For the complete documentation index, see llms.txt. This page is also available as Markdown.

Error messages explained

Every error message ZeraBooks shows, grouped by screen, with what it means and how to fix it. Search this page for the words you see on screen.

Closed periods (any screen)

These messages appear when you try to add or change something dated on or before the date your books are closed through.

Message	What it means	How to fix it
"Jun 15, 2025 is in a closed period: the books are closed through Dec 31, 2025. Reopen the books from Reconciliations, or use a date after Dec 31, 2025."	The date you're saving is in a closed period. Nothing was saved.	Use a later date, or reopen the books in Reconciliations, make the change and close them again. See Close and reopen the books.
"This month is closed. The books are locked through {date}. Reopen from Reconciliations to change it."	Shown in Banks & Cards Edit mode on a closed month	Reopen the books to change categories in that month
"This date is in a closed period. Reopen the books from Reconciliations to change it."	A category change in Banks & Cards fell in a closed month	Reopen the books, then save again
"That date is in a closed period. Reopen the books from Reconciliations first."	An Autopilot answer or undo would change a closed month	Reopen the books, then answer or undo again
"This period is closed. Reopen the books from Reconciliations to link these, then close them again."	Suggested vendor links fall in a closed period	Reopen the books, click Link, then close them again
"Invoice date is in a closed period"	The invoice is dated on or before the closing date	Change the invoice date, or reopen the books

Uploading a bank or card statement

Message	What it means	How to fix it
"Choose one bank or credit card statement as a PDF, CSV or Excel file."	The file isn't a PDF, CSV or Excel file	Download the statement again as a PDF or CSV
"Upload one account's statement at a time."	You dropped more than one file	Upload each statement on its own, into its own account
"File too large: ~12 MB (max 10 MB)."	The file is over 10 MB	Download a shorter period, or split the statement into two date ranges
"This statement has already been imported into this account." (shown as Statement already imported)	The same file was uploaded before	Nothing to do. To replace it, remove the earlier statement first.
"This statement repeats N transactions already owned by another statement. Nothing was imported. …"	Some rows are already in your books from another statement	Remove the earlier statement first, or upload a statement for a date range that doesn't overlap
"This statement contains more than 10,000 readable rows. Split the source into non-overlapping periods before importing it."	The statement is too long to read in one go	Upload it as several shorter periods
"This is a … statement (…), but … is a …. Nothing was imported. …"	A credit-card statement was uploaded into a bank account, or the reverse	Choose the matching account under Bank or credit card and upload again
"This statement identifies its currency as … but … is declared …. Nothing was imported. …"	The statement's currency doesn't match the account's	Upload into an account with that currency. See Add bank and credit-card accounts.
"Exchange rates for … could not be resolved (…). Nothing was imported …"	A foreign-currency statement couldn't get its exchange rates	Try the upload again in a few minutes
"Statement does not tie: opening + transactions − closing = X. Imported anyway — compare the register against the document…"	A warning, not an error. The statement's printed balances don't add up.	Open the month in Reconciliations. See Fix a month that doesn't tie.
"Choose your starting point first"	The company's setup isn't finished	Click Continue company setup
"Bring in your opening balances first"	Opening books are unfinished	Click Continue opening books. See Move your books to ZeraBooks.
"We couldn't check this business's starting point. Try again before uploading."	ZeraBooks couldn't check the company's setup	Click Try again

Banks & Cards register

Message	What it means	How to fix it
"Could not load the register. Retry before relying on these balances."	The register didn't load, so balances may be out of date	Check your connection and retry
"Category changed since this register loaded"	Someone or something changed the category after the page loaded	Click Reload saved categories, then make your change again
"No transactions in {period}."	No statement covers this period for the account	Change the period, or upload the missing statement
"No transactions match your filter."	Nothing matches what you typed	Clear the filter

Reconciliations

Message	What it means	How to fix it
"Balances must be numbers — enter them exactly as printed."	A balance in Fix statement details isn't a number	Enter digits only, for example `9830.22`
"Could not load reconciliation records and sign-offs. Displayed records may be out of date. Check your connection and try again."	The page couldn't load	Click Retry reconciliation
"No accounts match this filter."	A stat card filter hides every account	Click Clear filter
"Statement coverage is incomplete for {months}. A tied statement does not mean the whole month is covered."	Part of a month isn't covered by any statement	Upload the statement for the missing days
"Enter the closing password for this business."	The books are protected with a closing password	Enter it in Closing password
"No document-backed fix found."	AI verification found no fix in the document	Fix the month by hand. See Verify a statement with AI.
"5 of 12 finalized. …"	Finalize all stopped partway	Read the reason, fix that month, and click Finalize all again

Autopilot

Message	What it means	How to fix it
"Could not load the autopilot."	The page didn't load	Click Retry
"Your session ended. Sign in again."	You were signed out	Sign in again
"The autopilot could not run."	The pass didn't complete	Click Run now again
"That answer could not be applied."	The answer failed	Try again. The list refreshes to show what's still open.
"That question was already answered."	It was answered elsewhere	Refresh the page
"That is not one of the offered answers."	The answer no longer matches the question	Refresh the page and answer again
"This question can no longer be answered here."	The item changed since the question was asked	Nothing to do; the question is withdrawn
"That action could not be undone."	The undo failed	Check for a closed period, then try again
"That action was already undone."	It's already undone	Nothing to do
"This action cannot be undone. Merged records stay merged."	Merges can't be undone	Fix the vendor or customer by hand
"Nothing to undo — …" (for example "…this document was voided since.")	The action's result was already changed outside Autopilot	Nothing to do
"The setting could not be saved."	A mode or switch change didn't save	Try again

See Review and undo AI actions.

Ledger and manual transactions

Message	What it means	How to fix it
"Debits and credits differ by {amount}."	The entry doesn't balance	Adjust the lines until Difference is zero
"A transaction needs between 2 and 200 accounting lines."	Too few or too many lines	Add or remove lines
"Every line needs a category."	A line has no category	Pick a category on every line
"Every amount must be nonzero and have no more than two decimal places."	An amount is zero or has too many decimals	Correct the amount
"A transfer needs two different bank or card accounts, with money leaving one and entering the other."	The same account is on both sides	Choose a different To account
"Use the bill or invoice payment action to settle a customer or vendor balance."	Pay In or Pay Out can't post straight to what customers owe you or what you owe vendors	Record the payment from the bill or invoice
"Choose {dimension} for every line."	A required field is empty on a line	Fill it in on every line
"Couldn't save this transaction"	The server refused the save	Read the message under it; your changes are still there
"A statement confirms this transaction. Unmatch it before changing its accounting."	A statement line has cleared this entry	Click Review match and unmatch it first
"Choose how this company will start before adding activity. Open Company settings to finish setup."	Company setup isn't finished	Finish setup in Settings
"Finish bringing in the previous books before adding new activity…"	Opening books are unfinished	Finish your opening books first
"Could not load the ledger. Check your connection and try again."	The page didn't load	Click Retry ledger
"Could not load this transaction."	The transaction didn't open	Close it and open it again

Importing journal entries

Message	What it means	How to fix it
"Row N: enter one positive debit or credit, with no more than two decimal places."	A row has both, neither, or a bad amount	Fix that row in your file
"Row N: "{x}" must identify one active category by number or exact name."	The category isn't found or isn't active	Use the category number, or its exact name from the Category Manager
"Import up to 100 journals at a time."	The file has more than 100 journals	Split the file
"This file includes journals already imported into this company…"	Some journals were imported before	Remove them from the file

If any entry fails, none are posted. See Import journal entries.

Category Manager

Message	What it means	How to fix it
"This number is already taken"	Another category uses that number	Choose another number, or leave it blank to assign one
"No importable rows — every row was missing a Category Name or had an unrecognized Type."	The file doesn't match the template	Download the CSV format template and use its columns
"Couldn't find any categories in that file…"	The file isn't a chart of accounts	Export the chart of accounts list, not a balance sheet or P&L
"That PDF is too large (max 10 MB)"	The PDF is over 10 MB	Export a smaller file or use CSV
"{name} has activity and can't be removed here."	A bank or card account with transactions can't be removed	Remove its statements first in Banks & Cards
"Keep the account name within 100 characters (now {n})."	The account name is too long	Shorten it
"Categories couldn't be loaded"	The page didn't load. Your saved chart hasn't changed.	Check your connection and try again

Financials and reports

Message	What it means	How to fix it
"Could not load the financials. Check your connection and try again."	The page didn't load	Click Retry financials
"Finish this business's starting setup before downloading financials."	Setup isn't finished	Finish setup first
"Could not build the PDF." / "Could not build the workbook." / "Could not build the package."	The download failed	Try again
"Could not verify and export the report. Please retry."	The export couldn't be checked	Try again
"Enter at least one recipient email address."	To is empty	Add an email address
"Send to no more than 10 recipients at a time." / "Use no more than 10 recipient addresses, including CC."	Too many addresses	Use 10 or fewer, To and CC combined
"Enter an email subject." / "Use a subject of 200 characters or fewer on one line."	The subject is missing or too long	Fix the subject
"Use a message of 10,000 characters or fewer."	The message is too long	Shorten it
"Select at least one attachment to send."	No report is ticked	Tick at least one attachment
"The attachments are too large to email — deselect some and try again."	Attachments are over 25 MB together	Untick some attachments

Custom Reports

Message	What it means	How to fix it
"Could not load the reports."	The list didn't load	Refresh the page
"Could not run the report. Check your connection and try again."	The report wasn't created	Click Retry report
"Your changes could not be saved. Check your connection and try again."	Autosave failed	Click Retry save, or Download my text to keep a copy
"The report figures could not be loaded. Your saved text and files are safe. Retry to continue."	Figures didn't load	Click Retry figures
"This report already has 20 attachments. Remove or replace a file first."	The 20-file limit is reached	Remove or replace a file
"Add one file at a time so each upload can be checked."	More than one file was added	Add files one by one
"Add at least one section before publishing."	The report is empty	Add a section with Add

Bills and invoices

Message	What it means	How to fix it
"This file is empty. Export the document again before uploading it."	The file has no content	Export or download it again
"This document is larger than 14 MB. Choose a smaller document."	The file is over 14 MB	Use a smaller file
"Choose a PDF, PNG, JPG, WEBP or HEIC document."	The file type isn't supported	Save it as PDF or an image
"{file} is already in ZeraBooks."	The same document was uploaded before	Click Open existing
"N documents could not be read. Open it to type the amounts by hand, or upload a clearer copy."	The reader couldn't read the document	Enter the details by hand, or upload a clearer copy
"Could not refresh bills. Check your connection and try again."	The board didn't load	Click Retry loading
"Choose a customer before saving."	The invoice has no customer	Pick a Customer
"Choose a due date on or after the invoice date before saving."	The due date is too early	Fix the Due Date
"Add at least one line item."	The invoice has no lines	Click Add Line Item
"Replace Uncategorized Income on line N before saving."	A line has no real category	Pick a category on that line
"Invoice retainage cannot exceed the invoice total."	The holdback is too big	Lower the holdback
"Quantities can't be negative. For a credit, keep the quantity and enter a negative price."	A negative quantity was entered	Enter a negative price instead. See Credit memos.
"Declare this client's books currency before approving invoices — open Manage Clients and edit the client to set it."	The company has no books currency	Set the currency on All Clients › Edit
"Invoices could not be verified"	The board didn't load. Your invoices are still saved.	Click Retry

Vendors, customers and products

Message	What it means	How to fix it
"Could not load vendors. Check your connection and try again." (or customers)	The page didn't load	Click Retry loading
"“{name}” already exists. Open that one instead, or merge the two below…"	A vendor or customer with that name exists	Open the existing one, or merge them
"Could not load the catalog."	Products & Services didn't load	Click Retry catalog

Setup, clients and search

Message	What it means	How to fix it
"Enter the business name."	The name is empty	Type the business name
"You already have a business called "{x}". Give this one its own name."	The name is taken in your account	Use a different name
"Could not verify completed onboarding."	ZeraBooks couldn't check your setup	Refresh the page
"Choose a nonempty PDF, CSV or Excel (.xlsx) export no larger than 10 MiB."	A closing report file isn't accepted	Export it again as PDF, CSV or .xlsx under 10 MiB
"This company already has statements, journals or documents…"	Opening books can only be brought into a company with no activity	Use a new company for the opening books
"Undo is unavailable after subsequent bookkeeping, payment history or a period close."	The opening-books import can't be undone any more	Correct individual balances instead
"Couldn't load your clients."	All Clients didn't load	Click Retry
"Company list could not be refreshed. Open All Clients to retry."	The company list in search is out of date	Open All Clients
"Could not search vendors and customers. Check your connection and retry."	Search couldn't load vendors and customers	Click Retry search
"Could not confirm completion. Please try Finish again."	The walkthrough's last step didn't save	Click Check completion
"Something went wrong loading your account."	The trial page didn't load	Click Try again, or Sign out and back in
"Could not load the dashboard. Check your connection and try again."	Dashboards didn't load	Click Retry dashboard
"Could not load this analysis. Check your connection and try again."	Expenses, Revenue or Cost of Revenue didn't load	Click Retry analysis

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "is in a closed period" mean?

The date you're saving is on or before the date your books are closed through, so nothing was saved. Reopen the books in Reconciliations, or use a later date. See Close and reopen the books.

Why was my statement refused with "Nothing was imported"?

ZeraBooks refuses the whole file when it repeats rows already in your books, or when its account type or currency doesn't match the account you chose. The message says which; fix that and upload again.

My statement imported with "Statement does not tie". Is that an error?

No, it's a warning. The transactions were imported, but the printed balances don't add up. See Fix a month that doesn't tie.

What should I do when a page says "Check your connection and try again"?

Check that you're online, then click the retry button on the message. Your saved data isn't affected by a failed load.

I see an error that isn't on this page. What now?

Contact ZeraBooks Support with the exact message and the page you were on. A real person reads every message.

Learn more about AI bookkeeping: Autopilot and Ask Zera keep the books inside a real general ledger.

Still stuck? A real person reads every message—come say hello.

Contact ZeraBooks Support