Getting started
Uploading your opening stock from Excel
Load your whole product list and the stock you have today from one spreadsheet.
For: Owner, Manager
If you already have a list of your products, you don't need to type them in one by one. Fill in our Excel template with every product and how many you have today, upload it, check the preview, and confirm. Owners and Managers can do this.
Before you start
- Pick the right company or branch in the company switcher. Products are uploaded into whichever one is selected, and the upload page shows its name.
- Count what you have on the shelves, or use your latest stock count. The numbers you upload become your opening stock.
- You need Excel, or any spreadsheet program that can save an .xlsx file, such as Google Sheets or LibreOffice.
Step 1: download the template
- Open Stock → Products.
- Click Upload from Excel. The Upload Opening Stock page opens.
- Click Item Master template (.xlsx) to download the template.
The file has two sheets. Item Master is where you type your products. How to fill explains each column, shows example rows and lists the categories you already have in iTrade.
Step 2: fill it in
Type one product per row, starting under the grey hint row. The columns are:
| Column | What to put |
|---|---|
| Item Code | Optional. Your own short code, for example CC500. |
| Item Name | Required. The name printed on receipts, for example "Coca-Cola 500ml". |
| Category | Optional. For example "Beverages". A category that doesn't exist yet is created for you. |
| Unit | Each, Pair, Set or Dozen. Leave it blank for Each. |
| Unit Cost | What one unit costs you. Used for stock value and profit. Blank means 0. |
| Selling Price | Required. The price you sell one unit for. |
| Opening Stock | How many you have on hand right now. Blank means 0. |
| Reorder Level | iTrade warns you when stock falls to this number. Blank means 3. |
| Barcode | Optional. The number under the barcode on the pack. With a scanner you can scan it straight into the cell. |
Save the file as an Excel workbook (.xlsx).
Fill in Unit Cost for every product if you can. Without it, your stock value and Profit & Loss show the goods as costing nothing, so profit looks bigger than it really is.
Step 3: upload and check the preview
- Back on the Upload Opening Stock page, under Upload it here, choose your file.
- Click Check my file. Nothing is saved yet.
- Read the preview. It shows:
- New products: how many will be added.
- Opening stock: total units, and their value at cost.
- Already in iTrade: rows that match a product you already have. These are skipped and never doubled.
- Rows with problems: rows that won't be imported, each with the row number and the reason.
- If it looks right, click Import … products. If not, click Cancel, fix the sheet and upload again.
You return to the Products list with a message saying how many products and units were imported.
Common problems
- "no selling price": the Selling Price cell is empty. Every product needs one.
- "not a valid number": a cost, price, stock or reorder cell has text in it, for example "$2" or "ten". Type plain numbers only.
- "duplicate of row …": the same item code, or the same name, appears twice in the sheet. Keep one row.
- "Couldn't find the header row": the sheet needs an Item Name column. Start from our template.
- The file won't upload: save it as .xlsx (File → Save As → Excel Workbook). Files over 5 MB are refused.
You don't have to fix every problem row before importing. Import the good rows now, then fix the others and upload the same file again.
Uploading again is safe
A row is skipped if it matches an existing product by item code, then barcode, then name. So you can upload the same file twice, or add new rows to it later, without doubling any stock.
Because existing products are skipped, uploading again does not update their prices or stock. To change an existing product, edit it (see Products and categories). To correct stock levels, do a stock take.
Having trouble with a big list? Send it to us and we can help you get it in.