An In-Depth Guide to Migrating from Zendesk Sell to Pipedrive

Migrating from Zendesk Sell to Pipedrive involves careful planning, data mapping, and API integration. This guide walks you through migrating users, pipelines, custom fields, deals, activities, and attachments, ensuring a smooth transition with zero downtime

Moving from Zendesk Sell to Pipedrive is more than a simple export and import. Zendesk Sell organizes its data with key nuances you'll want to preserve, such as its use of a single Contact object to represent both individuals and organizations, distinguished by a boolean flag. You will also need to handle distinct entities for Calls, Tasks, and a specific Order and Line Item structure for attaching products to a deal.

Pipedrive models data around a set of distinct core entities, with separate objects for Persons and Organizations. Its intuitive RESTful API provides first-class endpoints for these entities, as well as for Activities (which encompass calls and tasks) and Notes, which makes it a strong destination for a clean, API-driven migration.

This guide walks through how to map each concept one-to-one, handle attachments and ownership, and execute a zero-downtime cutover with reconciliation and deltas.

Complexity score: 3/5

Phase 1: Pre-Migration Planning, Mapping & Setup

Before writing a single line of code, it's crucial to understand the data models of both CRMs and set up your API access.

While both Zendesk Sell and Pipedrive are sales CRMs, they organize data differently. Pipedrive's API is built around a set of core entities, including Leads, Deals, Persons, Organizations, Activities, Products, and Users. Understanding how Zendesk Sell's concepts map to these entities is the first step.

Here is a high-level mapping of the primary objects:

Zendesk Sell	Pipedrive	Mapping notes
Contact (is_organization: true)	Organization	Zendesk uses a single Contact object for both people and companies. You'll need to filter these based on the is_organization flag.
Contact (is_organization: false)	Person	A Zendesk Contact can be linked to an organization via contact_id, which maps to a Pipedrive Person's org_id.
Lead	Lead	Pipedrive keeps leads in a separate "Leads Inbox" before they are converted into deals. Zendesk Leads map directly to this concept
Deal	Deal	This is a straightforward mapping. Both platforms track ongoing transactions through pipelines and stages
Pipelines & Stages	Pipelines & Stages	The concepts are parallel. You will need to recreate the pipeline and stage structure in Pipedrive first.
Task	Activity (type task)	Zendesk Tasks map to Pipedrive Activities. Pipedrive uses different ActivityTypes (e.g., call, meeting, task)
Call	Activity (type call) & CallLog	Zendesk Calls should be migrated as call type Activities in Pipedrive. They can also be added as CallLogs (specific type of activity that stores call details) in Pipedrive
Notes	Notes	Notes can be attached to leads, contacts, and deals in Zendesk and to leads, deals, persons, and organizations in Pipedrive
Document	File	Documents attached to Zendesk resources can be migrated to Pipedrive as files attached to the corresponding items
Product	Product	Both platforms have a product catalog. Pipedrive allows products to be attached directly to deals
Order & Line Item	Product on a Deal	Zendesk uses an Order object with Line Items to link products to a deal. In Pipedrive, you'll add products directly to a deal, specifying quantity and price
User	User	Represents the accounts for your team members

Setting Up API Access:

Your migration script will need to authenticate with both services.

Zendesk Sell Authentication:
- To access the Zendesk Sell Core API, you need a Personal Access Token.
- Sign in to your Sell account and navigate to Settings > Integrations > OAuth.
- In the Access Tokens tab, generate a new token. Store this token securely, as it will not be shown again.
- All API requests to Zendesk must include this token in the Authorization header: Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN.
Pipedrive Authentication:
- Pipedrive's RESTful API uses an api_token for authentication, which is ideal for a migration script.
- Find your personal API token in your Pipedrive account by going to Settings > Personal preferences > API.
- All calls to the Pipedrive API must include this token as a query parameter (e.g., ?api_token=YOUR_API_TOKEN).

Phase 2: The Migration Process

The key to a successful migration is to transfer data in a logical order to preserve relationships. You should migrate foundational data (like users and pipelines) before migrating the data that depends on it (like deals).

Note: Throughout this process, it's essential to create and maintain a mapping of Zendesk Sell entity IDs to the new Pipedrive entity IDs you create.

Step 1: Migrate Users

Fetch from Zendesk Sell:
GET /v2/users endpoint
Retrieve all users from your account.
Create in Pipedrive: For each Zendesk user, make a post request:
POST /v1/users
To create a corresponding user in Pipedrive. You must provide their email.
Map IDs: Store the original Zendesk id and the new Pipedrive id for each user. This map is crucial for assigning ownership correctly later.

Step 2: Migrate Pipelines and Stages

Fetch Pipelines from Zendesk:
GET /v2/pipelines
Get a list of your sales pipelines.
Create Pipelines in Pipedrive: For each Zendesk pipeline, create a new one in Pipedrive:
POST /api/v2/pipelines
Map the old and new IDs.
Fetch Stages from Zendesk:
GET /v2/stages
Retrieve all stages, which include a pipeline_id.
Create Stages in Pipedrive: For each Zendesk stage, create a new one in Pipedrive:
POST /api/v2/stages
Make sure to associate it with the correct new Pipedrive pipeline ID. Map the stage IDs.

Step 3: Recreate Custom Fields

You cannot migrate custom fields directly; you must recreate their structure in Pipedrive first.

Fetch Definitions from Zendesk:
GET /v2/:resource_type/custom_fields
Use this endpoint for resources like contact, lead, and deal to get their custom field structures.
Create in Pipedrive: Create corresponding custom fields in Pipedrive using the appropriate endpoints:
POST /v1/organizationFields
POST /v1/personFields
POST /v1/dealFields
Pipedrive leads inherit the custom fields structure from deals, so you only need to create them once.
Map Field Keys: Map the Zendesk custom field names to the new Pipedrive custom field keys (which look like long hashes).

Step 4: Migrate Organizations and Persons (Zendesk Contacts)

Zendesk uses a single Contact object, while Pipedrive separates them into Organizations and Persons

Fetch Organizations from Zendesk:
GET /v2/contacts
Filter for items where is_organization is true.
Create Organizations in Pipedrive: Iterate through the results and create them in Pipedrive:
POST /api/v2/organizations
Populate standard and custom fields using your mapped keys. Store the ID mappings.
Fetch Persons from Zendesk:
GET /v2/contacts
Filter for items where is_organization is false.
Create Persons in Pipedrive: Create each person:
POST /api/v2/persons
If the Zendesk contact has a contact_id (linking it to an organization), use your ID map to find the new Pipedrive org_id and include it in the request. Store the Person ID mappings.

Step 5: Migrate Leads

Fetch from Zendesk: Retrieve all leads:
GET /v2/leads
Create in Pipedrive: For each Zendesk lead, create a Pipedrive lead:
POST /v1/leads
Use your ID maps to link the lead to the correct person_id or organization_id. Note that leads created via the API have a set source of "API".

Step 6: Migrate Deals

This is a central part of the migration, bringing together users, contacts, and pipelines.

Fetch from Zendesk: Get all deals:
GET /v2/deals
Create in Pipedrive: For each Zendesk deal, create a new deal in Pipedrive:
POST /api/v2/deals
Use your ID maps to correctly populate:
- owner_id (from the Users map).
- person_id and/or org_id (from the Persons/Organizations maps).
- pipeline_id and stage_id (from the Pipelines/Stages maps).
- Populate custom fields using the mapped keys.
- If a deal's status is "lost" in Zendesk, you can migrate the loss_reason_id by first fetching the reason text:
  GET /v2/loss_reasons/:id
  And then setting it in Pipedrive's lost_reason text field.

Step 7: Migrate Associated Data (Notes, Activities, Files, etc.)

Once the core objects exist in Pipedrive, you can link their associated data.

Notes: Fetch notes from Zendesk:
GET /v2/notes
This provides resource_type and resource_id. Create them in Pipedrive:
POST /v1/notes
Link them to the new IDs for the corresponding deal, person, or organization.
Tasks & Calls (Activities):
- Fetch Zendesk Tasks
  GET /v2/tasks
  And create them as Pipedrive Activities with type: 'task' using:
  POST /api/v2/activities
- Fetch Zendesk Calls
  GET /v2/calls
  And create Pipedrive Activities with type: 'call'. You can additionally create a detailed CallLog:
  POST /v1/callLogs
  Link it with the activity_id.
Documents (Files):
- Fetch document metadata from Zendesk for a given resource
  GET /v2/documents
- For each document, use the download_url provided in the response to fetch the file content.
- Upload the file to Pipedrive using
  POST /v1/files
  Associate it with the correct new Pipedrive deal_id, person_id, org_id, or activity_id.
Products on Deals:
- First, migrate your product catalog by fetching from Zendesk
  GET /v2/products
  Create them in Pipedrive
  POST /api/v2/products
  Map the product IDs.
- For each Zendesk deal, fetch its associated Orders
  GET /v2/orders filtered by deal_id
  And then their Line Items
  GET /v2/orders/:order_id/line_items
- For each line item, add the corresponding product to the new Pipedrive deal
  POST /api/v2/deals/{id}/products

Phase 3: Post-Migration & Best Practices

Data Validation: After the migration, perform sanity checks. Compare record counts for each entity between Zendesk and Pipedrive. Spot-check several complex records (e.g., a deal with multiple notes, activities, and products) to ensure all relationships were preserved correctly.

API Rate Limits: Be mindful of API rate limits to avoid being blocked. Implement logic in your script to handle 429 Too Many Requests errors, typically by waiting for a period before retrying. Pipedrive's rate limits are documented.

Use SDKs: To simplify development, consider using one of Pipedrive's official client libraries for Node.js or PHP, which can handle API requests and authentication for you

Run a sample migration: Run a sample migration and confirm that everything looks good. This helps in identifying issues early and making necessary adjustments before the complete migration

Migrating from Zendesk Sell to Pipedrive is a complex but manageable process with the right technical approach. By carefully planning your data mapping, respecting the logical order of operations, and leveraging the power of both platforms' APIs, you can ensure a successful transfer of your valuable sales data.

If you prefer to skip the trial and error, ClonePartner has run dozens of Zendesk Sell and Pipedrive migrations. We build a field-by-field mapping, recreate your pipelines and custom fields, handle edge cases like large file sets and call outcomes, and run a zero-downtime cutover with delta syncs so your team keeps selling.