Procore's import rules
Where the feed goes
Direct costs are imported in a project's Direct Costs tool. Procore checks the file first and lists each problem in an Error column; the Import button stays off until the file is fixed and uploaded again. Vendors are imported with the Procore Imports app, which also gives you its template to fill in. Download a fresh template from your own project: Procore changes them over time.
Common errors and their fixes
The whole import fails at once
Cause: Procore refuses a file if the header text changes, if a column is added, moved or removed, or if there are empty rows or blank columns.
Fix: Keep Procore's template as it is and only fill in the rows beneath the headings. Delete any empty rows at the bottom.
Type, terms or cost type not recognised
Cause: Type (Invoice or Expense), Terms (Net 30, Due On Receipt) and Cost Type (L, E, M, S, OC, SVC or O) are case-sensitive. invoice, net 30 and l are all refused.
Fix: Write each exactly as Procore does, with a capital first letter for Type and Terms and capitals for the cost type.
Dates in the wrong format
Cause: Direct cost dates follow the project's language setting: MM/DD/YYYY for US and Canadian projects, DD/MM/YYYY for UK, Australian and some others. M/D/YYYY and two-digit years fail.
Fix: Write 03/05/2026, not 3/5/26. Excel changes dates when it saves a CSV, so see dates changing in CSV files. Ask your Procore administrator which format your project uses.
Vendor or employee not found
Cause: Vendor (needed on invoices) and Employee Email must match the Project Directory exactly, including case and punctuation, and the person or company must already be in it.
Fix: Add the vendor or person to the Directory first, then copy the name or email from there.
Cost code not accepted
Cause: A cost code is a Division-Code such as 01-510 and must exist in your work breakdown structure. Leading zeros lost in a spreadsheet turn 01-510 into a date or 1-510.
Fix: Format the column as text before pasting. See leading zeros in CSV files. If the cost code isn't budgeted for that cost type, the line is added to the Budget with a question mark.
Amounts with symbols
Cause: Unit Cost and Amount are numbers. $1,250.00 and 1,250 are read as text.
Fix: Write 1250.00 with no symbol or comma. The currency symbols guide shows how to clean a column.
Unit of measure doesn't match
Cause: Units must match the Display Name of a unit on your company's master list, such as LF or EA, spelled the same way.
Fix: Copy the display names from the company's unit of measure list in Procore.
Draft costs missing from the Budget
Cause: A cost with the status Draft doesn't show in the Budget tool's Direct Cost column. Only Pending, Revise and Resubmit and Approved do.
Fix: Choose the status you want the budget to reflect before importing.
Vendors created twice
Cause: In the vendors import, names are case- and punctuation-sensitive. ABC Electric and ABC Electric, Inc. are two companies, so the Directory ends up with both.
Fix: Match each name to the Directory before importing, and keep one row per company.
Several values in one cell break
Cause: Trades, cost codes and default bid invitee emails go in one cell separated by a space, a pipe and a space ( | ). Commas, semicolons and line breaks don't work. Tags and keywords are the exception: commas.
Fix: Join values with " | ". If a CSV cell has a comma, it needs double quotes: see commas in CSV files.
ZIP codes and phone numbers changed
Cause: Spreadsheets drop the leading zero from ZIP codes such as 02134, and phones need the North American format, 805-555-0100, with no spaces or parentheses.
Fix: Format ZIP codes as text and write phone numbers with dashes.
Entity type without an entity ID
Cause: Entity Type (ABN or EIN) and Entity Id go together: one without the other fails.
Fix: Fill in both or leave both blank.
After importing
After a direct costs upload, Procore lists the problems row by row in the Error column. Fix those rows in your file, not in Procore, and upload it again.
Import users before vendors, as Procore recommends. Leave the Id column out of a vendors file unless you mean to update existing vendors: importing an Id overwrites that vendor's data.
Checklist before you import
Collecting costs or subcontractors from several projects?
Send each location a form instead of a spreadsheet. The Procore direct costs template follows Procore's column order, takes types, statuses and cost types only from its lists, and checks dates and amounts. For companies, the Procore vendors template flags repeated names.
Try the direct costs templateRelevant Templates
Import Builder is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Procore Technologies. Procore is a trademark of Procore Technologies, Inc. Import rules as described in Procore's support documentation, November 2026.