Attio CRM setup checklist: a practical first week plan

Setting up Attio for the first time can feel overwhelming. You're staring at a blank workspace wondering where to start. Should you import data first? Build your data model? Set up integrations?

After implementing Attio for dozens of teams, I've developed a reliable first-week plan that prevents common mistakes and sets you up for long-term success.

Day 1: Map your data model on paper

Before touching Attio, spend a few hours mapping out your data model. This saves massive amounts of rework later.

Start with your core objects. Most teams need at minimum: Companies, People, and Deals. But you might also need Projects, Opportunities, Applications, or custom objects that match your business.

For each object, list out the attributes you need. Don't overthink it—focus on the fields you'll actually use. Common mistakes include creating too many custom fields upfront or trying to track everything.

Key questions to answer:

• What are our core business objects?
• How do these objects relate to each other?
• What information do we need to track for each?
• What fields are required vs optional?
• What should be single-select vs multi-select?

Sketch this out in a document or whiteboard. Share it with your team and get feedback before building anything.

Day 2: Build your data model in Attio

Now you're ready to actually configure Attio. Start by creating your custom objects and attributes based on your Day 1 planning.

Work in this order:

• Create core objects (Companies, People, Deals, etc.)

• Add custom attributes to each object

• Define relationships between objects

• Set up any list attributes with their options

Pro tips:

• Use clear, consistent naming conventions
• Add descriptions to custom fields so your team knows what they're for
• Start minimal—you can always add fields later
• Set required fields strategically (too many blocks progress, too few creates incomplete data)

Test your data model by manually creating a few test records. Walk through a typical workflow to make sure nothing is missing.

Day 3: Clean and import your data

Data imports are where most CRM projects go wrong. Messy imports create years of cleanup work.

Start by exporting your current data (from spreadsheets, old CRM, etc.) and cleaning it up before importing to Attio.

Cleaning checklist:

• Remove duplicate entries
• Standardize company names (e.g., "Acme Inc" vs "Acme, Inc." vs "ACME")
• Fix formatting issues (phone numbers, emails, dates)
• Fill in missing required fields
• Remove columns you don't need

Map your cleaned data to Attio fields. Use Attio's CSV import tool and always run a small test import first (10-20 records) to validate your mapping before importing everything.

Day 4: Set up essential integrations

Connect your most critical tools to Attio. The exact integrations depend on your stack, but common ones include:

Email and calendar: Sync your Google or Microsoft account so emails and meetings automatically log to the right records.

Enrichment: Connect Clearbit, Apollo, or similar tools to auto-populate company and contact data.

Communication tools: Integrate Slack for notifications about important CRM events.

Forms and lead sources: Connect Typeform, Webflow, or your website forms so new leads flow into Attio automatically.

Start with 2-3 critical integrations. You can add more later, but getting email and calendar sync working immediately helps with adoption.

Day 5: Build your first automations

Automations reduce manual work and improve data quality. Start simple with high-impact automations.

Starter automation ideas:

• Auto-assign new deals to team members based on territory or round-robin
• Create tasks when a deal enters a specific stage
• Send Slack notifications for high-value opportunities
• Update deal stages based on activity (e.g., move to "Contacted" when first email sent)
• Tag records based on attributes (e.g., auto-tag companies by industry)

Build one automation at a time and test it thoroughly before moving to the next. Broken automations cause more problems than no automations at all.

Day 6: Create views and lists

Set up the views your team will use daily. Think about what each person needs to see when they open Attio.

Essential views to create:

• My open deals (filtered by owner)
• Deals by stage (grouped by pipeline stage)
• Companies we're actively selling to
• New leads this week
• Stale deals (no activity in 14+ days)

Customize columns in each view to show the most relevant information. Remove clutter—showing too many fields makes views unusable.

Day 7: Document and train

Don't skip this step. Even a simple one-page guide dramatically improves adoption.

Document the basics:

• How to create new records
• How to log activities
• How to move deals through stages
• What each field means and when to use it
• Where to find common views

Walk your team through the setup. Do a live screen-share showing how to complete common tasks. Answer questions and adjust based on feedback.

Common first-week mistakes to avoid

Overcomplicating the data model: Start simple. You can always add complexity later, but removing fields people are already using is painful.

Importing dirty data: Clean first, import second. Always.

Building too many automations too fast: Start with 2-3 critical automations. Add more as you see what your team actually needs.

Skipping team input: Your team will use this daily. Get their feedback during setup, not after everything is built.

Not testing before going live: Always test with real scenarios before rolling out to the whole team.

What happens after week one?

After your first week, you should have a working CRM with clean data, basic automations, and a team that knows how to use it.

The next phase is optimization. Watch how your team actually uses Attio. What workflows are clunky? What data is consistently missing? What reports do people need?

Use those insights to refine your setup. Add new automations, adjust fields, improve views. A CRM is never "done"—it evolves with your business.

But with a solid first week, you'll have a strong foundation to build on instead of fighting a messy system from day one.