Updating Existing Matters and Contacts via Import

Not only can you use an import to migrate your firm's contact and client database, but you can also use imports to update existing records in Lawmatics with new information. This is crucial if you are migrating data from multiple CRMs or if you mistakenly ran an import with missing information.

With Lawmatics' powerful reporting, you will absolutely want to have a complete database in the platform of all of your firm's contacts, clients, past clients, old leads, friends & family, referral partners, etc.

The update via import function is also helpful to avoid duplicate matters in your account, which could skew data and cause confusion for you and your staff.

We have made it very simple to update your existing matters and contacts using an import. All of the standard guidelines for importing will still apply, with one additional step to consider. Before moving forward, we suggest reading through our importing overview.

The one additional step that must be taken when running an import to update existing records is to make sure you have either the Email or ID field used on your spreadsheet.  When updating contacts, you can use either the Email or ID field to update existing records, but when updating matters you must use the ID field since multiple matters can be associated with one contact. 

If you choose to use the email address to match your contact records, then any records on your spreadsheet that match an existing record by email address will automatically update. This is done with the standard email field column header on your spreadsheet.

Alternatively, you can also update matters or contacts using the unique ID from their existing Lawmatics record. This is particularly useful when updating matters if there is already more than one matter for a particular contact in Lawmatics.

To update using the ID, you will first want to export your data from the Export page in your Lawmatics settings. When you choose to export matters or contacts, it will automatically include a column for the ID. Make sure you keep this column on your spreadsheet if you wish to update using the ID as opposed to email address, and simply add additional columns for new data you wish to include.

If using the ID to update your records, the column header will need to be labeled as such: id

Whether you updating via email address or ID, once you have your spreadsheet ready you will go to settings > import, and select Import Data at the bottom of the page. You will then select the import type as either Matter or Contact, and check the box (shown below) to run the import as an update.

Keep in mind that if you update your records with data that meets the entry conditions for any active automations, they could trigger into those automations upon running the import. For that reason, we suggest deactivating your automations before importing.