diff --git a/packages/server/src/utilities/rowProcessor/bbReferenceProcessor.ts b/packages/server/src/utilities/rowProcessor/bbReferenceProcessor.ts
index e5edc65edd..f26c29a0cd 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/utilities/rowProcessor/bbReferenceProcessor.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/utilities/rowProcessor/bbReferenceProcessor.ts
@@ -10,99 +10,93 @@ import { InvalidBBRefError } from "./errors"
 
 const ROW_PREFIX = DocumentType.ROW + SEPARATOR
 
-export function processInputBBReferences(
+export async function processInputBBReference(
   value: string | { _id: string },
-  type: FieldType.BB_REFERENCE_SINGLE
-): Promise<string | null>
-export function processInputBBReferences(
-  value: string | string[] | { _id: string } | { _id: string }[],
-  type: FieldType.BB_REFERENCE,
-  subtype: BBReferenceFieldSubType
-): Promise<string | null>
+  subtype: BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER
+): Promise<string | null> {
+  if (value && Array.isArray(value)) {
+    throw "BB_REFERENCE_SINGLE cannot be an array"
+  }
+  let id = typeof value === "string" ? value : value?._id
 
-export async function processInputBBReferences(
-  value: string | string[] | { _id: string } | { _id: string }[],
-  type: FieldType.BB_REFERENCE | FieldType.BB_REFERENCE_SINGLE,
-  subtype?: BBReferenceFieldSubType
-): Promise<string | string[] | null> {
-  switch (type) {
-    case FieldType.BB_REFERENCE: {
-      let referenceIds: string[] = []
+  if (!id) {
+    return null
+  }
 
-      if (Array.isArray(value)) {
-        referenceIds.push(
-          ...value.map(idOrDoc =>
-            typeof idOrDoc === "string" ? idOrDoc : idOrDoc._id
-          )
-        )
-      } else if (typeof value !== "string") {
-        referenceIds.push(value._id)
-      } else {
-        referenceIds.push(
-          ...value
-            .split(",")
-            .filter(x => x)
-            .map((id: string) => id.trim())
-        )
+  switch (subtype) {
+    case BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER: {
+      if (id.startsWith(ROW_PREFIX)) {
+        id = dbCore.getGlobalIDFromUserMetadataID(id)
       }
 
-      // make sure all reference IDs are correct global user IDs
-      // they may be user metadata references (start with row prefix)
-      // and these need to be converted to global IDs
-      referenceIds = referenceIds.map(id => {
-        if (id?.startsWith(ROW_PREFIX)) {
-          return dbCore.getGlobalIDFromUserMetadataID(id)
-        } else {
-          return id
+      try {
+        await cache.user.getUser(id)
+        return id
+      } catch (e: any) {
+        if (e.statusCode === 404) {
+          throw new InvalidBBRefError(id, BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER)
         }
-      })
-
-      switch (subtype) {
-        case undefined:
-          throw "Subtype must be defined"
-        case BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER:
-        case BBReferenceFieldSubType.USERS: {
-          const { notFoundIds } = await cache.user.getUsers(referenceIds)
-
-          if (notFoundIds?.length) {
-            throw new InvalidBBRefError(
-              notFoundIds[0],
-              BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER
-            )
-          }
-
-          if (!referenceIds?.length) {
-            return null
-          }
-
-          if (subtype === BBReferenceFieldSubType.USERS) {
-            return referenceIds
-          }
-
-          return referenceIds.join(",")
-        }
-        default:
-          throw utils.unreachable(subtype)
+        throw e
       }
     }
-    case FieldType.BB_REFERENCE_SINGLE: {
-      if (value && Array.isArray(value)) {
-        throw "BB_REFERENCE_SINGLE cannot be an array"
-      }
-
-      const id = typeof value === "string" ? value : value._id
-
-      const user = await cache.user.getUser(id)
-
-      if (!user) {
-        throw new InvalidBBRefError(id, BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER)
-      }
-
-      return user._id!
-    }
 
     default:
-      throw utils.unreachable(type)
+      throw utils.unreachable(subtype)
+  }
+}
+export async function processInputBBReferences(
+  value: string | string[] | { _id: string }[],
+  subtype: BBReferenceFieldSubType
+): Promise<string[] | null> {
+  if (!value || !value[0]) {
+    return null
+  }
+
+  let referenceIds
+  if (typeof value === "string") {
+    referenceIds = value
+      .split(",")
+      .map(u => u.trim())
+      .filter(u => !!u)
+  } else {
+    referenceIds = value.map(idOrDoc =>
+      typeof idOrDoc === "string" ? idOrDoc : idOrDoc._id
+    )
+  }
+
+  // make sure all reference IDs are correct global user IDs
+  // they may be user metadata references (start with row prefix)
+  // and these need to be converted to global IDs
+  referenceIds = referenceIds.map(id => {
+    if (id?.startsWith(ROW_PREFIX)) {
+      return dbCore.getGlobalIDFromUserMetadataID(id)
+    } else {
+      return id
+    }
+  })
+
+  switch (subtype) {
+    case undefined:
+      throw "Subtype must be defined"
+    case BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER:
+    case BBReferenceFieldSubType.USERS: {
+      const { notFoundIds } = await cache.user.getUsers(referenceIds)
+
+      if (notFoundIds?.length) {
+        throw new InvalidBBRefError(
+          notFoundIds[0],
+          BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER
+        )
+      }
+
+      if (!referenceIds?.length) {
+        return null
+      }
+
+      return referenceIds
+    }
+    default:
+      throw utils.unreachable(subtype)
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/server/src/utilities/rowProcessor/index.ts b/packages/server/src/utilities/rowProcessor/index.ts
index 499ea0e4c5..8c8ac6e27d 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/utilities/rowProcessor/index.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/utilities/rowProcessor/index.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import {
 } from "@budibase/types"
 import { cloneDeep } from "lodash/fp"
 import {
+  processInputBBReference,
   processInputBBReferences,
   processOutputBBReferences,
 } from "./bbReferenceProcessor"
@@ -161,13 +162,9 @@ export async function inputProcessing(
         delete clonedRow[key].url
       }
     } else if (field.type === FieldType.BB_REFERENCE && value) {
-      clonedRow[key] = await processInputBBReferences(
-        value,
-        field.type,
-        field.subtype
-      )
+      clonedRow[key] = await processInputBBReferences(value, field.subtype)
     } else if (field.type === FieldType.BB_REFERENCE_SINGLE && value) {
-      clonedRow[key] = await processInputBBReferences(value, field.type)
+      clonedRow[key] = await processInputBBReference(value, field.subtype)
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/server/src/utilities/rowProcessor/tests/bbReferenceProcessor.spec.ts b/packages/server/src/utilities/rowProcessor/tests/bbReferenceProcessor.spec.ts
index 609dc9ffc0..a3c5cf8911 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/utilities/rowProcessor/tests/bbReferenceProcessor.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/utilities/rowProcessor/tests/bbReferenceProcessor.spec.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import _ from "lodash"
 import * as backendCore from "@budibase/backend-core"
 import { BBReferenceFieldSubType, FieldType, User } from "@budibase/types"
 import {
+  processInputBBReference,
   processInputBBReferences,
   processOutputBBReferences,
 } from "../bbReferenceProcessor"
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@ jest.mock("@budibase/backend-core", (): typeof backendCore => {
       ...actual.cache,
       user: {
         ...actual.cache.user,
+        getUser: jest.fn(actual.cache.user.getUser),
         getUsers: jest.fn(actual.cache.user.getUsers),
       },
     },
@@ -31,9 +33,6 @@ jest.mock("@budibase/backend-core", (): typeof backendCore => {
 const config = new DBTestConfiguration()
 
 describe("bbReferenceProcessor", () => {
-  const cacheGetUsersSpy = backendCore.cache.user
-    .getUsers as jest.MockedFunction<typeof backendCore.cache.user.getUsers>
-
   const users: User[] = []
   beforeAll(async () => {
     const userCount = 10
@@ -56,21 +55,81 @@ describe("bbReferenceProcessor", () => {
     jest.clearAllMocks()
   })
 
-  describe("processInputBBReferences", () => {
+  describe("processInputBBReference", () => {
     describe("subtype user", () => {
+      const cacheGetUserSpy = backendCore.cache.user
+        .getUser as jest.MockedFunction<typeof backendCore.cache.user.getUser>
+
       it("validate valid string id", async () => {
         const user = _.sample(users)
         const userId = user!._id!
 
         const result = await config.doInTenant(() =>
-          processInputBBReferences(
-            userId,
-            FieldType.BB_REFERENCE,
-            BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER
-          )
+          processInputBBReference(userId, BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER)
         )
 
         expect(result).toEqual(userId)
+        expect(cacheGetUserSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+        expect(cacheGetUserSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(userId)
+      })
+
+      it("throws an error given an invalid id", async () => {
+        const userId = generator.guid()
+
+        await expect(
+          config.doInTenant(() =>
+            processInputBBReference(userId, BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER)
+          )
+        ).rejects.toThrow(
+          new InvalidBBRefError(userId, BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER)
+        )
+      })
+
+      it("validate valid user object", async () => {
+        const userId = _.sample(users)!._id!
+
+        const result = await config.doInTenant(() =>
+          processInputBBReference({ _id: userId }, BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER)
+        )
+
+        expect(result).toEqual(userId)
+        expect(cacheGetUserSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+        expect(cacheGetUserSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(userId)
+      })
+
+      it("empty strings will return null", async () => {
+        const result = await config.doInTenant(() =>
+          processInputBBReference("", BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER)
+        )
+
+        expect(result).toEqual(null)
+      })
+
+      it("should convert user medata IDs to global IDs", async () => {
+        const userId = _.sample(users)!._id!
+        const userMetadataId = backendCore.db.generateUserMetadataID(userId)
+        const result = await config.doInTenant(() =>
+          processInputBBReference(userMetadataId, BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER)
+        )
+        expect(result).toBe(userId)
+      })
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe("processInputBBReferences", () => {
+    describe("subtype user", () => {
+      const cacheGetUsersSpy = backendCore.cache.user
+        .getUsers as jest.MockedFunction<typeof backendCore.cache.user.getUsers>
+
+      it("validate valid string id", async () => {
+        const user = _.sample(users)
+        const userId = user!._id!
+
+        const result = await config.doInTenant(() =>
+          processInputBBReferences(userId, BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER)
+        )
+
+        expect(result).toEqual([userId])
         expect(cacheGetUsersSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
         expect(cacheGetUsersSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith([userId])
       })
@@ -80,11 +139,7 @@ describe("bbReferenceProcessor", () => {
 
         await expect(
           config.doInTenant(() =>
-            processInputBBReferences(
-              userId,
-              FieldType.BB_REFERENCE,
-              BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER
-            )
+            processInputBBReferences(userId, BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER)
           )
         ).rejects.toThrow(
           new InvalidBBRefError(userId, BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER)
@@ -98,14 +153,10 @@ describe("bbReferenceProcessor", () => {
 
         const userIdCsv = userIds.join(" ,  ")
         const result = await config.doInTenant(() =>
-          processInputBBReferences(
-            userIdCsv,
-            FieldType.BB_REFERENCE,
-            BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER
-          )
+          processInputBBReferences(userIdCsv, BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER)
         )
 
-        expect(result).toEqual(userIds.join(","))
+        expect(result).toEqual(userIds)
         expect(cacheGetUsersSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
         expect(cacheGetUsersSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(userIds)
       })
@@ -122,45 +173,22 @@ describe("bbReferenceProcessor", () => {
 
         await expect(
           config.doInTenant(() =>
-            processInputBBReferences(
-              userIdCsv,
-              FieldType.BB_REFERENCE,
-              BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER
-            )
+            processInputBBReferences(userIdCsv, BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER)
           )
         ).rejects.toThrow(
           new InvalidBBRefError(wrongId, BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER)
         )
       })
 
-      it("validate valid user object", async () => {
-        const userId = _.sample(users)!._id!
-
-        const result = await config.doInTenant(() =>
-          processInputBBReferences(
-            { _id: userId },
-            FieldType.BB_REFERENCE,
-            BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER
-          )
-        )
-
-        expect(result).toEqual(userId)
-        expect(cacheGetUsersSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
-        expect(cacheGetUsersSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith([userId])
-      })
-
       it("validate valid user object array", async () => {
-        const userIds = _.sampleSize(users, 3).map(x => x._id!)
+        const inputUsers = _.sampleSize(users, 3).map(u => ({ _id: u._id! }))
+        const userIds = inputUsers.map(u => u._id)
 
         const result = await config.doInTenant(() =>
-          processInputBBReferences(
-            userIds,
-            FieldType.BB_REFERENCE,
-            BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER
-          )
+          processInputBBReferences(inputUsers, BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER)
         )
 
-        expect(result).toEqual(userIds.join(","))
+        expect(result).toEqual(userIds)
         expect(cacheGetUsersSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
         expect(cacheGetUsersSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(userIds)
       })
@@ -169,7 +197,7 @@ describe("bbReferenceProcessor", () => {
         const result = await config.doInTenant(() =>
           processInputBBReferences(
             "",
-            FieldType.BB_REFERENCE,
+
             BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER
           )
         )
@@ -179,11 +207,7 @@ describe("bbReferenceProcessor", () => {
 
       it("empty arrays will return null", async () => {
         const result = await config.doInTenant(() =>
-          processInputBBReferences(
-            [],
-            FieldType.BB_REFERENCE,
-            BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER
-          )
+          processInputBBReferences([], BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER)
         )
 
         expect(result).toEqual(null)
@@ -193,13 +217,9 @@ describe("bbReferenceProcessor", () => {
         const userId = _.sample(users)!._id!
         const userMetadataId = backendCore.db.generateUserMetadataID(userId)
         const result = await config.doInTenant(() =>
-          processInputBBReferences(
-            userMetadataId,
-            FieldType.BB_REFERENCE,
-            BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER
-          )
+          processInputBBReferences(userMetadataId, BBReferenceFieldSubType.USER)
         )
-        expect(result).toBe(userId)
+        expect(result).toEqual([userId])
       })
     })
   })