Whether you’re adding new items, updating supplier data, or syncing in materials from other sources, bulk uploading is a quick way to keep your catalog fresh and up to date.
Video Tutorial:
🔄 When Should You Use Bulk Upload?
As an existing user, your materials may already be synced from a field service management (FSM) platform like:
Housecall Pro
Jobber
ServiceTitan
FieldEdge
Service Fusion
Quickbooks Online
But sometimes, you might want to:
Upload a list from a new supplier
Import materials not tracked in your FSM
Add missing fields like tags, categories, brands, UPCs, or images
That’s when bulk uploading comes in handy.
📍 Where to Access Bulk Upload
Catalog > Import from CSV
Open your Catalog
Click the three dots (⋯)
Select “Bulk Upload/Update”
📁 Step 1: Prepare Your File
We recommend using our Bulk Upload Template - it ensures your data matches Ply’s fields and avoids upload errors.
You can download the template directly in the upload module.
✅ File types supported: .csv, .xlsx, .xls
Fill it in with your materials data:
Name
Item number
Description
Brand
Manufacturer
Tags
Category
UPC
Photo URL (optional, make sure it’s a public link)
✅ Pro tip: You can paste info from a supplier file or export from another platform. Just follow the template structure.
If your file has multiple sheets (tabs), make sure you select the correct one during the upload.
🧩 Step 2: Map Your Columns
Ply will automatically try to match your columns to its internal fields (e.g., name, item number, brand, supplier, etc.).
Required fields must be mapped
Optional fields can be skipped
Use the dropdowns to adjust mappings manually
If you’re not using the template, you might see more mapping suggestions or alerts
Click Next Step when all columns are mapped correctly.
🛠️ Step 3: Fix Errors (If Any)
Ply will flag any issues in your file:
🔴 Dark red: Missing required fields
🔴 Light red: Optional fields left blank
⚠️ Hover on icons to see what’s wrong
📝 Use the pencil icon to edit all rows at once (e.g., apply a brand or category to all items)
One common error is adding new materials with the same name or item number.
Example:
To fix this, simply update the material name or item number to make them unique, or select the material you want to remove from the import if needed.
Other helpful tools:
Search bar to find specific items
Show Modifications toggle to track what’s changed
Delete row if you don’t want to import a specific item
When everything looks good, click Next.
🔁 Step 4: Handle Duplicates
If Ply detects duplicates (same name or item number), it will flag them for you.
🔄 Note: Ply does not merge duplicates automatically.
If, while importing new materials into your Catalog, your file contains materials with the same names or item numbers as materials that already exist in your Catalog, you’ll see this error:
'Some materials with the same names or item numbers already exist in the catalog. Please review them and make any necessary edits or deletions.'
Example:
To fix this, simply update the material name and item number to make them unique:
Or select the material you want to remove from the import if needed.
🗂️ Step 5: Assign to a Location (Optional)
You can assign materials to a specific warehouse or truck location here.
You can’t create new locations during this step - if needed, add the location first, then re-run the upload. If you skip this step, the materials will still be added to your catalog and can be assigned later.
Click Confirm Import to finish.
✅ Step 6: Review the Import
Ply will process the file and show you real-time progress:
Detecting duplicates
Processing images
Uploading materials
⏱️ Files with up to 7,500 items usually import in under a minute.
Once complete, head back to your Catalog to review the newly added materials, all mapped, categorized, and ready to go.
Common Issue During Upload
Supplier UPC Issue → Read Common Error: Supplier Without UPC During Bulk Upload
Duplicates Issue with Bulk Upload → Read How to Resolve and Prevent Duplicates with Bulk Upload
Still need help? Contact Support!