How to Generate a RELIEF Sales DAT File in BIR Online Tools

Generating a RELIEF Sales DAT file means converting a completed Excel workbook of quarterly sales transactions into the delimited format the BIR’s RELIEF program expects. In BIR Online Tools’ RELIEF Sales tool, that’s a three-step flow: download a template, fill in and upload it, and let the app validate and convert your data.

This guide is part of the App Guide series and follows on from the RELIEF overview. The worked example below uses the template’s own built-in example rows, which validate successfully out of the box — useful for seeing exactly what a passing upload looks like before you swap in your own data.

How do you generate a RELIEF Sales DAT file step by step? #

1. Download the Excel template #

Open RELIEF from the sidebar, then Sales. The page opens with two steps side by side: download on the left, upload on the right. Click Download Excel Template — it arrives pre-filled with example sales transactions on its detail sheet, so you can see the expected columns and formats before entering your own data.

2. Fill in your sales transactions #

Replace the example rows with your own quarter’s sales data — buyer TIN, registered name, net of VAT, output VAT, and exempt or zero-rated amounts as applicable. Only .xlsx files are accepted.

3. Upload and review validation #

Click Upload Excel File and select your completed workbook. BIR Online Tools reads every row, validates it, and reports the outcome — either a full error table naming the sheet, row, field, and message for each problem, or a passed result with computed totals.

4. Download the DAT file #

Once validation passes, a Download DAT File button appears along with a preview of the generated file’s content. The file is also saved automatically to your DAT Repository.

What do the computed totals mean? #

The validation summary aggregates your sales rows into the figures a RELIEF Sales listing reports: total net of VAT, total output VAT, total exempt sales, and total zero-rated sales, alongside how many detail rows were parsed and how many distinct buyers they aggregate to. Rows sharing the same Customer TIN, Registered Name, and Last Name are combined into one DAT detail line, with amounts summed — matching how RELIEF listings report per-buyer totals rather than per-transaction lines.

Frequently asked questions #

What does the RELIEF Sales template ask for? #

The template captures each sale transaction — buyer TIN and name, net of VAT, output VAT, and exempt or zero-rated amounts as applicable — with example rows already filled in to show the expected format.

Where does the seller information on the DAT file come from? #

Seller details are pulled from your active company profile rather than typed into the spreadsheet, so set up your company under Company Info before uploading.

What happens if my uploaded file has errors? #

BIR Online Tools reads every row first, then shows a table of every validation error — sheet, row, field, message, and value — before it will let you convert anything to a DAT file.

How does BIR Online Tools handle repeat buyers in the same file? #

Rows sharing the same Customer TIN, Registered Name, and Last Name are combined into one DAT detail line, with their amounts summed, matching how the BIR expects RELIEF Sales listings to be aggregated per buyer.

Summary #

Generating a RELIEF Sales DAT file in BIR Online Tools takes four steps: download the template, fill in your quarter’s sales transactions, upload for validation, and download the finished DAT file once validation passes. See RELIEF Purchases or RELIEF Importations for the other two listings, or the RELIEF overview for the module’s filing deadline and full context.