Before import, decide what counts as the same item
Two descriptions that look similar are not necessarily duplicates. Size, material, voltage, grade or packaging may change what a customer can use. Conversely, the same item bought from two suppliers does not automatically require two stock identities.
Make a decision rule that a second person can apply. For a fictional fitting, “12 mm brass elbow” and “brass elbow, 12 millimetres” may refer to one item, while the plastic version remains separate. Keep uncertain matches on an exception sheet instead of merging them because the text looks close. A mistaken merge can be harder to discover than an obvious duplicate.
Separate the columns by purpose
Use identity columns for your internal code, description and variant attributes. Use purchasing columns for supplier identifiers and purchase units. Use control columns for stocking units, active status and any traceability requirement. Keep changing quantities in a separate stock file and locations in a controlled location list.
inFlow's product documentation distinguishes stocked items and services. Its import documentation treats product details separately from stock levels. Those are useful reminders to keep labour charges and opening balances out of an undifferentiated item list. Check the current destination template before you map fields; a column with a familiar name may have a different meaning.
Clean with evidence, not aggressive find-and-replace
Preserve original exports unchanged and work on a copy. Add columns showing the original identifier, chosen destination identifier, decision and reviewer. Remove accidental surrounding spaces, but review changes that could alter meaningful punctuation or leading zeros. Treat identifiers as text in the working sheet.
Check for repeated internal codes, identical barcodes on different items, blank units and products whose descriptions disagree with their packaging. For each proposed merge, identify the surviving record and every source record that maps to it. Do not silently add quantities together until you know they describe the same physical stock and time.
Test the setup with a small import rehearsal
Choose a representative sample that includes a discontinued item, a service, a variant and an item with a supplier code different from your own. Inspect the destination records after import and compare them against the working file. Include an intentionally invalid row in a safe test context to understand the rejection report.
Approve the product master only when an operator can find the correct item without knowing its spreadsheet history. Record who may add new products and what checks they must complete. Keep the original-to-new mapping for later order and stock imports. The output is not merely a tidy CSV: it is a maintained identity register with clear exceptions. Do not use this generic preparation method as permission to upload confidential data into an unapproved trial or overwrite a live catalogue.
Sources used for this page
These records support the facts and comparisons above. Merchant-controlled records are labelled so you can separate product claims from independent evidence.
- inFlow product setup documentation — Merchant documentation · inflowinventory.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-24
- inFlow CSV import documentation — Merchant documentation · inflowinventory.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-24