Import products and services

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If you have many products, services, or product variants to add to your Helcim account, importing them from a spreadsheet file can save you a significant amount of time compared to adding them one by one.

This guide will walk you through the different import options available.

This import tool is for adding or updating product details like name, price, description, and variants. If you only need to update stock quantities for existing goods, check out the dedicated Inventory Import process in the Configure and manage inventory article.


In this article


Accessing the Import/Export function


  1. Navigate to Products & Services (you can find this under the All Tools menu).

  2. On the main Products page, click the 'Import/Export' button

Product import flow in the Helcim dashboard

Choosing your import type


After clicking 'Import/Export', you'll typically be presented with a dropdown menu or options to select the type of import you want to perform.

The import types that we’ll look at are:

  • Product Import: For importing your main product details.

  • Product Variants Import: For importing the different variations (e.g. size, color) of existing products.

  • Service Import: For importing your services.

For all these import types, you will use a CSV File prepared according to Helcim's sample templates.

A reminder for QuickBooks and product imports


QuickBooks Desktop

Please be aware that QuickBooks Desktop is a deprecated service and is no longer supported for direct data integration with Helcim.

QuickBooks Online (QBO)

Helcim does offer an integration with QuickBooks Online, but this is primarily for syncing invoices and transaction data, not for your product and services list. You can learn more about this integration in this article.

  • If you wish to transfer your products and services list from QuickBooks Online into Helcim, you will first need to export that data from your QBO account.

  • For general guidance on exporting data from QBO, you can refer to articles like this one from QuickBooks: Export data, reports, and lists from QuickBooks Online.

  • Once you have exported your data from QBO, you must manually transfer this information into the appropriate Helcim sample CSV file (see steps below).

  • The direct QBO export format cannot be uploaded as-is for your Helcim product/service catalogue.

General steps for CSV imports


The following steps apply once you've selected your import type and are ready to prepare your data using Helcim's specific CSV template.

Step 1: Download the sample file

Select Sample file on the upload screen to download the CSV file. The file template will be unique for the type of data you are importing.

  • For Product Import, the file will include columns for CATEGORY, BRAND, NAME, SKU, PRICE, COST, WEIGHT, TRACK_INVENTORY, DESCRIPTION, etc..

  • For Product Variants Import, the file will include columns for PARENT_SKU, SKU, OPTIONS, VARIANT, STOCK, PRICE, etc..

  • For Service Import, the file will include columns for NAME, CATEGORY, PRICE, SALE_PRICE, DESCRIPTION, etc.

Step 2: Prepare your CSV file

  1. Open the downloaded sample CSV file in your preferred spreadsheet program (like Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or Apple Numbers).

  2. Review the example data to understand how your information should be structured. For a full breakdown of each column, visit this section of the article.

  3. Important: Clear the sample data rows from the file, but do not delete the header row (the first row containing the column titles).

  4. Carefully enter or copy your data into the corresponding columns under the correct headers. Ensure your data matches the format expected for each column (e.g., "YES"/"NO" for availability fields, specific date formats if applicable).

  5. Save your completed file in CSV format.

Step 3: Upload your prepared CSV file

  1. Go back to the import screen in your Helcim account.

  2. Upload your edited CSV file. You can usually do this by dragging the file into an upload area or by clicking a browse button to select the file from your computer.

Step 4: Review and confirm the import

  1. After the file is uploaded, the interface will display a preview of the data from your file.

  2. Carefully review this preview to ensure your information appears correctly and is mapped to the right fields.

  3. Check the boxes for each product as you review. To Select all, use the checkbox in the upper left.

  4. Click the Confirm button to imported the selected items.

Your products, variants, or services should now be imported into your Helcim account.

Filling out the sample CSV file


When you download the sample CSV file for your import, you'll find various columns. Here’s a breakdown of what each column means for each type of import, and how to fill it out.

Product Import

Column Name

Required Format

Description

CATEGORY

Custom text

The name of an existing category you want to assign this product to. (Optional)

BRAND

Custom text

The name of an existing brand you want to assign this product to. (Optional)

NAME

Custom text

The customer-facing name of your product. (Mandatory)

SKU

Text and/or numbers

Your unique Stock Keeping Unit for the product. (Mandatory)

BAR_CODE

Numbers

The product's barcode number. (Optional)

PRICE

Number (decimals if needed)

The regular selling price of the product.

SALE_PRICE

Number (decimals if needed)

The promotional or sale price. If set, this will override the regular PRICE. (Optional)

WHOLESALE_PRICE

Number (decimals if needed)

A special price for approved wholesale customers. (Optional: typically managed further in Advanced Pricing).

COST

Number (decimals if needed)

The cost of the product to your business (not visible to customers). (Optional)

WEIGHT

Number (in default account units)

The weight of the product, used for shipping calculations. (Optional).

DIMENSION_WIDTH

Number (in default account units)

The width of the product. (Optional, for shipping).

DIMENSION_LENGTH

Number (in default account units)

The length of the product. (Optional, for shipping).

DIMENSION_HEIGHT

Number (in default account units)

The height of the product. (Optional, for shipping).

AVAILABILITY

YES/NO

The main toggle for whether the product is generally available for sale.

AVAILABILITY_ONLINE

YES/NO

Set to YES if the product should be available in your Helcim Online Store.

AVAILABILITY_RETAIL

YES/NO

Set to YES if the product should be available in the Helcim POS app.

SHIPPING_EXEMPT

YES/NO

Set to YES if this product should be exempt from standard shipping fee calculations.

TAX_EXEMPT

YES/NO/PROVINCE/STATE/COUNTRY

Determines the tax status. Use "NO" for fully taxable, "YES" for fully exempt, or specific terms like "PROVINCE" or "COUNTRY" for partial exemptions, matching your account's tax settings.

LOW_STOCK_THRESHOLD

Number

The stock quantity at which a low stock alert should be triggered, if inventory is tracked. (Used if TRACK_INVENTORY is YES).

DESCRIPTION

Custom text

A detailed description of the product for your customers or internal reference. (Optional)

TRACK_INVENTORY

YES/NO

Set to YES if you want Helcim to track inventory stock levels for this product.

Product Variants Import

Column Name

Required Format

Description

PARENT_SKU

Text and/or numbers

The SKU of the existing main (parent) product that these variants belong to. This links the variants to the correct base product.

SKU

Text and/or numbers

The unique Stock Keeping Unit for this specific variant.

OPTIONS

Custom text (Option1;Option2;etc.)

The names of the option groups, separated by a semicolon (e.g., Size;Color). This defines what type of options the variant has.

VARIANT

Custom text (Value1;Value2;etc.)

The specific values for each option group defined in the OPTIONS column, separated by a semicolon, that make up this particular variant (e.g., Small;Red).

BARCODE

Numbers

The barcode number for this specific variant. (Optional).

STOCK

Number

The inventory stock level for this specific variant.

PRICE

Number (decimals if needed)

The selling price for this specific variant. This price will typically override the parent product's price.

WEIGHT

Number (in your default account units)

The weight of this specific variant, used for shipping calculations. (Optional).

DIMENSION_WIDTH

Number (in your default account units)

The width of this specific variant. (Optional, for shipping).

DIMENSION_LENGTH

Number (in your default account units)

The length of this specific variant. (Optional, for shipping).

DIMENSION_HEIGHT

Number (in your default account units)

The height of this specific variant. (Optional, for shipping).

Service Import

Column Name

Required Format

Description

NAME

Custom text

The customer-facing name of your service. (Mandatory).

CATEGORY

Custom text

The name of an existing category you want to assign this service to. (Optional).

PRICE

Number (decimals if needed)

The regular selling price of the service.

SALE_PRICE

Number (decimals if needed)

The promotional or sale price for the service. If set, this will override the regular PRICE. (Optional).

AVAILABILITY

YES/NO

The main toggle for whether the service is generally available for sale.

AVAILABILITY_RETAIL

YES/NO

Set to YES if the service should be available in the Helcim POS app.

TAX_EXEMPT

YES/NO/PROVINCE/COUNTRY etc.

Determines the tax status. Use "NO" for fully taxable, "YES" for fully exempt, or specific terms like "PROVINCE" or "COUNTRY" for partial exemptions, matching your account's tax settings.

DESCRIPTION

Custom text

A detailed description of the service for your customers or internal reference. (Optional).

Next steps



FAQs

What's the difference between Product Import and Inventory Import?

Product Import (this article) adds or updates full product details (name, price, SKU, variants, etc.). Importing inventory is a separate, simpler process specifically for updating only the stock quantity of existing goods.

Can I update existing products using this import tool?

Yes, if your file includes an SKU that already exists in your Helcim account, the import tool will typically update the information for that existing product based on the data in your file's row.

Why did my import fail? / What are common errors?

Common errors include incorrect file formatting (ensure it matches the sample file structure and is saved as .csv or .xlsx), missing required fields (like Product Name), incorrect variant formatting (missing Parent SKU or incorrect semicolon usage), or exceeding file size limits. Double-check your file against the sample file and formatting tips.

How many products can I import at once?

While there isn't usually a strict row limit, very large files (thousands of products) can take longer to process or might encounter timeouts. If you need further assistance with importing, reach out to our support team.