Customers, Vendors and Items
If you regularly need to update/create master data like Customers, Vendors, Items and Catalogue Items, you need a fast and reliable way that is accessible to your users. Excel Importer provides the flexibility to use the source Excel file without you needing to reformat it into a specific column layout.
While it is possible to achieve the same outcome using a configuration package, it is not as flexible as Excel Importer. It is also not available in the lists where the users work with the data.
It would be best if you still used Configuration Packages to do the initial data migration when you set up a new company in Business Central because this is where you migrate all your other master data. The Excel Importer Item Import is intended to be used once the company is live.
Customers
You can import customers from the Customer List.
Vendors
You can import vendors from the Vendor List.
Items
If you regularly need to update/create many items/catalogue items, you need a fast and reliable way. Excel Importer provides the flexibility to use the source Excel file without you needing to reformat it into a specific column layout. While it is possible to achieve the same outcome using a configuration package, it is not as flexible as Excel Importer. It is also not available in the Item List/Item Catalogue List.
The Configuration Packages should not be available to end-users when your Business Central company is live and has transactions. It is possible to update fields (e.g. Unit Cost) that should not be updated if there are transactions. Excel Importer handles the validation as if the user was updating the fields on the page and includes additional validations to prevent this.
Feature Details
You can access the import functionality from the Item List and the Catalogue Item List.
Using Item Templates
You can create item templates in Business Central to specify default values for items. Excel Importer supports item templates. You select the item template as one of the fields in the item mapping. You can either specify a constant value or include the item template code in the import file.
Settings
Update Existing
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| Yes | Update existing records and add new records. |
| No | Only add new records. |