Import and export stock, non-stock products and services

This explains how to import new records, export records, and update existing records from spreadsheets (CSV files). Learn how to

Import new product and service records

Use the section to learn how to import new product and service records from a spreadsheet (CSV file)

If you want to update existing records, see Update existing products and services.

Before you begin

Please consider the following items before importing your products and services:

  • The headings in the CSV file must exactly match the headings used in the CSV file template. We recommend that you download the CSV template file first to make sure the headings are correct.

  • The Item Code and Description are mandatory. Other cells can be left blank.

  • When importing Categories, make sure you have already created your categories and sub-categories. To import a sub-category, the row must also include the correct category.

  • When importing Analysis Types, make sure you have already created your analysis types and the analysis type is Active for the correct type of record; Stock, Non-stock or Service.

  • To import both products and services, you must create a CSV file for products and another for services.
  • The maximum file size you can import is 0.5 MB.
  • You can import up to ten prices.

Download the CSV file template

  1. Go to Products and Services, and then select Import items from the New Item drop-down.

  2. Choose the type of item to import: Stock, Non-stock or Service.

  3. Select the template CSV file link.

Prepare the CSV file

  1. Make sure you keep the column headings as they are in the template.
  2. Delete the sample data in the template and replace with details of your new products and services.

To ensure that your non-stock product records are successfully imported, you must include a header row in your CSV file, using the column headings shown in the in the Field name column below.

Column Field name Type Required Notes
A Item Code Alphanumeric No Enter a code to identify the product.
B Description Alphanumeric Yes Enter a description for the product.
C Category Text No

Make sure you have already set up your categories.

Leave this blank if you are not using categories.
D Sub-Category Text No To import a sub-category, the row must also include the correct category.
E Sales Price 1 Name Alphanumeric No To use the default name, Selling Price, leave this column blank.
F Sales Price 1 Value Numeric plus 2 decimal places No Enter the price that you charge for the product.
G Sales Price 1 Includes Tax Alpha No Enter Yes or No. Leave this column blank to use the default value, which is No.
H Sales Ledger Account Numeric No Enter the ledger account code to use for the sale of this product. To use the default account, leave this blank.
I Sales Tax Rate Alphanumeric Yes Enter the sales tax rate name as it appears on the Sales Tax Rates page, accessed by going to Settings, Sales Taxes.
J Usual Vendor Text No

Enter the vendor's account code. The account must already exist.

Maximum 10 characters.
K Expense Description Text No Maximum 250 characters.
L Cost Price Number plus 2 decimal places No

Enter a cost price for the stock item

If this is left blank, it's set to 0.00.
M Expense Ledger Account Numeric No Enter the account code to use for the purchase of this product, for example, 5000. To use the default account, leave this column blank.
N - P Analysis Type 1, 2, 3 Text No These fields are included in the file only if you set up analysis types on the Settings, Analysis Types page.
Q Notes Alphanumeric No Enter a note if applicable. You can enter up to 500 characters.
R Active Text No

To mark the as Active, leave this blank.

To mark the customer as Inactive, enter No.
S Sales Price 2 Name Alphanumeric No To use the default name, Selling Price, leave this column blank.
T Sales Price 2 Value Numeric plus 2 decimal places No Enter the price that you charge for the product.
U Sales Price 2 Includes Tax Alpha No Enter Yes or No. Leave this column blank to use the default value, which is No.
V Sales Price 3 Name Alphanumeric No To use the default name, Selling Price, leave this column blank.
W Sales Price 3 Value Numeric plus 2 decimal places No Enter the price that you charge for the product.
X Sales Price 3 Includes Tax Alpha No Enter Yes or No. Leave this column blank to use the default value, which is No.

To ensure that your service records are successfully imported, you must include a header row in your CSV file, using the column headings shown in the in the Field name column below.

Column Field name Type Required Notes
A Item Code Alphanumeric No Enter a code to identify the service.
B Description Alphanumeric Yes Enter a description for the service.
C Category Text No

Make sure you have already set up your categories.

Leave this blank if you are not using categories.
D Sub-Category Text No To import a sub-category, the row must also include the correct category.
E Rate 1 Name Alphanumeric No Enter the name of the rate that you charge for the service. To use the default name, Rate, leave this blank.
F Rate 1 Value Numeric plus 2 decimal places No Enter the rate that you charge for the service.
G Rate 1 Includes Tax Alphanumeric No Enter Yes or No. Leave this column blank to use the default value, which is No.
H Sales Ledger Account Numeric No The account code you want to use for the sale of this service, for example, 4000. To use the default account, leave this column blank.
I Sales Tax Rate Alphanumeric Yes Enter the sales tax rate name as it appears on the Sales Tax Rates page, accessed from Settings, Sales Taxes.
J Usual Vendor Text No

Enter the vendor's account code. The account must already exist.

Maximum 10 characters.
K Expense Description Text No Maximum 250 characters.
L Cost Price Number plus 2 decimal places No

Enter a cost price for the stock item

If this is left blank, it's set to 0.00.
M Expense Ledger Account Numeric No Enter the account code to use for the purchase of this product, for example, 5000. To use the default account, leave this column blank.
N-P Analysis Type 1, 2, 3 Text No These fields are included in the file only if you set up analysis types on the Settings, Analysis Types page.
Q Notes Alphanumeric No Enter a note if applicable. You can enter up to 500 characters.
R Active Text No

To mark the as Active, leave this blank.

To mark the customer as Inactive, enter No.

To make sure your stock records can be imported successfully, you must include a header row in your CSV file, using the columns shown as the Field names below.

Column Field name Type Compulsory Notes
A Item Code Text Yes Maximum 30 characters and must be unique.
B Description Text Yes Maximum 255 characters.
C Category Text No

Make sure you have already set up your categories.

Leave this blank if you are not using categories.
D Sub-Category Text No To import a sub-category, the row must also include the correct category.
E Sales Price 1 Name Text No

To use the default name of Sale Price, leave this blank.

Tip:

If you have more than one pricing level, you can enter the additional levels after you import your records.
F Sales Price 1 Value Number plus 2 decimal places No If this is left blank, the price is set to 0.00.
G Sales Price 1 Includes Tax Text No Enter Yes or No, or leave blank to default to No.
H Sales Ledger Account Number No

The ledger account code you want to use for the sale of this stock item.

To use the default account, leave this blank.
I Sales Tax Rate Text No

To use the default tax rate, leave this blank.

Alternatively, enter the rate name as it appears on the Settings, Sales Tax Rates page.
J Usual Vendor Text No

Enter the vendor's account code. The account must already exist.

Maximum 10 characters.
K Expense Description Text No Maximum 250 characters.
L Cost Price Number plus 2 decimal places No

Enter a cost price for the stock item

If this is left blank, it's set to 0.00.
M Expense Ledger Account Number No

The ledger account code you want to use for the purchase of this stock item.

To use the default account set for your stock items, leave this blank. This is set on the Settings, Record and Transactions Settings page.
N -P Analysis Type 1, 2, 3 Text No

These fields are included in the file only if you set up analysis types on the Settings, Analysis Types page.
Q Notes Text No Maximum 500 characters.
R Vendor Code Text No

The code your vendor uses.

Maximum 50 characters.
S Quantity in Stock Number No The number of items currently in stock
T Reorder Level Number No If this is left blank, it's set to 0.00.
U Reorder Quantity Number plus 2 decimal places No If this is left blank, it's set to 0.00.
V Location Text No Maximum 25 characters
W Active Text No

To mark the as Active, leave this blank.

To mark the customer as Inactive, enter No.
X Barcode Text No Maximum 50 characters
Y Weight Number No If this is left blank, it's set to 0.00.
Z Unit of Weight Text No

Enter gram, kilogram, tonne, or ounce, pound, ton.

If this is left blank, it defaults to pound.
AA Usual Vendor Text No

Enter the vendor's account code. The account must already exist.

Maximum 10 characters.
BB Sales Price 2 Name Text No

To use the default name of Sale Price, leave this blank.

Tip:

If you have more than one pricing level, you can enter the additional levels after you import your records.
CC Sales Price 2 Value Number plus 2 decimal places No If this is left blank, the price is set to 0.00.
DD Sales Price 2 Includes Tax Text No Enter Yes or No, or leave blank to default to No.
EE Sales Price 3 Name Text No

To use the default name of Sale Price, leave this blank.

Tip:

If you have more than one pricing level, you can enter the additional levels after you import your records.
FF Sales Price 3 Value Number plus 2 decimal places No If this is left blank, the price is set to 0.00.
GG Sales Price 3 Includes Tax Text No Enter Yes or No, or leave blank to default to No.

Import your product and service records

  1. Click Products & Services.
  2. Click New Item and click Import Items.
  3. Click the type of items you want to import; Stock, Non-stock, or Service:

  1. Choose Upload your CSV file, or drag and drop your file.

    If for any reason the upload fails, a message indicates why. Fix any issues, and then upload the file. For more information about the correct CSV file format, see sections above for the product and service file formats.

  2. Click OK.

Export products and services

There are 2 ways to products and services

  • Use the option to Export all records.

  • Export selected records from the products and services list.

Export all records

This exports all stock, non-stock or services records to separate CSV files. The export contains all fields in the records except Analysis Types.

  1. From Contacts, select Products and Services.

  2. Choose Export all from the New item drop-down.

  3. Choose the type of item to export, and select Export.

  4. The export file may take a few minutes to create. Check for a notification on the toolbar to tell you when the file is ready.

    You can only export one file at a time, so wait for the export to complete before requesting to export again.

Export selected records

This only exports the fields visible on the list for the selected records. Use the icon to add or remove fields before exporting.

  1. From Contacts, select Products and Services.

  2. Select the records to export.

  3. Select the CSV icon from the action toolbar.

Update existing products and services

This section explains how to update existing item records from a spreadsheet (CSV file).

To make sure we can identify and update existing records, we use a unique ID. To include this ID in your spreadsheet, you must export all your records first, then update the exported spreadsheet and re-import it. This is to make sure that you avoid creating duplicates. When the Uniqiue ID column is blank, we create a new record.

  1. Export all your product and service records to a spreadsheet following the steps above.

  2. Open the exported file and make your required changes and then save your file.

  3. From the navigation bar select Products and Services.

  4. Select Update items from the New item drop down.

  5. Drag and drop your updated file, or select Choose, then select Upload file.

  6. Choose how to handle empty cells in your CSV file then Continue.

  7. You'll view a summary of the file you're about to import, when you're happy select Start import.