Keeping your lists in sync with a file

Still maintaining items or accounts in another program? Upload your latest list and Kaalchakra updates what you already have — nothing loses its history, and nothing changes until you say so.

Many businesses run Kaalchakra alongside their old software for a while, or keep a master price list in a spreadsheet. Sync with existing is built for exactly that: upload your latest list, and instead of blindly adding everything again, Kaalchakra compares it with what you already have and updates your existing records in place. A renamed item stays the same item — with all its stock and sales history — instead of becoming a stray duplicate.

You'll find it as a tab on each master's import page — Items, Accounts, Account Groups, and Item Groups all have one.

How a sync works

1
Open the Sync tab
Go to the master's import page — for example Masters → Item → Import / Export — and switch to Sync with existing.
2
Upload your latest list
Drop in the Excel or CSV you exported from your other program. Columns are matched automatically; if the name column wasn't found, Adjust columns lets you point at it.
3
Read the plan
Before anything happens, you get a plain-language summary: how many rows already match, how many will have details updated, how many will be renamed, how many are new, and which duplicates were found. Every line can be expanded to see exactly which records are behind it.
4
Decide the rows that need you
When two of your records both look like the same row of the file — and both have real history — Kaalchakra won't guess. Those rows sit at the top. Press Decide one by one to fly through them with the keyboard (pick a record, skip, or add as new), or use the one-click choices to settle all of them at once.
5
Choose what happens to duplicates and leftovers
Empty duplicate copies can be deleted in one tick — only copies with no recorded activity are ever offered. Records that are in your books but missing from the file get their own optional section: select all the safe ones to remove, or press Keep everything.
6
Apply
One button applies the whole plan, with a confirmation that spells out each kind of change — including anything permanent — before it runs. Progress is shown live, and any row that couldn't be applied is listed with the reason.

When two of your records look like the same row

This happens after an older import made a second copy of something. Both copies may have activity against them, so Kaalchakra won't choose for you — it shows you each one with what it holds, and you pick the one to keep. When the copy you didn't pick is holding the name your file wants, we add “(duplicate)” to that copy so the record you kept can take its name back. Nothing is deleted — both records keep everything, and you can rename the copy again later from the normal screens. Once that's done, the row stops asking.

The copy is easy to clean up afterwards

After it's been renamed with “(duplicate)”, that copy no longer matches anything in your file — so it appears in the “records you have that aren't in this file” list at the bottom, where you can review and remove it if it really is junk.

If your file lists the same thing twice

Two rows can be the same record even when they don't look identical — extra spaces or different capitals still count as the same name. If two such rows disagree (different price, tax code or short name), neither is applied: whichever went in would simply be undone by the other on your next sync. Kaalchakra names the other row so you can keep just one of them in your file and sync again.

What's protected automatically

Records with history are never deleted. An item with stock movements, an account with transactions, a group with members — these can't even be selected for deletion.
Renames keep the record. Matching looks at the name, the alias, and (for accounts) the GSTIN, so a record renamed in your other software updates the one you already have instead of creating a copy.
Nothing happens until Apply. Uploading and reading the plan changes nothing; you can close the page at any point.
Deleting always takes two deliberate steps — a tick to arm it and a typed confirmation — and the count of deletions is always spelled out separately.
Accounts get an extra safety check. Before any account deletion is even offered, your books are re-checked to confirm the account has never been used.
When both look real, it asks. If two records both carry history, no software can safely decide which one your file means — so you decide, with each record's activity shown beside it.

Where to find it

List	Where	Matched by
Items	Masters → Item → Import / Export → Sync with existing	Name and alias
Accounts	Masters → Account → Import → Sync with existing	Name, alias and GSTIN
Account Groups	Masters → Account Group → Import → Sync with existing	Group name
Item Groups	Masters → Item Group → Import → Sync with existing	Group name

Watch the stock and balance columns

If your file carries stock quantities or opening balances, syncing can overwrite the figures on records that already have activity. The plan calls these out loudly before you apply — if you only meant to update names and rates, unmap those columns under Adjust columns.

Start from an export

The easiest reliable file is one you exported from the same page's Export tab — the columns already line up perfectly.

Junk rows are caught

A heading row that slipped into the middle of the sheet, or a row whose “name” is really a unit like “Set”, is flagged and never created as a record.

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How a sync works

Open the Sync tab

Go to the master's import page — for example Masters → Item → Import / Export — and switch to Sync with existing.

Upload your latest list

Drop in the Excel or CSV you exported from your other program. Columns are matched automatically; if the name column wasn't found, Adjust columns lets you point at it.

Read the plan

Before anything happens, you get a plain-language summary: how many rows already match, how many will have details updated, how many will be renamed, how many are new, and which duplicates were found. Every line can be expanded to see exactly which records are behind it.

Decide the rows that need you

When two of your records both look like the same row of the file — and both have real history — Kaalchakra won't guess. Those rows sit at the top. Press Decide one by one to fly through them with the keyboard (pick a record, skip, or add as new), or use the one-click choices to settle all of them at once.

Choose what happens to duplicates and leftovers

Empty duplicate copies can be deleted in one tick — only copies with no recorded activity are ever offered. Records that are in your books but missing from the file get their own optional section: select all the safe ones to remove, or press Keep everything.

Apply

One button applies the whole plan, with a confirmation that spells out each kind of change — including anything permanent — before it runs. Progress is shown live, and any row that couldn't be applied is listed with the reason.

When two of your records look like the same row

The copy is easy to clean up afterwards

If your file lists the same thing twice

What's protected automatically

Records with history are never deleted. An item with stock movements, an account with transactions, a group with members — these can't even be selected for deletion.

Renames keep the record. Matching looks at the name, the alias, and (for accounts) the GSTIN, so a record renamed in your other software updates the one you already have instead of creating a copy.

Nothing happens until Apply. Uploading and reading the plan changes nothing; you can close the page at any point.

Deleting always takes two deliberate steps — a tick to arm it and a typed confirmation — and the count of deletions is always spelled out separately.

Accounts get an extra safety check. Before any account deletion is even offered, your books are re-checked to confirm the account has never been used.

When both look real, it asks. If two records both carry history, no software can safely decide which one your file means — so you decide, with each record's activity shown beside it.