Common Reporting Issues
When M2R finds a problem with your data, it shows an error or warning message. This page explains what each message means and exactly how to fix it.
Understanding Errors vs. Warnings
M2R uses three message types. Knowing which one you have tells you how urgent the fix is.
| Type | What it means | Can you continue? |
|---|---|---|
| Error | The action did not complete. Something must be fixed before you can proceed. | No — fix required |
| Warning | The action completed, but M2R flagged something you should review before submitting to the bureaus. | Yes — but review it |
| Info | A confirmation or prompt — nothing is wrong. | Yes — no action needed |
License & Activation Issues
The key you typed doesn't match the required format.
Copy the full key from your purchase email — it must include the M2R- prefix and all four hyphenated groups: M2R-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX. Watch for trailing spaces, or the letter O typed instead of zero.
M2R couldn't reach the license server — usually no internet connection or a firewall blocking the connection.
Confirm your computer has internet access, then click Activate again. If you're on a corporate network, ask your IT department to allow outbound HTTPS (port 443) to *.supabase.co.
The key exists but is not active — it may be expired, suspended, or still processing after a recent renewal.
Confirm your license is paid and in good standing. If you just renewed, wait a few minutes for the system to sync and try again. Contact help@m2reporter.com if the problem continues.
Your license has already been activated on the maximum number of computers.
Contact support to deactivate an old device (e.g., a replaced PC), or upgrade your license to allow more activations.
Your license is still active but renewal is coming up soon.
Renew now to avoid an interruption. Once renewed, the count will reset automatically.
Your license has passed its expiry date and the grace period has ended.
Renew your license. Once payment processes, click Renew inside M2R to restore access.
Import Errors
These errors appear in the import results screen or error report. Each is prefixed with the row number so you can find it in your spreadsheet (e.g., Row 14: Missing required field…).
File & Setup Errors
Close the file in Excel (or any other program that has it open), then try the import again.
You clicked Next without mapping every required Metro 2® field to a column in your file.
Match each field in the list to the correct column in your spreadsheet. If a column doesn't exist, add it to your source file and reload.
This import would push your total account count over the limit for your license tier.
Options: (1) delete accounts you no longer need to report; (2) import a smaller batch; (3) contact us to upgrade your license.
Required Field Errors
The named field is blank for this row. Fill it in on your spreadsheet, or check your column mapping if the data is actually in a different column.
Metro 2® requires at least one identifying piece of information for every consumer.
Enter either the SSN or the Date of Birth for this consumer. If neither is available, contact the bureau — you cannot report an account without at least one identifier.
Add the correct ECOA code to your spreadsheet for this row, then re-import. Use Code Mapping (Import → Code Mapping) if your system uses different internal codes.
SSN Errors
Enter all 9 digits. Make sure your spreadsheet isn't stripping leading zeros — format the SSN column as Text in Excel before exporting.
Placeholder SSNs like 000-00-0000 or 999-99-9999 are not allowed by the bureaus.
Use the consumer's real SSN. If the SSN is genuinely unknown, leave it blank and provide Date of Birth instead.
CDIA requires a Date of Birth for all Authorized Users, even if an SSN is provided.
Add the Date of Birth for every consumer with ECOA Code 3.
Date Errors
Format the date column in Excel as MM/DD/YYYY text before exporting. A common cause is Excel exporting dates with a 2-digit year or in a different format like YYYY-MM-DD.
Use today's date or a past date for this field. This is most commonly seen in Date of Account Information — it must reflect the as-of date of your last reporting cycle, not a future date.
Verify the Date of Birth in your source data. If it's correct and the consumer is genuinely a minor, they generally cannot be the primary account holder — review the account details.
Account Code & Format Errors
The status code in your file isn't a valid Metro 2® code. Either update your source data to use the correct code, or set up Code Mapping (Import → Code Mapping) to translate your internal codes automatically.
Same as above — use a valid Metro 2® account type code or set up Code Mapping.
Account numbers may only contain letters and numbers. Remove any dashes, spaces, or other characters from the account number column in your spreadsheet.
The same account number appears more than once in your spreadsheet. Remove or correct the duplicate rows in Excel before re-importing.
Use the standard 2-letter state or province code (e.g., CA, TX, ON). Full state names and abbreviations longer than 2 characters are not accepted.
Import Warnings
Warnings don't stop the import — the row is imported — but they flag data that could cause a bureau to reject or question the record. Review every warning before submitting your Metro 2® file.
This is the most important warning to fix. M2R will block Metro 2® file generation for this account until the date arrives or is corrected.
Update the Date of Account Information to today or a past date, then re-import the corrected row.
Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) are not recommended for credit bureau reporting per CDIA guidelines.
The record will import, but the consumer may not match at the bureau. If the consumer has an SSN, use that instead. If they only have an ITIN, contact the bureau for guidance.
Verify the SSN against the original documentation. Known invalid SSNs will not match at the bureau.
Verify the Date of Birth in your source data. A common cause is a 2-digit year being interpreted as the wrong century (e.g., 1925 instead of 2025).
M2R automatically removed a word that Metro 2® prohibits in certain fields (such as FRAUD or DECEASED in an address field).
No action needed — M2R handled it. If the situation is real (e.g., a deceased consumer), use the appropriate account or consumer status code instead of putting the term in the address.
Your saved import template expected columns that don't exist in today's file.
Map the listed fields manually, or check whether your source export is missing columns it used to include.
M2R removed a payment rating that isn't valid for the account status on this row — the import still proceeds with the corrected value.
Review the Metro 2® payment rating rules for your account status codes, and update your source data to use consistent values going forward.
For delinquent or derogatory account statuses, the bureaus expect a Date of First Delinquency (DOFD).
Add the DOFD to your source data for this account. If the account was never delinquent, verify the account status code is correct.
Metro 2® File Generation Issues
Go to Search Accounts, select the accounts you want to report, and click Tag. Use Tag All to include every active account at once. Then return to Generate.
This is a hard block — generation will not proceed until every tagged account has a Date of Account Information on or before today.
For each account listed, either correct the date to today or a past date, or untag it so it's excluded from this file. The account can be included in a future file once the date arrives.
A Metro 2® file from a previous run is still open in Notepad, Excel, or another program. Close it and click Generate again.
Output folder doesn't exist: Update the output folder path under Reporter Settings.
No disk space: Free up space on the destination drive.
Permissions: Make sure M2R has write access to the output folder.
If none of these apply, copy the exact error text and contact help@m2reporter.com.
Quick Reference — Patterns & Root Causes
If you're seeing the same type of error repeated across many rows, one of these root causes is likely responsible.
| You're seeing… | Most likely cause | Quick fix |
|---|---|---|
| Many date format errors | Excel exported dates as text or with a 2-digit year | Reformat the date column in Excel as MM/DD/YYYY text before exporting |
| Many invalid code errors | Your system uses internal codes that differ from Metro 2® codes | Set up Code Mapping under Import → Code Mapping |
| SSN errors across many rows | Excel is stripping leading zeros from the SSN column | Format the SSN column as Text in Excel before exporting |
| "File in use" / "Cannot save" | The file is still open in Excel or another program | Close all Excel windows and retry |
| Generation blocked by future Date of Account Info | DOAI column has future dates — often from a data export that included scheduled dates | Find the flagged accounts, correct the date, re-tag, and regenerate |
| Repeated "database" / "cannot save" errors | Another M2R window is open, locking the database | Close every M2R window and try again |