Make the SKU a stable identifier.
A SKU should identify a sellable product consistently across your spreadsheet, ordering process, and accounting records. Avoid using a description as the only identifier; descriptions can change even when the product stays the same.
Check for duplicate SKUs and accidental whitespace. Treat a leading zero as meaningful when it belongs to the product code. Opening a CSV in a spreadsheet can change formatting, so review the values before importing.
Describe what the buyer actually orders.
The catalog needs enough information for a customer to recognize the intended item. For welding wire, that might include classification, diameter, material, and spool weight. For a packaged item, include the pack size and unit.
Keep the same terminology across similar products. A buyer comparing two items should not have to decide whether different words represent a real product difference.
Make quantity and price mean the same thing.
A price per case cannot be interpreted safely if the product description implies individual pieces. Decide what one ordered unit means and describe it consistently.
Check decimal formatting, currency context, and blank prices in the source file. Keep your original spreadsheet unchanged as a reference while preparing the import copy.
Separate product data from buyer assignments.
The supplier catalog is the broad list; the buyer assortment is the subset a customer should see. Plan the assignments instead of assuming every buyer should access every product.
List account-specific rates separately enough that your team can review them. If you use quantity-based pricing, write down the intended thresholds and the unit they measure.
Test a small import before loading everything.
Choose a representative group: a regular product, a variant with a similar name, an item with a custom price, and an item with restricted visibility. Import it and inspect what a pilot buyer sees.
Verify descriptions, SKU values, prices, and quantities. If QuickBooks is part of the workflow, include the item mapping in your check. Expand only after the small set behaves as expected.
Choose a representative order and a small catalog sample. We’ll use them to discuss your buyer experience, pricing, and order review.