# Switch to Reply

> Moving outreach to Reply from a spreadsheet, another platform, or your CRM's own cadences: what transfers, what does not, and the two steps that matter most.

**Contacts and their fields transfer; sequences are rebuilt rather than imported; history stays behind. Whatever you are moving from, two steps matter more than the rest: carry your do-not-contact list across before anything sends, and make sure nobody is live in two tools at once.**

_Status: Reviewed – written against Reply's product documentation on 2026-09-22, not yet confirmed against the running product._

## Why teams move to Reply

### One sequence, more than one channel

Email, LinkedIn, calls, SMS and WhatsApp steps in the same sequence, branching on what each contact does. See [Multichannel outreach](/capabilities/multichannel-outreach/).

### Replies are classified, not just counted

A real reply, an out-of-office, an auto-responder and a bounce each do something different to the contact, and the automatic ones stay out of your reply rate. See [Reply management](/capabilities/reply-management/).

### Deliverability is looked after continuously

Warm-up, gradual volume ramps, pacing and authentication checks run all the time rather than as a setup step. See [Deliverability](/capabilities/deliverability/).

### Your CRM stays in step

Two-way sync with four CRMs, with per-record control over direction and mapping. See [Integrations](/integrations/).

### Prospect data is built in

Finding people, filling in missing addresses and phone numbers, and sourcing new contacts happen where the outreach does. See [Prospect search](/capabilities/prospect-search/).

## Choose your guide

| You are moving from | Guide |
| --- | --- |
| A spreadsheet, and sending by hand or by mail merge | [Migrate from spreadsheets](/migration/spreadsheets/) |
| Another outreach or sales engagement platform | [Migrate from another sales engagement tool](/migration/sales-engagement-tool/) |
| Cadences inside HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive or Copper | [Migrate from CRM sequences](/migration/crm-sequences/) |

The CRM guide works differently from the other two: you **connect** rather than export, and contacts keep flowing instead of arriving once.

## Before you start – whichever guide you follow

- [ ] You can export your contacts, with their custom fields
- [ ] You can produce your opt-out or do-not-contact list, separately
- [ ] Mailboxes connected and authenticated in Reply ([guide](/how-to/connect-a-mailbox/))
- [ ] A **First Name** for every contact; rows without one do not import
- [ ] One field that uniquely identifies a person, filled for everyone
- [ ] A switch-over date agreed with everyone who sends

## The two steps that matter most

### Carry your opt-outs across first

Anyone who has asked not to be contacted has asked **you**, not the tool you were using at the time. Load them into Reply's blacklist before a single sequence starts. You can blacklist individual addresses or whole domains.

If you are coming from a CRM, note that a do-not-contact field **does not** become a blacklist entry by itself; it has to be carried across deliberately, even though everything else syncs automatically.

### Do not let anyone receive from both tools

Stop sending in the old system before launching in Reply. "Just for a week" overlaps are how the same person receives two sequences in one morning. If you have to overlap, split the audience so no individual is live in both.

## What transfers, and what doesn't

| | |
| --- | --- |
| **Transfers** | Contacts, standard fields and custom fields |
| **Rebuilt in Reply** | Sequences, steps, timing and copy |
| **Doesn't transfer** | Sending history, open and reply statistics, and contacts' positions in an old sequence |

Rebuilding sequences is less work than it sounds, and it is the natural moment to leave behind the ones that were never working.

## Ready to move to Reply?

[{{MIGRATION_CTA_PRIMARY_LABEL}}]({{MIGRATION_CTA_PRIMARY_URL}})

Want to talk it through first? [{{MIGRATION_CTA_SECONDARY_LABEL}}]({{MIGRATION_CTA_SECONDARY_URL}})

Already moving and stuck on a step? {{MIGRATION_HELP}} Open the
[Reply Help Center](https://support.reply.io/) and send the support team a message.
Include roughly how many contacts and sequences you're moving, and the step you're on.

Don't send passwords, API keys, or access tokens, and don't attach contact files
unless the support team asks for them.

## Related

- [Import contacts](/how-to/import-contacts/)
- [Create a sequence](/how-to/create-a-sequence/)
- [Connect a mailbox](/how-to/connect-a-mailbox/)
- [Integrations](/integrations/)

## Build with Reply

- Bulk import through the API: [Import contacts](https://docs.reply.io/api-reference/contacts/import-contacts) – up to 1,000 contacts per request