The ERP files Narada needs
Narada needs four exports most ERPs already have as standard reports: your parts list, sales lines, dated stock counts and purchase orders. Send them as your ERP writes them: we map the columns and load the files ourselves. Two years of history is best. 18 months is the least that works. No names, emails or addresses are needed.
| File | Tier | History | What Narada does with it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parts list (products, items) | 1: free reports | Today’s list, discontinued and inactive parts included | Names every part and its cost. A part missing here is left out of every other file |
| Sales lines (invoice lines) | 1: free reports | 2 years | Demand week by week, per part and branch |
| Stock counts (on hand by date) | 1: free reports | 2 years of dated counts. Weekly is best, monthly the least | Your real stock value, and the weeks a part ran out |
| Purchase orders (PO lines) | 1: free reports | 2 years | What you ordered, what was promised, and when it really arrived |
| Goods receipts | 2: every day | 2 years | Fills in the real arrival date, and closes an order line once it is fully received |
| Suppliers | 2: every day | Today’s list | Lead times, minimum order values, free-freight levels |
| Branches | 2: every day | Today’s list | Names your locations |
| Customers | 3: sharpens it | Today’s list | Codes and segments only. Never names |
| Returns | 3: sharpens it | 2 years | Stock coming back to the shelf |
| Open invoices (accounts receivable) | 3: sharpens it | What’s owed today | Turns on the cash-collection checks: who owes what, and days to collect |
| Batches and lots | 3: sharpens it | Stock on hand today | Only if you track expiry dates: flags stock nearing the end of its shelf life |
Tier 1 is enough for both free reports (the health report and the Digital Twin ROI report). Tier 2 is what Narada needs to run every day. Tier 3 turns on extra checks: customer codes on sales lines turn on the customer checks, and “quantity ordered” lets Narada measure your real fill rate.
Leave out voided invoices, transfers between your own branches, and drop-ships sent straight from the supplier to your customer. Narada sees transfers in the stock counts. If an optional file is easy to pull, send it now: it saves asking later.
Why two years?
Section titled “Why two years?”The replay shows you your last twelve months. It needs about six months of history before that year, and the extra months give the forecast your seasons. Narada’s settings are fixed before the replay starts, and each week of the test it sees only the history up to that week.
18 months is the least that gives a full year’s replay. See The free report.
Five codes tie the files together
Section titled “Five codes tie the files together”Narada matches rows across files by their codes. A part code in the sales file must be written exactly as it is in the parts list. The same goes for branch, supplier, PO and customer codes.
| Code | Appears in | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Part code | Parts, sales, stock, POs, receipts, returns | Send the full parts list, discontinued parts included. Rows for a part not on the list are left out |
| Branch code | Sales, stock, POs, receipts, returns | A PO with no branch cannot be matched to the stock it refilled |
| Supplier code | Parts, POs, suppliers | How Narada learns each supplier’s real lead time |
| PO number | POs, receipts | A receipt without its PO number cannot close the order |
| Customer code | Sales, customers, returns | Optional. Replace it with a made-up code if you prefer |
Codes can be up to 50 characters. If you replace codes, replace each one the same way in every file.
Parts list
Section titled “Parts list”One row per part. Include discontinued and inactive parts: last year’s sales still name them.
| Column | What it means | Example | Need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part code | Your item or part number | HV-FIL-1620 | Must |
| Unit cost | What one unit costs you, as your ERP values stock. A part with no cost counts as zero, and Narada flags it as unpriced | 12.40 | Needed |
| Landed cost | Cost including freight and duty. Used where unit cost is blank | 13.10 | Optional |
| Description | Part name | Pleated filter 16x20 | Optional |
| Category, brand | How you group parts | Filters | Optional |
| List price | Standard selling price. Real prices come from sales lines | 19.95 | Optional |
| Main supplier code | Who you usually buy it from | S-014 | Helpful |
| Minimum order qty, order multiple, pack size | Supplier buying rules, so Narada’s orders respect them | 24 / 12 / 12 | Helpful |
| Unit of measure | The unit the part’s quantities are counted in (each, case). Narada does not convert between units, so a part’s quantities must use the same unit in every file | EA | Helpful |
| Status | Active or discontinued | Discontinued | Helpful |
| Stocking policy | Stocked, or bought only to order for a customer | Non-stock | Helpful |
| Supplier part number | The supplier’s own code for it, so a draft order reads in their terms | FLT-16201 | Optional |
| Lead time override (days) | A lead time set on this part, where it differs from the supplier’s | 21 | Optional |
| Shelf life (days) | For parts that expire | 365 | Optional |
Sales lines
Section titled “Sales lines”One row per invoice line, two years back, voided invoices left out. Credit notes go either here as negative quantities or in a returns file, not both. Tell us which. A negative line is set aside for review unless that customer bought the part before, so credits in this file need the customer code.
| Column | What it means | Example | Need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part code | Matches the parts list | HV-FIL-1620 | Must |
| Branch | Where it shipped from. A one-branch business can tell us instead | BR-01 | Must |
| Invoice number | Keeps each line counted once | INV-204118 | Must |
| Invoice date | When it was invoiced | 2025-03-14 | Must |
| Quantity | Units shipped. Negative for a credit | 6 | Must |
| Unit price or line total | What the customer paid, after discounts. Send either one | 19.95 | Needed |
| Customer code | Who bought it. A made-up code is fine | C-0412 | Optional |
| Order number, quantity ordered | Shows lines that were ordered but not shipped | SO-88120 / 10 | Optional |
Stock counts
Section titled “Stock counts”One row per part, per branch, per date. This is the file most often sent wrong: today’s stock alone is not enough.
| Column | What it means | Example | Need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part code | Matches the parts list | HV-FIL-1620 | Must |
| Branch | Where the stock sits | BR-01 | Must |
| On hand | Units on the shelf on that date | 42 | Must |
| Count date | The date the quantity was true. Never blank: Narada will not guess it | 2025-03-16 | Must |
| Reserved | Units promised to customers but not yet shipped | 4 | Optional |
| On order | Units on open purchase orders | 24 | Optional |
Why dated counts matter. A sales file cannot show demand you could not fill. When the shelf was empty, nothing sold, and the row looks the same as “nobody asked”. Dated counts show which weeks a part was out, so Narada can estimate the sales you missed.
- Weekly counts over two years: best. Every week out of stock is seen.
- Monthly counts: the least that works. Weeks out of stock between counts are missed, so lost sales read low.
- Today only: the report cannot value your past stock, and says so.
If your ERP can print stock on a past date, export it for each week’s end. If it cannot, your consultant can rebuild it from the stock transaction log. It is usually the biggest job on this list, and the one that matters most.
Purchase orders
Section titled “Purchase orders”One row per PO line, two years back, open and closed. Mark cancelled lines as cancelled.
| Column | What it means | Example | Need |
|---|---|---|---|
| PO number | Your purchase order number | PO-30551 | Must |
| Part code | Matches the parts list | HV-FIL-1620 | Must |
| Order date | When the PO was placed | 2025-02-03 | Must |
| Quantity ordered | Units on the line, in the same unit as the part’s sales and stock | 48 | Must |
| Branch | Where it was delivered | BR-01 | Needed |
| Supplier code | Who it was ordered from | S-014 | Needed |
| Promised date | The delivery date the supplier gave | 2025-02-17 | Needed |
| Received date | When it fully arrived. For partial deliveries, send goods receipts | 2025-02-24 | Needed |
| Status | Open, received or cancelled. A blank status reads as open | Received | Needed |
| Quantity received, unit cost | What arrived, and what it cost | 48 / 12.40 | Optional |
| Customer order reference | For special orders: the customer order it was bought for | SO-88120 | Optional |
| Supplier order number | The supplier’s reference for the order, so receipts can match it | VO-55120 | Optional |
An open line with no received date counts as not yet delivered. If your export cannot carry a received date, send goods receipts with the PO number.
The helpful and optional files
Section titled “The helpful and optional files”| File | Columns | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Goods receipts | Part code, branch, quantity received, receipt date (must); PO number (needed) | The PO number matches the receipt to its order. The line closes once fully received |
| Suppliers | Supplier code (must); lead time in days, minimum order value (helpful); free freight level, payment terms, return window in days (optional) | Leave out names and emails |
| Branches | Branch code (must); branch name (optional) | “Branch 1” is fine |
| Returns | Return number, part, branch, date, quantity (must); customer code, reason, value (optional) | One row per returned line |
| Customers | Customer code (must); segment, region, credit limit, payment terms, active yes or no (optional) | Leave out names, contacts and addresses |
| Open invoices | Invoice number, invoice date, due date, amount outstanding (must); customer code (helpful) | One row per open invoice, in US dollars |
| Batches and lots | Batch or lot number, part code, branch, receipt date, expiry date, quantity (must) | Only if you track expiry. One row per batch on hand |
Your column names do not have to match ours. Send them as they are (Item No, Whse, Qty Shipped, Ext Price): we map them ourselves and check every match before your files load. Extra columns are fine.
How the files should look
Section titled “How the files should look”| Topic | What works |
|---|---|
| File types | CSV, Excel (.xlsx; save older .xls files as .xlsx), tab-separated text or flat XML. One table per file, with a header row. A title above the header is fine. In Excel every sheet of a workbook is read and joined, so leave summary or notes sheets out |
| Dates | Any common format, mixed in one column. If your dates put the day first (14/03/2025), tell us at setup. Rows dated in the future are set aside on sales, orders, receipts and returns |
| Numbers | $1,234.50, (500) and 500- are all read. In number columns, blank, n/a and - count as empty |
| Codes | Keep them as text. Excel can turn a code like 00123 into a number, so save the column as text |
| Size | A sales CSV up to 2 GB. Excel, XML and other files up to 200 MB. Or a zip of up to 50 files. By email, about 20 MB |
| Status words | Parts: active, current, stocked; discontinued, inactive, obsolete, superseded, blocked. Purchase orders: received, complete, delivered (closed); cancelled, void (cancelled); sent, confirmed, partial (open). An unknown word sets that row aside |
| Repeats | The same file sent again on a later night is fine. Inside one file, repeated lines for the same part on one invoice are added together, so export each line once. The same part, branch and date with two different stock counts is set aside |
| Units and money | A part’s quantities in the same unit in every file (no conversion). Every price and cost in US dollars |
| Sending | See How to send below |
Columns that are easy to mix up
Section titled “Columns that are easy to mix up”Send one file per type, with all branches together (a branch column on each row is enough). Name the files anything. History counts back from the day you export. A small sample first (a few hundred rows of each) lets us confirm every column before the full pull.
| If your ERP has | Send it as |
|---|---|
| Available or Free stock | Narada wants on hand: everything on the shelf, before reservations. If “available” is on hand minus allocated, send on hand instead, and allocated as Reserved |
| Price on a sales line | Tell us whether it is per unit or the line’s total. If both columns exist, send both |
| Location | The branch or warehouse, never a bin or shelf position |
| Stock | A quantity goes in On hand; a yes/no “stock item” flag goes in Stocking policy |
| Cost | On the parts list, today’s unit cost. On a PO line, what that line cost |
| Blank PO status | A blank reads as open, so mark cancelled lines cancelled |
| Voids, transfers, drop-ships | Leave them out. If your export can’t, keep the column that marks them and tell us its name |
Running Narada every day
Section titled “Running Narada every day”Once Narada runs for you, the same files arrive each night. Re-sending a line Narada already has changes nothing, so overlapping a few days is safe.
| File | Each night, send | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sales lines | The last 7 days of invoice lines | Overlap is safe; a late-posted invoice still arrives |
| Stock counts | Today’s on hand, every part and branch | Each night adds one dated count |
| Purchase orders | Every open line, plus lines closed or cancelled in the last 7 days | A line that stops appearing would otherwise look open forever |
| Goods receipts | The last 7 days | Closes orders and records partial deliveries |
| Open invoices (if sent) | Today’s full open list | What is owed and overdue today |
| Parts, suppliers, customers, branches | Weekly, or when they change | New parts, costs, minimums and lead times |
Most ERPs can email a saved report on a timer; we give you a private address for each file. If your ERP saves to a shared folder instead (OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive or Dropbox), we collect from there. A file much smaller than usual is held for us to check, so a half-finished export never replaces good data.
What happens to a bad row
Section titled “What happens to a bad row”- One bad row is set aside with the reason, such as “count date missing”. Every other row still loads, and you get the list to fix.
- A whole column that cannot be read stops that file. Nothing from it loads, so nothing half-loads by accident.
Before the report runs, we tell you what is missing: too little history, parts with no cost, or orders with no arrival dates. You hear it from us first, not in the report.
How to send
Section titled “How to send”You don’t log in to anything or upload through the app. Put the files where your IT is comfortable, share them with us, and we take it from there.
| Option | How | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| 1. A link from your own storage (best) | OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox or Box. Share the zip with the address we give you, and set the link to expire after a week if you like | Your IT controls who can open it and for how long. Nothing sits in an inbox |
| 2. Email | Attach the zip and send it to the private address we give you | Fine for small files: attachments stop at about 20 MB |
| 3. Something else your IT prefers | Tell us, and we fit around your policy | For example a password-protected zip, with the password sent by phone or text |
Once the files arrive, we map your columns by hand, load and check them, and tell you within the first week if anything is thin or missing. Your files are deleted 30 days after they arrive. The loaded figures stay in your own separate account until you ask us to delete it.
Send it too, if you have it
Section titled “Send it too, if you have it”| If you have | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| A lost-sales report | Some ERPs record sales the counter couldn’t fill (Prophet 21’s lost-sales codes, Infor’s Lost Business report). It shows your real walk-away rate instead of an estimate. Even a partial one helps |
| A list of critical parts | Parts you must never run out of, whatever they cost. We check Narada’s plan for each of them by hand and tell you if any would run thin |
| A list of special-order customers or parts | If your PO export doesn’t link special orders to the customer order, a list keeps one-off orders out of shelf demand |
Questions we’ll ask you
Section titled “Questions we’ll ask you”No file needed: these are answers only you have. We ask them on a call or by email. If you’re not sure, say so: we show you the range and you can answer later. In the app they live on Your numbers.
| Question | Why we ask |
|---|---|
| How often do you check stock and order? | Stock to cover the days between checks |
| What does placing one purchase order cost you? | Time and admin per order. Published figures run from $55 to $411 |
| What does holding stock cost you a year? | Storage, insurance, shrinkage and the cash tied up, as a share of stock value |
| What does your money cost you? | Your borrowing rate, or what the cash would earn elsewhere |
| When a part is out, how many customers go elsewhere? | Per class of part (A, B, C). It decides whether holding more stock pays |
| If one part on an order is missing, do they take the whole order elsewhere? | If they do, slow parts matter more than their own margin |
| Of those who wait, how often do you rush the part in, and what does that cost? | Rush freight and the cost of a customer waiting |
| How full do you want the shelf? | The lowest fill you’ll accept for A, B and C parts |
| How much stock do you want to hold overall? | Keep about today’s level, hold less, or put more cash in |
| When is stock dead, or too much? | Days without a sale, and days of cover, before we flag it |
| Do suppliers pay rebates above a buying level? | So a leaner stock level doesn’t cost you a rebate without warning |
| Which months do your sales peak? | Marks the seasons for the forecast |
| Is your sales export one row per invoice line, or weekly totals? | So orders are sized from the right kind of history |
| How large an order needs your OK? | Narada asks before any order above it |
The checklist before you send
Section titled “The checklist before you send”- Parts list, every part including discontinued ones, with unit cost and unit of measure.
- Sales lines, two years, with invoice number, date, branch, quantity and net price. Voided invoices, branch transfers and drop-ships left out.
- Stock counts, dated, for each week’s end over two years. Monthly at the least.
- Purchase orders, two years, open and closed, with branch, supplier, promised and received dates, and status.
- Goods receipts with PO numbers, if your PO export has no received date.
- Suppliers and branches: codes, lead times and minimums.
- Codes that match across files, stored as text, 50 characters or fewer.
- Personal columns removed. See Removing personal details.
- Optional files if they’re easy: returns, customers, open invoices, batches.
- If you have them: a lost-sales report, a critical-parts list, a special-orders list.
- Everything in one zip, shared by a link from your own storage (or emailed if small).
Questions about a column or an export: support@naradaos.com.
- Removing personal details
- The free report
- Data: loading files yourself in the app.