Bulk importing invoices from a spreadsheet

Bulk import turns a spreadsheet into SmartLedger records. One workbook can hold sales invoices, purchase invoices, payments and journal entries on separate sheets. SmartLedger matches the columns for you, flags rows with problems and creates only the rows that are ready. Bulk import now lives in SmartUploads. The Bulk Invoice Import button on the Smart Integrations page takes you there.

Before you start

Use an .xlsx, .xls or .csv file. To start from a ready-made layout, download one from SmartUploads → Templates and keep its sheet names and column headings unchanged.

Upload the file

Open SmartUploads from the sidebar and click + New Upload.
Choose your spreadsheet.
Once it has been read, its row shows the type Bulk Import.
Click Review on that row to open the import wizard.

Step 1: Set up sheets

For each sheet in the workbook, check three things, then click Save & next sheet:

Sheet type — Sales invoices (you issued these), Purchase invoices (you received these), Journal entries or Payments (applied to invoices).
Date format — how dates are written in the file, so a date like 03/04 is read the right way round.
Column mapping — each column in the file is matched to a SmartLedger field. Correct any match that's wrong. An invoice sheet needs at least Invoice / Bill Date and Client / Vendor Name. A payment sheet needs Amount Paid and Account/Bank.

Click Skip sheet for any tab you don't want. On the last sheet, click Continue to journal entries.

Step 2: Journal entries

This step shows how each invoice sheet will post, using a real invoice from your file as the sample. Change the account for any amount column if you need to, or leave it as it is. For a journal sheet, choose the Target journal. Then click Continue to validation.

Step 3: Edit & validate

Every row appears in a grid, and rows with problems are flagged. The Before you import list sums up what needs attention.

Edit any cell directly in the grid. The toolbar also has Skip, Delete, Undo, Redo, Add Row and Add Column.
Use Download to get the rows with issues as an Excel file if you'd rather fix them offline.
Only rows marked READY are imported. A row with an open issue stays out until you fix or skip it.

Click Continue to review when you're done.

Step 4: Review & create

Check the totals: invoice value, GST, number of invoices, payments to apply and journal entries, plus any new customers, vendors, ledger accounts or projects that will be created. Then click the create button, for example Create 120 invoices. If some rows still have issues, SmartLedger asks you to confirm importing the rest.

What happens next

You can Pause a running import, or Stop import to stop it and reverse everything it created.
Imported invoices and journal entries are created as drafts. Use Open Sales register, Open Purchase register or Open Journals to review them.
Changed your mind? Reverse selected or Reverse all removes invoices or journal entries the import created.
Your column mapping is saved, so the next upload with the same layout skips Step 1.

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