Articles on: CSV File Import

Import CSV File

In case you don’t have an online store on any platform and all you have is a CSV file including all products' data, this guide will show you how to use a CSV file to update your sales channels.

Step 1: Register/Sign In to a LitCommerce account



The first step is to create a LitCommerce account here. You can sign up for a new account or just use either your Google or Facebook account to log in.



Step 2: Add the CSV Feed file





The next thing to do is to upload your CSV file. With LitCommerce, there are 3 ways you can choose to upload your CSV file:



Upload file: this is the common way when you already have a saved CSV file on your computer. Click on Choose File then pick the CSV file you have.

Note: Use the LitCommerce template when you don’t have your CSV file and want to fill the data using a sample template. Hence, it will be easier to map the field in further steps. Otherwise, if you already have a CSV, please choose the option Use any file.



Download URL option: with this option, all you have to do is paste the link where your CSV file is located. However, please make sure the link is accessible.



FTP (File Transfer Protocol): Using FTP allows the system to access the file on the server. LitCommerce requires some information like Host, user account, and password.



Once you’ve connected the CSV file, hover over the blue Test connect button to process to the next step. If the file is successfully connected, our LitCommerce app will appear with a green tick.

Troubleshooting


You might meet some issues such as: The file structure does not match the sample file. Please look at our sample file first, then please make any changes if needed to successfully connect your CSV file to our LitCommerce app.

Field mappings


This step will help you match the product identifier between products on the Feed file and Online Store you want to sell on.



This section has 4 primary pieces of information including Price, SKU, Quantity, and Product Title. Also, you can add more fields if you want by clicking the blue button Add field (eg inventory, quantity, price).

After having this section done, please hover over the Go to next step button. After that, you can choose any selling channel you want to sell on with LitCommerce.

Step 3: Connect Sales Channel


Select the selling channel you want to integrate via the First Channel Setup page.



Note: On the initial setup page, you can only connect your store to one sales channel. After finish connecting, you can go back to the LitCommerce dashboard and create more channels as you want.

Follow our guide to connect each sales channel: https://help.litcommerce.com/en/article/step-2-connect-to-your-sales-channel-2h3l0y/
Once you finished connecting your sales channel, LitCommerce will automatically import all products from your CSV file to help you easily list products to other selling channels.

Step 4: Import & Link Products



Use Case 1: I have products on Sales channels and also on CSV File


In this case, you want to use the CSV to add new & update products in your Sales Channels. Please follow the steps below:
1 - Import listings from your sales channel

Once you have successfully connected your channels, the next thing you need to do is import listings from your sales channel into the LitCommerce dashboard.

From the left-sidebar menu, choose your sales channel. From here, click on Import from Etsy (for example).



On the importing page, you’re allowed to automatically link to all products from the CSV file. Or else, you can make new products on our LitCommerce app to link with those on the sales channel.




Normally, when you import listings to the LitCommerce dashboard, the system will automatically link those to the CSV products by matching SKU.

Once the linking is finished, you will see the chain icon turns to blue as shown below:



If your SKU numbers don’t match across your channels, or the listing is missing an SKU, you’ll need to manually create the linking yourself.



The following are some potential root causes of this issue:
The product SKU numbers are mismatched between channels.
Your CSV products are missing some SKUs.



If you are in these cases, then you’ll have to manually create the linking for these products:
Simply hover above the red unlinked icon and choose Link to a Product.
Then, type the SKU of the product you wished to link to in the field.
Select the product when it appears on the screen.
A notification will appear when the link listing is completed.

Use Case 2: I have products on the CSV file, now I want to list them on my other channels


1 - Select products

First of all, you need to create a new draft listing. Please look at the left sidebar menu and navigate to All products.



Now, simply tick the corresponding checkbox next to the products you want to list on the selling channels. Click List products on a channel, then choose Etsy (for example) from the list.



You will be redirected to your new channel draft listings, along with a notification confirming that Draft listings were successfully created. You can continue to customize your listings to your liking before going live.
2 - Edit draft listings

LitCommerce allows you to use the Templates and recipes to edit multiple listings at once:
Navigate from the left sidebar menu, go through the Listing section and find your Etsy channel.
Choose the templates you want to apply, then tick the checkboxes and click Apply a template.
If you want to edit your listings in Simple Mode, you can click on the listing title. An editing page will appear on the screen with 4 tabs including Vital Info, Image, Pricing, Category, Shipping, and Personalization.



In case wanting to edit listings in Multi-edit Mode, you can use our Quick Grid feature, which is quicker and easier to use than manual editing.



Please keep in mind that, LitCommerce QuickGrid is only available for premium plans. Once you have access to this feature, you can edit listings in bulk to save you even more time and effort.

To save all your changes to the listing, look at the bottom right corner and click on one of the buttons below:
Save & Publish - Save and publish all your changes immediately on Etsy.
Save & Close - Your listing will be saved as a draft with all your changes.
Save Change - Save your changes but stay on the page to continue editing.

3 - Publish listings

Once you have finished editing your listings, you can choose Active -> Select Action list to publish it on Etsy. Your listing will be transferred from the Draft tab to the Active tab correspondingly.



Note: With LitCommerce, you can also publish your listings inside the edit page once you’ve finished editing.

Step 5: Enable Inventory sync & Inventory rules


You can enable inventory sync individually for each channel. To enable inventory sync, go to your channel under the Listing section, and then click Channel Settings in the top right corner.

Scroll down to the Inventory section. Click on the switch next to Inventory Sync to turn on this feature.



After that, click on Save Settings from the bottom of the page to save any changes you’ve just made. And you’re ready to go!

How to set inventory rules



You can set rules for inventory quantity on each channel. Rules let you decide how you want to set the number of listings on the channel. Inventory rule settings are on the same page as price rules. Scroll down further and you can find it in the Inventory section. Each channel allows you to set 3 inventory rules:



Quantity: This rule lets you send only a certain percentage of current in-stock items to your marketplace channel.
Maximum Quantity: This rule allows you to set the maximum quantity displayed on a channel. This is a useful technique to create scarcity in your listings, hide how many you actually have from other sellers, and get around some channels’ selling limits such as eBay.
Minimum Quantity: Setting a minimum number means that LitCommerce will display a minimum of X units no matter how many products you have in your central catalog. For example, if your available quantity drops to 0, but you have a minimum quantity rule of 5, LitCommerce will preserve your listing quantity at 5.

Step 6: Enable Price Sync & Price Rules


To activate Price Sync, go to your channel under the Listing section on the left sidebar menu. Click on Channel Settings in the top right corner, and scroll down to the Pricing section.



By turn on the button, LitCommerce will help you sync the product's price for your sales channel.

How to set Pricing rules



You can set the price rules for all products on each channel to help you control how the price is shown. Price rules work by taking the initial price or quantity from your central catalog and applying the formula set by you, before pushing it out to all listings on a particular sales channel.

For example, you can increase the price of all products on Etsy by $2, or decrease the available quantity for all products on eBay by 10.



You can choose to increase or decrease your product price by a fixed amount ($), or a percentage (%).

Note: You can use the Price Rules feature for currency conversion if you’re selling overseas. To convert the currency, go to Google.com and search for the current exchange rate from your Main store currency to the currency of your sales channel.

If the rate is greater than 1, then subtract 1 from the rate and multiply the result by 100. Choose Increase in the first box.
If the rate is smaller than 1, then subtract the rate from 1 and multiply the result by 100. Choose Decrease in the first box.

Updated on: 04/11/2022

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