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Import | general explanation

With the import tool you can quickly and easily import large amounts of data and update existing data in Robaws.


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Please note, our support staff can only roll back the last import in some cases; after that the import is final!


Tip: if you are not familiar with the import tool, it is best to test it first on staging.robaws.com. This is a test environment that has no consequences for your working environment. It is overwritten during the night, so you lose your tests the next day.




Basic principles


  • If you import in your working environment, this has immediate consequences for your data. Be careful with the import tool to avoid mistakes and data pollution. Read this explanation and the explanation per module carefully.
  • The data you fill in in the import template may not contain blank rows or empty lines. This stops the import.
  • The data in your template may not contain formulas. This blocks the import.
  • The data you fill in in the import template has to be in the correct format:


field type

notation type in Excel

correct format

number

Number

only a number (no symbols such as €, %, no text)

date

Short date

24/12/2025

text

General or Text

if this text references data that is known in Robaws (e.g. status, supplier, payment condition, diary, item group, drop-down list of an extra field, ...), the text has to match EXACTLY: same spelling, capitals, spaces, ...)

specific fields

specific values

For a few specific fields you are supposed to enter coded values (e.g. line type, cost price strategy, sell price strategy, ...) Have a look at the page of the specific module for this.




Importing data



1) Download the import template in your environment. You find it under settings > import
In this template you can insert the data you want to import on the correct tab. Below you can click through to the relevant modules to see what you have to watch out for when you insert the data. Take a number of important basic principles into account.
Most modules work on the basis of several tabs; to load items, for example, you use both the 'articles' tab and 'articlesuppliers'.


2) Import data into Robaws
Once the data in the Excel is correct, you can upload it into Robaws with the 'Import' button.
A bar will be added to the overview with the date, the number of lines and the progress. When the import is finished, the status changes.


Status

Explanation

Finished

Import was carried out correctly, you can find the data in the system

Finished with warnings

Import was carried out, but some fields could not be found. Possible problems: a main record that was not found, date not in the correct format, a column title that does not exist, ...

Finished with errors

Import was interrupted and failed


Please note, our support staff can only roll back the last import in some cases; after that the import is final!


3) Requesting a report
If you have errors and/or warnings during an import, you can consult the error through the report. If the error is not immediately clear, you can contact support through the chat or support@robaws.be and we will help you further with correcting the error.



Updating data


You can also use the import template to update existing cards. The most common example of this is a price update. For this you can use the UPDATE_BY column in the Excel. In it you fill in the name of the column on the basis of which you want to carry out the update. So you do not enter the value of the field; that happens in the column itself.



In the example above, an item is updated on the basis of the item number. If item number 'ART123' exists in Robaws, the price of this item is updated. If no match is found, a new item is added with the data on that line. You can read per module which values you can base the update on.


If you leave the UPDATE_BY column empty, a new item is always added in the system.



Extra options


Extra fields

Modules that contain extra fields in Robaws will have extra column titles in the import template, so you can include the extra fields in the import as well.
If you already downloaded the template and you do not see the titles for the extra fields in the file, this is probably because the extra fields were added afterwards. When you download the template again, you will see them.


Rolling back an import

If the import ended incorrectly, or if you want to delete the loaded data after all in order to redo the import with a few adjustments, then we can roll back the last import. The imported data is kept in a separate database for a limited time; after that the import is final.
To check whether you can roll back the import, you can contact support and we will sort it out for you. Note that only the last import can be rolled back. If you carried out a new import in the meantime, we can no longer undo the previous one.


When rolling back, all newly added items are deleted again. If an update was carried out, then** the rollback has no effect on updated items**, only on newly added ones.


Tip: if you want to roll back an import but this is no longer possible, a solution can sometimes still be found through a bulk update or automation.




Which modules can you import or update?


Updated on: 09/09/2026

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