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You may have lists of contacts or lists of items in a spreadsheet or other file. You may also have this data in other software. To import it into MYOB Essentials, you must ensure that it is in the right format.
- Organisation of data—The file should have data organised in the right fields, and the right order. See the sections below for these details of these fields. All mandatory fields must have data.
- Header row—The file should also have a header row. This is a row that contains the field titles (similar to column headings in a spreadsheet). See the sections below for details of the field titles to use. You must use the same titles, including any asterisks, spaces and hyphens.
All mandatory field titles must be in the header row. - Type of file—The data must be saved in a text file that has data separated by tabs (commonly called a tab-separated or tab-delimited file). Most software (including spreadsheet software) will allow you to export to such a file.
Fields required for Items
All mandatory field titles must be in the header row, and spelt as specified below. All mandatory fields must have valid data.
| Field titles (header row) | Mandatory or optional title | Description of data in this field | Rules for the data | Mandatory or optional field |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item Number | Mandatory | The unique ID for the item. | Up to 30 characters in length. | Mandatory |
| Item Name | Mandatory | The name of the item. | Up to 30 characters in length. | Mandatory |
| Income Acct | Mandatory | The account to which you want sales of this item allocated. In MYOB Essentials, this will go into the Allocate to field under Selling Details. | Up to 5 numbers in length. This must match an account number that’s already in MYOB Essentials. | Optional |
| Expense/COS Acct | Optional | The account to which you want purchases of this item allocated. In MYOB Essentials, this will go into the Allocate to field under Buying Details. | Up to 5 numbers in length. This must match an account number that’s already in MYOB Essentials. | Optional |
| Description | Mandatory | A description of the item. | Up to 255 characters in length. | Optional |
Tax Code When Bought (Australia) | Optional | The tax rate to be applied when purchasing this item. | This must use one of the following codes:
| Optional |
| GST Code When Bought (New Zealand) | Optional | The GST type to be applied when purchasing this item. | This must use one of the following codes:
| Optional |
Selling Price | Mandatory | The selling price of the item. | Up to 11 numbers in length. This field should include a dollar sign, and be of the format $xx.xx. (For example, in Microsoft Excel, the field should be formatted as a Currency field.) | Optional |
| Sell Unit Measure | Mandatory | The unit of measure for the item. | Up to 5 characters in length. | Optional |
| Tax Code When Sold (Australia) | Mandatory | The tax rate to be applied when selling this item. | This must use one of the following codes:
| Optional |
| GST Code When Sold (New Zealand) | Mandatory | The GST type to be applied when selling this item. | This must use one of the following codes:
| Optional |
| Inactive Item | Mandatory | This field determines whether the item is inactive. | This field should have a value of: N | Mandatory |
Once you’ve prepared your data, you can import it into MYOB Essentials. See Importing items into MYOB Essentials.
Fields required for Contacts
Field titles (header row) |
Mandatory or optional title |
Description of data in this field |
Rules for the data |
Mandatory or optional field |
Co./Last Name |
Mandatory |
Last name or company name. Note: This will be imported into the last name and company name fields in MYOB Essentials. |
Up to 50 characters in length. |
Mandatory |
First Name |
Mandatory |
First name of the contact. |
Up to 20 characters in length. |
Optional |
Card Status |
Mandatory |
The status determines whether the contact is active. |
This field should have a value of: N |
Mandatory |
Addr 1 - Line 1 |
Mandatory |
Line 1 of the street address. |
Up to 255 characters in length. |
Optional |
- Line 2 |
Mandatory |
Line 2 of the street address. |
Up to 253 characters in length. |
Optional |
- City |
Mandatory |
City for the street address. |
Up to 255 characters in length. |
Optional |
- State |
Mandatory |
State for the street address. |
Up to 255 characters in length. |
Optional |
- Postcode |
Mandatory |
Postcode for the street address. |
Up to 10 characters in length. |
Optional |
- Country |
Mandatory |
Country for the street address. |
Up to 255 characters in length. |
Optional |
- Phone # 1 |
Mandatory |
Phone number for the street address. |
Up to 21 characters in length. |
Optional |
- Phone # 2 |
Mandatory |
Mobile number. |
Up to 21 characters in length. |
Optional |
- Fax # |
Mandatory |
Fax number. |
Up to 21 characters in length. |
Optional |
Mandatory |
Email address. |
Up to 255 characters in length. |
Optional |
|
- WWW |
Mandatory |
Website. |
Up to 255 characters in length. |
Optional |
Addr 2 - Line 1 |
Mandatory |
Line 1 of the billing address. |
Up to 255 characters in length. |
Optional |
- Line 2 |
Mandatory |
Line 2 of the billing address |
Up to 253 characters in length |
Optional |
- City |
Mandatory |
City for the billing address |
Up to 255 characters in length |
Optional |
- State |
Mandatory |
State for the billing address |
Up to 255 characters in length |
Optional |
- Postcode |
Mandatory |
Postcode for the billing address |
Up to 10 characters in length |
Optional |
- Country |
Mandatory |
Country for the billing address |
Up to 255 characters in length |
Optional |
- Phone # 1 |
Mandatory |
Phone number for the billing address |
Up to 21 characters in length |
Optional |
- Phone # 2 |
Mandatory |
Mobile number |
Up to 21 characters in length |
Optional |
- Fax # |
Mandatory |
Fax number |
Up to 21 characters in length |
Optional |
Mandatory |
Email address |
Up to 255 characters in length |
Optional |
|
- WWW |
Mandatory |
Website |
Up to 255 characters in length |
Optional |
Notes |
Mandatory |
Any notes about the contact |
Up to 255 characters in length |
Optional |
*Tax ID Number (Australia) |
Mandatory |
The contact’s ABN number |
A valid ABN number |
Mandatory. If you do not have this information for the contact, you must at least enter a space. |
*GST ID Number (New Zealand) |
Mandatory |
The contact’s GST number |
A valid GST number |
Mandatory. If you do not have this information for the contact, you must at least enter a space. |
Once you’ve prepared your data, you can import it into MYOB Essentials. See Importing contacts into MYOB Essentials.
Sample files
Take a look at our sample files to understand how your data should be organised. Right-click on the links below and choose Save Link As or Save Target As.
n Download a sample Contacts file (Australia)
n Download a sample Items file (Australia)
n Download a sample Contacts file (New Zealand)
n Download a sample Items file (New Zealand)
You can open the downloaded file in any text editor. You can also open it in any spreadsheet software, but be careful not to overwrite the file.
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