Import items to the Back Office to add several items to your inventory simultaneously. The benefit of importing items is that it can save time and speed up your item creation process.

Import items to the Back Office to add several items to your inventory at once. The benefit of importing items is that it can save time and speed up your item creation process. If you have item info on file, you can choose between a template import or just import prices.

Select your preferred import method below.

• Use the Quick Import Template to import new items with details such as item name, SKU, default price, accounting group, and statistics group. The benefit of importing items from the template is saving time by adding all items simultaneously. 
  1. Click here and select Make a copy to copy the template to your Google Account. If you do not have a Google account, download the template as an Excel (.xlsx) file here.
  2. Review the Instructions tab of the template to learn how to use the file and see an example of how a filled-in import template looks.
     
  3. Within the Quick Import Template, open the Import file tab and enter your item information, such as SKU, Item name, Default price, Accounting group, Statistics group, and cost price. Refer to the Understanding the Item import template section to understand what each column represents.
     
     Columns with green lettering in their headers signal that this information is required for an item to be created through an import. Other columns, such as "statistics group" and "cost price," are optional and not required to perform a successful import.
     If you use this template without modifying it, item groups and combos must be built manually within the Back Office. To learn more, visit our article About combos.
  4. Once you've entered all of your item information into the Import File spreadsheet, download the spreadsheet as a CSV file.
     • Google sheets: Click File in the top-left corner of the screen. Select "Download" from the menu options. In the sub-menu, choose "Comma Separated Values (.csv)". A download will start automatically, and the CSV file will be saved to your computer's default downloads folder.
     • Excel: Click on the File menu in the top-left corner of the screen. Select "Save As" from the menu options. In the "Save As" dialog box, choose a location to save the file. Choose "CSV (Comma delimited)" as the file type from the "Save as type" drop-down menu.

• Use the Detailed Import template to import new items with details such as item name, SKU, default price, accounting group, and statistic group. The benefit of importing items from the template is saving time by adding all items at once.

  Create items using the Detailed Import template. The template also allows you to create Accounting groups, combos, and menus.

  Once imported, items can’t be deleted but can, instead, be disabled. See our Disabling and reenable items article for more information.

  Item imports template

  Use the item imports template to correctly import item information, such as item name, SKU, default price, accounting group, and statistic group. The template also allows you to define optional import settings, such as item groups (part of combos), combos, and menus. If you’re familiar with combos and menus, manage your entire item and menu settings from the template.

  Some steps of the template are mandatory, and some are optional. Make sure that you fill in all the required steps. Remove the optional tabs from your template that you don’t want to import.

  Mandatory import tabs	Optional import tabs
  Getting Started Step 1 - Create accounting groups Step 2 - Create items Step 5 - Finalize your setup	Step 2b - Create item groups Step 2c - Create combos Step 3 - Create menu & screens Step 4 - Create your menu

  Create your item import file with the template: 

  The template is pre-filled with example information. Remove this information before adding your own item information, or overwrite the examples.

  The first nine sheets of the Detailed Import Template walk you through the steps for using the template. As you proceed through each step, you will replace the example information with your own item information. Doing so will automatically update the last sheet of the import template titled "Upload file (download)." To import your item information, you only need to download the last page as a CSV file:

  1. Open the template or select Menu management > Items > Import items only (under the Import button drop-down) from the Back Office. Click Download template in the Import your items with the Lightspeed template section.

  Getting started tab:

  1. Enter the Business name, Your business type, and Email address.
  2. Select Click here to start to visit the next tab.

  Glossary tab:

  1. Read the Glossary. It will help you understand what information is required to create the import file.
  2. Click Let’s start to visit the next tab.

  Step 1 - Create acc. groups tab:

  1. Enter each accounting group needed in the table.
  2. Click Go to next step to visit the next tab.

  Step 2 - Create items tab:

  1. Enter the items’ information in the table, such as Item name, SKU, and Accounting group. See Adding items for details on each component.
  2. Click Go to next step to visit the next tab.

  Step 2b - Create item groups tab (optional):

  A combo consists of one or multiple groups, and groups consist of individual items. Items must be in a group to be displayed within a combo on the POS.

  1. Enter item groups’ information in the table, and fill in all mandatory fields: Name of the group, SKU, and Selection policy. See Creating combos for details.
  2. Click Go to next step to visit the next tab.

  Step 2c - Create your combos tab (optional):

  1. List combos in the table, and fill in all mandatory fields: Name combo, SKU, and Accounting group. See Creating combos for details.
  2. Click Go to next step to visit the next tab.

  Step 3 - Create menu & screens tab (optional):

  1. Enter the menu name and what screens (menu categories) the menu should have. See Creating menus for details.
  2. Click Go to next step to visit the next tab.

  Step 4 - Create your menu tab (optional):

  1. Follow the steps listed in the template under How to build your menu to configure the menu and screen each item will appear on.
  2. Click Finalize your menu to choose one of the listed transfer options to the Back Office.

  Step 5 - Finalize your setup tab:

  1. Select one of the two options and follow the instructions to finish the import of your template. If you choose Option 2, see Importing the template for information on how to import the created file into your Back Office.

Understanding the Item import template

Before importing item data, you must have that data organized in a spreadsheet and separated into distinct columns. Here are a few important things to note:

1. The import file must be a CSV spreadsheet, delimited by commas.
2. The import file must contain the item Name, Accounting group, and Price. It’s essential that, at minimum, the spreadsheet has three columns of data for each item: a column with the item's Name, Accounting group, and Price. All other columns are optional.

When you do not have the required information on file, leave the relevant data cell empty. You can delete the empty column if you’re missing information for an entire column.

Import template columns

We currently support two versions of the Items page for Lightspeed Restaurant K Series: Items page 2.0 and Legacy Items page.

Lightspeed Restaurant accounts created after March 2023 will have Items 2.0 enabled by default. Existing accounts will continue to use the Legacy Items page but will be migrated to the newer version at a later date.

To figure out which version of the Items page you're using, refer to the screenshots contained within this article and see if they match what's in your Back Office.

Select your Items page version to filter the setup steps.

• Importing the template 

  Once you’ve created your item’s import file with the template, import the data to your Back Office. To see the status of an import file, navigate to Menu management > Items > Import > Import and check the Import overview section. To delete a file name from the overview, click the trash can symbol on the right.

  To import a template: 

  1. Log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed Restaurant credentials.
  2. Select Menu management > Items from the navigation menu.
  3. Click Import > Import.
  4. Click Browse... and select your CSV import file from the folder where it was stored. The upload process may take a few minutes.

     

  5. Ensure the titles of your file data are correct, and click Map columns with identical names. Note: If some columns are unnecessary for the import, you can turn them off by clicking the eye  icon.
  6. Click Continue.
  7. If you have new accounting groups in your file, toggle on Create all missing accounting groups. Otherwise, this can be left off (default).
  8. Click Confirm submission to finish. The upload may take some time, and once finished, you'll see a notification detailing your import's success status:
     
     • Success: The items import process was completed with no errors.
     • Warning: The items import process was completed with one or more problems. Review the details of your import attempt to see why it failed. Then, review the relevant sections of this article again, edit your file, and try uploading the file again.

  Importing prices

  If you have a lot of price changes, the import prices function helps you update your prices quickly. See Formatting your import prices file for details on the file format.

  1. Log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed Restaurant credentials.
  2. Select Menu management > Items from the navigation menu.
  3. Click Import > Import prices.

     

  4. Create the import file. See Formatting your import prices file for information on the imports file format.
  5. Click Browse, select your CSV import file from your computer, then click Open.
  6. After uploading your file, you will automatically advance to Select columns. Only mandatory columns, including SKU, Account profile, and Price, are required. All other columns are optional.
  7. Select Map columns.
  8. Make sure the titles of your columns are correct and click Map columns with identical names.
  9. (Optional) Do a test import to ensure everything works by selecting the Additional parameters tab and toggling the Dry-run option to ON. Click Continue, and skip to step 11.
  10. Select the Confirmation tab.
  11. Click Confirm submission to start the import.

  Formatting your import prices file

  There are two ways that you can create an import file. You can export your items and prices and then edit the exported file or create a new import template from scratch.

  • Exporting prices - From the Items page, click Export > Export custom file. Select the Items to export, then select Prices only, and then choose your File format. Finish by clicking Export, and a file should download automatically. Open the file, and begin editing the item prices as needed in your spreadsheet editing program. For exact details on exporting, see Exporting items.
    
  • Creating a new import template - In your preferred spreadsheet editing program, use the table below as a template.
    
    • The import file must be a CSV or XLS formatted spreadsheet.
    • The first row must contain the following headers: SKU, Account profile, and Price.
    • The import file is limited to 10,000 rows. If you have more than 9,999 prices to import, create separate imports.

  Import template

  SKU	Account profile	Price
  Mandatory	Mandatory  Find your account profiles in Configuration > Settings > Account profiles. See About account profiles for details.	Mandatory

  Exporting items

  Export items into a CSV or XLS file to print and save your data outside of Back Office. Choose between the following export formats:

  • Export: Export all items, including combo information into a CSV file.
  • Export MS Excel: Exports all items, including combo information.
  • Export selection to MS Excel: Exports filtered items.
  • Export prices to MS Excel: Only exports the item’s SKU, name, account profile, and price.

  To export items: 

  1. Log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed credentials.
  2. From the navigation menu, select Menu management > Items.
  3. Click Export at the top of the Items page.
  4. In the Items to export section, select one of the following:
     
     • All - Exports all items associated with your business.
     • Selection - Exports only the items you've selected using the checkboxes beside each item.
     • Filtered items - If you've applied filters to the Items table, only the items you've filtered for will be exported.
  5. In the Select information to export section, select one of the following:
     
     • All columns - Exports all available information, including information that doesn't appear in the Items table, such as Tare, Parent SKU, and Insertion course.
     • Prices only - Exports only the Name, Accounting group, Price, and SKU information.
     • Custom - Allows you to select and deselect the information you want to export.
  6. For the File format, select CSV for Mac (Apple), CSV for PC (Windows), or Custom.
  7. Click Export to finish.

• Importing the template 

  Once you’ve created your item’s import file with the template, import the data to your Back Office. To see the status of an import file, navigate to Menu management > Items > Import items only (access via the arrow next to Import) and check the Import overview section. To delete a file name from the overview, click the trash can symbol on the right.

  To import the template: 

  1. Log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed Restaurant credentials.
  2. Select Menu management > Items from the navigation menu.
  3. Click the arrow next to Import and select Import items only.
  4. Drag and drop your import file (.xlsx) in the dashed area or click browse to choose a file. The upload process might take a few minutes.

     

  5. Make sure the titles of your file data are correct, and click Map columns with identical names. Note: If some columns are unnecessary for the import, you can turn them off by clicking the eye  icon.
  6. Click Continue.
  7. If you have new accounting groups in your file, toggle on Create all missing accounting groups. Otherwise, this can be left off (default).
  8. Click Confirm submission to finish. The upload may take some time, and once finished, you'll see a notification detailing your import's success status:
     
     • Success: The items import process was completed with no errors.
     • Warning: The items import process was completed with one or more problems. Review the details of your import attempt to see why it failed. Then, review the relevant sections of this article again, edit your file, and try uploading the file again.

  Importing prices

  If you have a lot of price changes, the import prices function helps you update your prices quickly. See Formatting your import prices file for details on the file format.

  1. Log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed Restaurant credentials.
  2. Select Menu management > Items from the navigation menu.
  3. Click the arrow next to Import and click Import prices.

     

  4. Create the import file. See Formatting your import prices file for information on the imports file format.
  5. Click Browse to upload the CSV import file from your computer, then select Open.
  6. Click the Upload button. The Select columns tab will appear.
  7. (Optional) If some columns are not necessary for the import, turn them off or continue with the next step.
  8. Select the Map columns tab.
  9. Ensure the titles of your columns are correct and click Map columns with identical names.
  10. Select the Additional parameters tab. Turn the button on or off and click Continue.
      
      • Button on: The price changes won’t apply to the items. The import is only a test run.
      • Button off: The price changes will apply to the items.
  11. Click Continue.
  12. Click Confirm submission to finish the import.

  Formatting your import prices file

  You have two options for template creation:

  1. Click the arrow next to Export on the Items page and select Export prices to MS Excel to create a template. From this template, delete the Name column because you can’t import item names.
  2. Use the table below as a template.
     • The import file must be a CSV or XLS formatted spreadsheet.
     • The first row must contain the following headers: SKU, Account profile, and Price.
     • The import file is limited to 10,000 rows total. If you have more than 9,999 prices to import, create separate imports.

  Import template

  SKU	Account profile	Price
  Mandatory	Mandatory  Find your account profiles in Configuration > Settings > Account profiles. See About account profiles for details.	Mandatory

  Exporting items

  Export items into a CSV or XLS file to print and save your data beyond the Back Office. Choose between the following export formats:

  • Export: Export all items, including combo information into a CSV file.
  • Export MS Excel: Exports all items, including combo information.
  • Export selection to MS Excel: Exports filtered items.
  • Export prices to MS Excel: Only exports the item’s SKU, name, account profile, and price.

  To export items: 

  1. Log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed credentials.
  2. From the navigation menu, select Menu management > Items.
  3. Click the Export button at the top of the Items page to export the items’ data into a CSV file.

     

  4. Choose Mac (Apple), PC (Windows), or Manual configuration (customized export).
                   or
  5. Select the arrow next to the Export button to choose a specific format for export.
  6. Only for MS Excel: Select Click here to download the exported file in the Success message box.

What's next?

Attachments

• Quick Import Template.xlsx100 KB
• Schnellimportvorlage.xlsx100 KB
• Modèle Importation rapide.xlsx100 KB