Please refer to this article to import inventory items via our Retail Imports team.

There are multiple ways to add or update items and images in Retail POS, but importing using a spreadsheet file (.CSV or .XSLX) can save time and effort, especially if:

• You're exporting inventory data from your previous point of sale (POS).
• You have a large inventory.
• You're familiar with spreadsheet applications like Google Sheets or Excel.

Downloading the Retail POS item import template

1. Navigate to Inventory > Import Items.

   

2. Click + New Import.

   

3. Click Download template to download the product import template spreadsheet. This pre-formatted template includes all of the relevant information needed to import products into Retail POS.

   

4. Open the product import template spreadsheet in Excel or Google Sheets. If using Excel with a .CSV file, you need to follow specific instructions.

You can’t create new columns or edit column headings, or errors will occur. You can reorder columns or remove unused columns if needed.

Adding standard products

A standard product is a single product with a single SKU and its own inventory. To create a standard product, you only need to action on the fields mentioned in this section and can leave other fields blank. Blank fields will be skipped during the import process. 

Your import file can contain up to 10,000 items. All fields have a 255 character limit unless otherwise noted and cannot contain returns, line breaks, or foreign characters.

For a standard product, leave Matrix Description, Matrix Attribute Set, and Attribute columns blank. For a product with variants, fill these fields out accordingly.

Adding matrix variant products

A product with variants is a product offered in different variations, like size or color. Each variant product must have a unique SKU and its own inventory.

Each product can have up to three attributes. Lightspeed Retail POS has three built-in matrix attribute sets: Color, Size, and Color/Size. You can also create custom matrix attribute sets.

Creating a variant product involves the same fields and steps as creating a standard product, with some differences:

• Description: Leave this field blank. Your item’s description will instead come from the Matrix Description field.

Matrix Description, Matrix Attribute Set, and Attribute [1, 2, 3] cannot be edited via an import and must be updated manually. 

Creating more complex matrix variants

If you have a product with more than one attribute set, you can create a custom attribute set to accommodate these varieties.

For example, if you were selling a T-shirt that comes in three colors, three sizes, and two types of material, you would need to create a custom attribute set called “Color/Size/Material.”

To then enter this into the spreadsheet, you would need to write out all of the potential combinations of variables in the spreadsheet.

Formatting to update matrix variants

It’s important to understand which columns will update every variant in the matrix, which will only update the individual variant product, and which can't be updated.

Using a spreadsheet to update existing items

The easiest way to use a spreadsheet to update existing items is to export your inventory data. Then, either replace or delete the details of any existing items you wish to update.

To replace details, enter the new details in your spreadsheet. To delete details, type NULL into the columns in your spreadsheet. Leaving columns empty for an existing item will prompt Retail POS to ignore and skip that column, but will not delete the information.

Uploading the item import spreadsheet

Once complete, you're ready to import the product import template spreadsheet into Retail POS. Make sure that your spreadsheet is in .XLSX or .CSV format and that you have not added columns or edited any column names, or errors will occur. Only 1 import can run at a time per account. 

To validate and import your spreadsheet:

1. Navigate to Inventory > Import Items.
2. Click + New Import.
3. Drag and drop your import file, or, click Choose file and select your import file. 
4. In the Select import method dropdown, choose your desired import method.

   

5. (Optional) If you're updating existing items, use the Match on field dropdown to select the field that your Retail POS account will match on to update your existing items correctly.

   

6. (Optional) Enter your email address to be notified once your import file is reviewed and your import is done.

   

7. Check that all of your columns are mapped.
   1. If you have invalid columns in your import file, individually select the appropriate column designation from the dropdown list.

      

8. (Optional) Select the Skip checkbox of columns you don't want to import.
9. Click Review import.

   

10. Review your import information. 
11. (Optional) Enter your email address to receive a notification when your import is done uploading.
12. If your inventory data looks correct, click Import items. Your items will start importing and the Import report will display once your import is done.
    1. If your data does not look correct, edit and reupload your file or fix the errors.

    

Your items should now be created or updated in your inventory. To make sure your inventory was imported correctly, you can find your items by navigating to Inventory > Item Search.

Completing your item import

Adding labels to the queue

If you imported a QOH for your new items, you can click Add Labels to queue for Items with Inventory to create a label queue. This way, you can print your label queue.

Uploading item images

If you imported the file names of your item images, you need to upload the image files to your Retail POS account to add them to your items.

Downloading the item import file

For your record-keeping, the file used for the import is stored in your Retail POS account. Click Download the file used for this import to download a copy of the original file.

Fixing errors in your item import

Your account will automatically review your import file for formatting errors. If there are any formatting errors, Retail POS will tell you how many errors are present and how to fix each of them.

To fix errors in your import file:

1. Click Download and fix.

   

   1. This will automatically download a copy of your import file, adding two additional columns listing Errors and Suggested Fixes.
2. Open the new file in Google Sheets or Excel.
3. Fix the errors noted in the Errors column.

   

4. Delete the Errors and Suggested Fixes columns.
5. Save your spreadsheet as an .XLSX or .CSV file.
6. Reupload your import file.

What's next?