Importing an inventory file into Autotask

SECURITY  Admin access to the QuickBooks data file and security level with permission to configure the QuickBooks Extension. Refer to Admin security settings.

NOTE  This step applies if you are transferring purchase orders to QuickBooks.

If you decide to track your inventory in Autotask and make Autotask the system of record, you will want to transfer your list of inventory products and the On Hand counts to Autotask on the cut-over date. This is a one-time import that is initiated from the Inventory Item Import page.

The page displays a history of imports from the last 60 days. You can also view any exceptions (records that were not imported) from a prior import by clicking on the "View exceptions" link in the Exceptions column. You can also initiate a new import by clicking on the Import button.

Once the inventory has been transferred to Autotask, the QuickBooks inventory is kept in sync through purchase order transfers and by synchronizing the inventory. Refer to Synchronizing inventory.

NOTE  Before you import your inventory counts into Autotask, it would be a good idea to do a physical inventory to make sure the numbers in QuickBooks are correct, and unused Inventory Parts are inactivated or deleted.

To export your QuickBooks Inventory file:

  1. In QuickBooks, run the Reports > Inventory > Inventory Stock Status by Item report.
  2. Export the file to .csv and save it.
  1. In Autotask, go to Inventory > Inventory Items > Inventory Products tab and click Import. The Inventory Import History page opens.
  2. Click Import.
  3. Download the recommended template and copy the columns you exported from QuickBooks (or another application) into the template. Administrators can also download the template from > Admin > Features & Settings > Application-wide (Shared) Features > Downloads.
  4. Refer to Inventory part fields for details on mapping the fields.
  5. Populate required Autotask columns that have no equivalent in QuickBooks or another application, such as Inventory Location, Material Code, and required user-defined fields. Also populate the Minimum and Maximum columns, if you are going to use this feature, and save the file.
  6. Browse to the file location of the CSV file.
  7. Select a duplicate handling option:
    1. Do not update or import existing inventory item: when this option is selected, the duplicate record will be returned in the Exceptions report.
    2. Update existing inventory item: The information in the import file will overwrite information for the existing inventory item. However, if a field is blank in the import file but it has a value in the existing inventory item, we will not overwrite the value with a blank.
    3. If there are multiple matches based on Product + Location, Autotask will not perform the update.
  8. Click Import. We will validate that the file is a CSV file smaller than 5 MB, that all required columns are populated, and that no extra or duplicate columns are in the file.
  9. A dialog box will inform you that the import is processing, and that you will be informed via email when it is complete.

If anyone in your local organization performed an import that contained records that did not successfully import, you will see a View Exceptions link in the Exceptions column. The file layout is the same as that of the recommended import template, with one additional column: Reason for Failure. You can then correct the data in this file and then re-import it.

You may see one or more of the following Reasons for Failure:

  • Product is required
  • Product does not exist or is inactive
  • Product matches multiple products
  • Inventory Location is required
  • Inventory Location does not exist or is inactive
  • Minimum must be an integer greater than or equal to 0
  • Minimum must be an integer less than or equal to Maximum
  • Maximum must be an integer greater than or equal to 0
  • Maximum must be an integer greater than or equal to Minimum
  • On Hand must be an integer greater than or equal to 0
  • Material Code (required if creating product) does not exist or is inactive