The files you need
- Before
- Columns
id,status - After
- Columns
id,status
Other columns can stay in the file. Only the ones above are checked, so an extra column never stops a run.
How the rows are matched
A row matches when before “id” equals after “id”. Matched rows are then compared on “status”; a difference shows as Values differ.
Every row ends in one class: Matched, Values differ, Only in the before file, Only in the after file, Ambiguous, or Duplicate in file.
Steps
- Export both files for the same period, as CSV or Excel.
- Open the tp-09 template in the app and drop the before on the left, the after on the right.
- Clean anything the preview shows: stray spaces, mixed date formats, a renamed header. Each fix becomes a step.
- Save the recipe and press Run. Read the rows that are not Matched first.
- Next month, drop the new exports and press Run again. Last month's open rows come back with their age.
Common problems
- A key has spaces or a different case. “SO-1003” and “ SO-1003” are different strings. Add a Trim step, and an Upper-case step if one system lowers its codes.
- The export renamed a column. The run stops and names the missing column. Rename it back in the export, or add a Rename step.
- A row appears twice in one file. It is marked Duplicate in file rather than matched twice.
Transcript
The short video for this guide is being recorded. Its full transcript will be published here with it.
Next guide: How to compare a supplier price list with last period
