Sarah's Shortcuts: Never Underestimate the Value of a Guinea Pig

After working for days to set up an import file, you may be tempted to take your chances with The Raiser's Edge gods and import the entire file at once. But wait! Don't get too trigger-happy with that Import button, my friends. If there happens to be a problem with the way the data was entered in your spreadsheet, you could very well face a lot of manual cleanup.

You'll commonly hear us advise you to have a recent backup of your database (should you need to restore to pre-import orderliness), and we often recommend validating the import so you can check for any potential exceptions before starting the actual import process. (See BB58904 for more info.)

Kudos to you if you've made these regular habits in your import process! But have you also developed a healthy respect for guinea pigs?

Though I do like those furry rodents, I'm actually referring to a test import file that just includes the first one or two records from your original spreadsheet. Using an import guinea pig will give you a chance to confirm the import produces the right results and can make it easier for you to identify any changes that need to be made within your original file. Just remember to remove the guinea pig records from the larger file once they've imported successfully in your test run.
    
This may take away some of the adrenaline rush from importing all of the records on the first go, but it will also help you avoid that horrible lump in your stomach when you realize something went askew.