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Import data from Vyapar, myBillBook or Excel
Bring customers, suppliers, items with opening stock, ledgers, invoices, expenses and bank entries into Arthlekha from an Excel or CSV file.
Use this screen to move your data from another billing app (Vyapar, myBillBook or any app that exports Excel/CSV) into Arthlekha. The import works in four steps: Select Type, Upload File, Map Columns, Import.
Before you start
- Export your data from the old app as Excel (.xlsx or .xls) or CSV. One file per type of data. The file can be up to 10 MB.
- Import masters first, then transactions: customers, suppliers, products and ledgers before sales, purchases and expenses.
- Create your financial years first. Products need a year to date their opening stock. See Financial years.
- Reading a PDF or photo of a stock list uses AI scanning. It works only when scanning is included in your plan. Excel and CSV always work.
Steps
- Open Import & Export > Data Import.
- Click the type of data you want to bring in: Customers, Suppliers, Products / Stock List, Ledger Accounts, Sales Invoices, Purchase Invoices, Expenses or Bank Statement.
- If a list of formats appears under Pick a template (optional), click the one that matches your file. The columns will then be matched for you. If none matches, skip this.
- Click Choose File and pick your file. Arthlekha reads it and matches columns by their headings.
- In Column Mapping, check each field. Next to each field, pick the column from your file that holds that information. Choose -- Not mapped -- to leave a field out.
- Look at the Preview table. The chip on each column heading shows which field it will fill.
- Click the Import button at the bottom right (it shows the row count, for example "Import 120 Customers").
- Read the Import Complete screen. It shows how many rows were Imported and how many were Skipped (duplicates), and lists any errors by row number.
- Click Import More Data to import the next file.
Import items with opening stock
- Choose Products / Stock List.
- If you have no file, click Download template. Fill in the Excel sheet. Columns marked * are required. The "How to fill this" sheet explains every column. Delete the example rows or leave them; they are ignored.
- Upload the filled file (or a PDF / photo of a stock list, if your plan allows it).
- Under Financial year for opening stock, pick the year. Opening stock is posted at the start of that year, not today. Closed years are not listed.
- Under Default unit, pick the unit for items that have no unit in the file. Items with a unit keep their own.
- Read the green or orange box above the mapping. It tells you how many new items will be created and which rows will be skipped.
- Click the Import button. The result screen shows the date the opening stock was posted on.
This import only creates new items. If an item with the same name already exists, the row is skipped and its stock is not changed. To change an existing item's opening stock, edit the item. See Products.
What each type does
| Type | What happens |
|---|---|
| Customers | Creates each customer and its ledger. A name that already exists is skipped. |
| Suppliers | Creates each supplier. A name that already exists is skipped. |
| Products / Stock List | Creates items and posts their opening stock to stock. Service items get no stock entry. |
| Ledger Accounts | Creates ledgers in your chart of accounts, with an opening balance if the file has one. A ledger whose name already exists is skipped. |
| Sales Invoices | Rows with the same invoice number become one invoice. Missing customers are created. Stock and accounts are updated. An invoice number that already exists is skipped. |
| Purchase Invoices | Same as sales. A bill is skipped if the same supplier already has that bill number. |
| Expenses | Each row becomes a payment voucher. The expense ledger is found by name, or created under Indirect Expenses. A Payment Mode of bank, NEFT, RTGS, UPI, cheque or online pays from your bank ledger; anything else pays from Cash. |
| Bank Statement | Each row becomes a receipt or payment in a bank ledger, with the other side in a Suspense Account. If you have more than one bank ledger, only one is used, so check which one received the entries. |
Fields
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Name / Invoice No / Amount / Debit / Withdrawal | The one field that must be mapped for the type. The Import button stays grey until it is. |
| Opening Stock, Opening Rate, Opening Value | Map any two. Arthlekha works out the third. |
| Date | Dates such as 31-03-2025, 31/03/2025 or 2025-03-31 are read. A blank date is taken as today. |
| Place of Supply | The state name. Map it for sales so GST is worked out correctly. |
| Expense Head / Account | The ledger name, written exactly as in your chart of accounts. |
Common problems
- "Name" column must be mapped to proceed — the required field has no column. Pick one in Column Mapping.
- File too large (max 10MB) — split the file into smaller files and import each one.
- Empty file — the file has no rows. Check you exported the right sheet.
- Reading a PDF uses AI scanning, which isn't enabled on your plan. — upload the stock list as Excel or CSV.
- No product rows could be read from this file. — the PDF is not a clear item list. Use Excel or CSV.
- CASH account not found. Set up Chart of Accounts first. — the Cash ledger is missing. See Chart of accounts.
- Many rows skipped — those names or invoice numbers already exist. Nothing is overwritten.
- Customer or supplier opening balances missing — this import does not post party opening balances to the ledgers. Enter them on Opening balances.
- Imported ledger opening balance on the wrong date — check each imported ledger's balance on Opening balances and correct it there.
- Barcode collisions — a barcode in your file is already used by another item. The existing item keeps it. Edit the new item's barcode if needed.
- Bank entries all in Suspense Account — move them to the right ledgers, or use Bank statement import, which lets you choose a ledger for each line.
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