Import leads from a CSV

Open your pipeline, click the Intake node, then import a CSV. You upload the file, map its columns to your pipeline fields, and import — imported leads go through the same validation, deduplication, scoring and routing as leads posted to your webhook.

The pipeline has to be active. Paused and archived pipelines refuse imports.

The four steps

1. Upload — drag the file in or click to browse. LeadMove parses it and shows the first 5 rows and the total row count.
2. Map fields — each CSV column gets a dropdown: a pipeline field, or Skip. Common headers (email, phone_number, first_name, zip, company…) are matched automatically; check them and fix the rest. Unmapped columns are dropped, not imported.
3. Choose whether to distribute — "Distribute immediately after ingestion" is on by default. Turn it off to load the leads without sending them to buyers: they land in Held for review with no countdown, and you approve them, send them to a buyer of your choice, or reject them from the leads list.
4. Import — you get a summary: imported, duplicates, errors.

Limits

Oversized files are refused at upload, before you waste time mapping. An uploaded file you don't import within 30 minutes expires and has to be uploaded again.

What happens to each row

Rows that pass validation become leads, identical in every way to webhook leads: scored, routed, delivered, billable.

Rows that match your deduplication rules are recorded as duplicates — kept for the audit trail, never sent to a buyer, never billed. A file is deduped against your existing leads and against itself, so the same person twice in one file only sells once. See lead statuses.

Rows that fail validation (missing a required field, malformed email…) are stored as invalid, never distributed. Fix them on the lead page and approve, or fix the file and re-import — nothing is thrown away, exactly like webhook leads.

Rows your spam filter catches are stored as spam and quarantined: never distributed, never billed. The matched conditions are on the lead page.

Rows a forwarding rule matches are forwarded like any other lead. A transfer rule means the row leaves this pipeline for the target one.

The results screen lists the first 50 rows that need fixing with their row numbers, and offers Download rejected CSV: your original columns plus a Row and an Error column, so you can fix the file in a spreadsheet and re-import just those rows. Download it before you leave — rejected files are kept for one hour.

Common questions

Does an import count against my monthly lead quota? Yes, for every lead created — including invalid ones, which are stored so you can fix them. Recorded duplicates and spam rows don't count.

Can I import into a pipeline whose fields don't match my file? Yes — the mapping step is exactly that. Map what you need, skip the rest. If a column is genuinely useful, add it as a canonical field in Intake first, then it appears in the dropdowns.

Everything imported as a duplicate. Why? The file overlaps leads you already have, within your deduplication window. Widen or narrow the window and the matched fields in the pipeline's deduplication settings, then re-import.

Can I import 20,000 leads? Not in one file. Split it into files of 5,000 rows or fewer and import them in sequence; deduplication still works across the batches.

I unchecked "distribute immediately" — how do I send those leads later? They wait as held and nothing goes out on its own. In the leads list, filter on Held for review: approve them one by one from the review card (or in bulk with Approve (N)) to let your rules route them, or Send to buyer… to deliver them to the buyer you pick — which approves them too. See Manual review.