Review other import methods in Getting started with importing data for Subscription Analytics.
In this article, we cover some common scenarios that you may need to troubleshoot when using our Google Sheets app.
Here’s what we cover in this article:
- Before you begin
- Sending data to ChartMogul
- Common error messages
- Removing and re-importing data
- A customer’s MRR is not displaying as expected in ChartMogul
Before you begin
- Read our guide to getting started with the Google Sheets app.
- With the Google Sheets app, ChartMogul generates subscription data from a combination of customers, plans, and invoices. Once you’ve added customers and plans, you can start a subscription by submitting an invoice and churn it by sending a cancellation.
- MRR is calculated by the invoice amount/billing interval defined in plans. If you add a $10 invoice to a 1-month plan, the MRR will be $10/1 = $10. If you add a $100 invoice to a 6-month plan the MRR will be $100/6 = $16.67. There are a number of other factors that influence the MRR calculation.
- The service period start and end dates define the date the subscription starts and the date the customer is due to renew. These dates will only be used in MRR calculations instead of the plan interval when Proration is set to True.
- Only use prorated invoices when there is a change to a customer’s regular billing cycle. For example, if they renew on the 1st of the month and upgrade on the 17th. If you start a subscription with a prorated invoice, it will generate irregular movements when the customer renews.
Sending data to ChartMogul
I uploaded a list of subscriptions that were downloaded from my billing system, but the charts are empty. What happened?
When using the Google Sheets integration, ChartMogul generates subscription metrics from invoice data imported from Google Sheets.
The app requires users to format the data in templates for customers, plans, and invoices that each have to be uploaded separately. Learn more about importing invoice data using Google Sheets.
Can I edit the templates to fit my needs? Add, remove, or rearrange columns?
You must not change the template. Adding, removing, or rearranging column headers will not change the order in which the data is imported and will often cause errors in importing.
For example, column C of the invoice template will always look for an amount in cents. Adding the company name or invoice date will produce an error when uploaded.
Common error messages
Not exported. Customer not found in your ChartMogul account.
You can only upload a Google Sheets invoice to a customer in the same source. When you open the ChartMogul app in Google Sheets, you have the option to choose an existing source or create a new one.
We recommend keeping all Google Sheets data in the same source.
Not exported. Subscription not found.
If you get this error when trying to submit a cancellation, it’s probably because the subscription number or subscription ID (column F of the invoice template) doesn’t match the subscription ID in ChartMogul.
Check the subscription ID in a customer record, in the Subscriptions section of the Subscriptions tab. If you’re using subscription numbers, the number is appended to a subscription ID autogenerated by ChartMogul after an underscore, for example, sub_cus_048d83b4-e759-11ee-9643-336123433156_2.
Not exported. Amount field is required. Please add an amount paid in column C.
You cannot add a $0 invoice through the Google Sheets app. Instead, use data tables, structured CSV import, or the API.
Not exported. Transaction not found.
You might see this error when trying to submit a refund. When submitting a refund, ChartMogul will look for a previous transaction specified on the date in the Date column and refund that amount. For example, if a customer purchased a $10 subscription on 2023-07-03 and received a refund on 2023-07-15, complete the following fields:
- Email or External id: Enter the customer’s email or external ID
- Type: Select refund
- Date: Enter 2023-07-03
Google Sheets needs the transaction date as an identifier to correctly map the refund. If you want the refund date to differ from the transaction date, submit it via the API.
Not exported due to a formatting error: {“errors” :{ “email”: “The value provided does not appear to be a valid email address.”}}
Check that the email address format is correct, for example, name@email.com. If you are still getting the error, try copying the invoice line onto a new sheet without any formatting applied and uploading again.
Removing and re-importing data
I made a mistake. How do I delete an invoice, customer, or plan?
Delete data you’ve added by mistake using the ChartMogul interface.
To delete an invoice, navigate to your Google Sheets source and click the Invoices tab. Select the row of the invoice you wish to delete and click Delete Selected Rows. Repeat the same steps for Invoice Line Items and Transactions.
Delete a customer by navigating to their customer record in ChartMogul and clicking Delete Customer.
Delete a plan by navigating to Settings & Data > Manage > Plans and clicking Delete.
I want to re-import everything. How do I export my Google Sheets invoices?
You cannot export invoices in the same format as they were uploaded. We recommend keeping a master list of uploads for your records.
A customer’s MRR is not displaying as expected in ChartMogul
I have an invoice with several line items. However, it’s causing strange movements in ChartMogul, and the customer’s MRR is wrong.
You can only submit one invoice line per invoice ID. If you submit more than one line with the same invoice ID, the second invoice will overwrite the first invoice. The solution is to add a character to the invoice external ID; therefore, instead of two items with the invoice ID invoice_001 you would have invoice_001_1 and invoice_001_2.
Customers are not churning automatically at the end of their service period. How do I cancel a subscription?
ChartMogul will assume that customers are active until they are explicitly canceled. You have to send a cancellation event for each subscription.
A cancellation is a new invoice that includes:
- Email or External id: Enter the customer’s email or external ID
- Type: Select subscription_cancellation
- Date: Enter the cancellation date
- Subscription number/Subscription ID: Depending on your settings, enter the subscription ID or subscription number
A customer in ChartMogul with no invoice received before the renewal date is classified as a Past-due Subscriber. To automatically cancel past-due customers, configure the Handling Past-due Subscriptions setting.
Still have questions? Contact support.
Next Steps
Use the Google Sheets app to: