Importing items is a breeze with our user-friendly system. Whether you're adding new products or updating existing ones, this guide will walk you through the process step by step.
Preparing Your Data
Before importing, ensure your data is formatted correctly to prevent errors. Here's what you need to do:
- File Format: Ensure all cells in your spreadsheet are set to a text file format. Press “Ctrl+a” to select all cells on your spreadsheet or click in the top left corner of the spreadsheet.
- Next, at the top, make sure “text” is selected in the format window.
- Column Headers: Your Generic Spreadsheet file should contain specific column headers corresponding to the data you're importing, some of which are required. These include:
- Description (Item Name)
- UPC (Item Lookup Code)
- UPC is required because the item cannot be scanned without a UPC code. If the item does not have a UPC, you may substitute another unique key to find the item, however it will not be scannable with a bar code reader.
- Price
The following Headers are optional but are highly recommended. If no value is set, these items will be populated by the default value indicated in the configuration. (More on this in a bit!)
- Supplier
- Department
- Category
- Tax Status
These properties will be cleared or reset to 0:
- Description (if Update description is checked)
- Cost*
- Price (if Update price is checked)
- Quantity (if Update Inventory is checked)
- Reorder Number* (NOTE: Reorder Number resets to the item's UPC)
- Reorder Point
- Restock Level (NOTE: Restock Level resets to 1, not 0)
- Buy UOM*
- Sell UOM*
- UOM Conversion* (NOTE: UOM Conversion resets to 1, not 0)
- Subcategory
- Additional Description
- Master Pack Quantity* (NOTE: MPQ resets to 1, not 0)
- Data Accuracy: Double-check your data for accuracy. Ensure there are no typos, missing information, or inconsistencies. Select all your data and change the formatting to Text in Excel. Please note that depending on your Excel settings, this step might alter your UPCs or Reorder Numbers! Be sure to double check them for accuracy. 
Creating a Supplier
Now let's set up your first Supplier! In this example, we will create a Supplier to use for taxable items.
- From the managers tab, click on “suppliers” from the menu on the right of the screen.
- Click “Add New Supplier”
- Select “No” for National Supplier. (Unless you have a price file (.txt) template download from one of the national suppliers that is supported by Cashier Live.)
- Enter a name for your Supplier Name, a unique internal name under Code, a unique number for Account Number, and any contact information you want.
- Click “Add New Supplier” when done.
Importing Items
Now that your data is prepared, let's import it into CashierLive:
- Log in to your CashierLive account and navigate to the "Manager" section.
- Click on the " Item Import " options on the right of the screen.
- You can add a new supplier configuration or click the drop to choose an existing import configuration.
- For this example, we just clicked on “Save & Next” to start a new configuration.
- Enter a name for your configuration. (supplier name, store dept, etc.)
- Select the supplier you just created.
- Choose a default department and category. (This is what we were talking about earlier. If you don't assign a value to these headers on the spreadsheet, what you select here will be the default for all items on this configuration.)
- Set a tax level for the import.
- Check the following boxes:
- Use generic spreadsheet
- Update price
- Update description
- Make Primary Supplier
- Update Dept/Cat
- Update Inventory
- Select all stores you wish the inventory to be uploaded to.
- Click “Save Configuration” when done.
- Next, click “Choose File” to find the generic spreadsheet you filled out.
- Find and select the spreadsheet that you want to import using the Windows File Explorer and click “Open”.
- Once your spreadsheet has been loaded, click on “Upload File” to start the import process.
- A small window will appear with a loading icon indicating the import is in process. Imports can take anywhere from a few seconds (hundreds of items) to a few minutes (thousands of items) depending on the size of your import file.
- Once you see "Complete", you're all set! The items have been added to your inventory. If you get an error, see below.
If you encounter an error:
- Make sure you started with our original Generic Inventory Sheet. Sometimes when you copy/paste data over from other applications it can alter the formatting and cause problems.
- Try opening a blank version of our sheet and copying the data from the old sheet to the new one and importing it again.
- Ensure the cells in your sheet are all formatted as Text.
- Make sure you don't have any typos in your prices, such as .95 instead of 10.95.
- Check for special characters like apostrophes in your Departments, Categories, and Supplier names.
- Make sure there are no blank cells in your file.
If you still have problems, please email the inventory file you are using to support@cashierlive.com with your store name, and we'll be happy to help you.
Tips for Success
- Regular Backups: Always keep backups of your item data before performing imports or updates.
- Test Import: Before importing a large dataset, perform a test import with a small sample to ensure everything works smoothly.
- Data Cleanup: Regularly clean up your item data to maintain accuracy and efficiency.
Need Help?
If you encounter any issues or have questions about importing items, don't hesitate to reach out to our support team. We're here to help you make the most out of CashierLive!
That's it! You're now equipped to import items like a pro in CashierLive.