This is a very powerful tool that allows you to manage products in batch using your own Excel spreadsheets.

To reach the data manager

1. From the main setup menu, click "Import data"
2. Click "Products" from the list under the Excel icon
3. This takes you to the data manager screens

Watch a video:

Creating new products by spreadsheet

You'll need to create a "data map" that will match up your spreadsheet columns to data fields in Pearl. To start off with, create a simple import with only a few rows to get familiar with the system.

1. Create a new data map, give it a name such as "product import"
2. Add some columns. The screen shot below shows the minimum columns needed to create new products.
3. Save your data map
4. Click "Import data"
5. Tick the "import values" (otherwise it will just be a test run) and import your file.
6. Pearl will check each row to make sure it contains the right kind of data (ie for a price, only numbers will be accepted) and then only if the whole file is OK, each item will be created.

Note that if a product is found in Pearl with matching data in column A, then that item will be updated.

The data in your category column needs to match a category that's already in your Pearl account, or else a new one will be created if you tick the "create categories" box on the import screen.

The brand also needs to match one that's already in Pearl, unless you tick the "create missing brands" box on the import screen. Use "other" if you don't use brands.

Price is actually optional, but you probably want to add prices when creating products. Don't forget that the price column is net (ex tax) values.

Updating products by spreadsheet

You can also use the data manager to update products that are already in your Pearl system. Very useful for a number of things:

• Updating prices
• Changing tax rates
• Switching web enabled on/off
• Updating custom fields (some pay plans only)

Column A - the "hook" field

We need to use something to match your spreadsheet rows to an item in Pearl, and this can be the Pearl product ID (a number), a barcode, or your own product SKU. It's a really good idea to have a solid SKU structure for managing items in bulk.

Extra columns

Use the rest of the column options to edit fields in Pearl. So to update the Sales account code for a set of products, choose something suitable as a hook field for column A and choose "Sell code" for column B.

Create a 2 column spreadsheet to match. Make sure that the column headers in your spreadsheet match those on the data map setup screen - this is used for error checking to make sure that you don't change the wrong field!

Make sure your data map is saved, and then click "Import data"

Browse to your saved XLS file, tick "import data" and upload the file. Pearl will check each row to make sure it contains the right kind of data (ie for a sales code, only numbers will be accepted) and then only if the whole file is OK, each item will be updated.

You can update multiple columns at once if you need to.

Column data

Updating prices using the data manager

Create a data map with one or more price lists as columns. The price list code is used as the column header (eg "COST", "TRADE"), and should not be changed from the default. The number in your spreadsheet should be the net price (ex tax), ideally to 4 decimal places.

The data manager doesn't support price update for volume discounts (ie 1+ = £10, 5+ = £9) - so if you use volume discounts, use the price list manager tool (Products:Setup:Price lists) instead, or else edit the items on-screen.