Validation and Review
What happens after you upload a CSV — how Nabu checks your data and what to do before confirming.
What happens after you upload
When you upload a CSV file, Nabu runs an automatic validation pass before importing anything. The validation checks every row for required fields, correct formatting, and references to data that already exists in your account (like a provider name that needs to match what's in People & Payroll).
The result is a preview table showing every row from your file, color-coded by status.
The three row states
| Status | Color | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Valid | Green | Data looks correct and will be imported |
| Warning | Yellow | Data is importable but something may need attention — for example, a provider email that doesn't match any provider on file |
| Error | Red | Data cannot be imported because a required field is missing or in the wrong format |
Review the preview carefully before confirming. Warnings won't block the import, but they're worth checking — a warning on a provider field usually means that row's data won't be linked to the right provider, which affects your reports.
How to handle errors
Errors must be resolved before those rows can be imported. You have two options:
Option 1: Edit and re-upload. Close the preview, fix the issues in your CSV file, and upload the corrected file. This is the recommended approach if you have several errors across multiple rows.
Option 2: Fix in the preview table. If Nabu supports in-table editing for the section you're importing, you can click directly on an error cell and correct it in the preview. This is useful for fixing 1–2 isolated errors without going back to your spreadsheet.
If you have many errors and it's hard to track them all in the preview, download the error report (available as a button in the validation preview). The error report is a copy of your CSV with an added column explaining what's wrong with each row.
How import works
Nabu does not partially import a file. When you click Confirm Import, all valid rows (green) are imported at once. Warning rows are also imported. Error rows are skipped.
If you have 100 rows and 5 have errors, you can still confirm — the 95 valid rows will import successfully, and the 5 error rows will be skipped. The preview tells you exactly how many rows will be imported before you confirm.
After import
Once you confirm, imported records appear immediately in the section. You can review them and edit individual records manually if anything needs adjustment.
If you need to make a bulk correction after importing, you can re-upload a corrected file. Duplicate records may generate warnings — see Common Import Issues for details on how to handle duplicates.
Frequently asked questions
Can I undo an import? There's no single-click undo for a CSV import. If you imported incorrect data, you can edit individual records manually, or contact support from the Help section in your dashboard if the issue is large-scale.
How long does validation take? For most files, validation completes in a few seconds. Files with thousands of rows may take up to 30 seconds.
What if all my rows show errors? This usually means a column header was changed or deleted. Download a fresh template and compare the headers to your file. Even one missing or renamed column will cause all rows to fail.