Import records from a file

Before you start

• Work with a list of records

Import when you already have 30 vendors, or 300 purchase order lines, in a spreadsheet and don’t want to type them one by one. You download a template, fill it in, upload it, read a preview, and confirm. Nothing is saved until you confirm.

Prepare the file

1. Open the module’s list, for example Vendors.
2. Click Import. The Beezr data import window opens.
3. Click Download Template. You get template.csv.
4. Open it in Excel or any spreadsheet tool. The first row holds the column names. Paste your data under it, one record per row.
5. Save the file as CSV, XLSX or XLS.

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Import is in the list’s top bar, next to Export.
Download Template gives you a CSV with this module’s column names.
Choose picks the file to upload. CSV, XLSX and XLS are accepted.

The template lists the module’s fields by their stored names, without the record’s own ID. In your own file a column heading can be either the stored name or the label you see on screen. A heading that matches neither is flagged in the preview.

Tip from a Beezr Consultant

Keep the data on the first sheet of an Excel file, with the heading row at the top.

Upload it and read the preview

1. In the Beezr data import window, click Choose and pick your file.
2. Wait for the Import preview window. It names your file and shows five numbers: Rows found, New records, Updates, Must fix and To review.
3. Read the lists under Must fix and Worth reviewing. Each line names the row, the column and the value.
4. If Must fix is empty, click Confirm import. If not, click Cancel, correct the file and upload it again.

Work through Must fix first. Each line tells you what to correct in your file: use a column heading that is a field of the module, fill in required lookups, and use values that exist in the lookup’s list. Confirm import becomes available when nothing is left under Must fix.

Worth reviewing tells you what Beezr guessed, so you can check it matches your intent. For a lookup, Beezr matches your text to the list ignoring capitals, so approved finds Approved. It also points out a lookup ID number that isn’t in the list, and a row’s ID that matches no record.

When does a row add a record, and when does it update one?

Look at the key column, the record’s ID. If your file has that column and the cell is filled, the row updates the record with that ID. If the cell is empty, or the column isn’t in the file, the row creates a new record. The preview counts each kind under New records and Updates.

In number and currency columns, type plain numbers such as 1250.50, without currency symbols or thousands separators.

What do I see when it finishes?

After Confirm import, a summary window shows Added, Updated, Failed and Duration. If some rows failed, a What went wrong list gives the reasons, and the rows that worked are saved. Click Done, then check the list.

Start every file with a heading row, and save it as CSV, XLSX or XLS.