Importing past invoices
How to import invoices from another tool, which files you can upload, how to review and fix rows before importing, and what the imported invoices look like.
You can upload the invoices you issued in another tool. Billow reads them, creates the invoices together with the accounts and contacts they name, and adds them to your revenue history. Only the workspace owner can import.
Imports are for your history, and importing doesn’t email your clients. To get Billow numbering, public links and payment tracking, create new invoices in Billow.
A connected AI assistant creates new Billow invoices and cannot import past ones.
Import invoices
Go to Settings → Imports.
Drag your files into the upload area, or click it to browse.
Check the list of files. Remove any you don’t want with the trash button next to it.
Click the Import button. It shows how many files you added, for example Import 3 files.
Billow confirms with “Import started.” and opens the import while it analyzes the files in the background. You can leave the page. Billow emails you when the import is ready to review.
What you can upload
File | What Billow does with it |
|---|---|
PDF, PNG or JPG | Reads each invoice with AI and picks out the number, dates, account, line items and totals |
CSV | Treats each row as one invoice and works out which column holds what |
Each import takes up to 100 files. Each file can be up to 2 MB, and a PDF can have up to 10 pages.
A file you have already imported cannot be uploaded again. It stays blocked while its import is still open, or once it has become an invoice in Billow.
CSV files
A CSV needs one row per invoice. If your old tool exports one row per line item, combine the rows first or upload the PDFs instead.
If Billow cannot use a CSV, the review screen lists it under Rejected files with the reason:
Problem | Message |
|---|---|
Several rows for the same invoice | “This CSV has multiple rows per invoice (line-item export). Consolidate to one row per invoice, or upload PDFs instead.” |
The rows are not invoices | “This CSV does not look like invoice data.” |
A required column is missing | “This CSV is missing required columns for: …” followed by the missing fields |
The file is empty | “CSV file appears to be empty.” |
A header row but no invoices | “This CSV has a header but no data rows.” |
Review and import
Billow creates nothing until you confirm the import.
Open the link in the email, or go to Settings → Imports and click Review now next to the import.
Check the invoices under Will be imported and Won’t be imported. Hover over a row’s status to see why it needs attention.
To fix a row, click its edit button, correct the details in the Edit invoice panel, and click Save changes.
To leave a row out, click its trash button. You can bring it back with the restore button.
Check the Accounts and Contacts lists. Each entry is marked Matched if it already exists in Billow, or New if the import creates it.
Click Import into Billow. The button shows how many invoices are ready, for example Import into Billow (12).
Check the counts in the Confirm import dialog and click the Import button, for example Import 12 invoices.
The Confirm import dialog lists how many invoices, new accounts and new contacts the import creates. If some rows still need review, it also warns you:
[number] invoices still marked “Needs review” will be discarded, including their uploaded files. This can’t be undone.
Only rows marked Ready are imported. To include a row that needs review, fix it before you confirm.
Row statuses
Status | What it means | Section |
|---|---|---|
Ready | Everything checks out | Will be imported |
Needs review | Something needs your attention first | Won’t be imported |
Rejected | Billow thinks the file is not an invoice, or you removed the row | Won’t be imported |
If Billow decides a file is not an invoice, the row says so: “Our system thinks this is not an invoice. If it’s mistaken, you can fill in the details by clicking the edit button.” Saving the row in the Edit invoice panel overrides that decision and checks the row again.
Why a row needs review
Message | What to do |
|---|---|
“Missing: …” followed by the missing fields, for example “Missing: Date, Total.” | Add the missing details |
“Pick or create an account for this invoice.” | Choose an existing account or create a new one |
“Confirm the matched account for this invoice.” | Check that Billow picked the right account |
“This invoice number already exists in this workspace.” | Check whether the invoice is already in Billow |
“Another row in this import has the same invoice number.” | Remove the duplicate or correct the number |
“The amounts on this invoice do not add up.” | Correct the amounts |
“We could not read this invoice currency.” | Choose the currency |
“This invoice is dated in the future.” | Correct the date |
“This invoice has an unreadable date.” | Correct the date |
“We had to guess this file’s date format. Check the date and save to confirm.” | Check the date and save the row |
“We could not read this invoice.” | Fill in the details by hand |
“The invoice number is too long (max 64 characters).” | Shorten the number |
What imported invoices look like
They are marked Paid, with an extra Imported badge. The paid date is the one on the invoice, or its invoice date if it has none.
They keep the number from your old tool, exactly as it was. Billow’s own INV- numbering is not affected.
They are not attached to a project, so the import creates no projects or offers.
For PDF and image imports, Billow stores the original file with the invoice. Download imported invoice in the invoice’s … menu returns it, and it is included in your data export.
You can rename them from the … menu in the invoice list or on the invoice page. Every other field stays as imported.
Import statuses
Settings → Imports lists your past imports with their status.
Status | What it means |
|---|---|
Analyzing | Billow is still reading the files |
Ready for review | The review screen is ready for you |
Imported | You confirmed the import |
Expired | The import was not finished within 7 days, so Billow removed its files |
Failed | Something went wrong while processing. Upload the files again |
Finish reviewing within 7 days, or Billow removes the files. Billow emails you if an import fails.
Cancel an import
Go to Settings → Imports.
Click Cancel next to the import.
Click Cancel import in the dialog.
Billow deletes the uploaded files. This cannot be undone.
Deleting an imported invoice
An admin can delete an imported invoice like any other invoice, including one that is Paid. Deleting it frees its number and its file, so you can import a corrected version.
