Bring your past sales with you
Moving to SeroPOS does not mean losing the sales you made before. Upload your past sales from a spreadsheet, match the columns, preview the result and import them into a location. If a batch looks wrong afterwards, revert the whole import and try again.
Import sales history in SeroPOS
Spreadsheet upload
Export sales from your old system to a spreadsheet and upload it on the Import Sales screen.
Choose the location
Pick which business location the sales belong to, so each store's history stays separate.
Group lines into sales
Choose the column that groups rows into one sale, such as the invoice number.
Map your columns
Match each column in your file to the right SeroPOS field, whatever your old system called it.
Preview before import
Check how the sales will look before anything is saved, and fix the file if something is off.
Revert a batch
Every import is a batch in the list. Use Revert Import to remove that batch completely.
Why bring your sales history
Your sales history is what makes reports useful. Without it, this month cannot be compared with the same month last year, and trending products and customer histories start from nothing. Importing past sales means reports, customer ledgers and product sales figures carry on from the day you switch. Year-on-year comparisons work from your first month.
It also helps staff. When a regular asks what they ordered last time, or a customer comes back with an old receipt, the sale is there in All Sales instead of in a system you have stopped paying for. Staff can answer questions about old orders without leaving SeroPOS. Nothing has to be looked up elsewhere.
Preparing your file
Export sales from your old POS or accounting system to a spreadsheet. Each row is usually one line of a sale, with an invoice number, date, customer, product, quantity, price and tax. Several rows with the same invoice number make up one sale. Check your old system's export options before you start, as some let you choose the columns.
Import your products and customers first, so the sales can link to them. SeroPOS has separate imports for products and for contacts. Then tidy the sales file: check dates are in one format, remove totals rows and make sure product names or SKUs match what is now in SeroPOS. A little tidying up front saves a lot of fixing later.
- Import products first
- Import customers next
- One row per sale line
- A column that identifies each sale
- Consistent dates and SKUs
Running the import
In the back office, go to Sell, then Import Sales. Upload the spreadsheet, choose the business location and pick the column that groups rows into one sale. Then map the fields: tell SeroPOS which of your columns is the date, the customer, the product, the quantity, the price and so on. Column names from your old system do not matter.
Preview the import before it runs. You see how rows will be combined into sales and what each field will contain. If something is wrong, go back and change the mapping or fix the file. When it looks right, import. Take your time on the preview; it is the easiest point to catch a problem before it reaches your reports.
Undoing an import
Every import is kept as a batch in the import list. If you spot a problem after importing, such as a wrong location or dates read the wrong way round, use Revert Import on that batch. The sales from that batch are removed, and you can correct the file and import it again.
Because reverting works on a whole batch, it is worth importing a small test file first, perhaps one week of sales. Check it in All Sales and the reports, revert it if needed, and then import the full history once you are happy. A careful test run saves time on the real import.
Frequently asked questions
What format does the sales import need?
A spreadsheet with one row per sale line and a column that identifies which sale each row belongs to, such as the invoice number. You map your own column names to SeroPOS fields during the import, so the file does not need fixed headings.
Can I undo a sales import?
Yes. Each import is listed as a batch. Use Revert Import on the batch to remove all the sales it created. Then fix the file or the mapping and import again. The rest of your data is not affected. Products and customers stay in place.
Should I import products and customers first?
Yes. Imported sales link to products and customers already in SeroPOS. Use the product import and the contact import first, then import sales, so each line matches the right product and customer. Check that product names or SKUs in the file match SeroPOS before importing.
Can I import sales for more than one store?
Yes. Each import is assigned to one business location. Split your history by store and import each file into its own location, so reports by location stay accurate. Each store's history then stays separate. Keep a copy of each file you import, in case you need to revert and run it again.
Will imported sales show in my reports?
Imported sales are stored as sales in the location you chose, so they appear in All Sales and in the back-office sales reports for their dates. Check a test batch in the reports before importing your full history. That confirms dates and totals were read correctly.