Migrating Affinity Lists to Attio
Lists are where Affinity firms keep their real work: a dealflow pipeline, a portfolio tracker, an LP list, a hiring board. Move them wrong and your team loses the structure they navigate by every day. This page shows how Affinity Lists, list fields, saved views, and multi-list records translate into Attio Lists, Objects, and Attributes, and how to keep the structure intact through the move. It pairs with the full Affinity to Attio migration guide.
Lists in Affinity versus Attio
In Affinity, a List is a collection of people or organizations with its own columns. Attio splits this idea in two. A List in Attio is a working view of records, like a pipeline you drag cards through. An Object is a record type with its own attributes, like Companies or a custom Deals object. The right target depends on what your Affinity list does.
A pipeline list, where each row moves through stages, usually becomes an Attio Object (or maps onto the built-in Deals object) so the records gain a permanent home and their own attributes. A reference list, like a static set of target companies, often becomes an Attio List layered on the Companies object. Dialed picks the target per list rather than forcing one rule across the workspace.
How list fields become attributes
Every column on an Affinity list is a List field. In Attio those become Attributes, and the type you choose for each one decides how it behaves. A dropdown column becomes a select attribute. A date column becomes a date attribute. A person reference becomes a record-reference attribute pointing at People. Choosing the right type matters because it controls filtering, grouping, and automation later.
| Affinity list field | Attio attribute | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Dropdown / single select | Select | Keeps filterable options |
| Multi-select | Multi-select | Preserves tag-style data |
| Date | Date | Sorts and filters by time |
| Number / currency | Number / currency | Rolls up and sums |
| Person or company link | Record reference | Keeps relationships live |
| Text | Text | Free-form notes per row |
Pick the attribute type with intent. If you import a status column as plain text, you lose the ability to build a board view or filter by stage. Mapping it to a select attribute keeps that structure working.
Saved views and filters
Affinity saved views and filters become Attio views. A saved view in Affinity is a filtered, sorted slice of a list, like "deals in diligence sorted by next step." In Attio you rebuild that as a view on the object or list, with the same filters and sort. Views do not export as a file, so you recreate each one. Dialed catalogs your active saved views before cutover and rebuilds them so your team opens Attio to the same slices they used in Affinity. For the export mechanics behind this, see exporting your data from Affinity.
List-specific fields
Affinity scopes some fields to a single list, so a "Round" field might exist only on your fundraising pipeline. When that list becomes an Attio object, the list-specific fields become attributes on that object and stay scoped to it. When a list becomes an Attio List on top of an existing object, list-specific fields can map to attributes that live on the list entry rather than the global record, which keeps a company's global profile clean while preserving the per-list context.
Multi-list records
A single company often sits on several Affinity lists at once: your target list, your portfolio, and a co-investor tracker. In Attio you want one Company record, not three copies. Dialed deduplicates on the company domain so the record appears once, then attaches it to each relevant Attio List with the list-specific fields preserved per entry. This is the step that most often breaks a DIY import, because a naive CSV load creates duplicate companies. A clear consolidation rule keeps one clean record with all its list memberships intact.
Keeping structure intact
The goal is a workspace your team recognizes on day one: the same pipelines, the same stages, the same saved views, and one record per company. Dialed validates all of this in a free test migration before cutover, and the full project runs about 15 hours, near $3,000, against roughly $14,720 a year in plan savings. Opportunity lists carry extra nuance around stages and history, covered in migrating deals and opportunities. Run your firm's numbers in the migration calculator.
See what your firm saves switching to Attio →FAQ
- Does an Affinity list become a List or an Object in Attio?
- It depends on the list. Pipeline lists usually become Objects so records gain permanent attributes, while static reference lists often become Attio Lists layered on an existing object.
- What happens to my list columns?
- Each Affinity list field becomes an Attio attribute, and Dialed picks the matching type (select, date, number, record reference) so filtering and grouping keep working.
- Will my saved views carry over?
- Views do not export as a file, so Dialed catalogs your active saved views and filters and rebuilds them in Attio with the same filters and sort.
- How are companies on multiple lists handled?
- Dialed deduplicates on the company domain to create one record, then attaches it to each Attio List with the list-specific fields preserved per entry.
- Can I preview the list structure before cutover?
- Yes. A free test migration loads a sample list into Attio so you confirm the objects, attributes, and views match before the full load.