Use CSV file as Source Inventory
I. CSV Feed Setup
The following guide will walk you through how to use a CSV file with all product data to update your sales channels if you don't have an online store on any platform.
Step 1: Register/Sign in to a LitCommerce account
To get started, please create a LitCommerce account by clicking this link https://app.litcommerce.com/login. You have the option to create a new account or log in with your Google or Facebook account.
Step 2: Add the CSV Feed file
After logging in to LitCommerce, you now choose CSV as your Main store by clicking the CONNECT button.
You need to upload your CSV file as the following step. There are 3 options available to you when using LitCommerce to submit your CSV file:
1. Upload file: When you already have a saved CSV file on your PC, this is the standard method. Please select the CSV file you have by clicking on Choose File.
Note: If you wish to fill in the data using a sample template and you don't have your CSV file, please use the LitCommerce template. The field will therefore be easier to map in the following steps. Otherwise, kindly select Use any file if you already have a CSV.
2. 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 that the link is operational, though.
3. FTP (File Transfer Protocol): The file on the server can be accessed by the system through FTP. Certain details are required by LitCommerce, such as Host, user account, and password.
Once you’ve connected the CSV file, please click on the blue Test Connect button to proceed to the next step. A green checkmark will show up in our LitCommerce app if the file is successfully connected.
Advance Option
About the Advance Option: When you enable this option, you can see the Column Separator, which allows you to choose how to separate your columns in your CSV file, comprising “,” “;” and “|”.
Troubleshooting
Among the problems you could run into are: The file structure differs from the example file. To properly link your CSV file to our LitCommerce software, please first review our sample file and make any necessary adjustments, by clicking and downloading the sample file as shown in the image below.
If the file structure differs from the example file, you will encounter the “**Error upload file**” problem. So make sure that you have reviewed our sample file and made any necessary adjustments before clicking the UPLOAD FILE button.
Field Mappings
In the case of using Download File or FTP, you'll need to click Test connection. If the Test Connect is successful, this mapping list is available.
You can match the product identifiers on the products in the Feed file with the products in the online store you intend to sell on by following this step.
The 4 main pieces of information in this section are the Product Title, Quantity, SKU, and Price. Additionally, you can click the blue button labeled "**Add field**" to add more fields if you want to.
Once you've completed this section, please hover over the Go to next step button. After that, you can choose any selling channel you want to sell on with LitCommerce.
Enable Scheduler
You can enable scheduler by clicking on your CSV feed, as shown in the image below.
View activities, Edit Setting
You can view your activities for Channel sync, Order sync, and even Mainstore sync by hovering to Activities at the top left corner of the page.
Moreover, you can edit the settings of your activities by clicking on the SETTING button at the top right corner in the Activity tab.
Note
If you use the URL or FTP and want to edit the mapping, you must also click Test Connect once more under the edit settings.
Step 3: Connect Sales Channel
Select the selling channel you want to integrate via the First Channel Setup page.
Note: You are limited to connecting your store to a single sales channel on the initial setup page. Once the connection is complete, you can return to the LitCommerce dashboard and add as many channels as you want.
Here is the link you can refer to for connecting each sales channel: https://help.litcommerce.com/en/article/step-2-connect-to-your-sales-channel-2h3l0y/.
With the aim of making it simple for you to offer products on various selling channels, LitCommerce will automatically import all of your products from your CSV file once you have finished connecting your sales channel.
Step 4: Import & Link Products
_Use Case 1: I have products on Sales channels and also on CSV File_
In this situation, you wish to update and add new products to your sales channels using the CSV. Please take the actions listed below:
1. Import listings from your sales channel
The next step is to import listings from your sales channel into the LitCommerce dashboard after your channels have been successfully connected.
Select the sales channel from the menu on the left-hand sidebar. Click Import from Etsy (for example) from this menu.
You are allowed to link to every product in the CSV file automatically on the importing page. Or, using our LitCommerce software, you can create new products that are linked to those on the sales channel.
2. Auto link listings and CSV products
Generally, the system will automatically link listings to the CSV products by matching SKUs when you import listings to the LitCommerce dashboard. The chain icon will become blue when the connection is complete, as can be seen below:
Kindly note that 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.
Here are a few possible core causes of this problem:
The product SKU numbers are mismatched between channels.
Some SKUs are missing from your CSV products.
If you are in these cases, then you’ll have to manually create the linking for these products:
All you have to do is select Link to a Product by hovering over the red unlinked icon.
Next, enter the product's SKU in the designated field to create a link to it.
Select the product when it appears on the screen.
Upon completion of the link listing, a notification will be displayed.
_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.
All you have to do is choose the appropriate checkboxes beside the products you wish to list on the selling channels. Click List products on a channel, then choose Etsy (for example) from the list.
After the successful creation of your draft listings, you will receive a notification and be taken to your new channel's draft listings. Before going live, you can still make changes to your listings to your preference.
2. Edit draft listings
With LitCommerce, you may change many listings at once by using the Templates and recipes:
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.
2.1. If you want to edit your listings in Simple Mode, you can click on the listing title. The screen will change to an editing page with four tabs: Vital Information, Image, Pricing, Shipping, and Personalization.
2.2. In case you want to edit listings in Multi-edit Mode, our Quick Grid option is available to you; it is more efficient and user-friendly than manual editing.
Kindly remember that LitCommerce QuickGrid is exclusively accessible with premium plans. You may save even more time and effort by editing listings in bulk once you have access to this tool.
Please look in the bottom-right corner of the listing and select one of the following buttons to save all of your changes:
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
After you've completed revising your listings, you may publish them on Etsy by selecting Active => Select Action List. Your listing will be transferred from the Draft tab to the Active tab correspondingly.
Note: After editing is complete, LitCommerce allows you to publish your listings directly within the edit page.
_Use Case 3: I want to Bulk Export my All products list into a CSV files to Edit and Reimport_
To do that, the All products list, please click on the Export button.
Here please choose your preferences:
Export
Export the number of products matching your search: If you are using filters and just want to export the products you are searching for, please select this.
Export All products: If you want to export all products
Export Fields
Bulk Edit: when you want to edit simple fields such as Name, Description, Price, and Quantity. After editing those fields, you can import it back to our tool.
Full fields: this will export everything in your file. Kindly note that after exporting using this option, you’ll not be able to import it. This is suitable for reviewing your product list data.
Finally, click on Export Products to download your file.
Step 5: Enable Inventory sync & Inventory rules
Each channel can have its own inventory sync enabled. Go to your channel under the Listing area, and click Channel Settings in the top-right corner to activate inventory sync.
Scroll down to the Inventory section. Click on the switch next to Inventory Sync to turn on this feature.
Next, to save the modifications you just made, select Save Settings at the bottom of the page, and you're all set now!
How to set Inventory rules
Rules about the amount of inventory on each channel can be set. You can customize the number of listings on the channel by following the rules. Price rules and inventory rule settings are on the same page. It is located in the Inventory section if you continue to scroll down. You can establish 3 inventory rules for each channel:
Quantity: You can only transmit a specific proportion of your existing in-stock items to your marketplace channel by using this rule.
Maximum Quantity: You can specify the maximum amount that can be shown on a channel using this rule. This is a useful approach to inflating the perceived scarcity of your listings, concealing the true quantity you have from other sellers, and circumventing the selling restrictions of some platforms, including eBay.
Minimum Quantity: No matter how many products you have in your central catalog, LitCommerce will display a minimum of X units if you choose a minimum quantity. For instance, LitCommerce will maintain your listing quantity at 5 if your available quantity falls to 0, but your minimum quantity rule is set at 5.
Step 6: Enable Price Sync & Price Rules
Navigate to your channel in the Listing part of the menu on the left sidebar to activate Price Sync. Go to the Pricing area by clicking on Channel Settings located in the top-right corner.
LitCommerce will assist you in synchronizing the product's price for your sales channel by turning on the button.
How to set Pricing rules
To assist you manage how the price is displayed, you can establish price guidelines for every product on every channel. Price rules operate by applying your own formula to the starting price or quantity from your central catalog before pushing it out to all listings on a certain sales channel.
For instance, you may reduce the amount available for every good on eBay by 10, or raise the price of every item on Etsy by 2 dollars.
You can choose to increase or decrease your product price by a fixed amount ($), or a percentage (%).
Note: If you are selling internationally, you can convert currencies using the Price Rules feature. To convert the currency, please search for the current exchange rate between the currency of your main shop and the currency of your sales channel on Google.com.
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.
II. CSV Feed Management
CSV feed management is for adding/removing/managing feeds. You can manage multiple feeds here.
1. Add new Feed
You can Set up New Feed by clicking the Settings button in CSV Feeds => Setup New Feed. Here, you can choose the action you want to perform with your CSV: “Add new & Update”, or “Update”.
_Add and Update feed_: will automatically add a new product if there is a product in the feed that is not on All Product, as well as update changes from the feed to All Product.
_Update feed_: will _only update changes_ from your feed to All Product.
2. View Feed Log
To view Feed Log, click on the Feed name in the list
Here you can see details like:
Import frequency of the Feed
Result log of each import
3. Edit Feed
To Edit Feeds, click on the Edit button on the right of each Feed in the list.
In the Edit Feed page, you can edit everything related to a Feed like
Feed Name
Connection Method
Field Mappings
4. Delete Feed
When you delete a Feed, that will stop all auto-running processes of that Feed.
The following guide will walk you through how to use a CSV file with all product data to update your sales channels if you don't have an online store on any platform.
Step 1: Register/Sign in to a LitCommerce account
To get started, please create a LitCommerce account by clicking this link https://app.litcommerce.com/login. You have the option to create a new account or log in with your Google or Facebook account.
Step 2: Add the CSV Feed file
After logging in to LitCommerce, you now choose CSV as your Main store by clicking the CONNECT button.
You need to upload your CSV file as the following step. There are 3 options available to you when using LitCommerce to submit your CSV file:
1. Upload file: When you already have a saved CSV file on your PC, this is the standard method. Please select the CSV file you have by clicking on Choose File.
Note: If you wish to fill in the data using a sample template and you don't have your CSV file, please use the LitCommerce template. The field will therefore be easier to map in the following steps. Otherwise, kindly select Use any file if you already have a CSV.
2. 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 that the link is operational, though.
3. FTP (File Transfer Protocol): The file on the server can be accessed by the system through FTP. Certain details are required by LitCommerce, such as Host, user account, and password.
Once you’ve connected the CSV file, please click on the blue Test Connect button to proceed to the next step. A green checkmark will show up in our LitCommerce app if the file is successfully connected.
Advance Option
About the Advance Option: When you enable this option, you can see the Column Separator, which allows you to choose how to separate your columns in your CSV file, comprising “,” “;” and “|”.
Troubleshooting
Among the problems you could run into are: The file structure differs from the example file. To properly link your CSV file to our LitCommerce software, please first review our sample file and make any necessary adjustments, by clicking and downloading the sample file as shown in the image below.
If the file structure differs from the example file, you will encounter the “**Error upload file**” problem. So make sure that you have reviewed our sample file and made any necessary adjustments before clicking the UPLOAD FILE button.
Field Mappings
In the case of using Download File or FTP, you'll need to click Test connection. If the Test Connect is successful, this mapping list is available.
You can match the product identifiers on the products in the Feed file with the products in the online store you intend to sell on by following this step.
The 4 main pieces of information in this section are the Product Title, Quantity, SKU, and Price. Additionally, you can click the blue button labeled "**Add field**" to add more fields if you want to.
Once you've completed this section, please hover over the Go to next step button. After that, you can choose any selling channel you want to sell on with LitCommerce.
Enable Scheduler
You can enable scheduler by clicking on your CSV feed, as shown in the image below.
View activities, Edit Setting
You can view your activities for Channel sync, Order sync, and even Mainstore sync by hovering to Activities at the top left corner of the page.
Moreover, you can edit the settings of your activities by clicking on the SETTING button at the top right corner in the Activity tab.
Note
If you use the URL or FTP and want to edit the mapping, you must also click Test Connect once more under the edit settings.
Step 3: Connect Sales Channel
Select the selling channel you want to integrate via the First Channel Setup page.
Note: You are limited to connecting your store to a single sales channel on the initial setup page. Once the connection is complete, you can return to the LitCommerce dashboard and add as many channels as you want.
Here is the link you can refer to for connecting each sales channel: https://help.litcommerce.com/en/article/step-2-connect-to-your-sales-channel-2h3l0y/.
With the aim of making it simple for you to offer products on various selling channels, LitCommerce will automatically import all of your products from your CSV file once you have finished connecting your sales channel.
Step 4: Import & Link Products
_Use Case 1: I have products on Sales channels and also on CSV File_
In this situation, you wish to update and add new products to your sales channels using the CSV. Please take the actions listed below:
1. Import listings from your sales channel
The next step is to import listings from your sales channel into the LitCommerce dashboard after your channels have been successfully connected.
Select the sales channel from the menu on the left-hand sidebar. Click Import from Etsy (for example) from this menu.
You are allowed to link to every product in the CSV file automatically on the importing page. Or, using our LitCommerce software, you can create new products that are linked to those on the sales channel.
2. Auto link listings and CSV products
Generally, the system will automatically link listings to the CSV products by matching SKUs when you import listings to the LitCommerce dashboard. The chain icon will become blue when the connection is complete, as can be seen below:
Kindly note that 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.
Here are a few possible core causes of this problem:
The product SKU numbers are mismatched between channels.
Some SKUs are missing from your CSV products.
If you are in these cases, then you’ll have to manually create the linking for these products:
All you have to do is select Link to a Product by hovering over the red unlinked icon.
Next, enter the product's SKU in the designated field to create a link to it.
Select the product when it appears on the screen.
Upon completion of the link listing, a notification will be displayed.
_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.
All you have to do is choose the appropriate checkboxes beside the products you wish to list on the selling channels. Click List products on a channel, then choose Etsy (for example) from the list.
After the successful creation of your draft listings, you will receive a notification and be taken to your new channel's draft listings. Before going live, you can still make changes to your listings to your preference.
2. Edit draft listings
With LitCommerce, you may change many listings at once by using the Templates and recipes:
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.
2.1. If you want to edit your listings in Simple Mode, you can click on the listing title. The screen will change to an editing page with four tabs: Vital Information, Image, Pricing, Shipping, and Personalization.
2.2. In case you want to edit listings in Multi-edit Mode, our Quick Grid option is available to you; it is more efficient and user-friendly than manual editing.
Kindly remember that LitCommerce QuickGrid is exclusively accessible with premium plans. You may save even more time and effort by editing listings in bulk once you have access to this tool.
Please look in the bottom-right corner of the listing and select one of the following buttons to save all of your changes:
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
After you've completed revising your listings, you may publish them on Etsy by selecting Active => Select Action List. Your listing will be transferred from the Draft tab to the Active tab correspondingly.
Note: After editing is complete, LitCommerce allows you to publish your listings directly within the edit page.
_Use Case 3: I want to Bulk Export my All products list into a CSV files to Edit and Reimport_
To do that, the All products list, please click on the Export button.
Here please choose your preferences:
Export
Export the number of products matching your search: If you are using filters and just want to export the products you are searching for, please select this.
Export All products: If you want to export all products
Export Fields
Bulk Edit: when you want to edit simple fields such as Name, Description, Price, and Quantity. After editing those fields, you can import it back to our tool.
Full fields: this will export everything in your file. Kindly note that after exporting using this option, you’ll not be able to import it. This is suitable for reviewing your product list data.
Finally, click on Export Products to download your file.
Step 5: Enable Inventory sync & Inventory rules
Each channel can have its own inventory sync enabled. Go to your channel under the Listing area, and click Channel Settings in the top-right corner to activate inventory sync.
Scroll down to the Inventory section. Click on the switch next to Inventory Sync to turn on this feature.
Next, to save the modifications you just made, select Save Settings at the bottom of the page, and you're all set now!
How to set Inventory rules
Rules about the amount of inventory on each channel can be set. You can customize the number of listings on the channel by following the rules. Price rules and inventory rule settings are on the same page. It is located in the Inventory section if you continue to scroll down. You can establish 3 inventory rules for each channel:
Quantity: You can only transmit a specific proportion of your existing in-stock items to your marketplace channel by using this rule.
Maximum Quantity: You can specify the maximum amount that can be shown on a channel using this rule. This is a useful approach to inflating the perceived scarcity of your listings, concealing the true quantity you have from other sellers, and circumventing the selling restrictions of some platforms, including eBay.
Minimum Quantity: No matter how many products you have in your central catalog, LitCommerce will display a minimum of X units if you choose a minimum quantity. For instance, LitCommerce will maintain your listing quantity at 5 if your available quantity falls to 0, but your minimum quantity rule is set at 5.
Step 6: Enable Price Sync & Price Rules
Navigate to your channel in the Listing part of the menu on the left sidebar to activate Price Sync. Go to the Pricing area by clicking on Channel Settings located in the top-right corner.
LitCommerce will assist you in synchronizing the product's price for your sales channel by turning on the button.
How to set Pricing rules
To assist you manage how the price is displayed, you can establish price guidelines for every product on every channel. Price rules operate by applying your own formula to the starting price or quantity from your central catalog before pushing it out to all listings on a certain sales channel.
For instance, you may reduce the amount available for every good on eBay by 10, or raise the price of every item on Etsy by 2 dollars.
You can choose to increase or decrease your product price by a fixed amount ($), or a percentage (%).
Note: If you are selling internationally, you can convert currencies using the Price Rules feature. To convert the currency, please search for the current exchange rate between the currency of your main shop and the currency of your sales channel on Google.com.
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.
II. CSV Feed Management
CSV feed management is for adding/removing/managing feeds. You can manage multiple feeds here.
1. Add new Feed
You can Set up New Feed by clicking the Settings button in CSV Feeds => Setup New Feed. Here, you can choose the action you want to perform with your CSV: “Add new & Update”, or “Update”.
_Add and Update feed_: will automatically add a new product if there is a product in the feed that is not on All Product, as well as update changes from the feed to All Product.
_Update feed_: will _only update changes_ from your feed to All Product.
2. View Feed Log
To view Feed Log, click on the Feed name in the list
Here you can see details like:
Import frequency of the Feed
Result log of each import
3. Edit Feed
To Edit Feeds, click on the Edit button on the right of each Feed in the list.
In the Edit Feed page, you can edit everything related to a Feed like
Feed Name
Connection Method
Field Mappings
4. Delete Feed
When you delete a Feed, that will stop all auto-running processes of that Feed.
Updated on: 22/09/2023
Thank you!