Store Migration Troubleshooting: Excel Import and Export Problems

Most All In One WooCommerce Migration: Import & Export to Excel problems come from the file format, a missing required mapping or a page closed mid import. Use the checks below for each symptom you see in WPFactory > Store Migration, then contact support if the problem continues.

Nothing happens after Upload, or “Invalid File” #

Cause: the server only processes files uploaded with the .xlsx (Office Open XML) type. CSV and old .xls files pass the file picker but are not processed.

1. Open the file in Excel, LibreOffice or Google Sheets.
2. Save or download it as Excel Workbook (.xlsx).
3. Upload the .xlsx file again.

“Only format allowed: xls, xlsx” #

The file name does not end in .xls or .xlsx. Rename or re-save the file as .xlsx.

Import or export does nothing for a shop manager #

Cause: the menu uses the manage_woocommerce capability, but every import and export handler checks for the Administrator role.

1. Log in as an Administrator.
2. Run the import or export again.

An alert says a field is mandatory #

The import stopped part way #

Cause: rows are processed one per request while the page is open; closing or reloading the page stops the job. Each request loads the whole sheet, so very large files can also hit the PHP memory limit or execution time.

1. Keep the tab open until you see JOB DONE!.
2. Split large sheets into smaller files (for example a few thousand rows each) and remove unused columns.
3. Ask your host to raise memory_limit and max_execution_time if single rows with many images time out.
4. To continue, remove the rows already imported from the sheet and upload it again. Without UPDATE ONLY, rows with an existing title update that product instead of duplicating it.

Images are not imported #

• The URL must be publicly reachable by your server and end in .jpg, .jpeg, .jpe, .gif or .png. WebP and URLs without a file extension are not matched.
• For images by name, the value must equal the Media Library item title of an image you uploaded earlier.
• A “does not exist” line in the results means the download failed or the name was not found.

Upload fails because files cannot be written #

The uploaded sheet is moved into the plugin’s includes folder (for example importProducts.xlsx) and deleted when the job finishes. Make sure the web server can write to the plugin folder.

Dates are wrong #

• Import: order, review and coupon dates are read with PHP strtotime. Use an unambiguous format such as 2025-07-15 14:30; 07/08/2025 is read as July 8 (US order).
• Export: order dates use d M Y h:i:s, a 12-hour clock without AM or PM. Convert them before re-importing if the time of day matters.
• Coupon expiry dates are saved as Y-m-d (no time).

Special characters look wrong #

Save the file as .xlsx instead of CSV. Text in .xlsx is stored as Unicode, so accented and non-Latin characters import correctly.

Custom fields are missing from the mapping screen #

Set Import/Export Product Custom Fields to Yes in the Settings tab. Only meta keys that already exist on at least one product and do not start with an underscore are listed. See Store Migration settings and Excel column reference.

Duplicate orders or coupons #

Order, subscription and coupon imports always create new records. Delete the duplicates, then import only the rows that were not imported.

Need a hand? Our team answers every ticket on the Store Migration support forum.