Help: How to upload a list to PitchBook

With the upload a list feature, you can upload your external files onto PitchBook, a great option if you have already created an offline list of organizations. When you upload a file to PitchBook, it will save as a new list in the platform from which you can start building out your research with PitchBook data. Once your files are uploaded, you can also create alerts for your specific organizations or individuals of interest. To create a new list using search results or profiles instead of a file, see How to create, save, and use lists.

You can upload a list for the following list types:

• Companies
• Investors
• Limited Partners
• Service Providers

If you have a list of funds, deals, or people, you can copy and paste a list of names into several search fields or on the My Lists tab on the Saved Searches & Lists page. See the FAQs below for instructions. You can also use a list of funds in the Portfolio Forecasting tool.

First, prepare your file for upload.

You can upload a CSV, XLS, or XLSX file created with the template below or your own spreadsheet. If you use your own spreadsheet, ensure that the data in the columns matches these data types:

• Firm Name (Required if a website is not provided)
• Website (Required if a firm name is not provided)
• HQ City
• HQ State/Province
• HQ Country
• HQ Post Code
• Ticker
• Primary Contact

1. For the best matches, include as much data as possible about each organization. Only the firm name or website is required, but including data in additional columns will allow us to match more of the list and to match with a higher match score.
2. Remove endings like “Inc.,” “Ltd.,” and “Co.” from your list of firm names. Including these in the list can make a match for the firm name more difficult.
3. You can upload a maximum of 50,000 rows at one time.

1. Once you create your file of companies, investors, limited partners, or service providers, you can upload it in four different locations. There are slight differences in the process across these locations; however, they follow the same general steps.

Option A. The Upload a List tab in the PitchBook sidebar.

Option B. The My Lists tab within the Saved Searches & Lists tab. You can find Saved Searches & Lists in the PitchBook sidebar.

Option C. The Upload a List button on the Search Tools page.

Option D. The Upload a List link above several fields across different screeners, such as the Company Names or Investor Names field.

2. Click Upload a List or Create List to begin uploading. The wording will vary based on your location in the platform.

3. In the My Lists tab only (option B), you will next need to give your list a name to save it for later. Then, click Upload a List. In the other locations, the upload a list menu in step 4 will display immediately.

4. In the upload a list menu, drag the file from your computer into the grey box or click Browse to find your file on the computer.

a. From the Upload a List tab (option A) or the Search Tools page (option C), you can upload a list of companies, investors, limited partners, or service providers.

b. From screeners (option D) or the My Lists tab (option B), you must upload the type of list that matches the field you have selected. For example, if you choose Companies in the Create List menu on the My Lists tab, you must upload a list of companies only.

In this next step, the system will confirm where key data is located in your spreadsheet. The headers from your uploaded file will appear in the Your Headers column.

1. In the PitchBook’s Headers column, choose the column header from each drop-down menu that corresponds to the matching type of information.

2. Then, click Next on the bottom left to run our matching algorithm and receive your match results.

Next, you will confirm your match results to ensure the system has found the firms you are looking for.

Note: When you upload a list within a specific screener field or through the My Lists tab, you will only receive match results for organizations that match the type of field you uploaded your list to. For example, if you upload a list from the Service Provider Names field, you will not receive matches for firms that PitchBook only tracks as companies and not as service providers. In these cases, the entity will not be included in the Matched or Unmatched tab if it does not meet the list type criteria where the list is uploaded.

1. After your list runs, you will see tabs for Matched Firms and Unmatched Firms. Depending on where you have uploaded your list, the names of these tabs may vary slightly, such as indicating Matched Companies or Matched Investors. On the Matched Firms tab, review the list of matches to ensure accuracy.

You can use the match score in the Score column to prioritize firms for review. The score is calculated by comparing PitchBook’s matching criteria to your provided data. The matching algorithm is proprietary, but you can hover over each match score to see the criteria used to create the match.

2. If you notice that something is matched incorrectly, you can change it to a different PitchBook profile by hovering over the entity in the Firm Name from PitchBook or the Firm Name from File column. Click the down arrow that appears, and then you can choose a different profile match from the suggestions provided.

3. On the Unmatched Firms tab, review any firms that could not be matched to organizations in PitchBook. Use the Firm Name column to search PitchBook and assign a match. Once you have assigned a match, the organization will move to the Matched Firms tab with a Score of Matched by You.

1. Once you’ve uploaded a list, you can immediately use it in a search and gather data about these organizations. The process will vary slightly depending on where you uploaded your list.
   
   1. If you upload a list from the Upload a List tab (option A), click View in the upper right corner of your results, then select which type of matched list you’d like to export: companies, investors, limited partners, or service providers.
      

      

   2. If you upload a list from a screener (option D) or the My Lists tab (option A), add the organizations to your search by clicking Add to Search in the bottom left corner.
2. If you save your list, you can set alerts on the organizations included.
   

   

You can return to a previously uploaded list at any time from the Upload a List tab. Uploaded files are kept here for future reference, additional queries, and continued matching of unmatched records as new firms are added to PitchBook. These files are stored in an encrypted database, so only you have access to them.

Hover over the name of the list to see options to view match results, download, or delete your list. Downloading your match results from Upload a List does not count toward your download limits in PitchBook.

To understand how this feature fits into a broader workflow, check out PitchBook Pioneer’s course – Wealth Managers: Getting Started.