Search and replace before importing into bexio

In the tables of Import entries and Import invoices on app.importly.ch, you search and replace just like in Excel or Google Sheets. This lets you clean up your data right before importing it into bexio: replace text in many cells, set a column in all matching rows at once, or change only specific rows.

You see every change in a preview first, and Undo reverts it in one step.

1. Search

Open the search with Ctrl+F (Mac: Cmd+F). A search bar appears above the table. Importly highlights and counts all matches. Press Enter to jump to the next match and Shift+Enter to go back to the previous one.

In the search bar, you can narrow down the search:

• Aa: match case.
• Match: contains, entire cell, starts with or ends with.
• Column: search in All columns or only in a specific column.
• In selection: If you select several cells before opening the search, Importly only searches within them. Click the x on the In selection chip to remove the restriction again.

The search also finds numbers and dates written differently: 1.234,50 finds 1'234.50, and 1.3.25 finds 01.03.2025.

If the search bar covers your data, you can move it; double-clicking the handle puts it back. Press Esc to close it.

2. Replace and set columns

Open replace with Ctrl+H (Mac: Cmd+Shift+H) or via the arrow at the front of the search bar (Replace and set columns). The sections And if and Then appear below the search bar.

Which rows change

The search term determines which rows are affected. Under And if, you add further conditions with Condition. Each one checks a column – or Any column – with contains, entire cell, starts with, ends with, is empty or is not empty. A row only counts if all conditions apply.

You can also work without a search term and select rows by conditions only, e.g. all rows where Debit is empty.

What changes

• Replace found text: Tick the box and enter the new text. Importly only replaces the text that was found; the rest of the cell stays. If you choose Set whole cell to instead, the entire cell content is replaced. This requires a search term.
• Set column: changes a column in all rows found – including a column other than the one you searched in. You choose the column and the action:
  • Set value: a fixed value, e.g. an account, a date or an amount.
  • From columns: text combined with values from other columns of the same row, e.g. {Document Number} {Description}. You pick the columns from a list that appears as you type.
  • Clear: empties the column.
  • With only empty, you only fill cells that are still empty; existing values stay.

You can replace text and set several columns in the same step. In Import entries, you choose accounts and VAT codes directly from your bexio.

3. Preview, apply, undo

As soon as rows are found and an action is defined, the table shows the new values as a preview. Below, you see how many rows were found, how many change and how many existing values are overwritten.

• Replace changes only the current match and jumps to the next one – handy for checking matches one by one.
• Apply to … rows changes all rows found at once.
• Afterwards, Importly reports how many cells have changed. Undo – or Ctrl+Z (Mac: Cmd+Z) – reverts the whole step.

Values that do not fit a column (e.g. text in an amount column or an invalid date) stay unchanged, and Importly shows a notice. All changes are saved automatically, like any other input.

4. Examples

Update line item descriptions to the new month

In Import invoices, all line items should say “October 2026” instead of “September 2026”:

1. Open replace with Ctrl+H and enter September 2026 as the search term.
2. Tick Replace found text and enter October 2026.
3. Check the preview and click Apply to … rows.

Formatting such as bold or italic in the Position Description is kept.

Set the title only in the invoice rows

In the invoice import, details such as Title, Reference or Due Date belong only in the first row of an invoice. In line item rows, the validation marks them as errors. This is how you set the title only where an invoice starts:

1. Press Ctrl+H without entering a search term.
2. Under And if, add the condition Invoice Date – is not empty. This selects exactly the invoice rows.
3. Set column → Title → Set value → Invoice October 2026.
4. Click Apply to … rows.

Set the account for recurring entries

In Import entries, all entries with “Swisscom” in the description should get the debit account 6510, unless one is already set:

1. Press Ctrl+H, enter Swisscom as the search term and choose Description as the column.
2. Under And if, add the condition Debit – is empty.
3. Set column → Debit → Set value → choose account 6510 from the list. With a further action, you set the matching VAT Code in the same step.
4. Check the preview and click Apply to … rows.

5. Keyboard shortcuts

Good to know

• Values in replace: Importly checks new values according to the column, e.g. as a number or a date. It recognises numbers in the usual notations (e.g. 1'234.50, 1,234.50 or 1.234,50) and dates e.g. as 05.10.2026 or 2026-10-05. In replace, a single 1.500 or 1,500 is always read as 1.5 – for 1500, write 1500 or 1'500.
• One step, one state: All actions of a step read the row as it was before applying. The order of the actions therefore does not matter.
• Hidden columns: Importly only searches visible columns. If a condition refers to a hidden column, it finds no rows – show the column first.
• Finished imports: You can still search after the import. Replacing is no longer possible, because the import can no longer be changed.

You can find more about the tables themselves in the guides Import invoices into bexio Sales and Import entries - manual entry.