CSV import: Budgets

You can import a large number of budget entries into Sage Intacct by uploading a CSV file, which can save a great deal of time. For example, suppose you have 500 account-department-location combinations and two year's worth of periods that you can budget. You can easily add the data to a budget spreadsheet and import it as a CSV file.

Get the budget template

To obtain a file to use as a starting point, you can export an existing budget from the Budgets list. (Go to General Ledger > All > Reports > Budget.). You can then make changes to this file in Excel and re-upload it, or use it as a sample to create entirely new budgets, provided that the Budget IDs already exist.

Alternatively, you can download a budget template from the Company Setup Checklist.

To download a budget template from the Company Setup Checklist:

1. Go to Company > Setup > Configuration > Import data.

2. Under Set Up General Ledger Transactions, select the Template link.

Use the budget template

When you open the budget template in a spreadsheet application, the header line displays information about each field and the data that can be entered in it.

Each horizontal row in the spreadsheet represents budget detail that combines a GL account, optional dimension-level detail, and the budget amount for each reporting period. You will add a row for every account and dimension combination that will be budgeted. Budget amounts are entered in the Reporting Period columns.

Here are some additional notes about using the template:

• BUDGET_ID must already exist in Intacct. Learn how to create a budget ID.
• ACCT_NO is mandatory and refers to the account being budgeted.
• DEPT_ID and LOCATION_ID are optional and can be empty. But if you do use them, they must conform to valid IDs in Intacct.
• Other dimensions are also optional. However, if a GL account is defined as requiring a dimension then the dimension must be used in the budget.
• You can add any number of period columns for which you want budgets. The periods must already exist in Intacct and be set up to be used for budgeting, and the column headers must contain the names of those periods exactly as they appear in Intacct. In the field definitions that follow, this field is labeled "(BUDGETABLE PERIOD 1...n)". However, in your upload it would be something like "Month ended January 2016". If the period does not exist, the entire file is rejected, and you receive an email with the errors.

				Any number of periods
BUDGET_ID	ACCT_NO	DEPT_ID	LOCATION_ID	PER 1	PER 2	PER 3
Budget 1	1001	HR	CA	100.00	110.00	120.00
	1002	ENG	CA		210.00	220.00
	1003	MFG		300.00	310.00	320.00

The following sample shows budget data for a company that's including dimensions in its budget for fiscal year 2016.

Example budget data for a company that's including dimensions in its budget

BUDGET_ID	ACCT_NO	DEPT_ID	LOCATION_ID	PROJECTID	ITEMID	Month ended Jan 2024	Month ended Feb 2024
Current-Budget	4010	SALES	NYC	PR-100	WEB	11000	15000
Current-Budget	4010	SALES	NYC	PR-101	LICENSE	220000	40000
Current-Budget	4010	SALES	NYC	PR-102	WEB	28000	30000
Current-Budget	6005	ADMIN	NYC			1200	1800
Current-Budget	6005	MKTG	SFR			100	120
Current-Budget	6010	ADMIN	NYC			2500	3200

Best practices

The following best practices will help you prepare your CSV file for upload.

1. From the Import company data list, download a template.
   • Use the latest template, especially following a product release.
   • Use the correct template for the area in which you want to upload information. Different templates organize different types of information. Use a template specifically for the information you need to upload.
2. Use the column descriptions as a guide to entering information.
   • Read the header descriptions in the template.
     The header description is the cell under the header row that explains what type of information is accepted for each column. If you enter information in the wrong format, or with an incorrect accepted value, it will cause an error in your upload.
   • Enter required information.
     Some data is required, while others aren’t. Read the description field to determine which information is required. If you don’t enter required information, your upload will fail.
3. Save the file as a comma-separated value, or CSV, file. If saving from Excel, you could choose the comma-delimited file type.

The file will have the file extension .csv after you save it.
Leave the file open until your import is successful. Excel can sometimes reformat the file if you close it before the import is successful.

Common errors

You can avoid common errors by following the suggestions in this table:

Recommendation	Directions	Notes
Format fields as text.	In Microsoft Excel: Select all cells. Right-click and select Format Cells. On the Number tab, select Text and select OK. Save the file.
Change any date to a short date format.	In Microsoft Excel: Select a column of dates. Right-click and select Format Cells. On the Number tab, select Date and select the short date format. Save the file.	Short date format: 3/15/2009
Remove spaces from your data.	In Microsoft Excel: Select a range of cells. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, select Find & Select and select Replace. In the Find what box, press the space bar once. Leave the Replace with box blank. Select Replace All. A prompt opens telling you how many spaces have been removed. Save the file.	Spaces included in a memo field don’t need to be removed. However, be sure that there are no spaces at the beginning or end of the memo. Trailing spaces can cause an upload to fail.
Remove all commas from the file.		Since the import file is a CSV, a Comma-Separated Values file (sometimes known as a comma-delimited file) any commas in the data automatically shifts information into other fields. This will either cause incorrect information to be imported, or cause the whole import to fail. There are several ways to avoid this issue: Never use commas in numeric amounts. Don’t use commas in any text fields. Put text fields in quotes if you must use commas in text fields.
Make sure that all headers in your file exactly match the headers in the downloaded template.		Don’t change the content of the header. Headers map to fields in Intacct. Changing the headers means that your data won’t up load to the correct locations. You can change the order of the columns in your CSV template. Changing the order of the columns doesn’t affect upload.
ID fields must contain exact references to customers or suppliers.		ID fields are case-sensitive. For example, supplier ID "ven100" and supplier ID "VEN100" aren’t the same. You must enter the ID exactly as it appears in the Intacct system or you run the risk of mismatching transactions to the wrong supplier or customer, or having the upload fail.
When referencing a supplier, customer, term, budget, etc., what you are referencing must already exist in Intacct.		For example, if you’re uploading transactions for a particular supplier, if the supplier doesn't exist as a supplier in Intacct before your upload, your upload will fail. This doesn’t apply when creating new entries for customers or suppliers using the import process.
Number line items sequentially.		For more information about to correctly number line items, see CSV import: Line number examples.

Import a CSV file

Now that you've entered your data and looked through it for any of the common issues imports can have, you’re ready to import your file to Intacct.

To import your CSV file:

1. Go to Company > Setup > Configuration > Import data.

2. Find the information type that you want to import, and select the corresponding Import link.

3. In the Import Company Information dialog, set the following and select Import:

   Import Company Information: options

   Import file option descriptions

   Option	Description
   Browse	Use the Browse button to locate and select the CSV file you want to import.
   Date format	When you select a date format here, Sage Intacct attempts to import your file using the selected date format. If Intacct can’t import your file with the selected date format, it attempts to discover the date format used in your file and import the data using that date format.
   File encoding	Leave this option set to "auto-detect" unless you're unable to import your file. Depending on your operating system, you may need to select a different type of file encoding.
   Process offline	Some imports can take considerable time, depending on their size and how much processing the system must do on the uploaded data. If you're not sure how much time your upload will take, select Process offline. When the system completes the process, it sends an email to the address you provide in the Email results to this address field. The system also sends you any errors that may have occurred in the process. If you prefer to wait until the upload process is complete, don’t select the Process offline checkbox. Transactions and other records that are processed offline show a source of System in the audit trail, instead of CSV import.
   Email results to this address	Email address to which import results and errors should be sent. You can enter multiple email addresses, separated by a semicolon (;) or comma (,). Sage Intacct highly recommends entering an email address.

After an import, Sage Intacct informs you if the import was successful and how many records were imported.

In a completely successful import, the confirmation page lets you verify all the records in your original file were, in fact, successfully imported without having to verify them manually.

Import offline

Some imports can take considerable time, depending on their size and how much processing Intacct must do to the data. When in doubt, select Process offline on the import utility page.

When the offline process is complete, Intacct sends an email to the address you entered in the Import Company Information dialog (where you imported your file).

Handle errors

Troubleshoot budget import errors

There are several reasons why a budget upload might fail. Following are some of the common error messages that you might encounter, with the steps to resolve.

Error	Steps to resolve
GL account not valid	Verify that you have entered the account number correctly and that the account has been created in the General Ledger
Duplicate budget accounts for a period	Verify that only a single amount has been entered by period for each GL account/dimension combination. For example, if budgeting by GL Account only you cannot have 2 rows for account 4010. If budgeting by account and dimension you cannot have amounts in 2 rows for the same account/dimension combination.
Incorrect, not “budgetable” or missing reporting periods	Verify that your reporting periods are correct and have been created in the period, and that the reporting periods are set up to be used for budgeting. The reporting periods must exactly match the reporting periods in Intacct.
Invalid Budget ID	Verify that the Budget ID has been created in Intacct, and that the value entered in the Budget_ID column exactly matches the Budget ID in Intacct.
GL account not valid	Verify that you have entered the account number correctly and that the account has been created in the General Ledger
Duplicate budget accounts for a period	Verify that only a single amount has been entered by period for each GL account/dimension combination. For example, if budgeting by GL Account only you cannot have 2 rows for account 4010. If budgeting by account and dimension you cannot have amounts in 2 rows for the same account/dimension combination.
Incorrect, not “budgetable” or missing reporting periods	Verify that your reporting periods are correct and have been created in the period, and that the reporting periods are set up to be used for budgeting. The reporting periods must exactly match the reporting periods in Intacct.
Invalid Budget ID	Verify that the Budget ID has been created in Intacct, and that the value entered in the Budget_ID column exactly matches the Budget ID in Intacct.