threadcount-community/docs/manual/reference/csv-templates.md

title, section, order, summary, screen, role, keywords

title	section	order	summary	screen	role	keywords
CSV templates	reference	1	The six import files, the columns each one reads, how a row is matched to a record, and what every importer message means.	Settings › Data & audit log	Admin	csv, import, template, spreadsheet, columns, headers, upload, catalogue, staff register, departments, barcodes, reorder levels, opening balances, bulk load

Load order and the basics

Under Settings › Data › Import from CSV, an Admin picks a file kind, presses Download template for threadcount-<kind>-template.csv (header row plus one example row), fills it in, saves it as CSV and presses Import CSV.

Load in this order, because later files look up what earlier ones created:

1. Departments & cost centres (depts)
2. Catalogue (catalog)
3. Staff register (staff)
4. Supplier barcodes (barcodes)
5. Opening balances (opening)
6. Reorder levels (reorder)

For every file:

• Headers are matched ignoring case, spaces and punctuation, so Staff no. reads as staffno. Unknown columns are ignored.
• Cells are trimmed and cut at 400 characters. Blank lines are skipped.
• The apostrophe ThreadCount's exports put before =, +, -, @ or a space is removed, so an exported file imports back unchanged.
• On a re-import a blank cell keeps what the record holds. An import cannot clear a field.

Departments and catalogue

Departments & cost centres. Matched by exact name. The row order becomes the list's order.

Column	Required	Rule	Example
dept	Yes	Also department, name, ward.	Harbour Ward
cc	No	Also costcentre, costcenter, code. Blank keeps the existing one.	RGH-4010

Catalogue. Updates the garment with the same item and gender, and the same sku when given; otherwise creates one.

Column	Required	Rule	Example
item	Yes	Also name, itemname, garment.	Scrub Top
gender	No	Starts m: men's. Starts f or w: women's. Anything else or blank: Unisex.	Women's
sku	No	Also code, productcode.	NW-ST-220
supplier	No	Also vendor. A new name is added to the supplier directory; a known one, in any case, takes the directory's spelling.	Northline Workwear
cost	No	Also unitcost, price. Non-digits dropped. Blank or 0 keeps the existing cost.	31.50
group	No	Also staffgroup. Several separated by a pipe; All is every group. Blank: All when new, unchanged on update.	Midwife
sizes	New garments	Also size. Separated by a pipe, ,, ; or /. An update adds new sizes and removes none.	S/M/L/XL
notes	No	Also note.	Navy
type	No	Not in the template. Also producttype, garmenttype. Decides top, trousers or neither.	Scrub top

Staff register

Updates the person with the same staff number, or creates one. Managers are linked after every row is written, so a manager can sit anywhere in the file. A row without a staff number or first name is skipped.

Column	Required	Rule	Example
num	Yes	Also staffnumber, staffno, number, payroll, payrollnumber, id.	00400127
first	Yes	Also firstname, given. A name or fullname column is split at the first space if first and last are blank.	Amira
last	No	Also lastname, surname, family.	Hassan
phone	No	Also mobile, contact.	0400 000 000
group	No	Also staffgroup, classification. Not checked against Settings › Issuing rules.	Registered Nurse
dept	No	Also department, ward, wardunit.	Harbour Ward
cc	No	Also costcentre, costcenter, departmentcostcentre. With dept, creates a missing department. Never changes an existing one.	RGH-4010
manager	No	Also managernum, managernumber, approver, reportsto. A staff number, not a name.	00400019
fte	No	Also combinedfte, totalcombinedfte, totalfte, employmentfraction, fraction. Above 0, or Casual.	0.8
style	No	Also uniformstyle, uniform, cut, gender. m, male, men's: Men's. f, w, female, women's, ladies: Women's. either, both, any, all, unisex: Either.	Women's
top	No	Also topsize, shirt, shirtsize.	M
pants	No	Also pantsize, pant, trouser.	12
ccoverride	No	Also costcentreoverride.	RGH-4090
ent	No	Also entitlement, annualentitlement. Whole number for the yearly report; limits nothing.	10
start	No	Also startdate, commenced. YYYY-MM-DD, or day first as 11/03/2024.	2026-02-02
notes	No	Also note.	Night shift

The People export uses headers that read back onto these columns. See the staff register and managers.

Barcodes, opening balances, reorder levels

Each row must match exactly one garment on whichever of sku (also code, productcode), item (also name, itemname, garment) and gender it fills in, then a size spelt as on the garment. Blank gender matches any. A header named code is read as the SKU.

File	Column	Rule	Example
Supplier barcodes	barcode	Also ean, code128, scan. Blank skips the row.	9300000000017
Opening balances	opening	Also qty, quantity, onhand, count. Overwrites; blank leaves the size alone.	14
Opening balances	reorder	Optional. Also reorderat, reorderlevel. Not a number: sets 0.	4
Reorder levels	reorder	Also reorderat, reorderlevel, level. Overwrites; not a whole number skips the row.	4

Negative figures are stored as 0. Every row these files write counts as created. See barcodes and reorder levels.

Messages and what to do

The result reads like Catalogue: 12 created, 3 updated, 1 skipped., then up to 40 row messages. Row 1 is the first row under the header, blank lines not counted; the two whole-file refusals give the file's line number.

Message	Meaning	Fix
Line N: a quote is opened and never closed…	Nothing imported.	Fix the quote.
Lines N: the wrong number of columns…	Nothing imported; usually a stray ".	Fix those lines.
No rows found — check the header row.	Nothing under the header.	Save the right sheet.
Row N: X has no sizes	New garment skipped.	Add sizes.
Row N: start date “X” isn't a date…	Stored blank.	Write YYYY-MM-DD.
Row N: FTE “X” isn't a fraction…	Stored blank.	Write 0.75 or Casual.
Row N: uniform style “X” isn't…	Stored blank.	Use Men's, Women's or Either.
Row N: no staff member with number X to be the manager	Not linked.	Add or fix the manager's row.
The register is full for this plan — 60 staff records…	Said once; further new people skipped, updates applied.	See plan and billing.
Row N: no catalogue items match… or several…	Skipped.	Fill in item or gender.
Row N: size X not on Y	Skipped.	Match the size's spelling.
Row N: opening “X” isn't a number…	Size left alone.	Write a whole number.
X is already on Y · size Z…	Code bound to another size, as a one-code-per-style list does.	One code per size.
X is the generated code for Y…	Refused.	Use the printed label's code.

Limits

• 20,000 rows a file: Import at most 20,000 rows at a time.
• 20 imports and backup restores together per person in 10 minutes: Too many imports — wait a few minutes.
• Over 60 MB: Request too large.
• An Issuer gets Admin only. A read-only facility gets the read-only message pointing to Settings › Plan.
• Hosted Small holds 60 staff records (PRICES.freeStaff). Other plans and the Community edition have no ceiling.