> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.parley.so/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Importing data

> Bring a firm's historical organizations and clients into Parley as linked Accounts and Contacts.

The most common bulk job: bringing a firm's historical organizations and individual clients into Parley as linked Accounts and Contacts.

## Prepare the data

Work from clean, flat CSV files.

* **One Account row per organization.**
* **One Contact row per individual**, with a column that identifies the related Account.
* **Normalize names and values before importing.**

That last point does real work. The importer validates and canonicalizes documented formats, but it does not infer the meaning of arbitrary source columns, and it will not resolve ambiguous relationships on your behalf. "Acme Corp" and "Acme Corporation" are two organizations as far as the matching key is concerned.

## Start with a dry run

A dry run checks column mappings, field types, duplicate or ambiguous match keys, and unresolved links — without writing anything.

Read the results before you proceed. For a large or unfamiliar data set, approve a small representative sample before importing the whole file. Bulk creates are quick to make and tedious to unpick.

## Run the import

<Steps>
  <Step title="Import Accounts first">
    Accounts have to exist before Contacts can be linked to them.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Import Contacts">
    Resolve the Account relationship from the designated source column.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Read the final report">
    It identifies records created, records matched to existing data, records skipped, and rows requiring correction.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## If the import is incomplete

Don't start over with a new batch. Inspect the log, correct the source carefully, and use the documented recovery path.

This is what the match-or-create model buys you: a corrected rerun resolves against what's already there rather than duplicating it. Starting fresh throws that away. See [the batch pattern](/parley-agent/overview).

## Full migrations

For a complete migration — source profiling, field mapping, duplicate handling, sampling, reconciliation, and recovery — use Parley's migration workflow alongside the importer. See [Migration](/migration/importing-clients).

Growth and Enterprise plans include guided client data import with our team. If you're coming off a legacy case management system, talk to us before you start: [founders@parley.so](mailto:founders@parley.so).

<Note>
  Creating records and uploading documents don't draw credits, at any volume. See [How credits work](/plans-and-billing/how-credits-work).
</Note>