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Using the Import Feature: How to Import Product Data into Acenda

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Written by Sam E.

This guide walks you through the two-phase process for bulk-importing products into Acenda and mapping them to your marketplace channels (for example Amazon, Target or Walmart).

Before you start: Create your Marketplace Posting Templates first — see Building a Posting Template: A How-To Guide. You'll need at least one Posting Template per channel before Phase 2 can map items to it.

Phase 1: Importing the Product Catalog

The first step is migrating your core product data into the Acenda ecosystem.

Step 1: Generate your Template

To make sure your formatting matches Acenda's requirements, we recommend using an export of your current catalog as a template.

  1. Go to DATA TRANSFERS > Exports in the sidebar.

  2. Click + New Export, select Catalog as the Model, and click Export.

    • Note: We recommend manually creating at least one product in Acenda first so your export contains the correct attribute headers.

  3. Download the file via the cloud icon.

  4. Open the file and delete all rows below the headers to create your blank template.

Step 2: Prepare Your Data

Fill in your product data according to these formatting rules:

  • File Format:Microsoft Excel (XLSX) is the preferred format for all imports. CSV UTF-8 is also allowed, but Excel helps maintain data integrity and formatting. If your file has multiple tabs, only the first sheet is imported — keep your product data on the first tab.

  • Clean the Spreadsheet: Delete the first 5 system columns: id, created_at, created_by, updated_at, and updated_by.

  • Define Hierarchy (group column): Acenda has three group types — see How to Use the Group Attribute to Set Products and Variants.

    • Enter product for a Parent item (the group).

    • Enter variant for a Child item.

    • Enter kit for a kit (bundle) product.

  • Link Variants: In the group_skus.0 column, enter the Parent SKU for every row marked as a "variant."

  • UPC Formatting: Excel often converts long numbers to scientific notation (e.g., 1.23E+11). To fix this: Highlight the column > Right Click > Format Cells > Select Number > Set Decimal places to 0.

  • Images: The first two image columns are for Main and Swatch images. See Bulk Updating Product Images in Acenda for the full column reference.

    • Additional images use the format: images.default.x.alternate.url (where x is the image number).

    • Pro Tip: Acenda simplifies importing from Dropbox and Google Drive. Provide the shared image URLs, and Acenda will automatically optimize the import.

    • Heads up: to leave existing images untouched, leave the image columns out of your file entirely rather than sending them blank.

  • Measurements: Only the .value column is required (e.g., fields.depth.value). If using the .unit column, use lowercase (e.g., in).

  • Options (Parent Products Only): Use options.0 for Color and options.1 for Size.

  • Custom Fields (fields.* columns): A blank cell in a fields.* column clears that custom field. A blank cell in a standard/system column is simply ignored. Leave a fields.* column out of the file entirely if you don't want to change it.

Step 3: Upload and Map

  1. Go to DATA TRANSFERS > Imports and click + New Import.

  2. Select Catalog as the Import Type and upload your XLSX or CSV UTF-8 file.

  3. Map Fields: Match your file headers to Acenda fields. Check the box to the left of the attribute to enable it.

    • Tip: Check "Save custom import profile" to reuse this mapping for future uploads.

  4. Update Settings:

    • New SKUs only: Leave all checkboxes unchecked.

    • Update Existing & Add New: Check "Overwrite any current records that have the same ID."

    • Update Existing only: Check "Only update existing records."

  5. Click Start Import.

Phase 2: Channel Item Mapping

Once your products are in the system, you must "map" them to designate which products belong on specific marketplaces, which Posting Template to apply, and what listing action each one should have.

Step 1: Generate the Mapping Template

  1. Go to DATA TRANSFERS > Exports.

  2. Click + New Export, select Channel Item Mapping, and click Export.

  3. Download the file and delete the first 5 system columns and the product_id column.

Step 2: Input Mapping Data

Collect the following IDs from your admin panel to complete the file:

Column Header

Description

Location in Admin

product_sku

The SKU of the product imported in Phase 1.

CATALOG > Items

subscription_id

The unique ID for the sales channel.

CHANNELS > Integrations (ID to the left of the channel)

posting_template_id

The ID for your specific marketplace settings.

CHANNELS > Integrations > [Channel] > Posting Templates (ID to the left)

listing_action

Defines the marketplace status for this item.

Use: FULL, ZERO, or UNLIST — see Channel Mapping & Listing Actions for Multi-Channel Syndication

  • Note: To map one SKU to multiple marketplaces, create multiple rows for that SKU — one for each Subscription ID.

Step 3: Upload Mapping

  1. Ensure your file is saved in the preferred XLSX format (CSV UTF-8 is also accepted).

  2. Go to DATA TRANSFERS > Imports and click + New Import.

  3. Select Channel Item Mapping as the Import Type and upload your file.

  4. Match the headers (we recommend saving this "Channel Mapping" profile).

  5. Select "Overwrite any current records that have the same ID" to ensure existing mappings are updated.

  6. Click Start Import.

Tip: After importing, you can check or adjust a single item's channel mapping without a re-import: open the item under CATALOG > Items and look at its Channel Status tab, which now also holds the old Channel Mapping and Suggested Fixes views.

Troubleshooting

  • UPC/barcode shows as 1.23E+11 after opening in Excel: Excel converted the long number to scientific notation. Highlight the column, right-click > Format Cells > Number > 0 decimal places, then re-save before uploading.

  • A custom field I didn't touch got cleared: A blank cell in a fields.* column clears that field on import. Remove the column from your file instead of leaving it blank if you don't want to change it.

  • An image disappeared after a re-import: Check whether your file included images.* columns. Re-add the image URL and import again, and leave image columns out of future files when you don't want to change images.

  • Only some of my rows imported, and I'm on a multi-tab spreadsheet: Acenda only reads the first sheet/tab of an XLSX file. Move your product data to the first tab and re-upload.

  • My Channel Item Mapping import ran but the item status didn't change: Double check subscription_id and posting_template_id against CHANNELS > Integrations — a mismatched ID silently fails that row rather than erroring the whole file.

Still stuck? Contact Acenda Support and tell us which phase (Catalog or Channel Item Mapping), the SKU or row involved, and any error message shown on the Import/Export status page.

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