Previewing and Validating Your Import Data

What Happens During Validation

After you map your columns in Step 2, AccuArk validates every row of your CSV file before importing anything. This validation step protects your data by catching errors before they reach the database.

Validation checks include:

• Required fields — Are all required fields present and non-empty?
• Data types — Are numeric fields actually numbers? Are dates valid?
• Lookup values — Do category names, vendor names, and other lookup values match existing records?
• Business rules — Are amounts positive? Are quantities valid? Do debits equal credits (for accounting imports)?
• Duplicate detection — Does this row match an existing record? (If so, it is marked as an "Update" rather than "New")

The Validation Preview Grid

Step 3 displays a grid showing every row from your file with its validation result. The grid includes:

Row Number

The row number from your CSV file. This helps you locate and fix errors in your spreadsheet.

Status Column

Each row shows one of three statuses:

• New — This row does not match any existing record and will be inserted as a new entry
• Update — This row matches an existing record and will update it with the new values
• Error — This row has one or more validation problems and will be skipped during import

Data Preview Columns

The grid shows the key fields for the data type (e.g., Item Name, SKU, Price for inventory items) so you can review the actual values that will be imported.

Error Column

For rows with errors, the Error column shows a description of the problem. Examples:

• "Category 'Electronics' not found" — The category name does not match any existing category
• "Amount must be greater than zero" — A required amount field is zero or negative
• "Customer 'John Smith' not found" — The customer name does not exist in AccuArk

The Validation Summary

Below the grid, a summary line shows the total counts:

• Valid rows — Total rows that passed validation
• New — Number of rows that will create new records
• Updates — Number of rows that will update existing records
• Errors — Number of rows that failed validation

Handling Errors Before Import

You have several options when errors are present:

1. Proceed with valid rows only — Click Import to import only the rows that passed validation. Error rows are skipped.
2. Fix and re-import — Click Cancel, fix the errors in your CSV file, and start the import again.
3. Fix the underlying data — If errors are caused by missing lookup values (e.g., a category that does not exist), add the missing data in AccuArk first, then re-import.

Common Validation Scenarios

Missing Categories

If your inventory file references categories that do not exist in AccuArk, import the categories first, then re-import the inventory items.

Unrecognized Vendors or Customers

If your invoice or bill file references vendors or customers that are not yet in AccuArk, import the vendors and customers first.

Duplicate Handling

For data types that support upsert, duplicates are not errors — they are marked as "Update". The import updates the existing record with the new values from your file.

Mixed New and Update Rows

It is perfectly normal to have a mix of New and Update rows in a single import. For example, you might export your inventory, add 50 new items and change prices on 20 existing items, then re-import the file. AccuArk processes the 50 inserts and 20 updates in a single operation.