The following are some common issues our users have reported while using our import/export tool and how to fix them!

ERROR:You attempted to import an empty value into required field ______. This column cannot contain any empty values.

This error appears when a field that requires a value (hence required) does not have a value. This will be a column on your .csv or Excel file which has an empty cell.

Since the field is listed as required, you will have to go back to the .csv or Excel and update the appropriate column(s) to ensure each row has a data value. When done, save the file and re-attempt the import process.

ERROR:Value ______, which you tried to insert into column ______ of type ______ could not be interpreted as a ______.

This error appears any time your data doesn't match the field type.

In our example above, the DueDateStart field is expecting a value that is of type DateTime. However, the value "Now" is of type Text.

In the Prepare Data step, make sure the data you want to import can be accommodated by the field type where you choose to import.

For more information on fields and their unique properties and characteristics, please see our articles on Field Attributes and Field Types.

ERROR:You attempted to import values into table ______ without having the required field ______ as one of your columns. Please return to step 'Prepare Data' of the import and make sure that field ______ is one of the columns selected for importing.

Your data is missing a field that is required by the table to which you’re importing.

Some tables in Method:CRM have required fields, which means a field that must be filled out in order for Method:CRM to save the record.

For example, the Customers and Leads table requires the name field to be filled out. If your data does not have a name column when you import it, you will get this error.

ERROR:Value ______, which you tried to insert into column ______ was longer than the maximum allowed length of ______.

Data you imported is longer than the maximum allowed length for the field.

In Method:CRM tables, some fields restrict the number characters.

For example, in the Customer table, the Name field will only allow a maximum of 41 characters in order for the data to successfully sync to QuickBooks. If you try and exceed this length, you will encounter this error and be asked to fix it.

You can fix this by editing the record to be less than the maximum amount.

After importing data, you may encounter this:

ERROR:Save Warning: The ______ could not be sent to QuickBooks. This ______ is already in use. Please edit the ______ so that it is unique and save again.

I successfully imported my data to a table in Method:CRM, but I have encountered an error that looks like this:

Some of the data you have imported is not unique.

In Method:CRM tables, some fields require a unique value to be inputted.

For example, in the Customer table, all names in the Name field must be unique in order for the data to successfully sync to QuickBooks. This means you can’t have two records with the name “Tim Smith”. If you try, you will encounter this error and be asked to fix it by editing the record to make it unique.

This screen, the Fixing Errors screen, allows you to make changes directly. You can fix this error by editing the record to make it unique, but how you do so depends on the data.

Once you do, click Fix Errors to complete your import!

After importing data, you may encounter this:

ERROR: ______ could not be found as a possible value to insert.

You tried to import a value that does not exist in a dropdown field.

A dropdown field in Method:CRM displays information that is being pulled from another table.

For example, the Edit Customer screen allows you to assign a Lead Source to a lead by providing a dropdown list of options to choose from. In our example above, we tried to assign the lead source “Conference” to one of our customer records. Since “Conference” doesn’t exist in the LeadSource table, we couldn’t import the value.

Note: This error can also be caused if you misspelled the value in your data. The error prompts you to check the spelling of the value, and if you have misspelled it, you can fix it from this screen and click Fix Errors to implement the change.

If the error is caused by a value that’s missing from the dropdown, you will need to add the value to the dropdown table.

For example, to add a new lead source, there is a New / Edit Lead Source link which is in the Lead Source dropdown itself when adding a new lead.

Alternatively, you could import the new value into the dropdown table itself.

Once the new lead source has been saved, you will be able to retry your import and it should work perfectly!

ERROR: Currently we support importing of files only in comma delimited format - .csv or tab delimited format - .txt

The data file you’re trying to import is an unsupported file type.

Currently, the import/export tool only supports certain types of data files: specifically the comma delimited format ( or .csv) and tab delimited format (or .txt).

Make sure the file you want to import is saved as one of the two accepted file types.

For example, in Excel, when saving your file: