How to Import Assets from a CSV File

How to import assets from a CSV file

CSV import is how you bring an existing inventory into UniAsset in one step instead of typing it in.

When to use this

• You are onboarding and already have a spreadsheet or export from another system
• You are adding a batch of newly purchased assets
• You are migrating from a legacy asset system

Assets are unlimited on every plan, including Nova. Import your entire inventory on day one — there is no row count that triggers a paywall.

Requirements

• Available on: Nova, Orbit, Odyssey, Cosmos
• Roles: Owner, Admin, Manager

Before you start

Create the things your CSV will refer to. Import matches names against records that already exist — it does not create categories or locations for you. A typo in an upstream system would otherwise produce an unusable taxonomy within weeks.

1. Create your categories — see How to manage categories
2. Create your locations — see How to create locations
3. Create your departments — see How to manage departments
4. Create any people assets should be assigned to — see How to add and manage people

Choose what you are importing

Import asks you first what kind of thing the file contains. The three kinds share a template shape but not their rules, so each has its own template and its own validation.

Your choice decides what gets created. The file cannot decide for you: a quantity column in an Individual Assets file is reported as an error rather than silently ignored, and a row carrying an assetType that disagrees with the importer you picked is refused with a message telling you which template it belongs in.

For Asset Stock, the quantity you supply is the item's opening balance. It is recorded as the first entry in that item's stock transaction history, exactly as if you had created the item in the form — so the balance always has a movement behind it.

Steps

1. Go to Dashboard → Assets (Individual).
2. Open the Import action and choose Individual Assets, Asset Stock or Consumables.
3. Download the CSV template for that choice. Always start from the template — it carries the exact column names that importer expects, and only the columns it accepts.
4. Fill the template in a spreadsheet application.
5. Save as CSV (comma delimited), using UTF-8 encoding if your data contains accented characters.
6. Back in UniAsset, upload the file.
7. Review the validation result. Rows with problems are reported with the row number and the reason.
8. Fix any reported rows in your file and re-upload, or confirm the import.

Tip: Test with 5 rows first. A five-row failure takes seconds to diagnose; a five-hundred-row failure does not.

Tip: Importing a mixed spreadsheet? Split it into one file per kind and run the import three times. That is faster than diagnosing why half the rows were refused.

Preparing your data

Names must match exactly. "IT Equipment" and "IT equipment" are different values as far as matching is concerned. Copy names from UniAsset rather than retyping them.

Dates use YYYY-MM-DD. Spreadsheet applications love to reformat dates — set the column to text before saving.

Costs are plain numbers. Remove currency symbols, thousands separators and spaces. 1200.50, not $1,200.50.

Leave unknown fields blank rather than writing "N/A" or "unknown". A blank field is honest; "N/A" becomes a permanent piece of noise in your register.

Remove trailing empty rows. Spreadsheets often keep blank rows that look empty but are not.

What happens next

• Every imported row becomes a record with a creation event on its timeline, marked as created via CSV import.
• Each record receives its own QR tag identity automatically.
• Imported records appear immediately in lists, filters, reports and alert evaluation.
• Verify by opening the module you imported into — Assets (Individual), Asset Stock or Consumables — and sorting by newest first.
• For Asset Stock, the opening balance also appears in the item's stock transaction history.

Common mistakes

Importing before creating categories. The most common cause of a failed import.

Assuming import updates existing assets. Import creates records. To change many existing assets, see How to update many assets at once.

Mixing asset types in one file. Individual Assets, Asset Stock and Consumables are separate concepts with separate templates. A file that mixes them will have rows refused — split it and import each kind with its own template. Document Assets are created in the Document Assets module rather than by CSV import, because they require an expiry date.

Putting a quantity on an individual asset. One row is one asset, so the Individual Assets template has no quantity, minimumQuantity or unit column. If you are counting units, you want Asset Stock or Consumables.

Excel changing your serial numbers. Long numeric serials get converted to scientific notation. Format the column as text first.

Troubleshooting

"Category not found." The category name in your file does not exist in your organization. Create it, or correct the spelling.

"Person not found." Assets are assigned to People. Create the person first at Dashboard → People.

Dates rejected. Reformat to YYYY-MM-DD as plain text.

The file uploads but nothing imports. Check you saved as CSV and not as XLSX with a renamed extension.

"Your subscription has expired." An expired subscription blocks creating new records. Existing data stays fully readable. Renew from Settings → Billing.

For the complete list of messages, see Import error reference.

Related articles

• Import error reference
• How to fix CSV import problems
• How to migrate from another asset system
• How to export assets to CSV
• Asset naming conventions