Import Cleaner for Sage™
Sage exports that work in Excel, and uploads that do not fail. Free to check. It knows it is a Sage file: nominal codes keep their leading zeros, dates sort, amounts sum, and an import is checked against Sage's rules before it fails.
Install: Excel add-in for Windows, Mac and the web; the Microsoft AppSource listing is coming soon. This page is the support and documentation page that listing will point to.
Before
Text
A nominal code 0040 that arrives as 40, dates Excel cannot sort, and amounts that refuse to sum.
After
Clean
Same data, the fixes applied with a preview first. Undo is always there if you change your mind.
The one to know about
A nominal code stored as a number loses its leading zeros: 0040 becomes
40, and a Sage import then reports that the nominal code does not exist or
posts to the wrong account. Spotting those columns and putting the zeros back, as text, is
the reason this add-in exists.
What it covers
- Sage 50 (desktop): audit trail import, audit trail report, nominal activity, customer and supplier list.
- Sage Accounting (cloud): contacts import, and bank statement import in its 3-column and 4-column forms.
Three steps
- Install. The Microsoft AppSource listing is coming soon; the guide has the details once it is live.
- Scan. Open a workbook, then Home › Sage import › Check sheet. Pick Clean a Sage export or Check before uploading.
- Fix. Every finding explains what is wrong and why it matters to a Sage import. The safe ones have a one-click or guided fix, with a preview of the exact cell changes before anything is applied — and every ambiguous date listed before the write, never after it.
There is no score. A sheet with findings never reads as clean.
What it checks
Every finding carries a rule code, so a report you read again in six months still says which check produced which line.
Cleaning an export
SE-01 | Nominal codes that lost their leading zeros |
SE-02 | Dates stored as text, with the ambiguity report |
SE-03 | Stray spaces, including non-breaking ones |
SE-04 | Amounts stored as text, and bracketed negatives |
SE-05 | Debit and Credit columns to one signed amount |
SE-06 | Report titles, subtotals and blank rows around the data |
SE-07 | Numbers and words mixed in an amount column |
SE-08 | Duplicate customer or supplier account references |
Checking before an upload
SI-01 | Nominal codes that lost their leading zeros |
SI-02 | Dates not in DD/MM/YYYY |
SI-03 | Text longer than Sage's field limits |
SI-04 | Transaction types Sage will not import |
SI-05 | Tax codes outside T0-T99 |
SI-06 | Currency symbols, thousands separators and comma decimals in amounts |
SI-07 | More than 8 digits or 2 decimals in Net or Tax |
SI-08 | Zero-value lines |
SI-09 | Spaces in blank cells and around codes |
SI-10 | Double quotes and line breaks inside cells |
SI-11 | Account reference blank on a non-journal line |
SI-13 | Exchange rate left blank on journal and bank lines |
SI-14 | Department and report type out of range |
SI-15 | Project reference problems |
SI-16 | Sage Accounting contacts: blanks, lengths, headings, file size |
SI-17 | Sage Accounting bank statements: column order, signs, balance rows |
SI-19 | Required column missing, or required cell blank |
See the guide for what the rules mean. The rules are built from Sage's published import specifications; where a behaviour could not be confirmed, the rule explains the problem and leaves your cells alone. Does not connect to Sage and needs no Sage account: it works on the data in your workbook. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by The Sage Group plc. Sage and Sage 50 are trademarks of The Sage Group plc.
Free vs Pro
Free
£0
- Unlimited scans and explanations, both directions
- The ambiguity report
- The space fix, applied
- Undo — always, in every tier
Pro
£39 per year, or £4 a month
- Everything in Free
- Every other fix, one-click and guided, with a preview
- Saved settings per import type
- CSV and Markdown export of the findings
- 3 activations on one key
Also for Google Sheets™: Import Cleaner for Sage for Google Sheets. The same licence key works in Excel and Google Sheets.
FAQ
Does my data leave my machine? No. Scanning and fixing both happen in the task pane, inside Excel. The only request the add-in makes is a licence check carrying a key and an anonymous install id.
How should I import a Sage CSV? Use Data › From Text/CSV, then in the preview choose Transform Data and set the nominal-code and date columns to Text, so codes and dates arrive as text the scan can read. The Text Import Wizard (Data › Get Data › Legacy Wizards › From Text (Legacy), if your Excel shows it) does the same with “Text” chosen in step 3 for those columns.
What if I want to undo a fix? Every fix saves a restore point of the cells it will change first. Press Undo in the task pane to restore it, in any tier, at any time.
Is it for Sage 50 or Sage Accounting? Both. It detects which file it is looking at and says so; change it in the task pane if it guessed wrong.
Is this affiliated with Sage? No. It is an independent add-in by AppGarden. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by The Sage Group plc. Sage and Sage 50 are trademarks of The Sage Group plc.
Support
Email support@appgarden.co.uk. Say which Excel platform you are on (Windows, Mac or the web), which finding looked wrong and, if you can share it, a copy of the workbook with the problem — read the privacy notice first. Replies are best-effort, usually within a few working days.