Erros with companies when importing multiple objects

[JMorchipont]

Hi, 

So i'm encountering an issue when importing a list of contacts with their companies, via a multiple objects contacts. 

I get an error message stating : 

This column has invalid domain names.

Rows with invalid domains won't be imported.

The problem is these contacts are mostly small companies and/or side businesses so they often don't have a domain name and/or use gmail or hotmail or else, and even when they have a domain name they don't necessarily fill it up in the form where i get the data, then it's not there. 

What I don't understand is that when checking into the company properties for import, it's not required in our set-up to add a domain name, yet hubspot seems to be forcing me to add it while i can't invent them or use gmail.com since it would be totally irrelevant. 

I just want to import contact data (first name/last name & email minimum) and their company (therefore, link the contact object with their respective companies object ) 

Thanks in advance if someone has a tip to fix this! Check the previous questions but couldnt see to find an answer

[LouiseHare]

Hey @JMorchipont ,

Are these new companies that you are importing into HubSpot? Or do some of them already exist?

It sounds like when you are importing you are opting to create and update companies, like below.

If you want to update existing companies in HubSpot there are 2 identifiers that you can use: domain name or record ID. So what it sounds like to me is that becuase you are opting to update companies, HubSpot is requiring the Domain name to use as a unique identifier. 

If none of the companies that you are importing are already in HubSpot, you can just update the Choose how to import Companies to Create new companies only. This should fix your issue.

If you are importing companies that already exist in HubSpot, you will need to include either the domain name or the record ID. 

Hope this helps,

Louise Hare she/her

Freelance HubSpot Specialist

www.louisemhare.com

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If my reply helped to answer your question please mark it as a solution to make it easier for others to find!

[JMorchipont]

Thanks it's correct that I do ask hubspot to update as well as create new companies, i'll try deactivating the option to update to see if it works! Any chance if you know if i'll be able to run some duplicate analysis later if i eventually deactivate "update companies" because i am indeed the running the risk of having duplicates with these imports. 😁

[LouiseHare · Accepted solution]

There is a duplicate management tool in HubSpot which you can read more about here. However, I would advise not going down the route of importing duplicate companies and trying to clean it up later. From experience this is a painful and very time-consuming task.

If some of the companies that you are imorting are existing I would recommend adding the domain name or record ID by exporting existing companies from HubSpot and using a VLOOKUP formula in excel to match company names to their domain name or record ID. 

Louise Hare she/her

Freelance HubSpot Specialist

www.louisemhare.com

Want to chat HubSpot?

If my reply helped to answer your question please mark it as a solution to make it easier for others to find!

[JMorchipont]

Thanks for the help and advice !