Importing contacts into SugarCRM is fairly straightforward. First you use your old CRM application or contact manager to export the data into a Comma Separated Values (.CSV) file format. Then you use the import function within the Contacts module (accessible via the Navigation Shortcuts Box) to import the data. If a contact record that is imported refers to an unknown account, then a new record is automatically created for an account of that name.
However, one thing to watch out for is that when account records are created automatically in this fashion, they are essentially empty—they have associated contacts, but no address or telephone information is recorded. Because of this, you should typically import your account data first, creating the records complete with address and telephone information (plus perhaps Account Type and lots of other information, depending on your old CRM system). This avoids creating rather empty account records, and having to manually add the rest of their information later.
See the sections below for the exact steps for exporting and importing contacts and accounts.