How to Import From Lacerte

Ready to get your clients off of Lacerte Software and onto TaxDome? Here, we show you how in three steps.

Covered here:

Step 1. Export a Client List From Lacerte
Step 2. Prepare a CSV File (We Can Help!)
Step 3. Import the Data from the CSV File to TaxDome

Step 1. Export a Client List From Lacerte

To export your client data from Lacerte:

1. Go to the Clients tab, select the clients you want to to export, click on Client, click on Export, then select Export to file.

2. Select a directory for the exported file, select the Export Type as Comma Delimited.

3. Click on the plus sign (+) next to the category under the Available section, click on the items you would like to export, and then double-click on the item or click on the forward button (>) to move the item to the Display section.

4. Click on OK to create the file.

Note: Detailed information such as the name of the payer of interest or dividends, or the description of property, date acquired and sold for dispositions, etc., are not available for export. Only the total interest, dividend, and capital gain are in the available export fields.

Step 2. Prepare a CSV File (We Can Help!)

When importing your data from ShareFile to TaxDome, remember that there’s a difference between Accounts and Contacts:

Accounts are the entities you work for and that you bill, whether a company, business, organization (a nonpersonal account) or an individual (a personal account).
Contacts are the actual people you interact with. Еach client account on TaxDome has one or more linked contacts.

For more details on how to set up different types of accounts, go here.

When you prepare a spreadsheet to do an import, follow these basic rules to ensure a smooth data transfer:

Enter only one contact per spreadsheet row, even when several contacts are linked to the same account.

Tip: If your software generates a CSV file with a taxpayer and spouse on the same row, no need to manually edit it. Instead, follow the instructions here.

To import several accounts that have the same contact, create one row for each account, then enter the same contact information for each one in the appropriate columns. For examples, go here.
To import several contacts who share the same account, create one row for each contact, then enter the same account name in the appropriate column. For examples, go here.

Step 3. Import the Data From the CSV File to TaxDome

1. Upload the CSV file

Go to Clients > Accounts, then click Import. You can also access the Import button from the Contacts page.

Drag-and-drop the CSV file or click Browse to locate the file on your desktop.

2. Map Accounts (Optional)

Tip: Jump to the step 4 if you want to only import contacts and not create accounts.

If you do want to create accounts, here’s how:

1. Map Account Name: Select the column header name from your spreadsheet that corresponds to the TaxDome Account Name property. If the column header name is Account Name on your spreadsheet, it is automatically mapped to the TaxDome Account Name property because they have the same name.

2. Account Type: Select an option to specify how you want to apply the account type to your imported clients.

3. Map account fields: You can add any data from your spreadsheet as custom fields for your accounts. Review all column header names on the left, then choose either Ignore or Sync custom field from the Action drop-down menu. If you choose Sync custom field, select the custom field from the drop-down menu in the TaxDome column.

You can also tag your accounts here. For details, go to this article on applying tags
If you have the Team members column in your spreadsheet, the team members listed in the spreadsheet will be automatically assigned to the corresponding clients.

3. Define Settings (Optional)

In this step, you can apply settings in bulk for all the imported accounts.

Linked contacts: Give portal access to new TaxDome accounts, decide who should receive system notifications, and whether you want to be able to view the user’s email from TaxDome. For more on portal access settings, go here.
Tags: If you already have some tags created in TaxDome, you can apply them to your imported accounts here. They will be applied to all imported accounts. Read more on applying tags.
Assignees: if team members are not listed in the spreadsheet, new accounts are assigned to the person doing the import. Or you can select additional team members you want to have access to all the imported accounts. Read more on assigning team members while importing.
Folders and documents: if you use a custom folder structure for client documents, apply folder templates in bulk to the newly created accounts. Read more about creating folder templates. The Default Tax Years template is automatically applied to new accounts if you don’t select a folder template you've already created.

4. Create Contacts

To start importing your contacts to TaxDome, review the column header names from your spreadsheet on the left, then choose either Ignore or Sync custom field from the Action drop-down menu. The column header names in your spreadsheet that match TaxDome contact property names (e.g., First Name, Phone, Email, City) get automatically mapped.

If you choose Sync custom field, select the contact field from the drop-down or add a new field by clicking New field. Read more about contact custom fields.

Once you’ve finished mapping, click Continue. This does not begin the import process, and you can still return to this step if you’ve made any mistakes.

5. Review

When you review mapping results, you’ll see the following:

If everything looks good, click Start Import. If not, go back to make any fixes.

Now, you can leave the page; the process continues on its own. Once the import is complete, you’ll receive an email notification with a link to your import results.

For more detailed instructions on importing, go here.

👋 We can help! If you run into any difficulties during the import process, our team is always happy to help! To request assistance with an import, fill out the TaxDome Import Assistance form.