To import accounts

Accounts Easy Setup Assistant - Make Changes to Your Chart of Accounts

If you've been using a spreadsheet program or another accounting program to keep track of your accounts, you may want to use the same account numbers, names and so on in MYOB AccountEdge. You can use the instructions below to import your existing accounts into your AccountEdge data file.

If you want some help with the importing process

Importing data is a somewhat advanced activity in MYOB AccountEdge. If you don't feel comfortable completing the following procedure, you can contact an MYOB Certified Consultant for assistance. (See the list of Certified Consultants that you received with your MYOB AccountEdge package to find one in your area. You can also refer to the MYOB US website ( http://www.myob.com/us/ ) for a regularly updated version of that list.)

  1. Export the data you want, using the program where the information currently is located. Consult the manuals or online help for that program if you're unsure about how to export the data. For example, if you've used a spreadsheet program to track your data in the past, you should use that spreadsheet program to export the information you want to use in AccountEdge.

The data you export must be stored in a file, known as an import file, that uses either the Tab-delimited File Format or Comma-separated File Format.

  1. Make a backup of your MYOB AccountEdge data file.

Although problems don't often occur when you import data, you'll be making changes to your data file that will be difficult to undo. As a precaution, we strongly recommend that you make a backup of your data file before you begin importing information into it. See Backing up and restoring data files for more information about making backups.

  1. Return to the Easy Setup Assistant and click Import to begin importing the data.

In the Accounts portion of the Easy Setup Assistant, display the Make Changes To Your Chart Of Accounts window, then click the Import button.

  1. In the Import File Format field, select the file format of the import file you created in step 1.
  2. In the First Record Is field, select whether the first record in the import file is a Header Record or a Data Record.
  3. In the Duplicate Records field, select whether to reject duplicate records or update existing records.

In AccountEdge, you can't have accounts with identical numbers. If you attempt to import an account with a duplicate number, AccountEdge will either reject the number or add the record's unique information to your data file, depending upon your selection here. You may recall that you selected a starter chart of accounts when you created your data file; we suggest that you select Update Existing Record, since you'll want the information from your previous account to appear in AccountEdge. If you choose the Reject Them selection and you have accounts with the same account numbers, the information about your previous accounts won't be brought into AccountEdge.

For example, say account 1-1000 already exists in your data file and you select Update Existing Record here. When you import information about your previous account 1-1000, the information about the starter account 1-1000 in your data file will be changed to reflect the information that's in the import file.

If you choose to reject duplicate records, the information that's rejected will be placed in the Import Log report, which is created at the time you import.

  1. After you've made your selections in the Import File window, click Continue. A dialog box appears, allowing you to locate your import file. Locate the file and click Open.
  2. The Import Data window appears. In this window, you'll match the information in the import file with its corresponding fields in AccountEdge. To do this, highlight the name of a field in your import file from the Import Fields column.

Then click the AccountEdge field in the AccountEdge Fields column that you want to match the import field with. When you click the AccountEdge Fields column, the import field you selected will appear in the Matching Import Field column.

If you want to remove an import field's name from the Matching Import Field column, simply click the import field's name.

Note: The Account Number field must be imported. AccountEdge fields whose names have asterisks (*) next to them must have matching import file fields assigned to them. When you import accounts, the account number is the only field that must be imported.

If all the fields in the import file match the fields in the AccountEdge Fields column, you can match all the fields at one time by clicking the Match All button at the bottom of the window.

  1. When you're done matching fields, click the Import button to begin the importing process.

During the importing process, the Import Log report is created. This report, titled AccountEdge Import Log, lists information about any problems that occurred during the importing process, as well as information about rejected duplicate records. This report is created as a file, and is located in the same place on your computer as your data file.

Each time you import, the Import Log report is created, using the same name. If an Import Log report already exists when you create another one, the existing report will be removed.

Accounts Easy Setup Assistant - Make Changes to Your Chart of Accounts - To import accounts