Freshsales accepts CSV and XLSX files for contact import not VCF. The process is two steps: convert your VCF to CSV first, then import the CSV using Freshsales’s built-in import wizard under Contacts. Name and Email are mandatory fields contacts missing either will be skipped. The CSV file must be under 5 MB. If your VCF is large, split it into batches before converting. During the import, Freshsales lets you choose how to handle duplicates: skip them or overwrite existing records.
Freshsales Does Not Accept VCF Files
Freshsales’s contact import wizard accepts CSV and XLSX files only. There is no option to upload a VCF or vCard file directly. This applies to all Freshsales plans Free, Growth, Pro and Enterprise.
The route from VCF to Freshsales is always two steps: convert the VCF to CSV first, then import the CSV through the Freshsales importer. This is the same process as every other major CRM Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho and Pipedrive all follow the same pattern.
Before You Start: Three Things to Check
Check the file size of your VCF. Freshsales’s import wizard has a hard file size limit of 5 MB per import. Right-click your VCF file in File Explorer and check the size in Properties. If it is close to or over 5 MB, you will need to split the VCF into smaller batches before converting. A typical VCF without contact photos runs well under 5 MB for thousands of contacts but files with embedded photos can exceed 5 MB for even a few hundred contacts.
Create custom fields in Freshsales before importing. If your VCF contacts contain fields that do not exist in Freshsales’s standard contact object (custom phone types, social profile URLs, notes you want to keep as separate fields), create those custom fields in Freshsales now. Go to Admin Settings then Custom Fields then Contacts. Custom fields created after the import cannot be populated by a previous import you would have to re-import.
Remove duplicates from the VCF first. Freshsales can detect duplicates during import by matching on email address or phone number, but it works better when the source file is already clean. Use Univik vCard Duplicate Remover to deduplicate the VCF before converting to CSV. This takes less time than cleaning up duplicates in Freshsales after import.
Step 1: Convert Your VCF to CSV
Use Univik VCF Converter to convert the VCF file to CSV on Windows. Load the VCF, select CSV as the output format and export. The converter maps each vCard property to a CSV column with standard header names this helps Freshsales’s auto-mapping recognise the columns during import.
If your VCF contains contacts with photos, the photo data is stripped during CSV conversion CSV cannot carry image data. Contact photos need to be added to Freshsales records manually or via the API after the import is complete.
For a detailed walkthrough of what happens to each VCF field during conversion, including how multiple phone numbers and address components are handled, see our VCF to CSV conversion guide.
VCF to Freshsales Field Mapping
Freshsales attempts to auto-map CSV column headers to its contact fields during import. The table below shows how standard VCF properties map to Freshsales contact fields use this to name your CSV columns correctly before uploading, which makes auto-mapping more accurate.
| VCF Property | CSV Column Name | Freshsales Field | Required? |
|---|---|---|---|
FN (full name) |
First Name + Last Name | First Name / Last Name | Yes at least one name field required |
EMAIL |
Yes required for deduplication | ||
TEL (work) |
Work Phone | Work Phone | No |
TEL (mobile) |
Mobile Phone | Mobile Phone | No |
ORG |
Account Name | Account Name (links to Account record) | No |
TITLE |
Job Title | Job Title | No |
ADR |
Street, City, State, Zip, Country (separate columns) | Address fields (split required) | No |
NOTE |
Notes | Notes | No |
URL |
Website | Website | No |
BDAY |
Date of Birth | Date of Birth (custom or standard depending on plan) | No |
Address fields must be split into separate columns
VCF stores the full address in one structured field. Freshsales expects separate columns for Street, City, State, Zip Code and Country. If your CSV export has a single Address column with the full address as one string, Freshsales cannot parse it correctly. Split the column in Excel using Data then Text to Columns before uploading.
Step 2: Prepare the CSV for Freshsales
Ensure every row has a Name and Email. Freshsales requires both fields. Rows missing either will be rejected during import and appear in the error report. Filter your CSV for blank Name or Email values and either fill them in or remove those rows.
Choose a consistent date format. During the Freshsales import, you select the date format for all date fields in the file. Choose one of the three supported formats DD/MM/YYYY, MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY/MM/DD and make sure every date value in your CSV uses that format consistently before uploading.
Save as UTF-8 CSV. When saving in Excel, choose Save As then CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) rather than standard CSV. Standard CSV from Excel can corrupt accented characters and non-Latin names on import.
Keep the file under 5 MB. If your CSV is over 5 MB after removing photos, split it into multiple files and run the import in batches. Use the File Size indicator in File Explorer right-click the CSV and select Properties to check.
Step 3: Import Into Freshsales
Go to the Contacts module. In Freshsales, click Contacts in the left navigation bar. This opens your contacts list view.
Open the import option. Click the Import button it is usually in the top right of the Contacts view, sometimes behind a More actions menu. Select Import Contacts from the dropdown. Choose Import from File on the next screen.
Upload your CSV file. Click Choose File or drag the CSV into the upload area. Freshsales reads the file and moves to the field mapping screen.
Select your date format. Before mapping fields, Freshsales asks which date format your file uses. Select the format that matches your CSV DD/MM/YYYY, MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY/MM/DD. Getting this wrong means all date fields import with incorrect values.
Map your CSV columns to Freshsales fields. Freshsales auto-maps columns where the header matches a known field name. Any unmapped columns appear in a list for manual mapping. Use the field mapping table above to match remaining columns. Columns you do not want to import can be left unmapped they are skipped.
Set your duplicate handling preference and start the import. Choose how Freshsales handles contacts that already exist in the CRM. Select Skip to leave existing records unchanged or Overwrite to update them with values from the CSV. Click Import. Freshsales sends an email notification when the import is complete with a summary of imported, skipped and failed records.
How Freshsales Handles Duplicate Contacts
Freshsales identifies duplicate contacts by matching on email address or phone number. During the import, you choose one of two actions for any match found:
Skip Duplicates
- Existing records in Freshsales are left exactly as they are
- The duplicate row from the CSV is not imported
- Use this when your Freshsales records are more up to date than the CSV
- Safe option if you are unsure which version is more accurate
Overwrite Existing Records
- CSV values overwrite the matching Freshsales record fields
- Fields mapped in the CSV overwrite unmapped fields stay unchanged
- Use this when the CSV is the more current source of truth
- Note: accounts already mapped to contacts will not be replaced by overwrite
Common Import Errors and Fixes
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Freshsales import VCF files directly?
No. Freshsales’s import wizard accepts CSV and XLSX files only. VCF files must be converted to CSV before import. This is the case for all Freshsales plans including Free, Growth, Pro and Enterprise. There is no VCF import option in any version of Freshsales.
What is the file size limit for Freshsales contact imports?
5 MB per import file. If your CSV exceeds this, split it into multiple files of under 5 MB each and run the import in batches. Contact photos cannot be carried in a CSV file so if your source VCF contained photos they should not appear in the converted CSV photo data is stripped during VCF to CSV conversion.
Does Freshsales require an email address for every contact?
Yes. Email is a mandatory field for Freshsales contact records and is used as the primary identifier for deduplication. Contacts in your CSV without an email address will be rejected during import. Add these contacts manually in Freshsales after the bulk import using the Add Contact button in the Contacts module.
Can I import contacts and link them to existing accounts at the same time?
Yes. Include an Account Name column in your CSV. When the Account Name in a row matches an existing account in Freshsales, the contact is automatically linked to that account. If no match exists, Freshsales can create a new account record or leave the contact unlinked depending on your import configuration.
How do I know how many contacts were successfully imported?
Freshsales sends an email notification when the import job is complete. The email includes a summary showing how many contacts were imported, how many were skipped (duplicates) and how many failed with errors. Failed records can be downloaded as a separate CSV for review and correction.
What happens if I forget to create a custom field before importing?
The column mapped to a non-existent custom field will not import that data is lost for those records. Create the custom field in Admin Settings then Custom Fields then Contacts and re-import those records. For this reason, always create all required custom fields before starting any import.
Conclusion
Importing VCF contacts into Freshsales is a two-step process: convert to CSV first, then import through Freshsales’s contact importer. The steps that most imports get wrong are the preparation steps missing email addresses, address fields not split into separate columns and date format mismatches. Fix those before the import and the wizard itself is fast.
The 5 MB limit is the most common blocker for users with large or photo-heavy contact exports. If your VCF file is large, strip photos during the VCF-to-CSV conversion and split into batches if needed.
Are the contacts you are importing from a phone export, a previous CRM or a spreadsheet? Each source tends to have a different set of field mapping challenges and knowing the source usually tells you which fields will need the most attention before the CSV goes into Freshsales.