Most contemporary CRM software/databases
are based on the Account/Contact - Leads structure. Since ACT! is Contact-centric,
this can create issues when the data is migrated to a different structure.
Additionally, ACT! imposes very few restrictions on how the database
is used and customized. The Exporter program attempts to identify some
of the more common problems. It's a good idea to resolve these issues
before migration. The Exporter software will attempt to "fix"
them, but this may not be the "fix" you want.
This means that the Company field in the Contact record is blank and the Contact has not been assigned to an ACT! Company. The Exporter software will create an Account for the record based on the last name and city of the contact i.e. Smith Household (San Francisco). This may be OK for your needs. However, it's best to decide how you want to deal with them. Sometimes, these are the result of an old import gone wrong and should be eliminated before migration.
ACT! does very little data screening and allows you to enter records without names. This is not the case with other applications. If you really meant to enter a record for a Company without contacts, then it should have been entered as a Company record. If there are a large number of these, then there should be a structure developed to deal with these records in the new CRM.
ACT! allows the user to create as many fields as they want. All lumped into a single object. If you have more than 100 user defined fields, you probably have too many. You will need to check with your new CRM vendor. Many limit the number allowed.
If the number of user defined fields exceeds the limits of the SQL database, ACT! builds tables they call "Spillover". For numerous reasons, this is a BAD design and one that won't be allowed in a new CRM. You will need to deal with the excess fields by creating Custom objects and/or deleting them.
If this number is greater than .1% of the number of contacts, it needs to be resolved. Often, this is caused by a dynamic assignment rule gone wrong. However, if this is a result of attempting to develop a custom relationship structure, it needs to be addressed before migration. Please refer to this article to review how the Exporter assigns Accounts. Migrating ACT Companies.htm
If this number is greater than .1% of the number of contacts, it needs to be resolved. If the Company Name has been typed into the Company field instead of relating it to a Company or is blank and then assigned to multiple Companies using the Company tab, the software has no way to determine which is the correct assignment. It will select the first assignment encountered from the query. This can cause improper Account and Opportunity assignments.
ACT! Notes and History records can be assigned to a Company, Company/Account, Opportunity and/or Group. In most cases, the target CRM will not have a Group object. These records will usually just be rejected by the new CRMs data loader. If you have a lot of these, then you should review why they were used and either adapt the new system to accommodate this feature or ignore any import errors.
Custom tables allow the ACT! database to be extended and provide the ability to organize related data beyond the standard Contact/Company relationship. Several CRM systems allow Custom Objects/Tables. However, this feature is usually available only at the high-end price point. If custom tables are a necessary part of your CRM, you will need to be certain that they can be set up in the new CRM before attempting a migration.
ACT! allows Opportunities to be entered without being assigned to an Account and/or Contact. It's unlikely that your new CRM will allow this. If you want to keep these, then they should be assigned to a Contact or Account/Company record in ACT! before extracting.