Help: Troubleshoot the PitchBook Excel Plugin

If you are having an issue with the PitchBook Excel Plugin, use this troubleshooting article to quickly diagnose and resolve those issues.

To get started, check the following before starting the troubleshooting process.

What operating system can I use?

PitchBook supports the following system types:

• Microsoft Windows 8 and newer versions.
• Microsoft Excel for Mac version 16.40 and newer versions.
• Web-based Office 365.

What version of the Excel Plugin are supported?

We do not support the plugin on Excel 2007 or Excel 2010.

Can I have other plugins installed?

The Cap IQ and PitchBook Plugins do not work together and cannot be installed simultaneously. You will need to uninstall one to use the other.

Have I fully closed and re-opened the plugin?

The steps to fully close Excel will vary based on your operating system. However, the steps are often similar to these:

1. Open the Task Manager, by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc on your computer.
2. Once the Task Manager is opened, click Excel and then click End Task.

1. If you do not see Excel in the Task Manager, click Details from the left sidebar.
2. Use the search bar at the top to look up Excel.
3. Select Excel from the results, and click End task from the header.

To use the Excel Plugin, you need to be logged into the PitchBook Platform. If you’re not logged in, the PitchBook Excel Plugin ribbon at the top of your Excel sheet will be greyed out, indicating a connection issue.

1. In this case, click on the Log in to PitchBook option that appears on the left-hand side of the Excel ribbon.

2. In the pop-up window, click Log in to PitchBook Excel Plugin. This will direct you to a web page where you can input your PitchBook login credentials to log you into the Excel Plugin.

If you are not logged in automatically, open your web browser and enter xlp.pitchbook.com into your URL search bar. If you see “Credentials are not valid” in the xlp.pitchbook.com window, your IT team will need to be looped in to the troubleshooting process to ensure the proxy settings in the Excel Plugin are set up correctly.

Proxy Settings are found in the All Settings window of the PitchBook Excel Plugin ribbon. We suggest reaching out to our Support team for further assistance with troubleshooting this message.

If your firm requires safelisting IP addresses for access to applications, please provide the following IP addresses to your appropriate team:

• 162.159.140.76
• 172.66.0.76

After making these changes, refresh your browser before trying to log in.

Occasionally, the PitchBook Excel Plugin will disappear from the top ribbon of Excel. There are several ways to re-enable the ribbon.

1. Start by clicking the File tab at the top of Excel.
2. Select Options from the left-hand menu. This will prompt the Excel Options window to open.
3. From the list of options, click Trust Center, then select Trust Center Settings, and finally choose Add-Ins.
4. Once you’re in the Add-Ins section, make sure none of the checkboxes are selected.

Alternatively, you can select Add-Ins instead of Trust Center from the list of options. Then, from the bottom of the Add-Ins window, select Disabled Items from the Manage drop-down menu. If the PitchBook Plugin appears as disabled, enable it. You can also return to the Manage drop-down menu, select COM Add-ins, check the box next to the PitchBook Plugin, and click OK to ensure it is active.

During the PitchBook Excel Plugin troubleshooting process, you may be asked to send a diagnostic log to our Support team. Diagnostic logs help our team better understand how to help you.

To send a diagnostic log:

1. Click the All Settings button.
2. In the Settings window, click Support.
3. Click Diagnostic Tool to run error diagnostics.
4. The PitchBook Plugin manager window will appear. Click Run Diagnostic.
5. Save the diagnostic file to your computer, then send the file to your account manager. They will promptly investigate any issues you may be experiencing.

If other troubleshooting steps are unsuccessful, you can try uninstalling the plugin and then reinstalling it. The next section outlines how to do that for Windows and Mac/Office 365 devices.

Excel Plugin (Windows)

1. Click the Windows button or press the Windows key on your keyboard. Next, search for and click Control Panel.
2. Find and click Programs > Uninstall a Program.
3. Locate and select the PitchBook Excel Plugin. Click Uninstall.
4. A pop-up may appear asking, “Are you sure you want to uninstall PitchBook Excel Plugin?” Click Yes. This will start the uninstallation process. After uninstalling the Excel Plugin, you can reinstall it.

Excel Plugin (Mac or Office 365)

1. On a Mac, click on the Insert tab. In Office 365, click on the Home tab.
2. Select My Add-ins (Mac) or More Add-ins (Office 365).
3. In the Office Add-ins pop-up window, hover over the PitchBook add-in and select the ellipses (...).
4. Click remove. In the pop-up, confirm that you would like to remove the add-in. This will initialize the uninstallation process. Once you have uninstalled the Excel Plugin, you can reinstall it.

The following PitchBook Excel Plugin Error Codes refer to specific error codes for our product:

#CURRENCYERR – This error means that an unknown currency is being referenced. Our plugin currently accepts United States Dollars (USD), British Pounds (GBP), Euros (EUR), Canadian Dollars (CAD), Chinese Yuan (RMB) (CNY), and Japanese Yen (JPY).
#ENTITYNOTFOUND – This error is telling you that an identifier is unknown or invalid (PBF, PBM, PBD).
#ERROR – This error refers to any error that does not match a specific error type.
#FIELDNOTFOUND – This error indicates that a field argument is invalid (PBF, PBM, PBD).
#FILINGERR – This error is an abbreviation for “filing error.” This means that there is an invalid filing type parameter (PBF).
#FREQUENCYERR – This error refers to a frequency error. It means that there’s an invalid frequency type parameter (PBM).
#LIMITREACHED – This error means that your download limit has been reached.
#N/A – This error is an abbreviation for “not available.” It is the default message when a value is missing. You can edit this message in Excel’s Settings.
#NOCONNECTION – This error means that your server is unavailable or that there is no internet connection.
#NOMATCH – This error means that an entity/person was not found with the PBMATCHPBID or PBMATCHSYMBOL formula.
#NOTAUTH – This error means that you have invalid plugin credentials. If you see this error, check to ensure you’re logged in.
#PARAMETERERR – This error refers to any parameter error not covered by the other parameter errors in this list.
#PERIODERR – This error means that there is an invalid period type parameter (PBF).
#SERVERERROR – This error indicates that your server has returned an unexpected error.
#SAVEDSEARCHNOTFOUND – This error means that a saved search being searched for was not found using a PBA formula (Note: Saved search names are case sensitive).
#SORTORDERERR – This error indicates an invalid sort order type parameter (PBM).
#SPECIFYREQUIRED – This error means that required parameter(s) are missing.
#TIMEOUT – This error indicates that there’s been no response for a 180-second timeout limit.
#UNSUPPORTEDCURRENCY – This error means that the Currency argument is unsupported (PBD, PBA).
#UNSUPPORTEDSAVEDSEARCH – This error indicates that a saved search in the PBA formula is of the wrong type (Note: Only the Companies & Deals search type is supported).
#UPGRADEREQUIRED – This error means that your license does not allow access to desired data.
#WRONGDATE – This error indicates that an invalid date type has been entered into the formula (e.g., entering numbers that are not interpreted as a date like, “684972").
#WRONGINPUT – This error means that an incorrect ID type was used in a formula (e.g. trying a Person PBId in a DealAmount field).
#INVALIDFIELDPREFIX – This error refers to an invalid prefix entered for a field. It is currently used only for the Limit prefix (e.g., of correct usage - Limit3.DealsIds).
#PWSHARELOGOUT – This error occurs if two or more connections are detected from different machines.

The following list of common Excel error codes includes error codes that are native to Excel functionality. To troubleshoot these errors, reach out to Microsoft Support:

#BUSY – This error means that a portion of your formula is still loading.
#DIV/0 – This error stands for divide by zero error. It happens when you work with a formula, and the divisor (the number being divided by) is zero.
#N/A – This error is an abbreviation for “no value available” or “not available.” It means that the formula cannot find the value you are trying to return.
#NAME? – This error is shown when a function name is misspelled.
#NULL! – This error is displayed when cell references are incorrectly specified. You often get this error when the space character is not used appropriately.
#NUM! – This error is an abbreviation for the word number. It is displayed when a number for any function argument is found invalid.
#REF! – This error stands for reference error. It usually happens when a cell that’s being referenced is accidentally deleted or the cell being referenced is pasted into different locations.
#VALUE! – This error happens when a function or formula uses the wrong data type.
###### – This error is displayed when the column width in Excel is insufficient to show the cell’s value.

To understand how this feature fits into a broader workflow, check out PitchBook Pioneer’s course – Excel Plugin Essentials.