data migration
Import Data from Spreadsheets
Import customers, suppliers, products, opening balances and open invoices into IntBooks from CSV or Excel, with column mapping, preview and undo.
By IntBooks Editorial Team · Last updated:
IntBooks’s Data Migration tool brings your existing records in from CSV or Excel files. This article covers what you can import, how column mapping works, and how to check and undo an import.
What you can import
| Data type | Notes |
|---|---|
| Chart of accounts | Only if you’re not keeping the default Malaysian chart |
| Opening balances | Debits must equal credits |
| Customers | Name, TIN, registration number, contact details |
| Suppliers | Name, TIN, registration number, contact details |
| Contacts | People linked to your customers and suppliers |
| Products | Items and services |
| Inventory balances | Opening stock quantities |
| Tax codes | |
| Open invoices | Unpaid customer invoices at your cut-over date |
| Open bills | Unpaid supplier bills at your cut-over date |
| Leads | For the CRM |
Files can be CSV or Excel (.xlsx or .xls), up to 10,000 rows and 10 MB per file.
Historical journal entries aren’t imported. Bank transactions come in separately, through Import Bank Statement in Bank Recon.
Step 1: Export from your existing system
Export each list from your old system as CSV or Excel.
- QuickBooks Online, Xero, Bukku and QNE: IntBooks has ready-made column mappings for their exports. For QuickBooks Online, Xero and Bukku, you can also connect your account and fetch the data directly.
- Other software (e.g. SQL Account, AutoCount, MYOB) and spreadsheets: export or save a CSV or Excel file with a header row naming each column. IntBooks maps the columns for you, and you check the result.
Step 2: Start a migration
Go to Data Migration and start a new migration. Import in this order, so each step can reference the records from the one before:
- Chart of accounts, if you’re replacing the default
- Customers and suppliers, which every transaction refers to
- Products
- Opening balances
- Open invoices and bills
Step 3: Upload and map your columns
Upload your file. IntBooks matches your columns to its fields, using a preset if your file came from a supported system. Review each mapping and correct any it got wrong. You can save a mapping to reuse next time.
Columns you don’t map are ignored, so extra columns don’t cause errors.
Step 4: Review the preview
Before anything is saved, IntBooks shows a preview of what will be created or updated, with any validation problems. For each problem you can:
- Fix the record in the preview
- Choose what happens to conflicts: skip, update the existing record, or stop
- Download the errors as a CSV, fix your source file, and upload it again
Step 5: Run the import
Approve the preview to import. The import allows partial success: valid rows are imported, and rows that fail are listed with their errors so you can fix them and import them again.
Step 6: Check the result
After the import, compare IntBooks against your old system:
- Record counts: customers, suppliers and products
- Receivables and payables: outstanding totals should match your old system at the cut-over date
- Trial balance: opening balances should balance
IntBooks also shows a readiness report that counts missing fields, such as customers without a TIN, which you’ll need before you issue e-invoices.
Undoing an import
You can undo a migration within 24 hours. Undoing removes the records that migration created. After 24 hours the option expires, because other transactions may have started to depend on those records.
Run in parallel for a month
We recommend running your old system and IntBooks side by side for one full month. At month-end, produce the Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet and Trial Balance from both, and compare them line by line. Differences are much easier to fix before you archive the old system.
Common issues
My customers’ TINs look wrong
LHDN TINs are a prefix plus digits: C for companies, D for partnerships, PT for LLPs, IG for individuals, and so on. Non-individual TINs end in 0 (LHDN TIN guide). Older records may carry the retired SG or OG prefixes, or TINs without the trailing 0. Tidy these up before you import. IntBooks doesn’t check TIN format during import, and MyInvois rejects invalid TINs when you submit.
Opening balances don’t balance
Your source data has a difference between total debits and total credits. Sum both columns in Excel, find the difference, and post it to a suspense account before re-importing. Then investigate what it is.
What’s next?
- Reconcile bank statements: match imported transactions to statement lines
- Connect your bank account: import statements going forward
- Importing data documentation: reference for advanced cases