Import purchase orders
About importing purchase orders
With Square for Retail Plus and Premium, you can save time creating purchase orders by importing a CSV or Excel version of the purchase order via the Square Dashboard. By importing your purchase orders directly into the Square Dashboard, you can spend less time adding purchase order line items manually and more time running your business.
Before you begin
Prior to importing a purchase order, we recommend downloading Square for Retail Import Template. You can also download it from the Items section of your Square Dashboard.
While we recommend downloading Square’s import template to make the process easier, you can also use a template of your own choosing — as long as it’s a CSV or Excel file. If you’re using your own template, make sure to go through the column matching steps listed below.
Fill out the import template
Once you download the template, begin to fill out the information:
Vendor: If provided, must be the exact case sensitive name of one of your active vendors.
Ship to: If provided, must be the exact case sensitive name of one of your locations.
Expected on: A date formatted as dd/mm/yyyy.
Notes: Can include numbers, letters or symbols. Maximum 4000 characters.
Item name: Can include numbers, letters, or symbols. Maximum 128 characters.
Variation name: Can include numbers, letters, or symbols. Maximum 128 characters.
SKU or GTIN: Each variation should be assigned a unique SKU or GTIN.
Vendor code: Can include numbers, letters, or symbols. Maximum 500 characters.
Quantity: Numeric. This is the quantity associated with each item received in the purchase order. Fractional quantities are not supported at this time.
Unit cost: Numeric. This is the cost associated with units included in the purchase order.
Import purchase orders
After filling out the template, you’re ready to import the CSV or Excel file:
- From your online Square Dashboard, go to Items & orders > Items > Inventory Management > Purchase orders.
- Click Import.
- Drag and drop the file into the Import Purchase Order pop-up, or click select it from your computer to upload the template directly from your files. Click Next.
- Select the appropriate item identifier by choosing either the SKU, GTIN, or item name to easily identify duplicate items during the import process. It’s recommended to select either SKU or GTIN as the appropriate item identifier for ease of use.
- Click Next.
All item identifiers must match exactly one item or variation for the import process to be successful.
If you’re using your own template, you’ll need to go through the column matching process during the first portion of the import process. To do so:
- From your online Square Dashboard, go to Items & orders > Items > Inventory Management > Purchase orders.
- Click the Import button to begin the import process and upload your personalised template. Once uploaded, you’ll see the Match document columns screen.
- Use the drop down menus to confirm each Square purchase order attribute is matched to the correct column in your import file.
- Click Next to continue the import process.
The import process can take up to a minute, but usually only lasts a few seconds. Monitor any error messages that may appear during the import. Once the import is complete, the newly created purchase order will appear at the top of the purchase order list available in your Square Dashboard.
You can also import any existing purchase order drafts that are already associated with your account by exporting the draft. To do so, click (•••) next to the purchase order draft and select Save as CSV.