# Import the catalog by spreadsheet

> For the administrator: import the catalog by spreadsheet, choose between replacing or updating and prepare the code, price and packaging columns.

Source: https://vendria.com/en/ajuda/importar-catalogo-por-planilha

## Where to find it

In your account menu, under **Catalog and exports**, **Import** tab. The
**Import catalog** card has the **Import spreadsheet** button.

Importing is for the administrator: the **Import** tab only opens for those who
administer the store or the organization. A seller who tries to open this screen is sent back
to the **Catalog**.

With the store's catalog empty, the product list itself (menu **Catalog**)
shows an **Import Catalog** shortcut that leads here.

If you administer more than one store, check the **Store** selector
at the top of the **Import** tab before you start: the spreadsheet goes into the catalog of the store that
is selected there. With a single store, the selector doesn't appear and the spreadsheet goes to it.

## ⚠️ Three different imports: choose correctly

Clicking **Import spreadsheet** opens the **Import Products** window with three
paths. The first two do opposite things:

**Import new catalog**: "Replaces the current catalog. Products missing from the
file will be deactivated." The spreadsheet takes charge of the store's catalog: what
is in it is created or updated by code, and whatever has **no** row in it goes out of
circulation. It's the path for swapping the entire catalog. See [Import a new catalog: the step-by-step wizard](/en/ajuda/importar-novo-catalogo-passo-a-passo).

**Update existing catalog**: "Adds or updates products and prices without
removing existing ones." It adds what's new, updates what already exists and
**deactivates nothing**. It's the path for a new price list, a batch of
products, a correction. See [Update an existing catalog: add without removing anything](/en/ajuda/atualizar-catalogo-existente).

**Import images**: brings photos from a cloud folder or from the computer and doesn't
touch any other product data. See [Import the product photos](/en/ajuda/importar-imagens-dos-produtos).

When in doubt between the first two, **Update existing catalog** is the one that doesn't
destroy anything. Before using **Import new catalog**, export the current catalog
from the product list (**Export** button) and keep the file: it's your
starting point and your way back.

## Upload a new price list

To upload a price list, use this same screen, through the **Update
existing catalog** path: prices come in by product code and no product
leaves the catalog. In the review, the **Save as** field decides where the
price column goes:

- **Base price (no table)**: saves the price on the product itself;
- an existing table: saves the prices in that table (the default table
  appears with **(default)**, and choosing it also updates the base price);
- **Create new table...**: creates a new table with the spreadsheet's prices.

The **Price tables** tab, on the **Prices** screen, creates and organizes tables, but
has no field to type a product's price: table prices come in
by spreadsheet.
A spreadsheet with one column per table, the default table and the care with tables that
are left out in a catalog swap are in [Load price table prices by spreadsheet](/en/ajuda/precos-das-tabelas-por-planilha).

## What if the catalog only exists as a PDF?

The import screen takes a **spreadsheet**. On the **Import new
catalog** path, the **Excel file** field accepts `.xlsx`, `.xls` and `.csv`, and a PDF
dragged onto it is ignored. On the **Update existing catalog** path, the
**Excel/CSV file** field also accepts `.xlsm` and `.xlsb`.

If your catalog only exists as a PDF (the supplier's price table, an illustrated
catalog), talk to Vendria support before trying to work around the screen:
reading a PDF catalog is not a path the administrator triggers alone
from this screen.

## Store synced with an ERP

⚠️ **In a store whose catalog is synced with the ERP, the ERP decides what goes out of
circulation.** Products that came from it stay active even when
missing from the spreadsheet: a partial spreadsheet is no reason to take down what
the ERP says exists. Only products created here in Vendria leave. If you
expected a total swap and it didn't happen, this is why, not an import
failure.

For the same reason, the fields the ERP defines on those products (description,
price, unit, packaging, brand and others) aren't overwritten by the spreadsheet.
The import result says which fields were preserved and on how many
products, and ends with "Edit these fields in the ERP."

## How to prepare the spreadsheet

In the **Import new catalog** wizard, use the **Download template** link. The
template has the columns the system understands: **Code**, **Description**,
**Price**, **Brand**, **Stock**, **Unit**, **Packaging** and **Image URL**.

You don't need to follow the template strictly. The wizard reads your
spreadsheet's headers and proposes a mapping for each column; the **Mapping Review** screen
shows what it understood and lets you correct it before anything goes in. Spreadsheets with several sheets and with several price
columns are also accepted.

**Unit** and **Packaging** deserve attention: they're what makes "3 boxes" become
the right quantity when the customer orders by box and the price is per piece. See [Product unit, packaging and sales multiple](/en/ajuda/unidade-embalagem-e-multiplo).

The **code** is the product's identity. It's by the code that Dri recognizes what the
customer ordered in a photo or a message, and it's by the code that the order reaches your
ERP. Changing the code of an existing product creates a new product; it doesn't inherit
history or last paid price.

## After uploading

Before saving, the wizard shows what will go in. On a catalog swap it
also warns **how many products you already have registered**, and reminds you that those
missing from the spreadsheet will be removed.

⚠️ That number is what you HAVE, not what WILL LEAVE: it doesn't depend on the uploaded
file and counts all products registered in the store, including those that were
already deactivated. The check that exposes an incomplete spreadsheet is comparing it
with the size of your spreadsheet. The total removed only appears **during
saving**, in the progress bar, and in the final result, when it's no longer possible to
go back.

On an update none of this appears, because nothing leaves.

## Where to see what was imported

Each import is recorded in **Import History** (the button is
at the top of the same **Import** tab), with date, type, file and the
counts of added, updated, skipped and errors. See [Catalog import history](/en/ajuda/historico-de-importacoes).

What the import does with each product (creation, update, deactivation,
columns left out) is in [What the catalog import does with each product](/en/ajuda/o-que-a-importacao-faz-com-os-produtos).

## Common questions

**How do I upload a price list to Vendria?** In **Catalog and exports**,
**Import** tab, click **Import spreadsheet** and choose **Update existing
catalog**. In the **Save as** field, indicate whether the price goes to the base price,
to an existing table or to a new table. No product leaves the
catalog.

**Can I type a product's price on the Prices screen, Price tables tab?**
No. That tab creates and organizes tables; their prices come in by spreadsheet, through the
import.

**I imported the spreadsheet and products disappeared from the catalog. What happened?** Almost
always the import went through the **Import new catalog** path and the spreadsheet didn't
have those codes. They were deactivated, not deleted: they appear in the product
list with **Status** set to **Inactive only**, and come back when a new
import through **Import new catalog** brings their codes. See [What the catalog import does with each product](/en/ajuda/o-que-a-importacao-faz-com-os-produtos).

**Can I send the catalog spreadsheet to Dri on WhatsApp?** Dri doesn't
update the catalog. A spreadsheet sent to her in the conversation is read as an
order, to build a quote. The catalog is imported on this screen, by the
administrator.

**Can the seller import the catalog?** No. The **Import** tab is for
administrators only. A seller who needs a new price or product asks the
store administrator.