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Mass Upload accounts (CSV)

Mass Upload in NEXT lets you import many accounts at once. Each row represents one account. This is ideal for onboarding CRM exports or account lists.

Supported columns​

Each row creates one account. The importer accepts either the plain account field names (name, id, industry, ...) or the same fields with an account_ prefix (account_name, account_id, account_industry, ...). That makes it easy to reuse CSV exports that already use the highlight-import naming convention.

Supported fields:

ColumnDescription
name or account_name (required)Account name. Rows without a name are skipped.
id or account_id (optional)Stable external source identifier such as your store ID or CRM account ID. Use this if you want predictable account IDs across imports.
industry or account_industry (optional)Industry value stored on the account.
region or account_region (optional)Region or geographic grouping.
segment or account_segment (optional)Segment classification such as SMB or Enterprise.
employee_size or account_employee_size (optional)Employee count or employee-size bucket.
account_type or account_account_type (optional)Type such as customer, prospect, or partner.
status or account_status (optional)Account status value.
arr or account_arr (optional)Annual recurring revenue. Must be numeric.

The importer reports unknown column names so you can catch typos like employeeSize instead of employee_size.

Example CSV​

name,id,industry,region,segment,employee_size,account_type,status,arr
Acme Inc,acme-001,Retail,North America,Enterprise,1000-5000,Customer,Active,120000
BetaCorp,beta-001,Technology,EMEA,Mid-Market,200-500,Prospect,Active,35000

How NEXT processes the file​

  • Every valid row becomes one account.
  • If you provide an id or account_id, NEXT derives the internal account ID from that source value. If you do not provide one, NEXT derives it from the account name.
  • If an account with that internal ID already exists, NEXT updates that existing account instead of ignoring the row.
  • Account updates are sparse: Missing columns are ignored and leave the existing value unchanged. Blank cells are also ignored and leave the existing value unchanged. Empty cells do not clear an existing field.
  • arr is parsed as a number. Non-numeric values are rejected.
  • Unknown columns are reported as import errors.

What happens with existing accounts?​

Mass Upload accounts works like an upsert:

  • New account ID: NEXT creates a new account.
  • Existing account ID: NEXT updates the existing account with the non-empty values from that row.

Important:

  • In this CSV import, id and account_id mean your external source ID, not the internal NEXT account ID shown in the UI or stored by NEXT.
  • NEXT converts that external source ID into its own internal account ID per Teamspace.
  • To update an existing imported account, reuse the same external source ID you originally imported.

Example:

  • Source store ID: 3160
  • Internal NEXT account ID for one Teamspace might become erw6zv-3160
  • To update that account through this CSV importer, keep sending 3160, not erw6zv-3160

That means:

  • If a field column is not present in the CSV, NEXT does not touch that field on the existing account.
  • If a field column is present but the cell is empty, NEXT also does not touch that field on the existing account.
  • You cannot clear an existing account field by leaving the CSV cell empty.

Example:

  • Existing account: name=Acme, industry=Retail, region=EMEA
  • CSV row: id=acme-001,name=Acme Updated,region=North America
  • Result: name becomes Acme Updated, region becomes North America, and industry stays Retail

Upload the CSV in NEXT​

  1. Log in to NEXT.
  2. Open the Accounts settings dialog.
  3. Click Create and choose the mass-upload option.
  4. Select your CSV file.

Troubleshooting​

  • Rows were skipped: Check that every row has name or account_name.
  • Updates created duplicates instead: Make sure you reused the original external source ID in id or account_id, not the internal NEXT account ID.
  • ARR import failed: Ensure arr contains only numeric values such as 120000 or 35000.5.
  • Unexpected field errors: Compare your column headers against the supported names above. The importer only accepts the documented fields.

If your data starts in Excel, export it as CSV first. Microsoft’s guide is here: How to export Excel to CSV.