I get an error (Inconsistency) whilst importing - what's wrong?

Issue

During the import process you receive a message similar to the one below:

Reasons

This error is normally generated during the import process and is likely due to issues with the actual import file. The P11D Organiser import routines scan the file being imported to 'look up' the number of columns, then allocate the data in the rest of the spreadsheet to the correct data fields within the system. There are a number of things you can do to resolve this issue:

Extra Rows and Columns

The process relies on the first line of data that the system sees as the 'key', and works from there, so it is important that there are no extra rows and columns that are unnecessary. Below is an example of a file that will NOT work - columns A & B and rows 1 & 2 would need to be removed :

Commas in Fields

The system uses commas to delineate the data, so extra commas in data cells can easily confuse matters. These can usually be found in addresses or in financial values. below is an example of a file with 'too many' commas - these would need to be removed to ensure the import process will work as expected.

Square Block of Data

When the system reads in the data, it looks at the number of columns and uses this to import into the correct data fields within the system. When it starts reading in the actual data, it scans through the spreadsheet rows until it gets to the last one it finds, then wraps around and starts on the next row. So if you have an 'open' last row, the system will 'wrap around' too early and start entering data into the wrong areas - this will likely cause a data mismatch. The example below will cause issues, as the P11D Organiser is expecting nine columns of data, but in the second row of actual data it will only find five, as the last couple of cells are empty.

To correct this, we would advise that you add a completely 'filled' column at the end of your sheet - we normally put XXX in there as in the screenshot below:

Still having issues?

Try selecting and copying the data from the existing file to a new, blank spreadsheet and save that as a Comma Separated Vaue (CSV) file. This should remove any undetectable (invisible) issues in your data and should allow you to successfully import your data.