Data cleaning for CRM imports

Salesforce import errors

Fix "REQUIRED_FIELD_MISSING: Required fields are missing"

This error means Salesforce rejected the row because a field it requires was blank or never mapped. The field names in the brackets tell you which. The fix is to map the column correctly and fill (or consciously exclude) the rows with blank values, before you import, not one error file at a time after.

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What the error looks like

You'll see it from both the Data Import Wizard and Data Loader; Data Loader writes the failing rows to its error CSV with this message in the error column.

Why it happens

• The column was never mapped. The data is in your file, but the wizard didn't connect it to the Salesforce field, so every row arrives blank. This is the most common cause when "the column clearly has values".
• Some rows really are blank. A 10,000-row file with 40 missing last names looks full when you scroll it.
• Whitespace-only cells. A cell containing a single space isn't blank to your eye, but it is to Salesforce after trimming, or worse, it imports as a space.
• Standard requirements you didn't know about. Leads require Last Name and Company. Contacts require Last Name. Accounts require Account Name. Person fields split across First/Last can leave Last empty when a name was one column in the source.
• Org-specific required fields. Admins can mark any field required at the page-layout or validation-rule level, so two orgs reject different files.

The manual fix

1. Open the error file (Data Loader) or error rows (Import Wizard) and note the field names in brackets.
2. Re-run the import mapping screen and confirm each required field has a source column mapped.
3. In your spreadsheet, filter each required column for blanks, and remember to also filter for cells that contain only spaces, which a blank filter misses.
4. Fill the gaps, or split the incomplete rows into a separate file to fix later, so they don't block the clean rows.
5. If the missing field is one your org made required (a custom field in the brackets ending __c), ask your admin what a valid default is; guessing pollutes the org.

The Sift fix

1. Drop your CSV or Excel file into Sift. It runs in your browser; the file is never uploaded.
2. Pick the built-in Salesforce template (or drop in your own field list) and map your columns; Sift suggests the obvious matches.
3. Run the import-readiness check. Every required field with a blank or whitespace-only value is listed, per row, before Salesforce ever sees the file. Whitespace cells are cleaned by the trim rule, so they can't masquerade as filled.
4. Fix inline, or export the incomplete rows as a separate "needs your eyes" list and import the clean rows now.

What Sift can't fix

Honesty matters here: Sift checks your file, not your org. If a validation rule or page-layout requirement exists only inside Salesforce and isn't in the import template you map against, Sift won't know about it, add those fields to your template to catch them. And it can't invent data: rows that genuinely lack a last name still need a human or a better source.

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