Import customers, invoices, and data into Aczen Bilz

Bring your customers, vendors, opening balances, historical invoices, and expense records into Aczen Bilz using CSV or Excel templates in a few steps.

If you are migrating to Aczen Bilz from another accounting tool — or if you have years of data in spreadsheets — you can bulk-import your existing records rather than entering them one by one. Aczen Bilz validates your data before importing, shows you a preview of what will be created, and flags any rows that need to be corrected.

Always start by downloading the official template for the data type you want to import. The template has the exact column names and order that Aczen Bilz expects. Using your own spreadsheet layout will result in validation errors.

What you can import

Clients

Customer names, contact details, GSTIN, billing and shipping addresses.

Vendors

Supplier details, contact information, GSTIN, and billing addresses.

Ledgers

Your chart of accounts and opening balances for accurate financial reporting from day one.

Invoices

Historical sales invoices with line items, GST rates, and HSN/SAC codes.

Quotations

Past quotations and offers sent to clients.

Supported file formats: CSV (.csv) and Excel (.xlsx). Files up to 10 MB and up to 1,000 rows per import are supported.

Bank statement imports are handled separately through the Bank Reconciliation feature. See the bank reconciliation guide for details.

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Import clients

1. Download the client template

   Go to Import & Template Download in the left sidebar. Under Step 1: Download Template, click Clients. A CSV file downloads with these columns:

   client_name, email, phone, gst_number, billing_address, shipping_address, contact_person
   
2. Fill in your data

   Open the template in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet application. Add one client per row.

   Required fields: client_name, email

   Format guidelines:

   • Email: valid address, e.g. [e-mail]
   • Phone: 10 digits or +91-XXXXX-XXXXX
   • GST number: 15-character GSTIN, e.g. 27AABCT1234A1Z0
3. Upload your file

   Back on the Import page, select Clients under Step 2: Select Module, then upload your filled file. Aczen Bilz parses the file and validates every row.

4. Review the preview

   The system shows you how many rows passed validation and how many have errors. Review the list of valid rows to confirm they look correct.

5. Confirm the import

   Click Import N Valid Rows. A success message confirms how many clients were added. You can view them immediately in the Clients page.

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Import vendors

1. Download the vendor template

   Click Vendors in the Download Template section. The template includes:

   vendor_name, email, phone, gst_number, billing_address, contact_person
   
2. Fill in your data

   Add one vendor per row. Required fields: vendor_name, email.

   Use the same format guidelines as for clients (valid email, 10-digit phone, 15-character GSTIN).

3. Upload, review, and confirm

   Select Vendors as the module, upload your file, review the preview, and click Import to add the records.

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Import historical invoices

1. Download the invoice template

   Click Invoices in the Download Template section. The template includes:

   invoice_number, invoice_date, due_date, client_name, item_description,
   quantity, rate, gst_rate, hsn_sac, notes
   
2. Fill in your data

   Add one line item per row. Required fields: invoice_number, invoice_date, client_name, item_description, quantity, rate.

   Format guidelines:

   • Dates: YYYY-MM-DD, e.g. 2024-03-31
   • Quantity and rate: positive numbers, e.g. 10 or 99.99
   • GST rate: number between 0 and 100, e.g. 18. Defaults to 18 if left blank.
   • client_name must exactly match a client already in your Aczen Bilz account (or be included in a clients import you run first)
3. Upload, review, and confirm

   Select Invoices as the module, upload your file, review the preview, and click Import.

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Import ledgers and opening balances

1. Download the ledger template

   Click Ledgers in the Download Template section. The template covers your chart of accounts and opening balance amounts.

2. Fill in your data

   Enter each account on a separate row. Use your previous accounting software’s trial balance or chart of accounts export as a reference.

3. Upload, review, and confirm

   Select Ledgers as the module, upload your file, review the preview, and confirm the import.

Import ledgers before importing invoices and expenses. Having your chart of accounts set up first ensures that imported transactions are correctly categorised.

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Handling import errors

If any rows fail validation, Aczen Bilz shows you the error count alongside the valid row count in the preview step.

1. Download the error report

   Click Download Error CSV. The file contains the original row data plus an errors column that explains exactly what is wrong with each row.

2. Fix the errors

   Open the error CSV, correct the issues in the errors column, and remove the errors column itself before re-uploading.

   Common errors and their fixes:

   Error message	Cause	Fix
   Email must be a valid email address	Invalid email format	Use [e-mail] format
   GST must be 15 alphanumeric characters	Wrong GSTIN length or format	Verify against GST portal
   Phone must be 10 digits	Non-standard phone format	Use 10-digit number or +91-XXXXX-XXXXX
   Field is required	A mandatory field is empty	Fill in all required columns
   Must be a number ≥ 0	Non-numeric or negative value	Use positive numbers only
   Date must be in YYYY-MM-DD format	Wrong date format	Change to YYYY-MM-DD, e.g. 2024-01-15
   Record already exists	Duplicate detected	Remove the row if the record is already in Aczen Bilz

3. Re-upload the corrected file

   Upload the corrected file, review the new preview, and confirm the import. Repeat until all rows are valid.

Valid rows are imported even when some rows have errors. You do not need to fix all errors before importing — you can import the valid rows now and re-upload a corrected file later to add the remaining records.