Import supplier records

We recommend that importing supplier records from another database is done as a three-stage process:

1. export the records from the donor database into a .csv (comma separated variable) or other file format which can be opened and edited in a spreadsheet application – this can often be done by running a report and saving it as a .csv file;

2. edit to eliminate errors and redundant records, and ensure completeness and correctness for your new system, and save as a .csv file;

3. import to Central Accounting from the edited .csv file.

The edited .csv file columns should contain the following data:

  • Column A = supplier account code (minimum 3, maximum 9 characters)
  • Column B = supplier full name
  • Column C = supplier main contact name
  • Column D = supplier main telephone number
  • Column E = supplier main fax number
  • Column F = supplier address line 1
  • Column G = supplier address line 2
  • Column H = supplier address line 3
  • Column I = supplier address line 4
  • Column J = supplier post code
  • Column K = supplier preferred contact type (enter “Hardcopy” or “E-Mail”)
  • Column L = supplier main e-mail address
  • Column M = account status (enter “Credit Account”, “Payment with Order”, “Payment before Dispatch”, “In Dispute”, or “Closed Account”)
  • Column N = supplier VAT Number
  • Column O = supplier VAT type (enter “UK Standard”, “UK Zero Rate”, “UK Exempt”, “EU Import”, or “Non EU Import” – most UK suppliers will be “UK Standard”)
  • Column P = expense account (see Initial Expense Types)
  • Column Q = enter number of days credit usually allowed (number only)
  • Column R = enter credit limit allowed (£.p)
  • Column S = enter discount normally allowed from list price (e.g. enter 10% as ‘10’)
  • Column T = department (leave blank unless you have already set up departments in Central Accounting)
  • Column U = project (leave blank unless you have already set up projects in Central Accounting)
  • Column V = default currency code for the supplier account.

 

Take care to avoid commas in the record data, e.g. between a street number and name, as this will be taken as two separate pieces of data by the import programme, and will likely cause the import to fail (you may want to export from Central Accounting first and use that as a template, but delete any data before re-importing).

The import process will add records to the existing system records, so take care to only perform this procedure once in order to avoid duplications!