We often come across the same errors that occur in practice when attempting to import data. Below, we look at the most common scenarios.

💡 Before you move on to the practical examples below, we recommend that you also read the introductory guide on importing from Excel and, if needed, the guide to smart imports, which will help you better understand the program's logic and avoid unnecessary errors.

The web interface tries to read column names on its own, and if it finds a matching column name, it fills it in automatically. However, this system is not completely foolproof, so your own review is always necessary.

👉 The very first thing you should pay attention to is whether you are importing document headers or items:
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When importing with items, some columns may have the same name for both the header and the item. In that case, a mistake can occur: if you do not tick that the column refers to an item, the data will be imported into the header. Fields like this can be, for example, Name or Description:

The checkboxes are mentioned first above because another common problem is a "skipped" checkbox. If you do not tick a column from the Excel file that Flexi has read for the import (see above), that column will not be imported at all.

👉 You should always check that Flexi has offered the columns as you intended.

Flexi reads the column names from Excel, then looks for a match among its own columns, and if it finds one, it automatically selects the target column for the import. However, this is not always the column you actually intended as the target. Make sure to check that the columns designated for import are really selected correctly:

This is not just about choosing between a basic and an extended import. For the web interface, it is important that if you are importing a non-item document, you must also state this in the import; otherwise, the document will be uploaded with a value of "0".

There are two ways to provide this information, but it MUST be provided.

Here it is not strictly necessary to add information about a non-item document, because repeated internal numbers on the rows tell the program that it is an item-based document.

However, if you would like to add this information anyway, fill in the "non-item document" column with a negative value. There are several options: NO, FALSE, N, - etc.

Very often an amount of "0" is imported for the reason described above: the document was not marked as a non-item document. However, there is a wider range of reasons why the amount may not be imported the way you need it.

💡 First, you need to understand how the program works.

When we open a document for editing, the amount is always reflected in the following table, broken down by the relevant VAT rates and further divided into base, VAT, and total amount:

In the table, we can see that the total is greyed out, which alone suggests that we cannot enter anything there manually. The import must be approached in the same way.

Don't be misled, though: it is possible to import a "total", but a specification is required. Select the appropriate VAT rate and Flexi will calculate the base and VAT for you. You will find these columns in the header import as follows (VAT-exempt has its own "exempt" column):
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For importing item prices, on the other hand, you need to select the "VAT rate type" column and fill in the appropriate values. The amount for import can remain either as a "total" or as a "base", but you must specify which VAT rate should be applied:
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To tell the import that a record should be matched to another record / setting, you must use the abbreviations or codes of those records. These are often user-defined "texts," so you also need to pay attention to punctuation and spaces.

An unwanted space can sometimes be a nasty enemy. For example, if you want to import using a particular Document type and enter "FAKTURA " (with a trailing space) in Excel, your import will probably fail, because in the program you only have "FAKTURA".

In practice, however, we have also encountered the opposite: the document type abbreviation in Flexi was entered as "FAKTURA " (with a trailing space) and only "FAKTURA" was entered in the import. In that case, the abbreviations no longer matched and the import failed.

The best-known case is "bank account". You may encounter this field when importing documents or company addresses. The "bank account" field in Flexi mostly refers to your own bank account, which is entered in Bank accounts. This account works via an abbreviation, so you need to enter the abbreviation of this account in Excel (e.g., "FIO CZK") for it to be imported properly, rather than its actual number (often entered as "12345678/2010").

For importing the actual account number (e.g., for company addresses or customers), you will usually find two columns: "bank account number" and "bank code".

You cannot do without correct formatting. The easiest way to find out how to format a cell is via /properties (you can learn how to work with properties here).

First, the application language setting must match the import file. In English-speaking countries, decimal numbers generally use a period (100.25), whereas in the Czech Republic we generally use a comma as the separator (100,25).

1️⃣ String = řetězec (text string) - this is an abbreviation of a record or any text. If you find a number in parentheses after this word, the value is limited to that number of characters:
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2️⃣Date = Datum (date) - the cell in Excel must be formatted as "date"; the "short date" format is generally used:
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3️⃣Numeric = Číslo (number) - the cell must be formatted as a number. In the parentheses after "numeric" you will find whether to use a comma or a period as the decimal separator, according to the current application settings:
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4️⃣Logic = Logická hodnota (logical value) - generally a value in the form of positive and negative. For use, we therefore list YES / NO, TRUE / FALSE, A / N, etc.:
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5️⃣Select = Výběr (selection) - These are primarily values that are predefined by the program, and you must select and enter them correctly.

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A typical example is the VAT rate type on document items. Their formats can be displayed by clicking the drop-down arrow in properties:
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If you export from other software, it may happen that a cell in Excel appears to be formatted as needed, but in reality it is not, and your import attempt ends in an error. We most often encounter this with the date format. The number is entered correctly and you see "short date" in the formatting, but the field does not actually behave that way (most likely an Excel bug).
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You can easily find out whether this is your case: click into a field in Excel to edit it and then move to another field. If the original field changes (usually its alignment shifts from right to left or similar), you will know that the field is not actually formatted the way you needed. A quick solution is to create a new column, format it, and then transfer the dates over as values.

💡Remember that the more you try to import, the more room there is for errors. If your exported file contains more columns than you currently need to import, simply delete them. We also recommend checking the order of the columns (the alphabetical labels) to make sure they are really all in sequence. Quite often a column turns out to be hidden.

If your Excel file has multiple sheets, remember that only the first sheet in the workbook is always imported.

This applies primarily to documents. Document types generally have a lot of information preset that you no longer need in Excel. So if your Excel file contains, for example, the currency, cost center, accounting rule, VAT control statement rows, etc., and you also have this information set on the document type and do not need to import it differently (information in the import always takes precedence over Flexi's preset functions), delete this information from the Excel file and the program will fill it in automatically according to the document type settings.

ABRA Flexi – like most programs – works with so-called identifiers. These are the elements through which the program knows what to link and how. There are two types of identifiers:

Both the optional and the fixed identifier can be used when importing records in order to update information.

If you want to change an optional identifier (e.g., to renumber cash documents – see the guide), you must use the fixed identifier so that the optional identifier is updated without creating new records.