You imported your accounts, the import finished cleanly, and the map shows no territories. No colored areas at all. This is one of the most common surprises new AlignMix users hit, and it almost always means the same thing: you imported account data but never assigned the ZIP codes. Your territories exist. They just don’t have any geography yet.
Two levels of assignment
AlignMix keeps two separate levels of assignment, accounts and ZIP codes. When you import a list of accounts that includes a territory and a rep, AlignMix assigns those accounts to territories. It doesn’t assume the ZIP codes should follow. A ZIP code sitting next to an account in your spreadsheet is just that account’s address, not an instruction to color that ZIP on the map.
The two levels exist on purpose. They’re what make account overrides possible, where an account physically sits in one territory but is worked by a rep in another. If accounts and ZIPs were locked together, you couldn’t model that. The trade-off is the flash of confusion when an account-only import leaves the map looking empty.
How to confirm your territories are really there
Two quick checks settle it. Drag the lasso tool across an area where you know you have accounts; when you release, the summary lists the territories those accounts belong to. Or open a new tab and look at a territory table, which lists every territory you’ve created even when none are painted on the map. Either way, your territories are there. What you have is an account-based alignment with no geographic layer on top.
Turning account-based territories into geographic ones
Once you know the territories exist, you have three ways to give them shape on the map.
- Import a ZIP-to-territory file. The direct route. A two-column spreadsheet, ZIP codes in one column and the assigned territory in the other, and AlignMix paints every ZIP the color of its territory. If you already know which ZIPs belong where, this is the fastest path.
- Run the clean-up tool. This assigns each ZIP to whichever territory holds the most accounts in it. Say a ZIP has ten accounts, six in Territory 1 and four in Territory 2. The tool gives the whole ZIP to Territory 1, and the other four accounts become overrides, still credited to Territory 2. It’s a fast way to build geography from account data you trust. The clean alignment tool covers this in full.
- Draw them by hand. Lasso an area and assign it to a territory. The nearest account-based territories show up in the drop-down in order, so you pick the right one and click ok. Slower, but it gives you full control where the automated options guess wrong.
Still nothing after a full import?
If you imported ZIP-to-territory data and the map is still blank, the usual culprit is the import itself. The ZIP column may have mapped to the wrong field, ZIPs stored as numbers may have dropped their leading zeros, or territory names may not match between your files. Reopen the import, check that the ZIP and territory columns landed in the right slots, and confirm your ZIP codes kept their leading zeros. For the distinction underneath all of this, see the difference between account data and ZIP code data.
Frequently asked questions
Why don’t I see any sales territories after importing my accounts?
Because you imported account data only. AlignMix assigned your accounts to territories but not the ZIP codes, so the territories exist without any geography to color. Assign ZIP codes to see shapes on the map.
What is an account-based alignment?
An alignment where accounts are assigned to territories but no ZIP codes are, so nothing is colored on the map. It’s a valid setup that simply has no geographic layer until you add one.
How do I turn account-based territories into geographic ones?
Three options: import a ZIP-to-territory file, run the clean-up tool to assign each ZIP to its majority account holder, or lasso and assign areas by hand.
My territories still won’t appear after importing ZIP codes. What now?
Check the import mapping. The most common causes are the ZIP column mapped to the wrong field, leading zeros dropped from ZIP codes stored as numbers, or territory names that don’t match between your files.
Stuck on an import? Book a demo and we’ll walk through your data, or download AlignMix free to try it.