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Importing transactions in batches

You can now (as of QuickBooks for Mac 2015) import transactions into QuickBooks. You can import:

The overall process is to:

  1. Create a spreadsheet with the information you want to bring in
  2. Import the table
  3. Clean up any missed transactions

For the import to work well you should already have the customers, vendors, classes, and items in your Company file.

We'll use importing invoices as an example, but the process is the same for each of the transaction types you import.

To create your spreadsheet

  1. Choose File > Import > Transactions > Invoices.
    You'll see the Import Invoices table.
  2. Click the gear pop-up menu in the lower left and choose Export Table Template.
  3. Type a name and save the template to a location you'll remember.
    This downloads a template comma-delimited file. There are many columns; you may need to scroll to the right to see all of them.
  4. Open the template in your favorite spreadsheet program.
  5. Add your information to the template. Save your work often.

Note: If you already have your information in a spreadsheet, it might be easier to rearrange your pre-existing spreadsheet to match the template.

To import transactions

  1. Once your transaction information is ready, copy and paste it into the Import Invoices window.
    QuickBooks will immediately highlight rows that have the same information in key columns, i.e., Customer:Job, Date, Number. This is to alert you to transactions that will have multiple line items.
  2. If everything looks right, click Import.
    QuickBooks will show you a message when it's done, listing how many transactions it successfully imported. If QuickBooks was unable to import a row, it will leave it in the table.
  3. In the Toolbar, click Invoices.
  4. Spot check the transactions your just imported.

To clean up missed transactions

  1. In the Import Invoices window, click any row that was not imported.
    You'll see a pop-up window with details about why that transaction wasn't imported.
  2. Fix the problem.
    See the table below for some ideas.
  3. Click Import again.
  4. Repeat this process until QuickBooks is able to import all of your transactions.
Things that could go wrong and how to fix them ...

Error What it means What to do
Object --- specified in the request cannot be found The customer, vendor, item, or class isn't in your Company file yet
  • Choose the correct item from the pop-up menu in the Import Invoices window
  • Quick Add the customer, vendor, etc.
Transaction cannot have duplicate reference number The transaction you're trying to import has the same number as one already in your Company file Change the transaction number