> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.clinikehr.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Import and export your catalogue

> Bulk-load products from a spreadsheet and export your catalogue to Excel or CSV — and understand why neither one moves stock.

export const StillStuck = ({topic}) => <div className="ck-callout ck-callout--note" role="note">
    <p className="ck-callout__body">
      <strong>Still stuck{topic ? ` with ${topic}` : ''}?</strong>{' '}
      Check <a href="/platform/help/troubleshooting">Troubleshooting</a> first —
      it covers the failures we see most often. If that does not resolve it,{' '}
      <a href="/platform/help/contact-support">contact support</a> and include
      your workspace name and the time the problem happened, so we can find the
      matching entry in your audit log.
    </p>
  </div>;

export const TaskHeader = ({before, time, after}) => <div className="ck-task">
    {before ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Before you start</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{before}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {time ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Takes about</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{time}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {after ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">When you're done</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{after}</p>
      </div> : null}
  </div>;

export const Path = ({steps = []}) => <span className="ck-path">
    {steps.map((s, i) => <span key={i} className="ck-path__step">
        {i > 0 ? <span className="ck-path__sep" aria-hidden="true">
            ›
          </span> : null}
        {s}
      </span>)}
  </span>;

export const Availability = ({editions = ['all'], plans, roles, note}) => {
  const list = editions.includes('all') ? ['clinic', 'pharmacy', 'lims'] : editions;
  return <div className="ck-avail" role="note" aria-label="Feature availability">
      <span className="ck-avail__label">Available in</span>

      {list.map(e => <span key={e} className={`ck-pill ck-pill--${e}`}>
          {EDITION_LABELS[e] || e}
        </span>)}

      {plans ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Plan</span> : null}
      {plans ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--plan">{plans}</span> : null}

      {roles ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Who</span> : null}
      {roles ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--role">{roles}</span> : null}

      {note ? <span className="ck-avail__note">{note}</span> : null}
    </div>;
};

<Availability editions={['pharmacy']} plans="All plans, subject to your item quota" roles="Staff with inventory access" />

Import loads products into your catalogue from a spreadsheet. Export takes your catalogue back out as Excel or CSV. Both are on the **Inventory** toolbar.

<Path steps={['Sidebar', 'Inventory', 'Import']} />

<Path steps={['Sidebar', 'Inventory', 'Export']} />

<TaskHeader before="A spreadsheet of products, ideally started from the sample file" time="5 minutes for a few hundred rows" after="Your products in the catalogue, ready to receive stock into" />

## The two things people get wrong

Read these before you build a file. Almost every support question about import and export is one of them.

<Note>
  **Import creates catalogue rows only.** A row becomes a product, not a quantity on a shelf. Stock arrives afterwards, through **Receive** or **Opening stock** — see [Stock control](/pharmacy/inventory/index).

  **Export deliberately leaves on-hand quantities out.** A trip through a spreadsheet therefore cannot overwrite your live stock, no matter what somebody types in the file before re-importing it.
</Note>

Together those two rules mean one thing worth saying plainly: your stock levels live in ClinikEHR and nowhere else. A spreadsheet is a way to load a catalogue and a way to read one, never a way to set what you hold.

## Import your catalogue

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the importer">
    Select **Import** in the toolbar. The **Bulk-import items** sheet explains the contract up front: "Upload a CSV or Excel file… Each row creates one catalog item — stock is added afterwards through Receive".
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start from the template">
    Under **Start from the template**, select **Download sample CSV** — a toast confirms **"Sample template downloaded"**. Fill your products into that file rather than inventing your own column names; the headers are what the importer matches on.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Upload the file">
    Select **Click to upload or drag and drop**. `.csv`, `.xlsx` and `.xls` are accepted, up to 5 MB. The sheet reads **Reading spreadsheet…** while it parses, and **Replace file** if you need to swap it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review what it found">
    The sheet shows how the rows were read before anything is created. Fix problems in the spreadsheet and re-upload — that is faster than correcting products one at a time afterwards.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Import">
    Confirm the import. Every accepted row becomes a catalog entry.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  Import in batches by supplier or category rather than in one 3,000-row file. A batch that goes wrong is quick to identify and quick to redo.
</Tip>

## Export your catalogue

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the exporter">
    Select **Export** in the toolbar to open **Export inventory catalog**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the file format">
    **File format** offers **Excel (.xlsx)** — "Formatted workbook — opens natively in Excel." — and **CSV (.csv)** — "Plain text — universal, opens anywhere." Choose CSV if the file is going into another system, Excel if a person is going to read it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check the columns">
    **Columns included** lists exactly what the file will contain. On-hand quantities are not among them, by design.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Generate it">
    Start the export and save the file when it downloads.
  </Step>
</Steps>

An export of stock movements and valuations, rather than the catalogue, comes from **Reports** on the same toolbar. Sales figures live under [Sales analytics](/pharmacy/money/analytics).

## Check it worked

* **After an import:** the new products appear on the **Catalog** tab and are searchable at the till. Their on-hand quantity is zero until you receive stock — that is correct, not a failed import.
* **After an export:** the file opens, the row count matches your catalogue, and the columns match the **Columns included** list.

## If something goes wrong

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="'File exceeds the 5MB limit'">
    Split the file. A catalogue large enough to exceed 5 MB is nearly always several suppliers' lists in one workbook.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="'Could not read that file. Re-save it as .csv or .xlsx and try again.'">
    The file is not in a format the importer can parse — often a spreadsheet exported from another tool with an unusual encoding, or a file renamed to `.csv` without being converted. Open it in Excel or Sheets and save it again as `.csv` or `.xlsx`.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="'The file has no data rows below the header.'">
    The importer found a header row and nothing under it. Check you have not uploaded an empty template, and that the products start on the row directly below the headers with no blank separator row.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="'No valid rows to import'">
    Every row failed validation. Compare your headers against the sample CSV — a renamed or missing required column invalidates every row at once.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="'Re-select the file and try again'">
    The file was released before the import ran, usually after a long pause. Choose it again and import straight away.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The import stopped at my plan's item limit">
    Starter caps the number of catalogue items. The **Free plan** strip on the **Inventory** screen shows your usage; **Upgrade for unlimited** removes the cap. See [Change your plan](/platform/plans/change-plan).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="'No items to export'">
    Your catalogue is empty, or your filters have excluded everything. Clear the filters on the **Catalog** tab and try again.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I imported the same file twice">
    You will have duplicate catalogue entries, not doubled stock — import never touches quantities. Delete the duplicates on the **Catalog** tab.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<StillStuck topic="an import or export" />