Common import errors

If you receive this message, the reference in the cell indicated isn’t unique. This could be because you have duplicate references in the CSV file, or you have a record with this reference already.

Enter a unique reference and try the import again.

The VAT number for that customer isn’t a valid number.

Enter a valid VAT number. When you enter the number, make sure you don’t enter the country code. For example, if you entered the VAT number as GB123456789, enter 123456789 omitting the GB at the start of the code.

You must also ensure that if the VAT number starts with 0, the CSV file doesn’t remove the leading zero. If it does remove the leading zero, right-click the relevant cell then click Format Cells. From the Category list select Text then click OK. You can now enter 0.

This value is the country’s two-digit country code, for example, GB for Great Britain and IE for Ireland.

Enter the correct two-digit country code. If you leave this column blank, the contact imports as an IE contact.

If you're using Accounting and want to import foreign currencies, you must, first of all, enable foreign currency transactions and create the currencies in your service. Once you've done this, you can then import your contacts.

If you're using Accounting and you've enabled foreign currency transactions, you can import contacts' currencies. The currency must be the correct currency code, for example, for American dollars this is USD. If the currency column is empty, it imports as your default currency.

If you’re using Accounting and have specified a default nominal ledger account in the CSV file, this account must already exist in your service.

To resolve this, either create the nominal ledger account in Accounting or change the account in the CSV file to one that already exists. For example, you may want to change this to the default sales nominal ledger account 4000, or for purchases 5000.

If you choose to create a new nominal ledger account make sure in Chart of Accounts the visibility check box for Purchases - Invoice / Credit, Product / Supplier defaults is also selected for the import to be successful.

If you're importing customer or supplier opening balances, you must ensure the customer reference in the CSV file matches the references in Accounting.

To resolve this, do one of the following:

• If the contact already exists, enter the correct reference in the CSV file
• If you haven't yet created the contact, you must do so before you can import their opening balances

The date must be in the format dd/mm/yyyy before you can import it.

Amend the date so it’s in the correct format. If Excel changes the date, right-click the relevant cell then click Format Cells. From the Category list select Text then click OK and enter the correct date.

If everything is returned as an error, check the file you’re trying to import is the correct file for the relevant option. For example, if you’re importing products, make sure you choose the product CSV file to import and not services. Also, check the file is a CSV file and not an XLS file.

The size of your contact CSV file cannot exceed 0.5MB. Check the file size before attempting to import your contacts. If it is over the limit, you can split the contacts into two files and then import them separately. The contacts you import in the first file will not be overwritten from any subsequent imports.

If you get an error trying to import a contact CSV file, be sure that the data in the Reference column is unique (or blank) for each contact. If you are reimporting a file, you'll need to change (or delete) the data in the Reference column for each contact to successfully reimport the file.

If all of the above is complete and you still get this error message, attempt to refresh your web page and retry the import.