Short answers to the questions that come up first. For the full picture, start with Mapping columns, and what the step does.
Where this is in the app
Dashboard → Import assets — or, from a return, Assets tab → Add assets → Bulk import — then the Map Columns step.
Which fields must I map?
Description, placed-in-service date, and original cost. Everything else is optional.
What happens to columns I don't map?
Nothing. They aren't imported. Leaving a column unmapped is a legitimate answer.
Can mapping stop my import?
No. Only a row missing data it genuinely needs does that, and that's the next step.
What do the badges mean?
HIGH is a confident match. Suggested is a reasonable guess, so read its reasoning in the "…" popover before accepting.
Why does a column show "3 of 214 have values"?
It's sparse, meaning filled on under a fifth of your rows. Often that's correct. Occasionally it's the sign of a column that didn't parse.
Does the row count mean my file was truncated?
No. Up to fifty rows are displayed. The count tells you the file's real size, and fill counts are computed over all of it.
I mapped a field twice and one vanished
A field takes one column, so it moved. The column that lost it shows a note saying where it went.
The two views disagree, which is right?
They can't disagree. There's one mapping, and the toggle only changes which end you look at it from.
My file states life in years, not months
The conversion is offered as a derived column, already selected and visibly annotated. Clear it if you'd rather map something else.
Can I reuse a mapping next year?
Save it under a name and load it against the new file. Vendor-tagged mappings can apply themselves automatically.
Why didn't the vendor import ask me anything?
Every column resolved and our AI cross-check agreed with the vendor's mapping, so there was nothing to decide. Use Back to mapping from the preview if you want to look anyway.
Why did the vendor import stop, when the file was clean?
Because the AI read a column differently than the vendor's adapter did. The column names both readings and offers Use AI mapping. Doing nothing keeps the vendor's answer.
The vendor import shows MEDIUM and LOW badges, this article says Suggested
Two different scales. Your own spreadsheet gets HIGH and Suggested. A vendor export gets HIGH, MEDIUM and LOW, because there the badge rates the AI's confidence in disagreeing with the vendor, not in reading a bare column name.
In one sentence
Mapping is where you confirm what your file's columns mean. It's mostly already answered when you arrive, editable from either end, never able to block an import, and worth saving on the files you'll see again.