Import CSV file transactions to Business Central

With a new CSV port configured, it's time to import the transactions from the CSV file.

There are two ways of importing a statment CSV file to Business Central:

• From the CSV Port page The first time you import a CSV file using a new CSV port, it's recommended you first import to the CSV Header page. When you do, you essentially import the transaction file into a list from where you can verify if the imported data is correct before you import the data into a specific company’s payment reconciliation journal.

• From the Payment Journal Reconciliation page When you are confident that your CSV Port configuration works as intended you can import future transaction files directly into a payment reconciliation journal. This way, you skip the step of importing the statement file into the CSV Header list first - this happens automatically behind the scenes.

Import transactions from a CSV Port

To import the statement file, search for and open CSV Ports. Select the CSV Port you want to use for you import, for example, PayPal, and then select Actions > Import.

This lets you drag and drop the file directly into Business Central, and the file imports into the CSV Header list according to your configuration.

The CSV Header page provides an overview of all the files that have been imported into Business Central, how many lines they include and whether they have already been imported to a specific company’s payment reconciliation journal.

Verify the CSV port configuration

Now, you verify that your configuration has imported the file successfully and with all the appropriate data.

In the CSV Header page, select the header to open the Header Card page. From there you can check the line details such as invoice numbers, posting dates, and other key settings to ensure that your separators and alternatives have been correctly applied and all data has been accurately converted.

If, for example, a line was imported that you don't want to include in the payment reconciliation journal just yet, you can manually mark a specific line as already imported to a company. In this way, it’ll not be included when you import the header and lines to a payment reconciliation journal.

• To do this, select the line, in the Details FactBox, select the Details drop-down menu and select Set as Imported.

If the import did not go as expected, you can refine the configuration of the CSV port and import the file into Business Central again. However, before you do, you must first delete the CSV header from the list.

When the imported lines look good, you can go ahead and import the transactions to a payment reconciliation journal.

Import transactions from a payment reconciliation journal

To import CSV file transactions into the payment reconciliation journal, you search for and open Payment Reconciliation Journals. You can either select an existing journal or select New Journal in which case you need to specify which bank account you want to use for the reconciliation.

From the payment reconciliation journal, you can import the file by choosing one of the following two options:

• Import Transactions from CSV: Allows you to import transactions directly from a new file using a configured CSV Port. This is only recommended when you're confident that your CSV ports configuration for the particular third-party provider accurately imports all relevant data.

• Import Existing Transactions from CSV: Allows you to import the transactions already imported to the CSV Header page.

You’ll see that the transactions are successfully imported into the payment reconciliation journal and you're ready to reconcile the imported CSV transaction lines.

Scenario

Now follow Lina as she configures a CSV port to import statement files from the third-party payment provider, PayPal. She analyzes the file, creates the CSV Port and imports the PayPal statement file to check if everything is imported correctly.