PRACTICAL IMPORT NOTES

Supplier Excel to Shopify: get the columns right

A supplier spreadsheet is rarely shaped like a Shopify import. Start with one worksheet and make the relationship between products and variants explicit.

1. Keep one row per variant

Keep SKU and barcode columns as text. If Excel has already removed leading zeros, recover them from the source; a converter cannot infer them reliably.

2. Map values deliberately

Separate selling price from cost price. Confirm the currency and decimal separator. A price such as 1,299 can mean different things in different supplier files.

3. Make product groups explicit

Use a parent product identifier for related variants. Similar titles alone are not enough to determine which rows belong together.

4. Test before the full import

Create new products as drafts, leave overwrite off, and test a small group in Shopify. Check prices, variants, images and sales-channel visibility.

5. Prepare a clean working worksheet

Keep the supplier original unchanged. Create one worksheet with a single header row and no totals, notes above the table or merged cells. Make each column mean one thing. For example, keep a supplier part number separate from an internal stock code, and keep the price separate from its currency label. Copy formula results as values only after checking them against the source.

6. Work through one complete product

Suppose three rows describe one tee in Small, Medium and Large. Confirm the same parent identifier appears on all three, each row has its own SKU and the colour and size columns describe the actual choices. A repeated title is a clue, not proof of a shared product. Write the grouping rule down so another person could apply it consistently.

7. Decide whether you need a conversion or a migration

Preparing a new catalogue is different from updating a store that already has products. Existing handles, variant relationships, stock locations and app dependencies can matter. If your goal is to replace live products, stop and define a backup and update process first. RowReady’s initial service is limited to new draft products.

8. Use the checker before requesting preparation

Upload a permitted CSV or one-sheet .xlsx file to the free checker. Compare its suggested SKU and price columns with your intended mapping. A warning tells you something needs a decision; a clean report only means these basic checks passed. Keep supplier questions and agreed answers with the file so a reviewer does not have to guess.

Check the current Shopify product CSV documentation for the full supported format.

Continue with your import

Reviewed 5 October 2026. By RowReady, an independent catalogue preparation service.