It is a good idea to do a test run first with no more than two or three transactions. Use an export format with only a few rows. One header row and a few transaction rows at the most. This will ensure you are happy with the result before you bring in large quantities of transactions. It is also good to import in smaller batches (e.g. CSV with 250 lines).
- Export your spreadsheet data from your previous accounting system.
- Select View > Import and Export in the main menu.
- Select Import Sales or purchases.
- Select the type of transaction your file contains that you are importing. Note: Only import one transaction type at a time e.g. Import Sales separately to Purchases.
- Click Browse and use the dialogue box to locate and select the CSV file.
- Choose the file format from the dropdown list, or, if the file format is not listed, create it by selecting custom.
- If you selected a format, click Review and Importto bring the transactional data into Saasu -OR-
- If you selected Custom, click Review and Import to move to the Mapping stage.
- For each column in your data file, choose the appropriate Saasu field. For service invoices, the minimum required fields are:
- Date, e.g. 2009-02-21.
- Invoice Number, or any transaction ID that groups lines that belong to the same invoice together will do.
- Line Item Account, e.g. Income: Sales. Must exist in your file before importing.
- Line Item Total Amount, e.g. 112.23.
- Line Item Tax Code, e.g. G1. Must exist in your file. See Settings > Tax Codes.
For item invoices, the minimum required fields are:
- Date.
- Line Item Quantity.
- Line Item Item Code. Must match an existing item code in Saasu.
- Line Item Unit Price.
- Line Item Total.
- Line Item Tax Code.
- If your data set has multiple line items in rows. Use the dropdown below the filed mapping area to set which column ties the transaction line items together. This is often an Invoice Number or an Order Number.
- Choose whether these are Invoices or Orders, etc, according to the stage in the transaction life cycle you are at for this data.
- Use the checkbox to set whether amounts in the file include or exclude tax.
- Give this custom format a name so it can be reused.
- Click Save.
- Start importing.
- If any error messages come up and the data fails to import, address the error message points made or, if the error isn’t identified by Saasu, create a help ticket for assistance.
Contact Creation for Transaction Import
When you import data we need to decide whether the transaction relates to an existing contact or if it’s for a new contact. If you have very basic information this can be quite difficult. For example, if your contact is the name “Mark” this could easily be an existing contact or someone new. To handle this we have business rules we use when deciding whether to create a new contact or use an existing one. They work like this:
| Situation | Behaviour (Business Rule) | Suggestions |
|---|---|---|
| If name, company, email, or contact ID is not specified | Set to No Contact | |
| Just first name, or last name, or first name + last name. | Create new Contact | |
| Just a Company Name | First available match in Saasu file | If user deals with multiple company, they should select first name, last name, email, and company. |
| Email only | First available match in Saasu file | |
| Just contact ID | First available match in Saasu file. If not found, Set to No Contact. | |
| Other fields are available to test | If say Firstname is available and Saasu finds a matching phone number or address it will Set to that Contact. | Saasu only relies on this if all of the above fail |
FAQ’s
Do I need to set up my account codes before importing?
Yes, before you import data you need to have your Account codes set up in Saasu. This includes Accounts and Bank Accounts. Otherwise Saasu doesn’t know where to put the transactions when it codes them to Accounts. If you want to Import transactions without Account codes it is best to do this via the View > Import area.
What tips do you have for troubleshooting?
See Troubleshooting CSV files that won’t import