CRM migration checklist for B2B product teams
A CRM migration checklist for B2B teams that sell products: audit your data, map fields, dedupe, move history, cut over cleanly and train your reps.
By the PromptLab team6 October 20265 min read
A CRM move rarely goes wrong on the day of the switch. It goes wrong earlier, when nobody decides what to bring along. Reps open the new system, find half their accounts missing and go back to the spreadsheet. This checklist covers the work before, during and after the move so that doesn't happen.
It's written for teams that sell physical products, where the records that matter are not just contacts and deals. They are price lists, open quotes, sample requests and the order history behind each customer. If you're moving from a specific tool, read this alongside our guides on migrating from HubSpot, migrating from Salesforce or moving from spreadsheets to a CRM.
Before the move: audit your data
Start with what you have, not what you want. An hour of auditing now saves days of cleaning after the import.
Data audit
Before the move: map fields and clean duplicates
Mapping is where the old CRM's habits get written down. Do it in a spreadsheet with three columns: old field, new field, what to do with the values.
Field mapping and dedupe
During the move: bring history and live work across
A CRM with accounts but no history is a contact book. Decide how much history each rep needs on day one, and make sure live deals arrive complete.
History and live deals
During the move: cut over cleanly
Pick a date and say it out loud. A cut-over that drifts means two sources of truth for a month.
Cut-over
After the move: train people and check the result
The first fortnight decides whether the new CRM sticks. Keep training short and tied to real work.
Training and first-month review
The items people skip
- Price lists. Teams move contacts and deals and forget that every customer has their own prices. Reps then quote from memory.
- Open sample requests. A sample that shipped last week and has no record means a buyer who never gets a follow-up.
- The archive decision. Importing everything feels safe, but it buries live accounts under dead ones.
- A named owner. A migration run by "the team" belongs to nobody.
- The read-only period. Without a closing date, the old system lingers and half the team keeps using it. Our guide on getting reps to use the CRM covers the habit side.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a CRM migration take?
It depends on how clean your data is, not just how much of it there is. A small team with tidy exports can move in days. A team with years of duplicates should plan for the audit and dedupe to take most of the time.
Should I migrate all my old data?
No. Migrate open deals, active accounts and recent history. Archive everything else as a file you can search. Importing dead records makes the new CRM harder to use.
Can I run two CRMs at once during the switch?
Yes, if the tools allow it. PromptLab has two-way sync with Salesforce and HubSpot, so a team can run both while it switches and close the old one when everyone has moved.
What should I do with the quotes and sample requests that are in progress?
Recreate them in the new system before the cut-over, with their status and agreed prices. They are live commitments to customers, so they matter more than historical closed deals.
Who should own the migration?
One named person, usually a sales operations lead or the sales manager, with the founder or head of sales signing off. Give them time in their week for it, because it won't happen in spare moments.