One of the final steps in the implementation process is migrating existing data in the Filevine system. A basic migration can be done by filling out a series of spreadsheets, which your Implementation Consultant will send to you. More complex migrations can be handled by our Data Migration team.
Migration Process
Contacts
Projects
Migration Process
A data migration is completed by filling out spreadsheets. The following information can be migrated:
- contacts
- projects
- project contacts
- permissions
- calendar events
- deadlines
- notes
Some spreadsheets rely on the information filled out in others. Because of this, the contacts spreadsheets should always be filled out first, and the projects spreadsheet should always be filled out second.
Not all of this information needs to be migrated, but most basic migrations include migrating at least the contacts and the projects. This article will detail how to fill out the contacts and projects spreadsheets to ensure that the data can be migrated correctly.
For instructions on how to fill out the other spreadsheets, read Additional Migration Data.
Contacts
In Filevine, contacts are either individuals or companies, which can then be associated with projects. Each contact has a contact card, which will include all personal information like contact info and other details.
Contacts can be associated with a project through person fields. All contacts in a project are listed and can be viewed in the project’s contact section.
Here we will review each field in the spreadsheet with example data. But first, we’ll go over some common questions regarding the spreadsheet.
Creating Contact IDs
The first field in the spreadsheet is the ContactExternalID. Each contact must have a unique ID. The ID is used for the migration into Filevine, and the contact IDs will be referenced in other spreadsheets to migrate related data.
If your system already includes unique IDs for contacts, you can use these IDs. If you do not have contact IDs, create an ID system so that each contact has a unique ID. For example, depending on how many contacts you are migrating, you might ID the first contact with “contact0001,” the second with “contact0002,” and so on down the list.
There are no limitations on what the ID system can look like, so long as each ID is unique, and this information will not be viewable in Filevine. The ID is primarily for migration purposes and will not be seen by the front end user.
Company Contacts
In Filevine, individual contacts and company contacts are both entered in contact cards. Many fields will be entered differently based on whether the contact is an individual or a company or organization.
If you are entering the information for a company contact, you will enter the name of the company in the “FirstName” field. Many other fields, like the MiddleName field, or the Gender field, should be left blank for company contacts.
Additionally, for company contacts, make sure that you enter “TRUE” for the IsCompany field and that you do not enter the company’s name in the CompanyName field. This field should be used for companies associated with a contact, not for the name of the company contact.
Multiple Address Fields
Contact fields, including phone numbers, email addresses, and addresses, have multiple fields so that more than one phone number, email, or address can be entered for a contact.
When filling out these columns, make sure you pay close attention to the column headings. The columns are arranged by each field 1-5 or 1-10, then the next field 1-5 or 1-10. For example, Address1Line1 is followed by Address2Line1 and so on. Address1Line2 is listed after all of the AddressLine1 fields.
If you would like, you can change the order of the columns to groups addresses together. If you are moving columns, just make sure that all column headers remain the same and the fields are filled correctly, or the migration will be unsuccessful.
Filling the Contacts Spreadsheet
All required fields are bolded in the spreadsheet and in the table below. In the case of the contacts spreadsheet, only the first two fields are required.
|
Field Name |
Accepted Values |
Example |
Note |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Contact ExternalID |
text and number character |
contact0789 |
must be a unique ID for each contact; will be referenced in the migration process |
|
FirstName |
text characters |
Rebecca |
contact’s first name; for company, enter the company name here |
|
MiddleName |
text characters |
Ann |
contact’s middle name |
|
LastName |
text characters |
Coleman |
contact’s last name |
|
AbbreviatedName |
text characters |
Becca |
contact’s nickname or abbreviated name |
|
IsCompany |
TRUE, FALSE, blank |
FALSE |
enter TRUE if contact is an company; if not, leave blank or enter FALSE |
|
CompanyName |
text characters |
Filevine |
a company or organization affiliated with an individual contact; for companies, leave blank |
|
Ssn |
9-digit number |
123456789 |
contact’s SSN |
|
DriverLicNo |
text and number characters |
UT 123456-1234 |
enter the number as it appears in the driver’s license |
|
Gender |
M, F |
F |
M=male, F=female; this field must be filled with one of two letter options; anything else, like “male,” will not be migrated correctly |
|
MaritalStatus |
D, M, S, U, W |
W |
D=divorced, M=married, S=single, U=unmarried, W=widowed; this field must be filled with one of the above letter options; anything else, like “widowed,” will not be migrated correctly |
|
Language |
text characters |
Spanish |
can be used for the contact’s first language |
|
BirthDate |
common date format |
4/28/2021 |
contact’s birth date; use any excel-formatted date |
|
Salutation |
text characters |
Ms. |
contact’s salutation, like Mr., Ms., Dr. |
|
Specialty |
text and number characters |
personal injury |
usually used to record what area of law an attorney practices |
|
BarNumber |
text and number characters |
678321 |
state bar number for an attorney |
|
Notes |
text characters |
only contact between the hours of 10 and 3 |
use for any special or additional information you’d like to add |
|
IsType |
TRUE, FALSE, blank |
TRUE |
you’ll see a series of fields titled “IsType” followed by a type; for all of these, enter TRUE if the contact is listed type; if not, leave blank or enter FALSE |
|
CanText |
TRUE, FALSE, blank |
TRUE |
enter TRUE if this contact can be texted; if not, leave blank or enter FALSE |
|
CanRemarket |
TRUE, FALSE, blank |
FALSE |
enter TRUE if other services can be sold to this contact;if not, leave blank or enter FALSE |
|
IsMinor |
TRUE, FALSE, blank |
FALSE |
enter TRUE if contact is a minor; if not, leave blank or enter FALSE |
|
Fiduciary |
text characters |
Mike Wilson |
enter, as applicable, a chosen fiduciary for contact |
|
Phone1-10 |
number characters |
3015556098 |
enter up to ten different contact phone numbers in the corresponding ten phone fields; can be entered in any format |
|
Phone1-10Label |
text and number characters |
Cell |
enter a matching label for each phone number; best practice is to keep this a few basic labels, like Home, Cell, and Work |
|
Email1-5 |
any characters followed by @ symbol and email domain |
rcoleman@email.com |
enter up to five different contact email addresses in the corresponding five email fields |
|
Email1-5Label |
text and number characters |
Work |
enter a matching label for each email address; best practice is to keep this a few basic labels, like Home and Work |
|
Address1-5Line1 |
text and number characters |
927 Alpine St. |
enter up to five different addresses in the corresponding five address fields for each part of the address |
|
Address1-5Line2 |
text and number characters |
Apt. 4 |
enter the second line of up to five addresses in the corresponding five address fields |
|
Address1-5City |
text characters |
Salt Lake City |
enter the city of up to five addresses in the corresponding five address fields |
|
Address1-5State |
exactly two text characters |
UT |
enter the state abbreviation of up to five addresses in the corresponding five address fields; state abbreviations must have a length of two; addresses outside of the states should enter the province or similar in the city field |
|
Address1-5Zip |
up to ten number characters |
81234 |
enter the zip code of up to five addresses in the corresponding five address fields; zip codes can be in five-character form or in ZIP+4 |
|
Address1-5Label |
text and number characters |
Home |
enter a matching label for each address; best practice is to keep this a few basic labels, like Home and Work |
Projects
A project in Filevine is the equivalent of a case or matter. Projects typically hold all the information for a case. Learn more.
Here we will review each field in the spreadsheet with example data. But first, we’ll go over some common questions regarding some of the fields in the spreadsheet.
Creating Project IDs
The first field in the spreadsheet is the ProjectExternalID. Each project must have a unique ID. The ID is used for the migration into Filevine, and the IDs will be referenced in other spreadsheets (project permissions, deadlines, calendar events, etc.) to migrate related data.
If your system already includes unique IDs for projects or cases, use these IDs. If you do not have project IDs, create an ID system so that each project has a unique ID. For example you might ID the first project with “project0001,” the second with “project0002,” and so on down the list.
There are no limitations on what the ID system can look like, so long as each ID is unique, and this information will not be viewable in Filevine. The ID is primarily for migration purposes and will not be seen by the front end user.
ContactExternalID Field
The ContactExternalID field is the primary contact for the project. Often the primary contact is used as the name of the project, and if no project name is entered, the contact’s name will be the project name by default.
The ContactExternalID must match the ContactExternalID of the contact from the contacts spreadsheet. The matched ID will allow all the information attached to that contact to be included in the project.
Username
The Username field is used to set the *primary, the main team member for a project. This username should match the username of a team member who has already been setup in Filevine.
Filling the Project Spreadsheet
All required fields are bolded in the spreadsheet and in the table below.
|
Field Name |
Accepted Values |
Example |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
ProjectExternalID |
text and number characters |
project0008 |
must be a unique ID for each project; will be referenced in the migration process |
|
ContactExternalID |
text and number characters; must match contact sheet |
contact0789 |
the primary contact for the project; the ID must match the ContactExternalID field of that contact that was entered in Contact spreadsheet |
|
ProjectName |
text and number characters |
Bodhen vs. Coleman |
optional name for the project; if left blank, the project name will be the name of the primary contact |
|
ProjectTemplate |
text and number characters; must match name in Filevine |
Personal Injury 1 |
the type or template for the project; must match the template name for the project type you’ve created in Filevine with the Customs Editor |
|
IncidentDate |
common date format |
3/19/2019 |
date of incident; fill out this field only if you have included the “Incident” section in your project template; most should leave this field blank |
|
IncidentDescription |
text and number characters |
car accident, t-boned at intersection |
description of incident; fill out this field only if you have included the “Incident” section in your project template; most should leave this field blank |
|
IsArchived |
TRUE, FALSE, blank |
FALSE |
enter TRUE if this project is closed; if not, leave blank or enter FALSE |
|
PhaseName |
text and number characters; must match name of phase in Filevine |
Litigation |
the phase of the project; must match one of the phases of the project type you’ve chosen, as set up in the Customs Editor |
|
PhaseDate |
common date format |
9/25/2020 |
the date that this project was moved into the phase it is in now |
|
Hashtags |
text and number characters |
important |
project hashtag; can also be used to populate one field in a custom section |
|
Username |
text and number characters; must match an already-existing Filevine username |
ericgunderson |
for the user who is the *primary or leader for the project; must match an already-existing Filevine username |
|
CreateDate |
common date format |
4/29/2021 |
date the project was created |
|
ProjectNumber |
text and number characters |
projectbrown345 |
number for the project, often used to track cases; this can be the same as the ProjectExternalID |
|
ProjectEmailPrefix |
text and number characters; no spaces or special characters |
colemancase0008 |
the prefix used to created the project’s email; this field is an email prefix--do not include an entire email address |
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