Create Orders via CSV import

Looking to import your orders manually into the app? Read this article to learn how to do that using our CSV file importer.

In this article:

1. How do I import an order CSV file into Bigblue?
2. How do I create the perfect CSV import file 🚀?
3. Common errors to avoid 🆘
4. Can I use a CSV import to edit already existing orders?

1. How do I import an order CSV file into Bigblue?

• Access the Orders tab
• Hover over More actions button at the top right corner
• Select Import orders from CSV

• Download the template available in the import page

• Prepare your CSV file as explained in section 2
• Click within the indicated area to upload your import file or simply drag and drop it in there

• Once your file is uploaded, go through all the order pages that appear, one by one, to check for missing information or errors

  ⚠️ If there is any missing/flawed information, it will be highlighted in red.

2. How do I create the perfect CSV import file 🚀 ?

The details you provide for your orders affect their logistics, this why creating a perfect CSV import file is crucial! The more accurate and detailed the information you provide is, the better your orders will be handled. 

a) First things first

CSV stands for comma-separated values and is a file format (.csv) for spreadsheets. 

• The simplest way to create a CSV file is to use a Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets spreadsheet.

• Save your spreadsheet as a ".csv" file and make sure it's encoded in UTF-8.

  💡Read this guide for a step-by-step explanation of how to complete these two steps.

• If you have a CSV file from another store or source, make sure it matches the CSV file format explained below.

  💡If the format doesn't match, an import error message will guide you through the necessary steps to fix it.

b) Guidelines for creating your CSV import file

• The first row of your spreadsheet should include the headers, as specified in the Headers column below.

  💡See section 2c for an explanation about each header.

• The following rows of the file must contain the data corresponding to the headers for each order.

  ⚠️ There must be  one row per order!

• Each order data field needs to be properly formatted as per the specifications in the Order data format and Example columns below.
• Columns must follow the right order, as indicated in the Column number column below.
• If you are importing an order with multiple line items, only the LineItem data (columns 12 to 16) is changing. The other data fields must be identical between the different lines.

CSV fields format

c) Data fields explained

The definitions below aim to help you understand the meaning of the different order data fields:

• An order is a commercial transaction of specific products realized on a selling channel.
• The shipping address is the address the order's content is shipped to, namely the recipient's address.
• The shipping price is the price displayed on the delivery note and invoice representing the charges to ship the content of an order, without tax.
• The billing address is the address of the person that paid for the order. By default, the billing address is the same as the shipping address.
• A line item represents the invoice line for an order, namely:
  • a product
  • the product's number of units
  • the product's unit price
  • the product's unit tax for this line
  • the line item discounts
• The order external ID is the order external identification code. On top of this, Bigblue automatically generates an ID to identify the order in our system.
• Fulfillment refers to the process of preparing and shipping a customer’s order.
  • You can schedule the whole order for immediate fulfillment if both the fulfillment warehouse and carrier service code are provided for an order.
  • By default, a fulfillment is not held. Orders imported will be pushed to the warehouse 30 minutes after the import.
  • If you're looking for more fine-grained control over the fulfillment, it'll be available once you've created the order.

d) Carrier codes

☝️ Please note that carrier codes might differ slightly depending on the warehouse. Carrier codes for the warehouse you are using can be found in the Warehouse settings of the app (Logistics > Warehouse), under Shipping Zones, at the bottom of the page. 

3. Common errors to avoid 🆘

Before uploading your CSV into the app, make sure you have checked that:

• All your decimal separators are "." (dots) and not "," (commas)
• Make sure there are no discrepancies in the data among different line items of the same order
• Check that you've entered a fulfillment date for each order
• Postal code formats should respect national format standards
• All your Bigblue SKUs have the following format "XXXX-XXXXXX-XXXX", with the first 4 characters corresponding to your quadri

4. Can I use a CSV import to edit already existing orders?

• To avoid bulk mistakes, it is not possible to edit orders by importing a CSV that includes already existing orders.
• Modifications of already existing orders can be made manually in the Orders tab.