Superannuation Batch Details CSV File Not Accepted by Clearing House

Scenario

When exporting the CSV file from the Superannuation Batch Details screen (MPPP5006), customers may experience the following issues:

Error on Clearing House site:
Invalid USI provided. A USI can contain at most 20 alpha numeric characters and blank space(s) are not allowed. )
Duplicate line removal:
Multiple contribution lines for the same employee may be deleted as duplicates. This results in fewer lines and a reduced dollar amount being uploaded, without showing an error message.

Cause

This issue occurs because the CSV file should not be opened in spreadsheet applications (e.g., Excel) before uploading.

When a number string such as 123456789 is exported to a CSV file and then opened in a spreadsheet application, it may automatically reformat the value into scientific notation (e.g., 1.23457E+08) or round it off.

This happens because spreadsheet applications attempt to interpret data automatically, and long numeric strings are treated as numbers rather than plain text.
In the case of Superannuation files, important fields such as USI (Unique Superannuation Identifier) and employee contribution details can be corrupted by this auto-formatting.
Once corrupted, the Clearing House rejects the file (USI invalid) or fails to recognise duplicate contribution lines correctly.

Best Practice

Do not open the CSV file in Excel, Google Sheets, or any other spreadsheet program before importing it to the Clearing House.
If you need to make adjustments, make them before importing the SAFF file into Acumatica.
Once imported, export the file directly and upload it to the Clearing House without opening it.

This ensures the USI values remain valid, and duplicate contribution lines are preserved correctly.