Rolling Back (Undoing) an Import

How Rollback Works

Every time PrimeConnect performs an import, it creates a detailed operation journal — an internal log of exactly what was created or modified in QuickBooks during that import. This journal is the foundation of the rollback feature.

When you initiate a rollback, PrimeConnect reads the journal for that specific import and reverses the changes in the opposite order they were originally made:

• Records that were created during the import are deleted from QuickBooks.
• Records that were modified (updated) during the import are restored to their pre-import values.

The journal captures enough information to reconstruct the original state — including the QuickBooks internal identifiers (TxnIDs for transactions, ListIDs for list items) and the original field values for any records that were updated rather than created.

Which Imports Can Be Rolled Back

Most import operations in PrimeConnect are eligible for rollback, but there are some conditions:

• Transaction imports: Imports of Invoices, Bills, Journal Entries, Sales Receipts, Credit Memos, Estimates, Purchase Orders, Checks, Deposits, and other transaction types can be rolled back. Since these are typically created as new records, rollback simply deletes them.
• List imports: Imports of Customers, Vendors, Items, Employees, and other list types can be rolled back if they created new records. Records that were updated (because the "Update Existing Records" setting was enabled) are restored to their pre-import values.
• Auto-created references: If the import auto-created missing references (like new Items or Customers that did not exist in QuickBooks), those auto-created records are included in the rollback journal and will be deleted during rollback.

The rollback option appears as a "Rollback" button in the operation history detail view for eligible imports. If an import cannot be rolled back, the button will not be shown.

Initiating a Rollback

To roll back an import operation, follow these steps:

1. Open the History window by clicking "History" in the top navigation bar.
2. Find the import operation you want to undo. Use the filters (operation type, entity type, date range) to locate it if your history is long.
3. Click on the import operation to open the detail view.
4. Click the "Rollback" button at the top of the detail panel.
5. A confirmation dialog appears showing:
   • The number of records that will be reversed
   • How many records will be deleted (created records)
   • How many records will be restored (updated records)
6. Click "Confirm Rollback" to proceed.

What Happens During Rollback

Once you confirm the rollback, PrimeConnect processes the journal entries in reverse order — undoing the most recently created/modified records first and working backward.

During execution, a progress indicator shows:

• The total number of records to reverse
• How many have been processed so far
• The current record being reversed
• A running count of successes and failures

For each record in the journal:

• Created records are deleted from QuickBooks using the stored TxnID or ListID. If the record is found and successfully deleted, it is marked as "Rolled Back" in the operation history.
• Updated records are restored to their original values by writing the pre-import data back to QuickBooks. The current (post-import) values are overwritten with the stored originals.

If any individual record fails to roll back (for example, because it has gained new dependencies since the import), PrimeConnect logs the error for that record and continues processing the remaining records. A partial rollback is possible — some records may be reversed while others remain.

The rollback itself is recorded as a new entry in your operation history, so you have a complete audit trail of both the original import and the rollback.

Limitations

While rollback is a powerful safety net, it has limitations that you should be aware of:

• Records modified in QuickBooks after import. If you (or another user) edited an imported record directly in QuickBooks after the import, rolling it back will overwrite those manual changes with the pre-import values. The rollback does not merge changes — it restores the exact state from before the import.
• Records with new dependencies. If an imported invoice has received a payment since the import, it cannot be deleted during rollback because QuickBooks prevents deleting invoices with linked payments. The payment must be removed first.
• Auto-created references with new usage. If the import auto-created a Customer record and that customer has since been used in new transactions (not part of the original import), deleting the customer during rollback may fail because it is now "in use."
• Cannot selectively roll back individual records. Rollback is all-or-nothing for the entire import batch. You cannot pick specific records to reverse while keeping others.

When Rollback Is Unavailable

In certain situations, the Rollback button will not appear for an import operation:

• No rollback journal was created. This can happen for very old imports (before the rollback feature was introduced) or if the operation errored before any records were processed.
• The import has already been rolled back. Each import can only be rolled back once. After a successful rollback, the button is disabled with a "Rolled Back" status indicator.
• The QuickBooks company file has been restored from backup. If the company file has been restored to a state before the import, the records referenced in the journal may no longer exist or may have different internal IDs, making the journal invalid.
• Too much time has passed and records are heavily modified. While there is no strict time limit, the more time passes and the more changes are made to imported records, the less likely a clean rollback becomes. PrimeConnect still allows the attempt, but individual records may fail.

Best Practices

Follow these best practices to maximize the reliability of rollback and minimize data risk:

• Test with small batches first. Before importing a large dataset, import a small subset (10-20 records) and verify the results in QuickBooks. If anything looks wrong, roll back the test batch, fix your file, and try again.
• Check results immediately after import. Review the import results in PrimeConnect and spot-check a few records in QuickBooks right away. The sooner you identify an issue, the cleaner the rollback will be — before other users make changes to the imported records.
• Roll back sooner rather than later. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that imported records will accumulate dependencies (payments, credits, etc.) that prevent rollback. If you know an import was wrong, roll it back immediately.
• Export data before large imports as an additional safety net. Before a large import, use the export wizard to export the current state of the affected entity type. This gives you a spreadsheet backup that you can reference even if rollback is not possible.
• Back up your QuickBooks company file. For critical imports, create a QuickBooks backup (File → Back Up Company → Create Local Backup) before importing. This is the most reliable safety net — you can always restore the entire company file to its pre-import state.