How to Use the External ID in the CRM Bulk Upload Template

The CRM bulk upload template enables you to create new CRM records and update existing records in bulk.

How the external ID works

The external ID in the Investor tab is a unique identifier for an investor record. When you import a template into GP Portal:

• If the external ID does not exist, a new record is created.
• If the external ID already exists, the existing record is updated.

Examples

New records: Same External ID

Result: One new record created with both investments linked:

• John Q. Smith (new)
  • FUND 1
  • FUND 2

New Records: Different External IDs

Result: Two separate records created, each with one investment:

• John Q. Smith (new)
  • FUND 1
• John Q. Smith (new)
  • FUND 2

Existing Records: Same External ID

Result: Existing record updated with both new investments:

• John Q. Smith (existing)
  • FUND 1
  • FUND 2
  • Prior investments

Existing Records: Different External IDs

Result: Both existing records updated separately:

• John Q. Smith (existing)
  • FUND 1
  • Prior investments
• John Q. Smith (existing)
  • FUND 2
  • Prior investments

Contact (external user) experience

While external IDs identify investors, email addresses identify contacts. A single contact can be linked to multiple investors and access documents across all associated funds, regardless of whether those investors share the same external ID. Manage contact permissions using the communications grid.

Investor Email Addresses and Contact Relationships

When populating the email field in the Investor tab, keep the following rule in mind: each email address must appear only once across all investor rows in the template. If two or more investor rows share the same email address but have different external IDs, the import will fail validation.

This matters because the system uses email addresses to create and identify contacts. When multiple investor rows share the same email, the system cannot determine which investor should be associated with that contact, which can cause conflicts in contact relationships, portal access, and document visibility.

To avoid this:

• If the same person is investing through multiple entities (e.g., individually, as a trust, and as a company), include the email address on only one of those investor rows and leave the email field blank on the others.
• If you receive an upload error referencing duplicate email addresses, identify the rows sharing an email, remove the email from all but one, and re-upload.
• Alternatively, you can leave the email field blank for all investor rows and manage contact email addresses directly through the contact page after import.

How this affects contact creation:

• The investor row that includes an email address will be created as an investor contact record, meaning that person will have portal login access and visibility across all of their associated investments.
• Investor rows without an email address will still be created as investor records and will be accessible to the contact linked to those investments.