Update your companies in bulk

Once you've created companies, you may need to update one or several of them. For example, this can be because a sales representative has left your team and you need to assign a new owner to the companies they used to manage or because you've retrieved missing information about your companies and want to fill them all in.

But updating each of your companies individually can be very time-consuming, especially if you have a large database. That's why Brevo allows you to easily update multiple companies at once.

Good to know

If you want to associate your companies with existing contacts or deals, check our dedicated article Associate your companies, deals, and contacts.

There are three ways you can update companies in bulk:

Assign multiple companies to an owner

You can assign the same owner to multiple contacts at once directly from the Companies page. For example, this can be useful if one of your sales representatives has left your team and you need to assign the companies they previously managed to a new owner.

  1. Go to Contacts > Companies.
  2. Optional: Filter your companies by clicking Filter > Attributes.
  3. Select the companies that you want to update:
    2023-02-03_17-31-35.png
    1. To select multiple individual companies, select the checkboxes next to the companies.
    2. To select all of the companies on your current page, select the checkbox at the top left of the table.
    3. To select all of the companies, select the checkbox at the top left of the table and click Select all # companies.
  4. Click Assign.
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  5. Select the owner that you want to assign to the companies.
  6. Click Assign to confirm.
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The companies are now assigned to this owner.

Edit a single attribute for multiple companies

You can edit the same attribute for multiple companies at once directly from the Companies page. For example, this can be useful if you've created a new custom attribute and want to update it for all your existing companies.

  1. Go to Contacts > Companies.
  2. Optional: Filter your companies by clicking Filter > Attributes.
  3. Select the companies that you want to update:
    2023-02-03_17-31-35.png
    1. To select multiple individual companies, select the checkboxes next to the companies.
    2. To select all of the companies on your current page, select the checkbox at the top left of the table.
    3. To select all of the companies, select the checkbox at the top left of the table and click Select all # companies.
  4. Click Edit.
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  5. Select the attribute that you want to update.
  6. Enter the new value.
  7. Click Edit to confirm.
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The attribute is updated for the selected companies.

Update multiple companies with an import

To update multiple companies at once with an import, you need to export your existing companies and update the file with your new information. Then, you need to re-import the file as you'd do to import new companies.

📤 Step 1: Export your existing companies

To update your existing companies, we recommend you export them directly from the Companies page. This is to ensure that the file contains the ID or exact name of each company so that the right companies are updated.

💡 Good to know
Including the ID of each company prevents duplicates in your database during re-import. Alternatively, if you prefer using the company name for identification, make sure to toggle on the Use company name to update existing companies option at step 3.
  1. Go to Contacts > Companies.
  2. Optional: Filter your companies by clicking Filter > Attributes.
  3. Select the companies that you want to update:
    2023-02-03_17-31-35.png
    1. To select multiple individual companies, select the checkboxes next to the companies.
    2. To select all of the companies on your current page, select the checkbox at the top left of the table.
    3. To select all of the companies, select the checkbox at the top left of the table and click Select all # companies.
  4. Click Export.
    mceclip0.png
  5. Select the attributes that you want to export.
    💡 Good to know
    Company ID and Company name are mandatory attributes and are selected by default.
  6. Select the field separator to use in your file.
  7. Click Export.
  8. Once available, download your export file from your Notifications.

🔁 Step 2: Update the file

Once you've exported your companies, you can update their information in the file. Make sure you keep the right file structure and attribute format as explained in our article about formatting your company import file.

Example of an original export file Example of an updated export file
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📥 Step 3: Re-import your companies

Once you've updated your file, you can re-import it and specify that you want to update your existing companies with the new information.

Step 1: Upload your file

To upload the file containing your companies to import:

  1. Go to Contacts > Companies.
  2. Click Import companies.
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  3. Select your import file or drag and drop it within the outlined area.
  4. Check that the companies and attributes are separated correctly in the preview of the data to be imported. The header row shown in the preview is the same as the one in your import file.
  5. Click Confirm your file.
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Step 2: Mapping data

  1. Map the data from your file to the corresponding attributes. You can ignore an attribute if you don't want to import it or create a new one if it doesn't exist yet.
    mceclip4.png
    💡 Good to know
    If you included the Company ID attribute in your file, it is automatically mapped and cannot be changed or ignored.
  2. Click Confirm mapping.

Step 3: Finalize your import

Based on the content of your import, you may have to confirm a few additional settings:

Use company name to update existing companies

If this option is enabled, the company name in your file will be used as an identifier, and the existing company with this name will be updated or created if it does not yet exist.
If
disabled, every line in your file will be handled as a new company to create, which might result in potential duplicates in your database if you didn't also include the Company ID field in your import file.

Import empty fields to erase existing attribute data

When importing existing companies, you can delete their attribute data by replacing the existing data in your file with empty fields and enabling the Import empty fields to erase existing attribute data option. If you do not want to erase any existing data, keep the option disabled to keep the attributes unchanged, even if there are empty fields in your import file.

Associate objects

If you associated your companies with existing contacts or deals during the import, you'll have to choose if you want to link or unlink them. To learn more, check our dedicated article Associate your companies, deals, and contacts.

Once you are done, click Confirm your import to begin the import process. Note that large imports may take a few moments to process fully. Once your import is completed, you will be redirected to your Companies page.

📂 Import report

In the confirmation banner, click See import report to access a report that summarizes the details of your import, including the number of imported or not imported companies, the number of new or updated companies, and the number of associated objects. 

If a company was not imported, you can download an error report with information about the companies that couldn't be imported and the reasons.

⏭️ What's next?

🤔 Have a question?

If you have a question, feel free to contact our support team by creating a ticket from your account. If you don't have an account yet, you can contact us here.

If you’re looking for help with a project using Brevo, we can match you with the right certified Brevo expert partner.

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