Documentation/ Working with documents/ Downloads and exports
Downloads and exports
Two quite different things come out of a list: the original files of the documents, and the data read off them as a spreadsheet. They are separate actions and they cover different ground.
On this page
The two kinds of download
| Kind | What you get | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Originals | The file exactly as it arrived: the PDF or the image. | PDF or image |
| Extracted data | What the system read, in rows and columns. | Spreadsheet |
Mixing them up is behind a fair share of the questions we get: somebody expecting the PDF and getting a spreadsheet, or the other way round, has used the other kind's action.
Downloading the original files
With documents ticked, the download action gets you their original files. For a single document you start it from its own row or from the editing screen.
With nothing ticked, the application says so rather than downloading the entire list.
Merged documents
A merged document came from several pages or files grouped together. Download it and you get the whole thing, not just the first part.
On single-page documents the file comes back exactly as it arrived, untouched: a photograph downloads as an image and is not turned into a PDF.
Exporting to Excel
The lists offer several exports, and they do not hold the same thing:
| Export | What is in it | One row per |
|---|---|---|
| Documents | Header data: issuer, dates, numbers, net amounts, taxes and totals. | Document |
| Items | Line detail: item, quantity, price, discounts and tax. | Document line |
| Documents with VAT breakdown | The header with the taxes broken out. | Tax rate on each document |
A document with several VAT rates takes several rows in the breakdown export. That is right for reconciling tax, but not every accounting package accepts it; some insist on one row per invoice. Where the destination needs that, use the documents export, which does not break tax out, or ask for a format built to order.
Dijit.app supports export formats built to order, with whatever column layout the receiving system needs. They are set up with the team rather than in the application.
What goes into an export
Two rules worth holding in mind before you export:
- The export honours the filters you have on. What you get is the filtered set, not your whole history.
- Ticking only reaches the records that are loaded. The list brings documents in in blocks; export with a selection made on what is visible and what has not loaded is left out.
To export a whole period, the reliable way is to filter by date and export the result, rather than loading blocks and ticking by hand.
Why a total may not match
When a total in an export does not agree with the dashboard or the list, the cause is usually what was covered rather than the arithmetic. Check these, in order:
- The period. The dashboard and the export may be working on different dates: the document's against the upload.
- The filters that were on when you exported.
- How many documents were loaded against the list's total.
- Which export. An items file adds up lines; a documents file adds up headers. The amounts are not comparable between the two.
- Deleted documents, which count towards your usage but not towards the amounts.
Reports built to order
On top of the general exports, some accounts have reports made to their own specification, laid out the way their receiving software insists. They appear as their own actions on the list and are only visible on the accounts that have them.
When nothing downloads
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing happens when you press it | The browser has blocked the download, or nothing is ticked. | Look for the browser's blocked notice, and check something is ticked. |
| A notice saying there is nothing to export | The filtered set is empty. | Go over the filters and the period. |
| A notice saying there are no items to download | The documents you ticked have no lines read off them. | Use the documents export, or find out why there are no lines. |
| The file comes back incomplete | The export ran on a partial selection. | Filter by the period and export again. |