Getting Your Data Ready
CatalogueLINK Upload's primary function is to connect to your accounting system and import product data from it before uploading it to your website.
For CatalogueLINK Upload to do this, the accounting system product data needs to be "linked" up against fields on the website.
CatalogueLINK Upload facilitates the connection of accounting system fields to website fields.
Selecting Accounting System Fields for the website
Your mappings will be setup in Setup – Catalogue Fields during the configuration session:
- FieldName: The website field that data from the accounting system will be matched against
- Item Code is the field name for Item codes on the site and the data needs to come from somewhere in the accounting system for items
- DataSourceField: This is the field in your accounting system where CatalogueLINK Upload will retrieve data from for the FieldName field
- Item Code will map against the accounting system field Item Number
- Select a FieldName row
- Click the Available Fields dropdown in the top right hand corner to display all the fields available
- Select the desired mapping and press Save
Note: There may be times where you want to enter your own data for a field manually.
This is where you can use ‘Enter my own’ for the field mapping selection.
For more information: see Editing Products in CatalogueLINK
Turning Fields On or Off
To turn fields on or off:
- Select a FieldName row that you wish to enable or disable
- Check or uncheck the UseField checkbox in the top left hand corner and press Save
Some fields have values that must be entered into CatalogueLINK itself. These include:
- Priority: The lower the priority value, the earlier the item will appear within a category level on your website.
- An item starting with ’Z’ but with a priority of 1 will appear before items beginning with ’A’.
- All items within a category level need to be given a priority value (e.g. 50) and the default view on the website set to Website Default for priority sorting to be enabled.
- Use Stock Quantities: Enter Yes or No to ensure that stock levels are used for items uploaded.
- Allow Negative Stock Quantities: Enter Yes or No to allow customers to order more than the current available stock for an item.
- IsHidden: If the value is set to Yes the item will not appear to customers on the website.
The table below shows the Required, Recommended and Optional fields in CatalogueLINK Upload:
| Field Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
Required | Product Code | A unique code for a product |
| Product Name | A descriptive name (title) for a product | |
| Category Level 1 | Primary group for a product | |
| Unit of Measure | The default unit of measure for products | |
| Standard Price | Standard price (ex GST) | |
Recommended | Item Description | A detailed description for a product |
| Manufacturer Name | The Manufacturer of a product | |
| Category Level 2 | Secondary group for product | |
| Category Level 3 | Third-level group for product | |
| Size | Size information for products, used in Product Option menus | |
| Freight Size | Used in freight calculation for product weight | |
| GST Tax Rate | Your GST Tax rate (10) | |
| Stock Quantity | The field you want to use for stock quantity measurement | |
| Use Stock Quantity | Determines whether stock quantities are displayed to customers | |
| Allow Negative Stock Quantity | Allows customers to order a product on back order (Out of Stock) on an item by item basis | |
Optional | Manufacturer Code | Manufacturer code for a product |
| UNSPSC | The UNSPSC code for product | |
| Special Instruction | Can be used as an extra description field | |
| Weight | Product weight information | |
| Lead time | Number of days before an item will be shipped | |
| Minimum Order | May be used if a minimum amount of an item must be added to cart | |
| IsHidden | Tick on if product should not be displayed on website, should be on if product is a child product | |
| Priority | Used to sort products on a list, the lower the priority value the higher it will appear |
Dynamically Update Data
The AlwaysUpdate column allows you to:
- Look for new data against item fields every time you import from your accounting system (checked)
- Look for data once and never again (unchecked)
This can speed up the import process if you are finding it is taking a considerable amount of time or if there are fields where the data will never change:
- Fields where data changes regularly such as Standard Price’ or ’Stock Quantity would be set to always update
- Data that stays constant such as Size and Weight may not need to be updated after the initial import against an item
To enable AlwaysUpdate:
- Select a FieldName row that you wish to have always update from the accounting system
Check the AlwaysUpdate checkbox in the top left hand corner and press Save
Exporting to Excel
You can export your items list to an Excel file to manipulate large amounts of data quickly when you are not importing it from your accounting system
e.g. when you are using the Enter My Own option for a field:
- Select a FieldName row
- Check/uncheck the ExportToExcel checkbox in the top left hand corner and press Save
- Optional: Enter a unique priority number in the Excel Column Export Order text box and click Save
Note: To reset the column orders to their default values click ‘Reset Export Order to Default’
Importing Products
Once these fields are mapped and saved, click Import and perform our initial import of products:
- Click Import and select Catalogue Items
- When this process has completed you will see a listing of what CatalogueLINK Upload has imported
- Your products should then appear in the Items listing with a status of New (when the product is new to CatalogueLINK Upload) or Modifying (when a product's data has changed since the last import).
There may be a requirement for custom fields to be set up in the accounting system for use by the website.
This can also be covered during the configuration session.
Importing Customers and Customer Special Pricing
CatalogueLINK Upload's other core function is to connect to your accounting system, import customer records and upload them to the CMS attached to your website.
Website accounts can then be created for customers so they can login and purchase from your website.
- The setup of customer accounts will be covered in the next configuration session:
Unlike the import of products, there is no configuration for the import of customers.
However if you have customer special pricing, so for example Price Group A is assigned to one customer, Price Group B to another and you want this reflected on the website an option of Upload Financials must be enabled for each customer.
- This can be configured for all Customers in Setup – Customer Settings, individually in View / Edit or for groups of customers via Apply Data.
- Let's begin the Import of Customers and Customer Special Pricing
- Select Customer Information and Customer Special Pricing Information
- When this process has completed you will see a listing of what CatalogueLINK Upload has imported.
- Your customers should then appear in the Customer listing with a status of New (when the customer is new to CatalogueLINK Upload) or Modifying (when a product's data has changed since the last import)
Importing Invoices
The final data type we can import is Invoices.
Customers can then view and pay their invoices when they have a website account.
Note not all accounting system integrations offer invoice import.
See the Straightsell website for more information on what your accounting system can integrate with.
- For Invoices to be imported, Upload Financials must be enabled for a customer.
- This can be configured for all Customers in Setup – Customer Settings, individually in View / Edit or for groups of customers via Apply Data
- The date at which invoices will be imported from can be configured from Setup - Invoice Settings (i.e. selecting a date of 1 July 2017 will import invoices from that date onwards)
- Click Import and select Invoice Information.
- When this process has completed you will see a listing of what CatalogueLINK Upload has imported.