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Inventory Import Field Reference

Reference for all supported fields when importing inventory into ARTERNAL, with details on required and optional columns.

Kalila Richards avatar
Written by Kalila Richards
Updated over a week ago


Here’s a complete list of supported columns when importing inventory via CSV. Any optional fields left blank will be ignored or set to their default values where noted.

For importer field names marked with “**”, see the reference section below for details on what can be entered and where the data will appear on the contact profile in ARTERNAL.

Mandatory field:

Column Name

Description

inventory_number

Unique catalog number for each artwork (if left blank, one will be auto‑generated)


Artist fields (prioritized in this order):

Column Name

Description

artist_lastname_firstname

Lastname, Firstname

artist_firstname

Artist’s first name

artist_lastname

Artist’s last name

artist

Artist name in any format (last fallback if others not provided)


Common optional fields:

Column Name

Description

title

Title of the work (free text)

location

Gallery or storage location

sublocation

More specific placement (e.g. “Studio 6”)

location_date

Date of location assignment (YYYY‑MM‑DD preferred)

year

Year the work was created (YYYY)

medium

Artistic medium (e.g. oil, acrylic, ceramic)

secondary_medium

Additional medium details

availability

Work status: available, sold, on hold, NFS, consignment, etc.

currency

Currency code/symbol or numeric price

add_to_list

Add the work to a list (name doesn’t need to exist)

parent_catalog_number

Link editions or alternate views to a main work

edition

Edition details (e.g. “2/5”)

tags

Tags are separated by commas

type

One of: inventory, edition, master edition, alternate view

condition

Physical condition state

sold_to, sold_for, sold_date

Creates buyer association (not invoice)

series, period, provenance, exhibition_history, certificates, literature, publications, collections

Free‑form text fields


Pricing & multi‑price options:

Column Name

Description

price_label

Multiprice label to prioritize one price display

price_history

Historical pricing (date, price, currency per line)

multiprice

Multiple labeled prices, each on a new line


Media and documentation:

Column Name

Description

image_url

URLs for main and alternative images (first listed becomes primary)

alt_view_urls

URLs for alternative images

video_url

Multiple video URLs, separated by semicolons

document_urls

Document link (Each link must have a document_filenames)

document_filenames

Document filenames


Dimensions (provide both imperial and metric if available):

Imperial (inches)

Metric (cm)

height_in

width_in

depth_in

height_cm

width_cm

depth_cm

dimensions (HxWxD in inches)

dimensions_metric (HxWxD in cm)


Additional details:

Column Name

Description

additional_notes

General notes (under "Additional Notes")

work_status

Work state like “damaged”, “lost”, etc. (separate from availability)

consignor / consignor_history

Track consignment history (name, date, price, notes per entry)

location_history

Log of location changes with date and sublocation

signature / signature_details

Signature metadata

photo_credit

Credit for photographs or photography

third_party_expense / gallery_expense / artist_expense

Cost items, each list on separate line

notes2 / notes3

Supplementary notes fields that merge under the main notes field


✅ Summary

  • Required column: inventory_number

  • Prioritize using specific artist name fields

  • Many free‑format text fields are accepted

  • Include images, video, and documents using URLs

  • Combine multiple notes, multiprice, consignor, and expense details using multiline entries

  • For full customization or missing fields, the system will automatically create custom inventory fields upon import.



If you have any questions, feel free to reach out via chat or email us at support@arternal.com — we’re happy to help!

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