Import items in bulk

If you’re switching from another system or setting up Service Buddy for the first time, typing every item by hand is a slow way to start. Upload a spreadsheet and let BuddyAI match your columns to the right fields and tidy up messy values — you don’t have to reformat your file to fit a fixed template.

Steps

Click Settings in the left sidebar, then click Products & Services (under Company Management).
On the Products tab, click Import at the top of the page.
In the Import Products dialog, drop your CSV in the upload area or click browse your files. You can upload your existing product list straight from your old system — BuddyAI will clean it up before you review. (If you’re starting from scratch and want a head start, click Download CSV Template.) The dialog shows how many products it found in the file. Click Next.
Map your columns. BuddyAI reads the file and matches your spreadsheet columns to Service Buddy fields. A banner tells you how many columns it matched.
- Columns BuddyAI couldn’t place are listed first. Pick the right Service Buddy field for each, or leave it as — Don’t import —.
- Under Buddy AI matched, check each match against the Preview Data from your file. If a column went to the wrong field, pick the correct one from the dropdown.
- Under Service Buddy fields missing from your CSV, set a default value for any field your file doesn’t have. Required fields must have a default before you can continue.
Click Next. BuddyAI checks every row, fixes what it can (number formats, units, yes/no values, stray spaces), and opens the review screen.
Review your rows. A summary at the top shows how many products need your review, how many fields BuddyAI fixed, and how many are ready to transfer (new and updated). Work through the tabs:
- Needs your input — rows with a problem BuddyAI couldn’t fix. Click a cell to correct it in place. Use Download invalid to get these rows as a CSV if you’d rather fix them in your spreadsheet.
- Buddy AI — each change BuddyAI made, shown as before → after. Approve or Reject them one at a time, view them By fix type or by product, or accept everything with Approve all.
- New Products — rows that will become new items.
- Updated Products — rows whose name matches a product you already have. These update that product instead of creating a duplicate.
Click Confirm. The confirmation shows how many products will be Added, Updated, and Skipped (rows still invalid). Click Review to go back and fix skipped rows, or carry on.
Optionally, turn on Print labels for these products and choose a label size.
Click Confirm Import (or Import & email labels if you’re printing labels).

You can import up to 5,000 products at a time.

The fields you can map to:

Name (required)
Description
Quantity — starting stock
Inventory Type — Inventory or Non-Inventory
Measurement Unit (required) — each, yard, linear foot, square yard, square foot, or square meter
Use Box Quantity and Quantity per Box — for product sold by the box. Quantity per Box is required when Use Box Quantity is yes.
Unit Cost
Markup Percentage
Unit Price
Exempt From Tax — yes or no
Exempt From Commission — yes or no
Auto Deduct Inventory — yes or no (yes if left blank)
Image URL — a link to the product photo, starting with https://
Vendor — vendor name (must already exist in Service Buddy). Shown when purchase orders are turned on.
Any custom fields you’ve set up for products

Fields that fill themselves in

You don’t have to supply everything. Anything your spreadsheet is missing is listed under Service Buddy fields missing from your CSV, where you can set one default value for every row — or leave the ones Service Buddy can work out itself:

Field	How it’s filled
Inventory Type	Quantity above 0 becomes Inventory; blank or 0 becomes Non-Inventory. Override any row in the review grid.
Unit Price	Unit Cost × (1 + Markup %)
Markup Percentage	(Unit Price − Unit Cost) / Unit Cost
Unit Cost	Unit Price / (1 + Markup %)

Supply any two of cost, price, and markup and the third works itself out.

What happens next

Each new row becomes a new item in your catalog, and each matching row updates the existing product. The success screen shows how many were New and Updated, with a shortcut to View products.
Rows that were still invalid are skipped. Fix them (or the downloaded invalid rows) and import again to bring in the rest.
Product photos from an Image URL column are downloaded and attached in the background, usually within a few minutes. Links that aren’t valid are skipped.
If you turned on Print labels for these products, your labels are generated and emailed to you as a PDF once the import finishes — usually within 2–5 minutes. See Print labels.

Tips for a clean import

Every row needs a name and a measurement unit — map a column or set a default for each.
Match vendor names exactly to existing vendor records. If “Stanton” is actually “Stanton Carpet Co.” in Service Buddy, the link won’t connect.
Keep item names short but unique (up to 100 characters). Carpet Pad 7lb 8mm is clearer than Padding when your catalog grows.
If the same name appears more than once in your file, the repeats are skipped.
Do a small test batch (10 items) before importing hundreds so you catch formatting issues early.

FAQ

Can I update existing items via bulk import?

Yes. Service Buddy checks every name in your file against your catalog. Rows that match an existing product appear on the Updated Products tab and update that product when you confirm; everything else is created new. For a quick price change on products you pick from the list — a freight surcharge on hardwood, say — Bulk Actions → Update on the Products list is often faster. See Update several items at once.

Should I import vendors or items first?

Vendors first. Item rows that reference a vendor name need that vendor to already exist in Service Buddy, or the link won’t connect (the item is created, but with no vendor). Add vendors, then import items.

Can I import services too?

No — the import brings in products only, which is why Import appears on the Products tab. Add services one at a time from the Services tab. See Add an item to your catalog.

Do I have to use your template?

No. Upload your existing product spreadsheet as-is and BuddyAI matches your columns to the right Service Buddy fields. The template is only there if you’re starting from scratch and want a clean layout to fill in.

What’s the right way to migrate from another flooring system?

Export your current catalog as CSV and upload it directly — BuddyAI matches the columns for you, so you don’t need to rename headers to fit a template. On the mapping step, glance at the matched columns and fix any that mapped to the wrong field. Two things to still watch for: vendor names must match your existing vendor records exactly, and your old system’s units should map to one of Service Buddy’s measurement units — BuddyAI converts common abbreviations like sqft, sf, lf, and ea for you.

Why are some rows being skipped?

Rows are skipped when they still have a problem at confirm time. The most common reasons:

A required field is missing — Name or Measurement Unit.
Measurement Unit or Inventory Type isn’t one of the allowed values.
Unit Cost is higher than Unit Price.
Use Box Quantity is yes but Quantity per Box is blank or zero.
A name is longer than 100 characters, or a description longer than 1,000.

BuddyAI fixes a lot of formatting on its own (for example $1,250.00 becomes 1250.00). Whatever it can’t fix lands on the Needs your input tab with the exact reason, so you can correct it in place or use Download invalid. A Vendor name that doesn’t match an existing vendor doesn’t skip the row — the product is created without a vendor link.

How big can my CSV be?

Up to 5,000 products per file. For a larger catalog, split it into files of 5,000 rows or fewer and import them one after another. The file must be a .csv.

Can I include initial stock counts?

Yes — fill in the Quantity column on each row. This becomes the Received Quantity on the new item. Useful when migrating from another system: import your final on-hand counts as the starting received quantity. If you stock products at several locations, split the quantity across locations on each product afterwards — see Track inventory levels.

Can I print labels for the products I import?

Yes. On the confirmation step, turn on Print labels for these products, choose a label size and what to show, then click Import & email labels. Service Buddy generates a label for every imported product and emails them to you as a PDF once the import finishes — usually within 2–5 minutes. See Print labels.

Can I import product photos?

Yes — add an Image URL column with a link to each product’s photo (it must start with https://). After the import, the photos are downloaded and attached in the background, usually within a few minutes. Links that aren’t valid are skipped and the product is imported without a photo.

Should I do a test batch first?

Yes. Import 10–20 items as a pilot and confirm the result looks right (names, types, prices, vendor links). Catch any formatting issues before importing the full catalog. Better an hour of cleanup on a 10-item test than on a 2,000-item batch.