Using a spreadsheet (CSV, XLSX or XLS) to format product data quickly, you can easily edit your existing product catalog in bulk.
This might be done to change pricing across the product catalog; if it's the end of a season and products need to be deactivated; or to update tags or product categories.
Before you begin
Before you begin editing your product catalog spreadsheet, these things are important to know:
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Always save a backup copy of your CSV file before you start editing it.
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Always remove stock/inventory columns.
- Do not change or remove the ID column or IDs themselves. This is a number Retail POS generates as a unique ID for each product. Leave the field blank when you're creating new products.
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If you want to update your stock levels, make sure you either complete a stock order (to add stock) or an inventory count (to remove stock).
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Leaving the type or tag fields blank will overwrite any preexisting type or tag data you have in Retail POS. For more information on these fields check out this list here.
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Leaving the tax rate fields blank will NOT update the tax rate to your store's default rate.
Important: Updating SKU's through a CSV import will not automatically update the next SKU sequence number in Retail POS. If you make any changes to your SKU's using a CSV import we strongly recommend you check your current sequence number in Setup > General and update it if necessary to avoid any SKU duplication going forward.
Exporting and editing your product catalog
To update your products using a spreadsheet file (CSV, XLSX or XLS), follow the steps below:
1. Navigate to Catalog > Products and click Export list... to export a complete list of your product catalog.
- If you only want to edit a portion of your product catalog — e.g the products from a specific supplier — use the filters to locate the products that require updating before exporting.
To avoid SKU formatting issues, we recommend exporting product catalog as an XLSX file. If you want to use a CSV, please see our article Formatting your CSV file using Open Office for tips on how to do this safely.
2. Make a copy of the exported file and save it as "product-export-backup" to ensure you have a backup copy in case a mistake is made. You should never edit your backup file directly.
3. Open the downloaded file in Excel, or use free spreadsheet software such as Open Office or Google Docs.
4. Always delete all of the inventory columns (including their headers) when editing product CSV files. This is so any changes in your inventory levels due to sales you make while you are working on the CSV are not overwritten when you reimport the file.
5. Update the necessary fields. If you're not sure what should go in each field, refer to our Understanding your product catalog fields and How to bulk import products guides.
6. Save the CSV file.
Importing the edited spreadsheet
Once you have finished editing the product export spreadsheet file, you can import it into your store.
The Retail POS spreadsheet checker will look for some of the most common import errors in your file before it imports into your store. It will check for any formatting issues or errors such as column headings and mandatory fields and let you know if any of these errors are present in your file.
To validate and import your product spreadsheet, you must first navigate to Catalog > Products and then click Import. Once here, follow the steps below:
1. Drag and drop your file, or click Choose a file to upload to search for and add the file.
2. As soon as you place your file here, Retail POS will immediately perform a check to make sure your columns match.
- If the validation is successful move straight onto step 6.
- If Retail POS detects any errors you will be taken to the column matching screen below:
3. At this stage, you'll be able to view any unmatched columns and fix them by selecting the correct column from the drop-down menu.
You'll also have the option to change the matching of any other columns or choose not to import a specific column.
4. Once you've matched all the columns correctly, click continue. If there are no further column errors during this step move straight onto step 6.
5. If any mandatory columns are missing from your file an error screen will appear. From here, you'll be able to view the missing column(s) and download a new version of your file to make sure the missing columns are added.
Once you've made the required changes, reimport your file by either dragging and dropping it into the Retail POS window or starting again from step 1.
6. Once successful, you will be taken to a confirmation screen. From here, click Continue with import to import the products into your store.
Upload not working?
Refer to the Common errors with product spreadsheet imports guide for further steps.
Want to add new products?
This guide is specific to editing existing products within Retail POS.
To learn how to add new products to your Retail POS store using a spreadsheet file, refer to our How to bulk import products guide.