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How do I import price/item catalogs from Excel?
How do I import price/item catalogs from Excel?

This guide will explain how to import your own price/item catalog from excel.

Matt Govett avatar
Written by Matt Govett
Updated over a week ago

Buildxact supports the loading of price/item catalogs into the system via Excel. This article covers the steps to load this successfully. Most commonly, users will load pricing from their suppliers and contractors/trades, but ultimately any pricing in Excel format can be loaded.


Why load your prices in Buildxact?

When you are producing an estimate, variation/change order or purchase order you have the option to search for price items to use (#1 below). The items that show up when you search are coming from the Catalogs area of Buildxact (#2 below), so ultimately the more pricing you have loaded the more items you'll have at your fingertips.


What format does my catalog have to be in when I load it?

We support .csv, .tsv, .xls, .xlsx, .xml spreadsheets. Generally speaking, standard Excel spreadsheets are either .xls or .xlsx.
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​Note: we do not support PDFs being loaded. If your only option is a PDF, we'd suggest a free convertor such as the one below.


What does the layout of the Excel file have to look like?

Incorrect layout is the single most common reason that a price upload will fail. Buildxact requires a simple format where we have one column per type of information with no formulas or images. Below is an example of a standard catalog in the correct format.

To make this easier we've created a template which covers everything you can load and further information about the types of information. We do occasionally get users sending this to their suppliers as a guide for them on the format of catalog they need.

General tips on formatting

  • Make sure row 1 is the designated headings, supplier code etc. (see the image and template above)

  • Remove all formulas

  • Remove all photos

  • Remove all merged cells

  • The max length for:

    • Descriptions is 250 characters

    • Categories or Sub-Categories is 100 characters

  • The supplier code column can't contain duplicates. We have an article on removing duplicates if you need (see below).

  • Unit costs should be TAX exclusive. Your TAX will be added at the time of using these items in Buildxact


How to upload the file

This video covers the process of uploading price catalogs in Excel format.

If you continue to have issues loading your price catalog please get in touch with our support team.


The Buildxact price Catalog

If you need an example of a price/item catalog or want to grab our standard Buildxact sample catalog and change it to make it your own, you can download the appropriate file below.


Catalog Updates

Down the track when it comes time to update your catalog, this article will help.
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