Import and update records in bulk

Choose the right template, validate changes, commit once and reconcile the results

Use this handbook to load many records or apply a supported mass change without repeating each form. Start in the intended company and module. Bulk Import, Bulk Upload, Bulk Update and Bulk Change are different actions: selecting a similar-looking workbook does not turn a create import into an update.

Choose the right bulk action

The template directory covers supported file routes, not a promise that every form has an importer. Availability depends on the released screen, permissions and selected company. Goods receipts, for example, must not be treated as a registered Purchase Orders import merely because they belong to purchasing.

Check access and prerequisites

A tenant is your subscription workspace. Its Tenant Administrator assigns appropriate access; an administrator should not grant broad access just to make an import button appear. You need the relevant module action permission and authorised company/location access. Creating records, updating them, approving documents and posting them are separate responsibilities.

Prepare referenced accounts and sub-accounts, locations, currencies/rates, partners, tax codes, UOM, classifications, posting groups, items, warehouses/bins, assets or HR setup first as applicable. Use your company's accepted human codes or names, not hidden database identities. Resolve ambiguous names before loading a file.

Agree the business owner, intended changes, cutoff, control totals and correction plan. Use a small approved batch before a large load. For opening data, agree the cutover design so that imported documents and opening journals do not duplicate the same balances. See the business setup map and opening-balance guidance.

Follow the shared import procedure

1. Open the intended list in the correct company. Confirm any bank, location, payroll run or other context before opening its bulk action.
2. Download the current Excel template from that action. For an update, download current existing data where offered; an ordinary report export is not necessarily upload-ready.
3. Keep the worksheet names and exact headers. Replace sample business rows; do not import the examples. Preserve instructions and any parent/line relationships.
4. Prepare the file and independently check counts, dates, currencies, amounts, quantities and affected record identities. Retain a secure before-change snapshot for updates.
5. Select the file and use Validate. Read errors and the proposed headers, lines, changes and totals. Validation previews proposed work; it does not save the business records.
6. Correct errors in the source workbook. If an earlier validated job blocks another validation, resolve or cancel that job using the offered controls before validating the corrected file. Do not commit an obsolete preview.
7. Recheck the company, import family and preview. Use Commit Import once only when authorised to save that work.
8. Use Show status until the job reaches a final result. Download the result list where offered, reopen the actual records and complete the module-specific reconciliation below.

The genuine import-screen examples show the template and validation controls. The shared control reference explains file selection, errors, status and attachments. Screens differ for specialised routes; the selected action and current template take precedence.

Prepare worksheets, keys and values correctly

Update Item Master details and currency prices

Use Inventory > Item Master > Bulk Update, not Bulk Import. This route updates existing eligible items matched by item_number in the selected company. System-maintained CWIP/payroll items are excluded and cannot be changed through this route.

1. Narrow Download Filters to the intended items. Item # From and Item # To restrict the number range; Nature restricts Inventory/Non-Inventory. Active, POS Enabled, Can Be Purchased, Can Be Sold, Can Be Produced and Allow Negative Inventory restrict the corresponding flags. Review the resulting snapshot before editing.
2. Download the current workbook. Keep the Item Master Bulk Change and Item Prices Bulk Change worksheet names and the original item numbers. Save a secure unchanged copy separately.
3. In the master sheet, edit only intended values. Review classification, posting group, UOM, separate customer/vendor tax settings, tracking and country-specific fields particularly carefully; these can change eligibility and future transaction defaults.
4. In the prices sheet, identify the item and currency. Use row_action UPSERT to add/update that currency price, or DELETE to remove that price row. Check unit_price and active explicitly.
5. Validate and inspect changed fields as well as unchanged rows. If the preview proposes clearing unrelated values, stop and correct the workbook before committing.
6. Commit once, wait for the final job result, then reopen each sampled item and its currency-price grid. Confirm the expected changed-item and price counts against the approved file.

Item update blank and price rules

Existing-value downloads are important. Present blank text, numeric or lookup cells can request clearing a value; a required field can then fail validation. Blank Boolean cells are treated differently and do not mean No. A column absent from the file is not the same as a present blank cell. Preserve current values unless a deliberate clear/change is intended and confirmed in the preview.

DELETE on Item Prices Bulk Change removes the matching item/currency price, not the item itself. An inactive price remains a row but is not eligible as an active default. Changing/removing currency prices can recalculate or clear the item's default sales price; check the saved default and currency rows together. This action does not retroactively amend prices on saved sales documents.

Worked item update example

Fictional example: the current snapshot contains item 1001 with description Blue service kit and a USD 25.0000 currency price. Change only the description to Blue service kit - large and its USD unit_price to 27.5000 with UPSERT. Preserve all other downloaded values. Expect one item's intended master fields and the USD price to change; no quantity receipt, purchase invoice or sales invoice is created.

After commit, reopen item 1001, compare the exact description, USD precision, active/default status and all other affected fields to the preview. Do not use an unrelated manual price-edit form merely to confirm a high-precision value: inspect the saved value and use the relevant item price caution.

Change formulas safely with Bulk Change

Use Production > Formulas > Bulk Change. Download existing formulas template returns current matching data. Status, Code From, Code To, Output Item (optional), Updated Since and Limit narrow that download; inspect the workbook to confirm its exact scope.

The matching identity is company plus Formula Code plus Version No. An existing combination is updated; a missing combination can create a new formula. This is not an update-only promise. Changing the code/version can therefore create an unintended new combination.

1. Download and retain the original workbook, including Formulas, Material Lines and Overhead Lines. Agree whether to change an existing version or create a separately controlled new version.
2. Keep each header's External Key (Ext Key) consistent across its material and overhead rows. Preserve every line that must remain on each included formula.
3. Edit the complete intended material and overhead lists, not just the changed rows. Confirm eligible output/material items, overhead codes, standard batch quantity, QC and joint-cost choices.
4. Set header values deliberately. Blank Status defaults to INACTIVE, blank QC Required Before Completion defaults to No, and blank Joint Cost Method defaults to PHYSICAL_QTY. Do not erase these cells to mean "retain existing."
5. Validate and compare the entire proposed formula against the original, including removed lines and defaults. Commit once only after the formula owner approves the change.
6. Reopen the saved formula/version. Compare output, batch quantity, status, QC, joint-cost method, every material quantity and every overhead amount. Check its suitability before using it for a new batch.

Formula replacement is not a partial update

For each included formula, Material Lines and Overhead Lines replace the existing lists. Omitting an existing material row removes it from that formula. Supplying no overhead rows for an included formula clears its existing overhead list. Line numbers can be resequenced; use item/overhead identity and quantity/value to compare the saved result, not only old line numbers.

A blank Standard Amount can derive an overhead amount from the active overhead master rate and its per-unit/per-batch basis. Review the resulting amount rather than assuming zero. This workbook does not provide every specialised formula/output configuration control; use the formula and joint-output reference for the full form. Do not infer that modifying a formula recalculates completed batches or historical costs.

Worked formula change example

Fictional example: formula MIX-01 version 1 has two materials and one overhead. Change one material's Standard Qty from 2.5 to 3.0. Retain the second material and the overhead row, with their existing parent key and intended values. Compare all three lists before commit. Uploading only the edited material would remove the omitted material and overhead, so it is not a safe shortcut.

Bulk update selected account review settings

Open the company's Balance Sheet Review setup and use Bulk update selected accounts. This on-screen action changes review settings for selected accounts; it does not create accounts, journals or posting periods.

1. Filter and select the intended account rows. Confirm the actual selected set; do not assume a checkbox includes every account on other result pages.
2. Choose only the settings to change, such as review requirement, frequency, first review period, tolerance, auto-review or due-date rules. Here blank controls can preserve existing settings; do not copy that assumption to Excel import fields.
3. When enabling review, agree the frequency and first period. When disabling it, provide the requested reason and confirm the operational effect with the review owner.
4. Check the selected accounts and proposed settings, apply the bulk update once, then reopen/filter those accounts to verify their settings and expected review schedule.

See Balance Sheet Review setup fields. This is a review-control change, not account reclassification or a replacement for month-end reconciliation.

Append reconciliation schedule support

Use the selected review schedule's own template/import action. Save current manual edits before importing. Its specialised append route has its own displayed file/line limits; do not assume the shared bulk modal's limits or matching rules apply.

Check the account, period, currency and schedule before selecting the file. Validate the support rows, import once, then compare the appended row count and support total with the file and schedule difference. Native support remains; importing again can add more support rather than replace the earlier rows. Retain the original source as reconciliation evidence and follow the schedule's supported correction path if the support is wrong. See review schedule import and reconciliation.

Find every supported import template

The following directory lists all 28 template families in this release. Open the matching module/list, then its Bulk Import or Bulk Upload action; wording varies by list. The exact-column links describe every worksheet and column. They do not authorise bypassing a missing action, permission, document state or fiscal restriction.

Accounting and banking imports

Partner, sales and purchasing imports

Inventory and production imports

Fixed-asset and HR imports

Work a journal import and reconcile it

Fictional example in USD functional currency: prepare one journal key TRAIN-J01 with two Lines rows, an approved expense debit of USD 100.00 and an approved cash/bank credit of USD 100.00, only if that is the real event and permitted posting route. Use existing eligible accounts, a valid open-period date and the same parent key on both rows. Expected file controls are one journal, two lines, debit USD 100.00 and credit USD 100.00; do not add debit and credit to describe a USD 200.00 business transaction.

Validate, check accounts/dates/signs and commit only an authorised file. Record the generated journal number and inspect both approval and posting state. If approval is required, use the supported approval process rather than importing again. Once posted, compare the actual GL account movements, ledger date and functional totals to the file. A balanced preview alone does not prove that the accounts, period or event were correct. Use journal corrections for mistakes, not a second copy of the workbook.

Recognise job states and recover without duplicates

Keep the original file, current template, validation/error output, job reference, final results and before/after evidence securely. File-level external keys and new filenames do not guarantee repeat safety. Committed transactions have their own approval, posting, fiscal and correction rules; there is no universal "undo import" command.

Reconcile a completed bulk job

Protect sensitive files and continue

Import workbooks and result lists can contain bank details, customer addresses, employee pay or tax identities. Store them in approved restricted locations; share minimum necessary data and follow retention rules. Do not paste real payroll or bank files into public support conversations, screenshots or guides. Never include passwords, OTPs, signing keys or API secrets in ordinary import notes.

Continue with the exact 28-template column reference, shared import controls and attachments, approval setup, conditional country and tracking controls and workflow handbook.