> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.taliuphq.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Bulk Import

> Load a merchant's whole product list at once from the Taliup Excel template, and export the current catalog back out.

**Bulk Upload** loads a merchant's product list from a spreadsheet instead of adding items one at a time. Download the Taliup template, fill it in, upload it.

## How to get here

**Catalogs** (or **Menus**) → **Products** (or **Items**) → **Bulk Upload**.

<Frame caption="The Bulk Upload page with the template download, the file picker, and the Submit button.">
  <img src="https://mintlify.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/taliup/images/taliup-hq/catalogs/bulk-upload.png" alt="Bulk Upload Your Products page showing a Download Template button, an Upload File control and a Submit button" />
</Frame>

## Import products

<Steps>
  <Step title="Download the template">
    Click **Download Template**. The file is an Excel workbook named `BulkUploadTemplate.xlsx`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill in the sheets">
    Complete **Attributes** and **Tags** first if you plan to reference them, then **Products**. Column details are below.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Upload the file">
    Click **Upload File** and choose your completed workbook. The file name appears once it is selected.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Submit">
    Click **Submit**. The import runs immediately and you land back on the products list with a confirmation.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  The import writes straight to the catalog. There is no review step and no undo — check the spreadsheet before uploading. If you want to see the result before it goes live, use [Catalog Builder](/taliup-hq/admin/catalog-builder) from Taliup HQ admin instead.
</Warning>

## What is in the template

| Sheet          | Purpose                        |
| -------------- | ------------------------------ |
| **Guidelines** | Notes on filling the workbook  |
| **Products**   | One row per product or item    |
| **Attributes** | Option groups and their values |
| **Tags**       | Product tags and their colours |

### Products sheet

| Column                  | Notes                                                                                                   |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Product Name**        | Required. A row with no name is skipped                                                                 |
| **Product Supplier**    | Created if it does not exist yet                                                                        |
| **Product Cost**        | What the merchant pays                                                                                  |
| **Mark Up (%)**         | Calculated from cost and price when left blank                                                          |
| **Price**               | Leave blank for a market-price item — it becomes custom priced. `0` means the item is free, not missing |
| **Product SKU**         |                                                                                                         |
| **Weighable**           | `Yes` or `No`. Requires a **Unit** and cannot be used with a blank price                                |
| **Unit**                | `kg`, `g`, `lb` or `oz`                                                                                 |
| **Product Description** |                                                                                                         |
| **Type**                | `Product` or `Service`. Defaults to Product                                                             |
| **Catalog**             | Created if it does not exist yet                                                                        |
| **Category**            | Separate several with commas to put one item in more than one category                                  |
| **Tag**                 | A tag name, or an ID from the Tags sheet                                                                |
| **Attribute**           | Repeated column. Each must already exist, or be defined on the Attributes sheet                         |
| **Tax**                 | Repeated column. Must match an existing tax by name                                                     |

<Note>
  Taxes are matched by name and are not created by the import. Set them up under **Taxes** first, or attach them at the catalog level afterwards so they cascade to every item.
</Note>

<Note>
  An **Image** must be a public `https` address. The picture is downloaded and re-hosted by Taliup, stored no wider than 1,200 pixels, and fetched in the background after the import finishes — so give it a minute before checking the product. An address that cannot be used is skipped and the product still imports.
</Note>

### Attributes sheet

| Column                             | Notes                                                                  |
| ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Attribute Name**                 | Required                                                               |
| **Is Required**                    | Whether the customer must choose a value                               |
| **Selection Type**                 | `Single` or `Multiple`                                                 |
| **Minimum # of Values Selectable** |                                                                        |
| **Maximum # of Values Selectable** | Sets the cap when the type is Multiple                                 |
| **Value** / **Price**              | Repeated pair. The price is the difference this value adds to the item |

### Tags sheet

| Column         | Notes                                                         |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Tag ID**     | Optional. Use it to reference the tag from the Products sheet |
| **Tag Name**   | Required                                                      |
| **Color Code** | Hex colour, for example `#2E7D32`                             |

<Note>
  A blank **Price** and a **Price** of `0` are different things. Blank means the cashier enters the price at the till; `0` creates a genuinely free item, such as a complimentary side. Both the merchant import and [Catalog Builder](/taliup-hq/admin/catalog-builder) read the column the same way.
</Note>

## Updating existing products

Export the catalog first, edit the rows you want, and upload the file again. Rows that carry a **Product ID** update that product instead of creating a new one. Rows with no ID always create.

This is the way to add photos to a catalog you already built: export, paste image URLs into the **Image** column, re-import. A cell you did not change is ignored, so re-uploading an export does not re-download every picture — and a cell you did change replaces the product's current photo.

## Export the catalog

From the products list, click **Export Products**. The export is prepared in the background and a download link appears when it is ready — you can leave the page and come back.

**Export Attributes** produces a separate CSV of option groups and their values.

## If the import fails

The whole upload is applied together or not at all, so a failure leaves the catalog untouched. Validation problems come back listed by row number; a problem such as a missing attribute reports the single value that could not be found. The usual causes are:

| Message            | Cause                                                                 |
| ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Modifier not found | An **Attribute** column names an option group that does not exist yet |
| Tag not found      | The **Tag** column names a tag that does not exist                    |
| Product not found  | A **Product ID** does not belong to this merchant                     |
| A unit is required | **Weighable** is `Yes` but **Unit** is empty                          |

Fix the spreadsheet and upload again.

<Tip>
  Importing a large catalogue? Ask your ISO to run it from Taliup HQ admin instead. The admin-side import processes in the background in batches and gives you a downloadable file of just the rows that failed, so you can fix and re-upload those alone.
</Tip>

## Item order

Items imported into a category keep the order they appear in the spreadsheet. Reordering rows in the file and re-importing does not reshuffle items that already exist.

## Related

* [Catalogs](/taliup-hq/merchant/catalogs/index)
* [Catalog Builder](/taliup-hq/admin/catalog-builder)
* [Products / Items on the POS](/taliup-pos/catalog/products)
* [Attributes / Modifiers on the POS](/taliup-pos/catalog/attributes)