Data Validation & Preview

Validation Rules

Before any data is sent to QuickBooks, PrimeConnect runs a comprehensive validation pass on every row in your file. This step acts as a safety net — catching errors that would cause QuickBooks to reject records, and surfacing potential issues before they become problems.

PrimeConnect checks for the following categories of issues:

Required fields

Every QuickBooks entity type has a set of mandatory fields. For example, invoices require a Customer reference and a transaction date, while customers require a Name. PrimeConnect verifies that every required field has a non-empty value in every row. If a required field is blank, the row is flagged as invalid.

Date format validation

All date fields are checked for valid formatting. PrimeConnect accepts several common date formats:

• MM/DD/YYYY (e.g., 01/15/2026)
• YYYY-MM-DD (e.g., 2026-01-15)
• M/D/YYYY (e.g., 1/15/2026)
• DD-MMM-YYYY (e.g., 15-Jan-2026)

Invalid dates like "13/45/2026" or non-date text in a date column will cause a validation error.

Numeric value validation

Amount, quantity, rate, and other numeric fields are checked for valid numeric values. PrimeConnect rejects:

• Text in numeric fields (e.g., "TBD" in an Amount column)
• Currency symbols embedded in the value (e.g., "$1,500.00" — remove the $ and commas)
• Multiple decimal points or other invalid number formats

Reference existence

All referenced records (customers, items, accounts, vendors, etc.) are verified to exist in QuickBooks. This check runs after the Missing References step, so by this point all references should be either found in QuickBooks or marked for auto-creation. Any remaining unresolved references will cause validation errors.

Duplicate detection

When Update Existing Records is disabled in Settings, PrimeConnect checks for duplicate records. If a record with the same identifying information already exists in QuickBooks (e.g., an invoice with the same RefNumber for the same customer), it is flagged as a duplicate to prevent accidental double-entry.

Field length limits

QuickBooks imposes maximum character lengths on certain fields. For example, customer names have a 209-character limit, and memo fields have their own limits. PrimeConnect checks values against these limits and flags any that exceed them.

Validation Results

After the validation pass completes, PrimeConnect displays the results for every row in your dataset. The results are designed to give you a clear, at-a-glance picture of which rows are ready and which need attention.

Summary bar

At the top of the validation results, a summary bar shows aggregate counts:

• Valid rows — the number of rows that passed all validation checks and are ready to import.
• Error rows — the number of rows with one or more validation errors.
• Warning rows — the number of rows with non-critical issues.

Row-level indicators

Each row in the data table shows a status icon:

• Green checkmark — the row passed validation and is ready to import. No action needed.
• Red X — the row has a validation error. Click the row to expand the error details. The specific error message tells you exactly what is wrong and which field caused it.
• Yellow triangle — the row has a warning. Warnings are non-blocking — the row can still be imported, but you should review the warning to decide if action is needed.

Fixing Errors

When validation finds errors in your data, you need to fix them before those rows can be imported. Here is the general workflow:

Step 1: Identify the error

Click on any row with a red X to expand the error details. The error message will tell you:

• Which field caused the error (e.g., "TxnDate", "Amount", "CustomerRef")
• What the problem is (e.g., "Invalid date format", "Required field is empty", "Value exceeds maximum length")
• The current value so you can see exactly what PrimeConnect found in your file

Step 2: Fix the source data

Open your source spreadsheet file in Excel or your preferred editor and correct the problematic values. Common fixes include:

Step 3: Re-upload and re-validate

After fixing your file, save it and go back in the import wizard to re-upload the corrected file. PrimeConnect will re-parse the file, reapply your mapping, and run validation again. See Re-Validating After Fixes for more details.

Preview Screen

The preview screen (part of Step 6 in the import wizard) shows your validated data in a table format, giving you one last chance to review everything before committing the import.

What you see

The preview table displays:

• All mapped columns — each column header shows the QuickBooks field name it is mapped to.
• All data rows — every row from your file is displayed with the values that will be sent to QuickBooks.
• Status column — each row shows its validation status (valid, error, or warning) so you can identify issues without going back to the validation step.

Scrolling and reviewing

For files with many rows, the preview table is scrollable. You can scroll through the entire dataset to verify values. For large datasets, focus your review on:

• The first few rows — to confirm data alignment with column headers
• The last few rows — to ensure the entire file was read correctly
• Any rows with warning or error indicators
• Rows with extreme values (very large amounts, very old dates)

Row Status Indicators

Throughout the validation, preview, and results screens, each row displays a color-coded status indicator. Here is the complete reference for all possible states:

Partial vs Full Import

PrimeConnect processes import records one at a time, sending each record to QuickBooks individually. This design has an important consequence: if some rows succeed and others fail, you get a partial import.

How partial imports work

Consider an import with 100 rows. PrimeConnect sends row 1 to QuickBooks — it succeeds. Row 2 succeeds. Row 3 fails due to an invalid date. Row 4 succeeds. And so on. At the end:

• Rows 1, 2, 4, and all other successful rows are already in QuickBooks. They are committed and cannot be "un-sent."
• Row 3 and any other failed rows were not imported. QuickBooks rejected them individually.

Why not atomic?

PrimeConnect uses a row-by-row approach because the QuickBooks SDK processes records individually — there is no built-in transaction mechanism to commit or roll back a batch atomically. This is a limitation of the QuickBooks SDK itself. The benefit is that valid records are not held back by errors in other rows.

Handling partial imports

1. After a partial import, review the results screen carefully. Note which rows failed and their error messages.
2. Fix the errored rows in your source file.
3. Create a new file containing only the fixed rows (not the entire original file).
4. Import the new file. These rows will be the only records created.

Alternatively, if you need to undo the successfully imported rows, you can use PrimeConnect's import rollback feature to reverse the entire operation, fix all errors, and reimport the complete file.

Re-Validating After Fixes

If you found errors during validation and have made corrections, you do not need to start the entire import wizard from scratch. PrimeConnect supports re-validation so you can verify your fixes quickly.

After fixing your file

If you edited the source Excel or CSV file to fix data errors:

1. Save the corrected file.
2. In PrimeConnect, navigate back to Step 2 (Upload) and re-upload the corrected file.
3. Your previous field mapping should still be available (or you can load a saved template).
4. Continue through the wizard — PrimeConnect will re-validate with the updated data.

After creating missing references

If you went into QuickBooks to create missing references (items, customers, accounts, etc.):

1. Create all necessary records in QuickBooks.
2. Return to PrimeConnect and navigate back to Step 4 (Missing References).
3. Click Re-check to scan your QuickBooks file for the newly created records. Previously missing references should now resolve.
4. Proceed to Step 5 (Validate) — validation will run again with the updated reference data.

When to start over

In most cases, re-validation is sufficient. However, you should start a fresh import session (close and reopen the import wizard) if:

• You significantly restructured the file (added or removed columns, changed the header row).
• You switched to a different entity type.
• You switched company files in QuickBooks.

For more information about the overall import process, see the Importing Data into QuickBooks article. For field mapping specifics, see Field Mapping & Saved Templates.