Import materials

Bring your materials into Craftybase quickly and easily with our import options!

This article discusses the ways you can import multiple materials into Craftybase.

What you'll need

Any Craftybase plan that allows importing of materials
A CSV file to import

Importing into Craftybase

To upload your CSV file ( How do I create a CSV file for my materials?):

2. Hover over the ⋮ icon that appears next to the header. Next, select the Bulk Add Materials option that appears in the menu.

3. On the form that appears, click the Choose File button and select your spreadsheet from your file system.

4. Click the Upload File button. This will upload the file to Craftybase, but will not yet import the data - this will be done in the next step.

5. On your Mappings page, you'll need to confirm which Craftybase field is represented by each column in your spreadsheet if you have changed these from the example spreadsheet above. Once you are happy with all fields, click the Yes, Import File button at the bottom of the page.

6. Your import will begin and you'll be taken back to the Imports page. You'll see your import status as Importing. Refresh the page to see the updated status - when complete it will show as Complete. Click the View Results / Undo button to see which Materials have been imported, along with details about any skipped rows (if any).

7. On the details page, you'll find an option to Undo the import if you aren't happy with the results. Clicking this will remove all materials linked to the import and then delete the import record.

How to create a CSV file

A CSV file is a Comma Seperated Values file, which can be generated easily from any spreadsheet program.

Step 1 Download Template Spreadsheet

We will need your data in a fairly standard format for our importer to be able to read the information properly, so please download and use our example spreadsheet as a starting point:

Craftybase Material Bulk Import Spreadsheet (CSV)

The file above is in CSV (Comma Separated Values) format which can be opened in any spreadsheet program (Excel, Mac Numbers, Google Sheets).

Step 2 Add your materials to the spreadsheet

Ensure that you add each material on a separate line. Please note that this importer is not for purchase information, only the attributes of the materials. Please note that only Inventoriable materials can be added via the bulk import process.

SKU	[optional] Your SKU is your unique code identifier for the material. Important note: Material rows will be skipped if there is already a material with this SKU in your list so please ensure that all codes are unique.
Name	This is the title that will appear in all list views in Craftybase and will typically be how you search for the material. It should ideally be unique enough to identify the material. If an item name isn't found for the row, it will be imported as "Untitled".
Description	[optional] The longer descriptive text for the material. This is also searchable in all search boxes.
Category	[optional] The category for this material (i.e. "buttons"). If you don't yet have a category with this name in the system we will create it at the time of import.
Starting Quantity	If you wish to bring stock forward from your prior inventory tracking system this is where you can enter how many were in your inventory on your start date in Craftybase. If not present, will default to 0. The largest quantity possible is 9999999.
Starting Unit Cost	If you wish to bring stock forward from your prior inventory tracking system this is where you can enter the calculated unit cost of your material stock on hand for your start date in Craftybase. Your unit cost will need to be in the same unit as your Tracking Unit (e.g. if you purchase in "jar" and track in "button" then this would be the per button price). If not present, will default to 0.00.
Tracking Unit	This should be the unit that you wish to track and manufacture the material in. This can be different to the unit that you purchase in if you set a different Purchase Unit (below). If not present, will default to "item". For more information on Tracking Units, please see What is a Material Tracking Unit?.
Purchase Unit	This is the unit you typically purchase in. It can be the same as your Tracking Unit. If not present, will default to "item". For more information on Purchase Units, please see What is a Material Purchase Unit?
Purchase to Tracking Unit Conversion	Your Purchase to Tracking Unit Conversion allows you to nominate the number of tracking units are in a single purchase unit. This information allows Craftybase to be able to calculate the correct amount to increase your stock by when you add a new expense and enter the purchase quantity. More information on how this works can be found here: How does the Purchase to Tracking Unit Conversion work?. If not present, will default to 1. The largest value possible for this field is 9999999.
Low Stock Limit	This is the lowest level your stock for this material can go before it gets marked as "low stock". If not present, will default to 0. The largest value possible for this field is 9999999.
Preferred Vendor Name	[optional] This should be the vendor you purchase this material from the most often. If a value is found in this field, we will create a new Vendor in the system with this name. No expense records will be created as a result of information in this field.
Preferred Vendor Code	[optional] This can be used for any codes used by your preferred vendor for the purposes of identifying the material.
Zone	[optional] If you are using the BIN Location feature for materials, this is the "zone" part of your code.
Position	[optional] If you are using the BIN Location feature for materials, this is the "position" part of your code.
Section	[optional] If you are using the BIN Location feature for materials, this is the "section" part of your code.

Step 3 Export your spreadsheet to CSV

Once you have your spreadsheet ready, you'll need to export it as CSV.

CSV basically stands for "Comma Separated Values", meaning that the export will contain your data in rows, with each column value separated by a comma.

The process to do this differs between spreadsheet programs, instructions for some popular programs are as follows:

Exporting an Excel Spreadsheet to CSV

Exporting a Numbers Spreadsheet to CSV

How to Save as a CSV from Google Sheets

Undo a material import

To remove your material import:

1. Navigate to your Imports page

2. All imports will now be listed. Select the "View Results/ Undo" button to the right of the import you wish to remove

Tip: Depending on how large your CSV file is, this may take a few minutes to complete. If any of the materials have been linked to an expense or recipe, they will be archived rather than removed. Any materials that are archived will not import again if they contain a material code as this is how the system recognizes duplicate materials.