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Item Sales Report Unprocessed – Special Characters in Item Description

Learn how to resolve issues with item sales reports caused by special characters in item descriptions. This article will guide you through identifying and modifying the affected ISM log to quickly address the problem.

Updated over a week ago

Issue

Item Sales Reports (ISM) are not generated when one or more items sold on a particular business date contain special characters or emojis in the item description.

The system supports only alphabets and numbers. Any unsupported character causes the ISM file to fail processing.

Important Customer Guidance

Customers are strictly advised not to use special characters or emojis in Price Book item descriptions.
​

❌ Unsupported item name: MILK DUDS VIDEO BOX&

✅ Supported item name: MILK DUDS VIDEO BOX
​

Failure to follow this will result in the Item Sales Report not being generated.

Special Characters That Must Be Avoided

The following characters are not supported and must be removed or escaped:

  • < (less than)

  • > (greater than)

  • & (ampersand)

  • " (double quote)

  • ' (single quote / apostrophe)

Emojis are also not supported.

How to Identify This Issue

You are likely facing this issue if:

  • Item Sales Report is not generated

  • ISM logs are discarded during processing.

Where to Find the Corrupted File

  1. Navigate to XML Gateway > Dead Letter folder

  2. Open one of the corrupted ISM files

  3. An error message will be displayed

    • The message includes a line number indicating where the invalid character exists
      ​

  4. These files will also appear under Unprocessed Files in the CSE Admin Tool

The error line number helps identify the exact item description containing the invalid character.

How to Modify the ISM File

  1. Using the line number from the error message, locate the affected ISM file

  2. Right-click the ISM file and open it in Notepad

  3. Press CTRL + G

  4. Enter the line number shown in the error

  5. Locate the invalid character in the item description
    ​
    Example Fix

    ❌ Before: <Description>MILK DUDS VIDEO BOX&</Description>

    ✅ After: <Description>MILK DUDS VIDEO BOX</Description>
    ​

  6. Save the file

  7. Repeat the same steps for any other affected ISM logs

Verifying and Uploading the File

  1. After saving the corrected ISM file:

    • Opening the file should display valid XML data without errors

  2. Open CSE Admin Tool and ensure NO files are present under Unprocessed Files

  3. Copy the modified ISM file

  4. Paste it into XML Gateway > BoOutBox folder

  5. Wait a few seconds for processing

  6. Verify the Item Sales Report Center in PDI Essentials

✅ The report should now be available

Important Notes

  • If multiple items contain invalid special characters:

    • You must fix errors one at a time using the updated error line numbers

  • Always clear Unprocessed Files before re-uploading corrected ISM logs

  • This is a time-consuming manual process

Prevention Recommendation

  • Strongly advise customers to:

    • Use only alphabets and numbers in item descriptions

    • Avoid emojis and symbols

  • Customers can use the Bulk Update feature in the Price Book to:

    • Identify

    • Remove

    • Correct invalid characters in bulk

This helps prevent recurring Item Sales Report failures.

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