Tag: Fishbowl Inventory Imports

Fishbowl Inventory Order of Imports

Creating a Spreadsheet on a LaptopIf you are using import files to create a new database in Fishbowl Inventory, you might be overwhelmed by the number of import files and you might not know where to begin.  We’ve listed the suggested order of imports below, with some tips, to help you get started on the right foot.

Suggested Order of Imports

Here’s a list, taken directly from the FishbowlInventory wiki page that gives a list of the order of imports:

  1. Units of Measure
  2. Unit of Measure Conversions
  3. Location Groups/Locations
  4. User/User Rights
  5. Payment Terms
  6. Carriers
  7. Custom Fields
  8. Vendors*
  9. Tax Rates
  10. Customers*
  11. Customer Group Relations
  12. Part Product And Vendor Pricing*
  13. Kit Items
  14. Default Locations
  15. Add Inventory*
  16. Bill of Materials*
  17. Product Tree Categories
  18. Product Tree
  19. Pricing Rules
  20. Sales Orders*
  21. Purchase Orders*

* This is essential data needed to utilize Fishbowl’s features.

The list above will help you set up a robust database that will unlock most of the features in Fishbowl.  However, what if you just want to do the basics?

The Bare Essentials

If you are in a rush to get started with Fishbowl Inventory, you can upload your Vendors, Customers, Parts, and Products.  That’s it.  You can add all of the other stuff later to make the database more robust.  This comes with a caveat, though.  For example, if your Vendors or Customers have special payment terms, you will need to bring in those payment terms before uploading your Customers or Vendors.

The same thing goes with your Parts and Products list (see this blog post for more information about the difference between Parts and Products).  If your Parts or Products use Units of Measure that don’t exist in the default list, you will need to add those Units of Measure first.

Here is a modified list that shows the basic information that you need to have in Fishbowl before being able to use the system:

  1. Units of Measure
  2. Unit of Measure Conversions
  3. Location Groups/Locations
  4. User/User Rights
  5. Payment Terms
  6. Carriers
  7. Custom Fields
  8. Vendors*
  9. Tax Rates
  10. Customers*
  11. Customer Group Relations
  12. Part Product And Vendor Pricing* (You can also use the individual Part and Product imports, if this one is too big to chew)
  13. Kit Items
  14. Default Locations
  15. Add Inventory*
  16. Bill of Materials*
  17. Product Tree Categories
  18. Product Tree
  19. Pricing Rules
  20. Sales Orders*
  21. Purchase Orders*

Additional Imports

These imports, that aren’t covered in the list provided on the Fishbowl Inventory wiki page, can also be helpful:

  1. Associated Pricing
  2. Country And State
  3. Currency
  4. Customer Parts
  5. Discounts
  6. Product Pricing
  7. QuickBooks Class
  8. Reorder Levels
  9. Vendor Cost Rules
  10. Vendor Parts

Please leave a comment if you have questions or experience using import files that could help others who are beginning their journey.

Fishbowl Inventory Imports

Importing information into Fishbowl Inventory can be tricky, but it can also be the fastest way to build a new database or update existing information en masse.  Find some helpful tips below about Fishbowl Inventory imports.

Keyboard

Create an entry in Fishbowl Inventory, and then export the file

Fishbowl Inventory has the option to export a blank file to use as a template when preparing your information for importing.  While this is a great option, it may be a little daunting trying to figure out what information goes into each column.  For that reason, we recommend that you create an entry (e.g. Part Number, Customer, Vendor, Pricing Rule, etc.) in Fishbowl first, and then export the related file.  Like magic, your file will have the information already filled in below the headers, which takes a lot of the guesswork out of the equation.

Of course, if you still have questions, you can refer to the instructions for the related import file.  These can be found in the import wizard, after you have chosen the type of import from the list, and have advanced to the next screen.

Watch out for re-formatting

One of the difficulties of using Microsoft Excel for importing large amounts of data into Fishbowl is the fact that Excel likes to re-format certain numbers or lines of text.

Here are some examples:

  1. If you are working with UPC numbers, you will need to be very careful that Excel does not put them into scientific notation format (which it will do, by default).  If you type “123456789123” into a cell, Excel will change it to be “1.23457E+11”.  If left in that format, the UPC code will transfer into Fishbowl as the 1.23457E+11, rather than the actual UPC code.
  2. Zip codes that start with “0” (zero).  Excel likes to remove those leading zeros.  And it’s not just zip codes.  Really, any number that starts with zero can be included in this example.
  3. Text and number strings that resemble dates or months.  Something like “01OCT” will be reformatted to be “1-Oct”.

How do you fix these auto-corrections?  You will want to change the format of the cells to “Text”.  To do so, right-click on the cell, column, or row that you want to change to text, and then choose “Format Cells” from the list.  In the next screen, you will choose “Text” from the list and then click “OK”.  Now you can type your information into Excel without having to worry that it will be reformatted, and therefore imported incorrectly into Fishbowl.

 

Watch for misalignment

Be aware that if you delete a cell, you will need to delete the entire row.  Otherwise, your data can become misaligned.  One of the worst things that can happen is to delete a part number from a list of 10,000 part numbers, while the rest of the row is not deleted with the part number.  When that happens, your part numbers will shift up a cell, while their descriptions, Units of Measure, Tracking Fields, etc. stay behind.  If you then import the file, your parts list will have the incorrect information associated.

If all else fails, remove the line

One of the most frustrating aspects of importing information into Fishbowl Inventory is when you receive error messages after waiting for 10-15 minutes for the file to complete importing.  If you correct the error on the specified line, and then import again, only to get an error message on the same line again, it is time to remove that line and try importing again.

If you are getting error messages at least a 3rd of the way down the import file, we recommend that you create a separate import file of the lines above the error message, and import that piece.  Remember to remove those lines from the original import file so that you’re not trying to import the same information multiple times.  This will help cut down on the wait time and will help you narrow down the issues.

As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you have about Fishbowl Inventory imports, or anything else Fishbowl Inventory-related.