4. Import your master data

Master data is your own codes — supplier codes, stock item codes, GL accounts. beres matches what it reads on a document against these lists, so a document arrives already carrying the codes your accounting system expects.

Go to Settings → Master data (/settings?panel=master). Admins and reviewers can both do this.

Do this before sending real documents. Without master data every document arrives with an unmatched supplier and every line needs a code typed in by hand.

What you need

Which lists appear depends on your export target:

SQL Account (eStream) still uses GL accounts internally, but beres sends a stock item code and SQL Account takes the posting account from that item's stock setup. The chart of accounts must exist in SQL Account; it does not need to be imported into beres for this target.

There may also be a Terms card, and one card per optional column you have bound to a reference list. See Optional columns.

Option A — import a CSV

The intended path if you are not using the API.

1. In SQL Account or AutoCount, open the master list (suppliers, stock items, or chart of accounts) and export it.
2. Save it as CSV.
3. In beres, open the matching card and choose the CSV.

beres finds the code and name columns from the headers. It only needs two columns — a code and a name or description — and ignores the rest, so you do not need to trim the export.

If the headers are not recognised you will see one of:

• "Couldn't find code/name columns. Found: …"
• "Couldn't find code/description columns. Found: …"
• "Need two columns (a code and a value). Found: …"

The message lists the headers it actually saw. Rename the code column to Code and the name column to Name or Description and re-upload.

"That file has no data rows." means the file had headers only — check you exported the data, not an empty template.

Option B — sync from the API

If you completed Connect your accounting API, use Sync all master data on the Export target page, or sync an individual list from its card. This pulls the live lists and needs no files.

Two limits:

• "Live sync needs a plan with direct API access." — current public plans include API access; if you see this, check your organization's Billing & plan page.
• "Your export target can't read … from the API." — not every list is readable for every target. Import that one as CSV.

If a sync partly succeeds you get "Couldn't sync: …" naming which lists failed. The lists that worked are still updated; retry the named ones.

Option C — add rows by hand

Each card lets you add, edit, and delete rows directly. Fine for a handful of suppliers; painful past a few dozen.

The rule that matters: your corrections win

Rows you import or sync are marked as imported. Rows created when a person confirms a code during review are marked as confirmed.

Re-importing refreshes names but never overwrites a code that a person confirmed during review.

This is deliberate. If your accountant decided during review that "Ah Seng Trading" means supplier 400-A003, a later master-data re-import will not undo that decision. You can safely re-import whenever your accounting master data changes.

Check it worked

Send one real document to the bot after importing. If the supplier matches automatically and most lines come back with codes, your master data is doing its job. If everything comes back unmatched, the codes in the CSV are probably not the codes on your supplier documents.

Next: choose how documents arrive — use your document email, connect Telegram, or use both.