conquer the Salesforce import!

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