Products may be managed in external .xls files (saved as 1997-2003 compatible) and then imported into Boomer Admin. This import can be used on an ongoing basis since mass editing products within Excel using search/replace and copy features are readily available. The import supports adding new products, updates to existing products, and deleting products as long as they are not being used in orders.
Products are imported at the supplier level, so a single .xls file should contain only products for a single supplier.
Preparation
There are two useful steps prior to creating your product import spreadsheet:
- Print the Store Setup and Configuration which will provide you with the IDs to use when assigning a product to a navigation category.
- Organize your product images with unique names into a single zip file. The product image name will be referenced by the product and the import relies on a single .zip file.
Special Codes
There are two special codes to use to communicate to the import utility how to handle certain addition/updates:
- ~EMPTY~. A cell within the spreadsheet should never actually be blank. If you intend to leave a field blank in the product, put ~EMPTY~ (including the tildes) into the field.
- ~IGNORE~. Use this code within a cell of a product in the spreadsheet if you want the field to be left as is in the product record.
Other Tips
- You can use multiple tabs to organize products as long as those products all belong to a single supplier. You must be within the Supplier\Products area to initiate a product import, and therefore all products imported will fall under that supplier.
- Take advantage of Excel's copy/paste functionality if the same value (such as revenue type or navigation categories) will be repeated for many products. This will be a big time saver.
- Do not leave any cell blank! If you do, the import will fail. Follow the table below for instructions on what to do if a field isn't applicable.
- Finally, if the import doesn't work the way you expected, don't despair. Simply fix the products the way you want them to be, change an add to an update, and run it again. To start all over, just mark all products with "delete". As long as they are not being used in an order, they are deleted quickly and efficiently.
The Product Import Template
The import relies on data within the Excel spreadsheet to be in a certain format, with a certain number of columns. A blank template of the product import is available for downloading below.
Each column in the table is defined below:
| Column Name in Excel | Field in Boomer Admin Product Record | Available Values | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product ID Type | n/a | 1 - Boomer ID 2 - Code 3 - Numeric Code |
If you are unsure which code to use, check with your Telling Stone representative. It will most likely be "2". |
| Product ID | Code | Any alphanumeric string (e.g. F01) | Code must be unique. |
| add-update-delete | n/a | add update delete |
Indicates what action should be performed on the product during the import. |
| Item Name | Name | Any alphanumeric string | Short description of the product. |
| HTML Description |
Full Description |
Any text, including HTML code |
More detailed description of the product. To make a word within the description bold, for instance, use <b> and </b>. The <b>quick</b> brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. Any HTML tag such as italics is supported. |
| Auto Publish to Storefront |
Automatically Publish on storefront |
y, n |
Determines whether the product is automatically made available on the storefront when an event is created. This can be overridden if necessary at the event level. |
| Auto Publish in Admin |
Automatically Publish in Admin |
y, n |
Determines whether the product is automatically made available in Admin when an event is created. This can be overridden if necessary at the event level. |
|
Revenue Type |
Revenue Type |
Any of the defined Revenue Types for the system |
The revenue type must be an EXACT match and is case sensitive. Leave blank if you have not yet determined your revenue types. |
| Navigation Categories |
Navigation Categories |
Numeric ID that references the navigation category or categories for the product |
If you have already established your navigation categories, run the Navigation Categories report to obtain the ID number for each navigation category. Enter them in the spreadsheet. If you want to reference more than one navigation category for an item, separate them with a comma. Example: 1,3,16 would associate a product with the navigation categories 1, 3 and 16, cross referenced in the Navigation Categories report. Leave blank if you have not yet determined your navigation categories. |
|
Image Name |
Image |
Name of image contained within an image zip file (e.g., chair.jpg) |
All images should be zip (see Preparation section, above). |
|
Default Advance Price |
Advance Price |
numeric |
|
| Default Standard Price |
Standard Price |
numeric |
|
| Unit |
Unit |
alphanumeric |
This is for information/display purposes only when the user views the item on the storefront. |
|
Pricing Basis |
Pricing Basis |
Per Hour |
Determines how something will be charged and calculated. For example, if a television is charged per day, define the pricing unit as "Per Day". When the user selects the item, if they indicate a delivery date/time of 1/12/2012 and a pickup date/time as 1/13/2012, the TV's price will be multiplied by two days. |
|
Is Estimate |
Is Estimate |
y, n |
Determines whether the item's price is initially calculated and included in the order total. The flag can be "flipped" in Admin so that the charges, once final, can be applied to the order. |
|
This is Labor |
Is Labor |
y, n |
Designates whether the product is a labor item and uses the labor schedules set up for the product's supplier. |
|
Ignore Tax Schedule |
Ignore Tax Schedule |
y, n |
Designates whether the item should ignore the tax schedule associated to the revenue type of the item. |
|
Ignore Gratuity Schedule |
Ignore Gratuity Schedule |
y, n |
Determines whether the item should ignore the gratuity schedule associated to the revenue type of the item. |
|
Quantity Can Be Fraction |
Quantity Can Be Fraction |
y, n |
If the user should be able to enter a decimal (for example 1.5 for hours), put y; otherwise n. |
|
Requires a Card On File |
Requires a Card On File |
y, n |
Determines whether the product requires a credit card to be held for final charges post-event. |
|
Requires a Unique Code |
Requires a Unique Code |
y, n |
Leave n. This is for interface purposes only. |
|
Min Required |
Minimum Required |
numeric or ~EMPTY~ if no minimum |
|
|
Max Allowed |
Maximum Allowed |
numeric or ~EMPTY~ if no maximum |
|
|
Requires Delivery Date/Time |
Requires delivery date and time |
y, n |
|
|
Requires Pickup Date/Time |
Requires pickup date and time |
y, n |
|
|
Delivery and Pickup have Times |
Has Times |
y, n |
Determines whether the product will prompt the user to choose times as well as dates for the product. This flag is ignored if Requires Delivery Date/Time and Requires Pickup Date/Time are set to no. |
|
Default Pickup Time (in hours) |
Default Pickup Time (In Hours) |
numeric or ~EMPTY~ if no default in hours |
|
|
Clause Text |
Clause |
alphanumeric text |
HTML not supported in this field. |
|
Requires Agreement to a Clause |
Requires agreement to a clause |
y, n |
|
|
Display Order |
Display Order |
numeric |
Determines the order in which the product is listed within its category on the storefront. |
|
Is Freight |
Is Freight |
y, n |
Designates the product as a freight item with special CWT calculation considerations. |
|
Product Detail Template |
Customer Template |
Product - Cross Sell and Image |
Controls how the product looks when viewed in "detail" mode on the storefront. "With image" templates leave space to the left for a large image of the product. "With Cross Sell" leaves space on the left to list products that have been connected as cross sell products. |
|
Storefront Layout |
Display Template |
None Product - Labor Detail Product - Freight Detail |
The default should be "none" unless a product has been flagged as labor or freight. If it is either labor or freight, the appropriate display template should be used. |
| Quantity Label |
Quantity Label |
alphanumeric text |
Controls the quantity label on the storefront in the product detail form. Defaults to "Quantity" if this is left blank. You could use it to overwrite Quantity with something like "# of People" or "# of Square Feet". |
|
Delivery Label |
Delivery Label | alphanumeric text |
Controls the delivery label on the storefront in the product detail form. Defaults to "Delivery Time" if this is left blank. |
|
Pickup Label |
Pickup Label | alphanumeric text |
Controls the delivery label on the storefront in the product detail form. Defaults to "Pickup Time" if this is left blank. |
|
Admin Comment |
Admin Comment |
alphanumeric text |
HTML not supported in this field. |
|
Attributes |
Product Attributes | varies |
This is an advanced column used to set up attributes (such as drape or carpet color) for a product. Use this field with the assistance of Telling Stone. |