Multidrop (CP) - Manifest Issues (Data Import)

If you’re uploading an order file (either our standard Excel .xlsx or a .csv file in the same layout) and getting an error, check through the following carefully.

📂 File Naming Issues

  • Only use letters, numbers and underscores in the filename.
    Do not use:
    • Spaces
    • Commas ,
    • Ampersands &
    • Slashes / \
    • Special characters like @ ! £ $ % ^ * ( )
  • A safe example: store_orders_24_july.xlsx

Why it matters: Some characters can break the upload process or be blocked by the system for security reasons.

📄 Excel File Tab Name

If you’re using our .xlsx file:

  • Make sure the tab (sheet) is named exactly Data
  • Do not rename it, delete it, or copy your data to another sheet

Why it matters: The system looks for a tab called Data. If it’s missing or renamed, the file will be rejected.

🔤 Cell Content Problems

  • Avoid symbols in your data. Common culprits:
    • Commas , in product descriptions
    • Quotation marks " (used when copying from websites)
    • Line breaks or ALT+ENTER inside a cell
    • Curly quotes or pasted special formatting from Word
  • If you want to show inches, use two apostrophes instead: 6''

Phone numbers: Must be just numbers. Do not include:

  • Spaces
  • Plus symbols (+)
  • Brackets (( ))
  • Hyphens (-)

Why it matters: Symbols can confuse the CSV format and cause fields to break into the wrong columns.

🔧 Custom File Layouts

If we’ve built a custom file format just for your business:

  • Always compare your new file to a previously successful one
  • If a supplier changes a column name, adds a new one, or moves things around — the import will likely fail

Tip: Keep a clean, working file as your template and compare any new ones to it before uploading.

🧾 XLSX Manifest File (Our Standard Format)

This file has built-in formatting rules to reduce errors. It includes pop-up notes in many cells to explain what’s expected.

Key columns to check:

  • QTY – Whole number between 1–50
  • Parts – Whole number between 1–50
  • Weight – Number between 1–1000
  • Cube – Number between 1–1000
  • Delivery Charge – Must be a number. If unknown, leave it as 0.
    ❌ Don’t enter values like £- or text.
  • Delivery Instructions – Use full sentences.
    ❌ Don’t just put a phone number or random symbols here.

🛒 Shopify CSV Export Files

You can export a CSV directly from Shopify that works with our system:

  1. Go to Orders
  2. Filter or search for the orders you need
  3. Tick the orders on the left
  4. Click Export
  5. Choose Plain CSV

This file includes:

  • Customer names
  • Addresses
  • Product descriptions
  • Product codes

⚠ Important:
Shopify does not include product weights or cubic metres (CBM).
You’ll need to add this manually after importing the file into our system.

🧩 Mixed Data Issues (Very Common)

Excel struggles when a column has a mix of numbers and letters. For example:

  • 123456
  • A12345
  • 000012

What happens:
Excel checks the first 8 rows to guess what’s in a column. If most are numbers, it will treat the column as numbers — and ignore anything with letters.

Fix:

  1. Open your file in Excel
  2. Highlight your header row
  3. Go to Home → Sort & Filter → Filter
  4. Use the dropdown on the relevant column (like Order Number)
  5. Choose Sort Z to A

This puts alphanumeric rows at the top, which helps Excel read the data properly.

📥 Copying & Pasting Data

If you’re copying from another file:

  • Use Paste as Values, not standard paste
  • Right-click → Paste Special → Values
  • This keeps the correct formatting and stops Excel from messing with the layout

If you paste incorrectly, you can:

  • Break cell validation
  • Overwrite important rules
  • Introduce hidden line breaks or special characters

✅ You can download a fresh copy of our blank .xlsx manifest file if you need to compare or start again.

🧪 Extra Things to Check

Here are some less obvious issues that can also cause uploads to fail:

  • Hidden rows or columns
  • Cells with red triangles (comment boxes that weren't cleared)
  • Cells formatted as Date when they should be Text or Number
  • Empty rows between data (delete these if possible)
  • Extra columns at the end of the sheet with no headers

Still Stuck?

If you’ve tried all of the above and you’re still getting errors:

  • Check your file against a known working one - you can download a copy of our blank default manifest .xlsx file here to compare your file with. 
  • Try uploading a very small test file with just 1–2 rows
  • Contact support with the file you're using and the error message shown

We’re happy to take a look and help troubleshoot it with you.