Importing

Essential Points

• You should do a manual backup before performing any imports.
• You can import Products, Suppliers, Customers, or Customer/Supplier Contacts.
• You must rearrange your target fields to match your source data.
• Some field values, such as those for Supplier, Class, and Family, must exist in LightSpeed before those values are imported. 
• To import images, collect them as jpg files together in a folder and include their file name in the source data.
• Multiple Customer Contacts can be imported within a single Customer card.
• Existing Products and Customers can be updated by matching on a particular field and importing data into others.
• Import Logs are files saved to your desktop and which indicate which data was not imported.

Introduction

As you transition from your previous system to LightSpeed, or if you simply want to add a supplier’s pricelist to your database, Import Tools (Tools > Import Tools) provides you a simple way to import or update data into LightSpeed in a batch, whether it’s Products, Suppliers, Customers, or Customer Contacts.

With Import Tools, you match your target fields (UPC, Description, Telephone, etc) with your source data (the original file) by dragging and dropping them into the correct order (see image). For complete definitions of each importable field, please see the end of this document. 

Example Templates

Click here to download template files for Products, Customers, Suppliers, and Contacts to see the order with which each field appears in relation to the target fields of Import Tools. Open these files in Microsoft Excel or iWork Numbers to see them laid out in a columnar format as a guideline you can arrange your data after.

Presets

Once you have matched fields, and have checked off which fields to import/update, you can save the order as a preset for future imports. Click Presets, enter the name of your field arrangement, and click Save.  You may also export and import preset files to have your fields automatically arranged according to an imported Preset file. For example, you have an associate who has already matched fields for source data that you are also importing - you can swap preset files with them to save time. Click the Action menu in the pop-out Presets drawer, and select Import Preset to bring in a preset that had already been exported, or select a preset and choose Export Preset to export your preset. 

To apply a preset, you must first open the source data file. Select the desired preset, and click Apply.

General Import Steps

1. In the main Import Tools window, select the button that corresponds with the data you wish to import: Products, Customers, Suppliers, or Contacts.
2. Then, in the window that appears, click the Open File button to locate the source file containing your original data. This file must be a tab-delimited text file or a comma-separated text file, and each line should represent a different record. It is recommended that you include the column headings in your file as they can be omitted when you do the import, but are useful for matching fields. To omit a record, click Omit This Record when it is displayed using the Browse slider.  (see Step 4)
3. Using the window’s two-column layout, match target fields (in the second column) with your source data (in the first) by dragging and dropping them into the proper order.  If you do not want to import data into a particular field, uncheck its checkbox.  Use the Action Menu (gear icon) at the bottom to check or uncheck all fields. 
   
   If there is a down-pointing arrow in the first column (see Pre-Defined Values image), it is an indication that this field currently has a pre-defined set of values set up in LightSpeed. Data being imported into these fields may be one of three types:
   
   Values must pre-exist in LightSpeed for import to work:
   Class, Family, Tax Status, Supplier, Currency, Web Categories, POS Categories, User, Color, Size, GL Accounts...
   
   For example, if you have “speakers” in your source data and you want to import it into LightSpeed’s “Class” target field, the word “speakers” must already be in LightSpeed’s list of Classes.  (see Field Definition tables below for more info)
   
   Values can pre-exist in LightSpeed, but do not need to:
   City, State/Province, Country
   
   For example, if you have “Tucson” in your original data, it will be added to your Customer/Supplier record, but will not modify your list of pre-definied values in LightSpeed. 
   
   Values that exist in a pre-defined value list in LightSpeed:
   Phone Types, Inventoried, Serialized, Editable Sell, etc. 
   
   In some cases, where the target field is a checkbox attribute within LightSpeed (eg. Serialized), the original data must say “Yes” or “No” (without quotations), or you click the detail arrow to select one value - yes or no - to be imported into each record.  Yes values will enable the attribute, No values will not.  Note: The original data may use “1” or “0” (without quotations) rather than “Yes” or “No”, respectively.
   
   Some fields use other pre-defined value lists that are already part of LightSpeed, such as Phone Type, which has values such as Work or Fax.
   
   If you click the down-pointing arrow, you can choose one of the pre-defined values to have one value auto-added into all the records you import.  If you do not click the arrow, the various values from your source data will be imported into the target field of each imported record. 
   
   For example, if you are importing Billing Address Cities, you can either bring in a number of various cities in one import, or you can click the down-pointing arrow, and choose ONE pre-defined city to be imported into ALL the records you’re importing. 
   
   For more information on pre-defining fields such as Class or Family, please see the Configuration I article. 
4. Using the Browse slider, skim through your original data to ensure it will be imported the way you expect.  If there are any records you wish to omit from the import, use the Omit This Record checkbox when you are browsing the record you want to omit.  
5. Once you have finished arranging your data, but before you click Import, you can click Presets to save this configuration for a future, similar import, so you do not have to manually re-match the same field order. (see Presets section above for more info)
6. Click Import to import your data. LightSpeed will tell you how many records were imported, and how many were not. For a detailed list of which records were not imported and why, see the Import Log(s) saved to your desktop. (see Import Log below for more information)

Importing Products

Products can be imported from a text file that your supplier provides you, and can be used to save time in the creation or maintenance of Products. Each line item in the source data will represent one record in LightSpeed. When importing new Products, LightSpeed will create a new Product card for each line item you import. Alternatively, you can update existing Products by matching on a particular field, and importing new data into any number of fields that you specify (see below). 

You can import Size-Color Matrix Child Products, and have them maintain their relationship to the Matrix Master Product. 

When updating Products matching on Product Code or Product Code plus another field, you must check the checkboxes for the fields you’re updating as well as the fields you’re matching on. 

Skipping Records

When importing Products, you have the option to skip records that match on particular fields.  For example, choosing except matches on Product Code will skip any records that have a Product Code identical to one already in the system. This means that if your original data matches a Product Code with the existing Products in LightSpeed, that record will be skipped. It also means that if the Product Codes in your original data are not unique, only the first line item will create a new Product. 

You can also select matches on Product ID, UPC, Supplier Code, or on matches of both Product Code in combination with several other fields, in the case that different manufacturers or distributors use the same code.  

Importing Size-Color Products

LightSpeed also has the ability to import size-color combination Products that use the matrix Master/Child relationship.  This relationship of a Master Product, representing a style common to several combination Products, and its Child Products allows facilitated purchasing and inventory management.  For more information on how to use this workflow, please see the Clothing Workflows article. 

IMPORTANT: Sizes and Colors must exist in LightSpeed prior to any importing of data.

To import both Master and Child Products using Import Tools, your original data file must be in the following format:

Product Code 

• Master - Main Code
• Child - Master Product Code-Color-Size

Description

• Master - Main Description
• Child - Master Description, Color, Size

Master?

• 1 or Y = Yes
• 0 or N = No

Master Code

• Master - leave blank
• Child - Master Product Code

Color

• Master - leave blank
• Child - Color

Size

• Master - leave blank
• Child - Size

Importing Images

Rather than manually dragging .jpg files to the photo drawer of every Product card after the Products have been imported, you may incorporate these images into your original data using their file names, and adding a column to your original data that includes this file name, resulting in a batch import of your Product images.

1. Collect all the image files you wish to import into one folder saved to your hard drive. Each image must be in .jpg or .png format.
2. Next, enter the name of each Product’s image file, including the file type, in its own column in the original data file. 
3. Save the data file as a tab- or comma-separated text file and use the same procedure for setting up the import as outlined above. Match the column that contains the names of your image files to the Photo field in column 2 of the Import Products window.
4. Click Import.
5. When prompted, indicate the folder that contains all of your image files, and click Select. 

Update Products

You are able to update your existing records using the Update Products option, allowing you to change information in LightSpeed without having to delete and re-enter your Products. 

1. Go through the general steps 1-3 as described above. However, you need only to check the field you’re matching on, and the fields you’re updating. 
2. Next, choose Update Products from the first pop-up menu, and choose which fields you wish to match on from the second pop-up menu. 
3. Click Import to update your existing records. 

Update Costs

You are able to add new Product costs, or update the existing Product costs (default and non-default), by using the Update Costs option, allowing you to add or change information in LightSpeed without having to delete and re-enter your Products. 

You should use Update Costs to modify existing Supplier Costs in LightSpeed. Using Update Products may modify the Cost Average of existing inventory, or cause non-default Supplier Costs to become the default Cost. Also, when updating Costs using Update Costs, you MUST import the Supplier, the Supplier Code and Cost, in addition to the field you’re matching on. Not doing so will result in an incorrect value replacing the existing Supplier Code for the Cost being modified. 

1. Go through the GENERAL steps 1-3 as described above. However, you need only to check the field you’re matching on, and the fields you’re updating. In this case, it must include Supplier, Supplier Code, and Cost, as well as you’re matching field.
2. Next, choose Update Costs from the first pop-up menu, and choose which fields you wish to match on from the second pop-up menu. 
3. Click Import to update your existing records. 

Customers and Suppliers

As with Products, Customers and Suppliers may be imported or updated using the “General Steps” outlined at the beginning of this document. The guidelines are the same, including the requirement that any data imported into a “pre-defined” field indicated by a downward-pointed arrow must already exist in LightSpeed exactly as it appears in the original data.

For example, if your source data contains an Account Status of “Waiting”, this must be added to the list of Account Statuses in LightSpeed prior to importing.  Auto-populate fields can also include value lists that are already pre-defined in LightSpeed, such as Phone Types (Home, Work, etc), and all of the checkbox attribute fields use a built-in Yes/No value list. 

To import Contacts within Customers or Suppliers, you must import a unique value into the field Customer/Supplier ID (Imported), either when the Customer or Supplier is first created, or later (for Customers only), with Update Customers. See Importing Contacts below for more information.

It is possible to import images for your Customers and Suppliers using the same method outlined in the Importing Products section above. 

Importing Contacts

Contacts in LightSpeed are separate entries, representing people or locations, that are part of one organization, and are stored within the same Customer or Supplier record.

LightSpeed will allow you to import Contacts within a Customer or Supplier record, including alternate billing or shipping addresses, Custom Fields, and more. To create a Contact within a Customer or Supplier, the Customer/Supplier must first exist in LightSpeed. The essential steps for importing Customers and Suppliers are outlined above. To be able to then import Contacts, you must have imported a unique value for the field Customer/Supplier ID (Imported). This can be done when importing your Customers the first time, or can be imported later using Update Customers. For Suppliers, this must be imported on the first import that creates the Suppliers. 

For example, you have two companies. Donaldson and Sons has a unique Customer ID (Imported), and Miller Construction also has a unique Customer ID (Imported). If Miller Construction has 3 separate Contacts, each Contact would have its own line in the source date, and the Customer ID (Imported) would be the same for each of those contacts. (see image)

Having imported this unique value to “Customer ID (Imported)”, you can then match this same value (whether it is a number, or a duplication of the company name column) from the original Customer Contacts data to the target data field - Customer ID (Imported) - in LightSpeed. Individual contacts will then be created within the Customer profile. 

When importing Contacts, match the Customer ID or Supplier ID in the data above with the Customer/Supplier ID (Imported) field. 

The basic steps to importing Customer Contacts are:

1. Import or create your Customers. 
   
   If importing, include a column for a unique Customer ID for each Customer that will have a Customer record. Match this value to the field Customer ID (Imported). 
   
   If creating Customers individually, or if your source data did not include a unique Customer ID, you must add a unique Customer ID to each existing Customer record by using the Update Customers feature of the Import Customers window. Choose the field(s) to match on, and then import a unique Customer ID into each Customer record. 
2. Import your Customer Contacts. 

The source data must include a unique Customer ID for each Customer, imported into Customer ID (Imported), and the information you’re importing for each contact, and can include name, department, position, and more. (see image).  

This source data can be the same file you’d used for Step 1. 

Importing Supplier Contacts will use a similar method, however, you must import a Supplier ID (Imported) when the Supplier is created the first time, and it must be created through an import. 

Import Log

Each import or update you do results in an error log file saved to your desktop that notifies you if any data failed to import, and why.

The Import Log indicates which line was not imported, the Product Code, and the reason.  The name of the file saved to your desktop reflects the type of import or update you are doing. Eg. supplier_import_log.txt.  

Import Errors

Product Import Definitions

* Field values must pre-exist in LightSpeed exactly as they appear in the imported data

Supplier Import Definitions

* Field values must pre-exist in LightSpeed exactly as they appear in the imported data

Contact Import Definitions

* Field values must pre-exist in LightSpeed exactly as they appear in the imported data.

Customer Import Definitions

* Field values must pre-exist in LightSpeed exactly as they appear in the imported data