On This Page

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Getting Started


Comma Separated Values, or CSV, files are an extremely useful tool for making changes to products or inventory. For the sake of BinderPOS, importing product CSVs into Shopify differs slightly from Importing CSVs into BinderPOS. The main reason for importing product information CSVs into Shopify instead of BinderPOS is customization. In the event that your store sells a product that is not supported by BinderPOS or that is so niche and unique to your store that it can't be uploaded to BinderPOS, Shopify allows for direct importation of these items through the use of CSVs. This page will focus specifically on importing product CSVs into Shopify.


Before Beginning

The video below includes general information and helpful tips concerning CSVs and importing them into Shopify. Please consider viewing this before reading the rest of this article.



For more information and helpful material concerning CSVs and how they work, check out the following Shopify article:


Before importing CSVs, consider exporting a backup of your store's current product list in case there is an error


For more information on what to review before importing CSVs into Shopify, check out Before You Begin.


Importing Products from Another Store

When exporting CSVs from other stores or other sources, make sure that this CSV format matches the CSV File Format necessary for importing. Imports will fail if the formats do not match or if there are any missing headers. Product CSVs cannot exceed 15 MB. If all of the CSV formats match but imports still fail, check that the size is under 15 MB.


In order to begin importing products CSVs from other stores into Shopify, follow these steps:

  1. From your store's Shopify Admin, select Products
  2. Find and select Import
  3. Select Add File, then select the CSV file being imported
    • Optional: If seeking to publish new products only to the online store instead of all sales channels, then deselect Publish New Products to All Sales Channels
    • Optional: If seeking to change URLs by overwriting existing values, select Overwrite Any Current Products that have the Same Handle. Existing Values will be used for any Missing Columns
  4. Click Upload and Continue
  5. Review details and if correct, select Import Products



After completing the upload of the CSV import, the primary, admin email set by your store will receive a confirmation.


Importing Products Using a CSV File

If your store is seeking to use CSVs as a way to simply update or change stock instead of moving product from one store to another, it is recommended to import updated product CSVs into Shopify. To do this, product CSVs must first be exported. Once this product CSV has been exported, any changes to products can be made in a spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. Following these changes, the updated CSV can be imported back into Shopify. 


In order to begin importing products using CSV files, follow these steps:

  1. From your store's Shopify Admin, select Products
  2. Find and select Import
  3. Select Add File, then select the CSV file being imported
    • Optional: If seeking to publish new products only to the online store instead of all sales channels, then deselect Publish New Products to All Sales Channels
    • Optional: If seeking to change URLs by overwriting existing values, select Overwrite Any Current Products that have the Same Handle. Existing Values will be used for any Missing Columns
  4. Click Upload and Continue
  5. Review details and if correct, select Import Products



After completing the upload of the CSV import, the primary, admin email set by your store will receive a confirmation.


In order to smoothly upload CSV files, we recommend using Google Chrome.


Further Information

For more information or further reading, please review Shopify's Importing Products with CSV Files.