Home

Troubleshoot Order Guide

Who is this article for?
  • Account owners
  • Restaurants Plus and Restaurants Premium subscribers
  • Square Plus and Premium subscribers with advanced restaurants capabilities added. Add capabilities in Square Dashboard.
  • About troubleshooting Order Guide

    This article provides advanced troubleshooting for importing your Order Guide. Most errors can be resolved with the suggested troubleshooting steps below.

    Before you begin

    Review the following tips for a smoother import.

    • Always include both package quantity and package unit for every item.

    • Units must match exactly one of the supported formats (see list above).

    • When possible, use vendor portal exports from supported vendors (e.g. US Foods, Gordon Food Service, Sysco, Saladino’s, or Baldor) to minimize formatting issues.

    • If you need to start over, use Actions > Reset in the top-right corner of the Order Guide dashboard. This will clear all imported data and allow you to restart setup.

    • After fixing and re-uploading files, you can verify that imports were successful by checking that your vendor appears as Linked before clicking Generate Order Guide.

    Troubleshoot import errors

    The first step to getting your vendors’ data into Order Guide is to convert the files you regularly receive into Square’s standard CSV format for import.

    When uploading a vendor price sheet (PDF) or online portal export (CSV/XLSX), Square will generate a standardized CSV file from that data. After the file is generated, download and spot-check it for accuracy before importing it into Order Guide (under Import standard CSV). If the upload is successful, you’ll see a message that says CSV imported successfully. If not, you’ll receive a list of errors indicating which rows or fields need review.

    Fix import errors

    If you receive errors:

    1. Open the converted CSV file and review the rows identified in the error message.

    2. Errors are usually simple formatting issues that can be resolved by comparing the converted CSV to the original vendor file.

    3. Once you’ve made the corrections, save the file as a CSV and re-upload it.

    Common errors and solutions

    Click the dropdowns to review troubleshooting steps for common import errors. 

    Missing package quantities or units

    Cause of error: The vendor file does not include both package quantity and unit columns.

    To fix the error:

    1. Add values to every row in both columns. The package unit must match one of the supported formats exactly (e.g., “pounds,” not “lb” or “lbs”).
    2. Re-save and re-upload the file as a CSV.

    Incorrect column headers or extra columns

    Cause of error: The converted file was edited or re-saved with modified headers or extra data.

    To fix the error:

    1. Revert column names to match the Square standard CSV format.
    2. Remove any extra columns not in the standard format.
    3. Re-save and re-upload the file as a CSV.

    Inconsistent data formatting

    Cause of error: Cells contain special characters, merged cells, or inconsistent decimal formats.

    To fix the error:

    1. Remove special characters, unmerge all cells, and ensure numerical fields are formatted consistently.
    2. Re-save and re-upload the file as a CSV.

    File not saving as CSV

    Cause of error: File was re-saved in another format (e.g., numbers,.xlsx).

    To fix the error:

    1. Ensure the file is saved as a CSV before uploading again.
    2. Re-save and re-upload the file.

    Error message shows “invalid units” or “invalid quantity”

    Cause of error: Unit or quantity field doesn’t match Square’s accepted list.

    To fix the error:

    1. Cross-check with the Units for ingredients section above and correct accordingly.
    2. Re-save and re-upload the file as a CSV.

    Related articles