diff --git a/public/userarea/mapping_template_xls_scheme2.php b/public/userarea/mapping_template_xls_scheme2.php
index bbd41f8..c2b5bb6 100644
--- a/public/userarea/mapping_template_xls_scheme2.php
+++ b/public/userarea/mapping_template_xls_scheme2.php
@@ -575,6 +575,10 @@ $xlsHeaders = $template['xls_headers'] ? json_decode($template['xls_headers'], t
                     while (headers.length > 0 && headers[headers.length - 1] === '') {
                         headers.pop();
                     }
+                    headers = headers.map((h, i) => {
+                        h = h.replace(/[\r\n\t]+/g, ' ').trim();
+                        return h === '' ? `__empty_${i + 1}__` : h;
+                    });
                     console.log("Intestazioni estratte (manual):", headers);
                     availableXlsColumns = [...headers];
                     usedColumnsFromDB = [];
@@ -707,8 +711,11 @@ $xlsHeaders = $template['xls_headers'] ? json_decode($template['xls_headers'], t
                 while (headers.length > 0 && headers[headers.length - 1] === '') {
                     headers.pop();
                 }
-                // Final clean: ensure no whitespace-only entries sneak through
-                headers = headers.map(h => h.replace(/[\r\n\t]+/g, ' ').trim());
+                // Final clean + name empty columns to match __empty_N__ convention
+                headers = headers.map((h, i) => {
+                    h = h.replace(/[\r\n\t]+/g, ' ').trim();
+                    return h === '' ? `__empty_${i + 1}__` : h;
+                });
                 console.log("Logical headers:", headers, `(${headers.length} columns from ${rawRow.length} physical)`);
                 availableXlsColumns = [...headers];
                 usedColumnsFromDB = [];
diff --git a/public/userarea/process_import_xls2.php b/public/userarea/process_import_xls2.php
index 1b9c91c..afd0cf0 100644
--- a/public/userarea/process_import_xls2.php
+++ b/public/userarea/process_import_xls2.php
@@ -74,6 +74,16 @@ try {
                 $startRow = max(1, $header_row);
                 $startColumn = max(1, $start_column);
 
+                // Advance startColumn to first non-empty cell in header row (match JS behavior)
+                for ($sc = $startColumn; $sc <= $highestColumnIndex; $sc++) {
+                    $cl = \PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Cell\Coordinate::stringFromColumnIndex($sc);
+                    $cv = trim((string)($worksheet->getCell($cl . $header_row)->getCalculatedValue() ?? ''));
+                    if ($cv !== '') {
+                        $startColumn = $sc;
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
+
                 // Debug dei parametri
                 error_log("Processing - template_id: $template_id, startRow: $startRow, startColumn: $startColumn, highestRow: $highestRow, highestColumn: $highestColumn, highestColumnIndex: $highestColumnIndex");
 
@@ -127,6 +137,9 @@ try {
                         $headerRowData[] = ($cellValue !== '') ? $cellValue : '__empty_' . $logicalNum . '__';
                     }
 
+                    error_log("Logical headers: " . json_encode($headerRowData));
+                    error_log("Logical cols (physical indices): " . json_encode($logicalCols));
+
                     // Find which logical columns have real headers
                     $headerFilledIndices = [];
                     foreach ($headerRowData as $idx => $hVal) {