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Bulk Product Upload

talech equipment help: Bulk Product Upload

Equipment Help (talech) FAQ

With the bulk product upload feature, you can add your new products or menu items all at once, instead of having to create products one by one.   

It takes three steps to upload your products to talech:  

  1.  Download the template from the Items > Products menu in talech.com.   
  2.  Complete the template with your product information. 
  3.  Upload your completed template as an .XLS file. 

That’s it! You will find details on how to complete these steps below.  

In this article

Upload new products in bulk

Download the template

  1. Login to talech.com. 
  2. Navigate to Items > Products.  
  3. In the top right, select the ellipsis > Upload New Products.  

Products dashboard with upload new products option highlighted from new product button. 

 

  1. From the Upload New Products pop-up, select an option:   
  • Upload products and services only: Add new products or services only via an Excel template. This is best used when adding new products/services to your existing menu.  
  • Upload all items: Add new products or services, categories, tags, suppliers and modifiers via an Excel template. This is best used when there is no existing menu and you want to upload an entire menu.  

Computer showing the upload screen 
 
  1. On the next pop-up, a 2-step process is outlined. In step 1 of 2, select Download Template. This downloads a copy of the template to your computer. Proceed to the next section Complete template.  

Computer showing the two step upload popup message 

 

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Complete template 

A few things to keep in mind when completing the template: 

  • Do not use formulas in the spreadsheet.   
  • Only use the spreadsheet to add new inventory items. 
  • Do not change the header or sheet names except wherever explicitly specified. 
  • All names are case sensitive (e.g., hat and Hat will be treated as different categories). 
  • The Full Menu template must be used to upload modifier lists and variations. 

Template key reference

The template includes various tabs, or sheets. Each tab captures a different part of your product list (e.g., products, variations, tax, etc.). 

Note: Not all columns or tabs are required to upload your products. Below, you will find the required and optional fields and a brief explanation of each column to help you fill out the template.

Products tab 

List each product that you want included in your menu/product list. 

Required fields  

Category 
  • Max character count: 40 characters 
  • Products are organized by category. For example, appetizers, desserts, clothes, would all be categories that would have multiple products within them. 
Note: A product can only belong to one category. 
Product Name 
Max character count: 100 characters 

Product name is how the product will show up in talech and on the customer’s receipt. 

Optional fields

Supplier 
You can add a supplier name if you plan to track inventory, issue purchase orders, or mark up prices by supplier.   
Note: You must create a new supplier in the supplier tab. 
Product Type 
Specify whether the product should be classified as a Regular, Bundle, or Assembly type of product.   
If this field is left blank, the default value of Regular will be used. 
Note: talech does not currently support the creation of bundles or assemblies via spreadsheet upload. Bundles and assemblies will need to be created via the app or website. 
Cost   
Your product cost, cost of goods sold (COGS).  
Markup 
The % above cost you want to price the product. If a supplier is associated with the product, it will use the supplier markup % if one exists.   
Leave the price field blank if markup is specified.   
Price  
The sales price of the product.   
Leave the price field blank if markup % is specified or if variable pricing is used. Variable pricing is when the price of a product is determined at checkout.   
Available Quantity 
Quantity in inventory at the time of upload. You can leave the quantity field blank if you are adding products that you don’t want to track or don’t require tracking such as services. 
Item # 
Internal stock keeping unit (SKU) used to help track inventory. This can also be used to search for products on the register. 
Barcode # 
Auto generated or manually created barcode that can be scanned at checkout. 
  • Talech can generate barcode numbers- 8 or 12 digits. 
  • Leave this field blank if you want talech to auto generate a barcode for the item. 
Item Card Color 
Products in your register will display in colored boxes. You can use card colors to help with categorization. 
  • Color options: Pink, Mint, Charcoal, Gray, Green, Orange, Purple, Red, Seafoam, Yellow, Brown. 
Product Short Name (Restaurant Only) 
Give your menu items a short name for kitchen printers or kitchen display systems (KDS). 
  • e.g., Chicken Sandwich can be shortened to “ch swch” to be printed on order tickets or displayed on KDS. 
Description 
Include a product description to provide employees with helpful details about a product.   
Note: The product description will not appear on customer receipts. 
Units 
Unit of measurement of weight or volume by which a product is sold. 
  • e.g., Choose oz if you sell frozen yogurt by the ounce. 
Note: Units should not be used to state the measurement unit of the item. 
  • e.g., If you sell a 750ml bottle of shampoo, do not put ml as the unit. When uploaded, it will try to sell the shampoo by ml instead of the unit price for one bottle.  
Visibility 
You can choose from Active, Hidden, or Hidden from Guest on each product or on a category. 
  • e.g., A seasonal menu you want to have in the system for winter, but don’t want available on the POS for servers' year-round. 
Inventory Alert (On/Off) (Premium Account Feature) 
If you would like to receive an alert when a product hits a specific quantity, enable inventory alerts by selection ON in the dropdown. Leave it blank if you don’t want alerts. 
Alert Threshold (Premium Account Feature) 
If you enable the Inventory Alert shown above, you need to set the threshold for when the alert is triggered. 
  • e.g., If you enter 10, that means you want to be notified when you have 10 or fewer of that item remaining. 
Reorder Amount (Premium Account Feature) 
Set the specific amount to be your default order quantity in the purchase order flow when you hit your threshold. 
  • e.g., Once you hit 10 in the threshold configure in above’s example, you can pre-set your reorder amount. You can always adjust and confirm quantities before you place your purchase order. 
Tag 
You can apply tags that have been created in the tags sheet in the file. If the tags are not already in the tags sheet, they will appear as an error. 
Sales Tax/VAT 
Your product will inherit the tax settings of the category. If you wish to override the tax settings, add the tax names as a comma separated list under the column "Tax". 
Variations  
Use this column if a product has variations 
  • e.g., A drink comes in different sizes- small, medium, large or a shirt comes in different colors- white, black, pink. 
If your product has variations, replace the column header name labelled Variation 1, with the actual variation name (e.g., size or color). Please create the variations with the options in the Variations tab. 

 

Category tab

Gives you different views of your inventory by category type. You can adjust tax settings by category, category position, or category tags. 

Required fields 

Category Name 
Products are organized by category. 
  • e.g., Trousers, Jeans, and Slacks can be categorized as Pants. 
Tags 
Include tags associated with this category. Use commas to separate tags. You can use tags to group categories. 
Category Position 
The position of the category in the talech Register. 
  • e.g., If you want the category, Pants, second on the register, enter 2. 
Visibility   
You can choose from Active, Hidden, or Hidden from Guest on each category or individual product. 
Sales Tax/VAT   
Select On or Off from the dropdown list. This setting will apply to all products within the category unless the product is set to override it. If you leave it blank, the tax will be off.   
Shipping Tax  
Select On or Off from the dropdown list. This setting will apply to all products within the category unless the product overrides it. If field is blank, the tax will be OFF  
Handling Tax  
Select On or Off from the dropdown list. This setting will apply to all products within the category unless the product overrides it. If field is blank, the tax will be OFF 

 

Tags tab  

You can use tags to group categories or create shortcuts to certain products. You can also use tags for reporting or discounts. 

  • For example, you can use tags if you want to break out your alcohol sales separate from your beverage sales. 
Tag Name  
The name of the tag. If using tags, create the list of tags here before associating with categories.  

 

Supplier tab 

Create a supplier or suppliers in this tab if you plan to assign products to suppliers, issue purchase orders, or mark up prices by supplier.   

Optional fields 

Supplier Name 
Name of the supplier, usually a business.   
  • e.g., ABC Supplies 
Email 
Email address of the supplier. This is used to send purchase orders within talech. 
Contact First Name 
First name of supplier contact. 
  • e.g., John 
Contact Last Name 
Last name of supplier contact 
  • e.g., Smith 
Phone, Fax, Address, City, State, Zip, Country 
Contact information for the supplier. 
Notes 
Optional field for keeping track of notes about the supplier. 
Markup 
The percentage markup that all products associated with this supplier will use. If specified, the product price will be the cost times the markup percentage.   

 

Modifiers tab 

Create product modifiers if your product can be modified. You can associate one or more modifiers with a product. Modifiers can be one of three types: add-on, exclusion, or variation. Each modifier can have one or more options, e.g., bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato.   

Note: If you are using variations, separate each variation option by row for each product. Each variation of a product can have its own barcode/item number and price, so each is treated as its own product line. 

Required fields 

Modifier Name 
The name of the modifier.   
  • e.g., Burger Toppings or Size  
Modifier Type   
Add on, Exclusion, or Variation.   
  • e.g., Add on: Lettuce, Tomato, Onion.   
  • e.g., Exclusion: No mayo, no bun, no pickles. Do not enter No for these options. When exclusions are selected in the Register, it will automatically add the No.   
  • e.g., Variation: Small, Medium, Large 

Optional fields 

Has Price 
  • Only applicable for Add On modifier type.   
  • Select On or Off from the dropdown list if your add-on modifier costs extra    
  • e.g., You can charge $2.50 extra for bacon, $15.00 extra for hemming, etc.   
Note: If there is an additional cost, you will need to complete the Modifier Pricing Tab- see chart below for more information. 
Tare Weight Unit 
Unit of measurement (weight or volume) of container or packaging in which product is sold. Select an option from the dropdown menu.   
  • e.g., Choose ounce if the container weight is measured in ounces, like a soup container.   
If a container or packing is not used, leave this blank. 
Min Options   
The minimum number of modifiers a user must select before adding the product to the order. This can be left blank if irrelevant.   
Max Options 
The maximum number of modifiers a user must select before adding the product to the order. This can be left blank if irrelevant.   
Option 1, Option 2, etc. 
The name(s) or the modifier option(s). Each modifier can have one or more options.   
  • e.g., Small, Medium, Large    

Each option should have its own individual cell in the spreadsheet. Add additional columns if there are more options associated with the modifier. 

 

Modifier Pricing tab 

(Only applicable for Add-On Modifier type)  

Complete this tab if an add-on modification to the product has an additional cost. For example, if a customer adds bacon, it costs $2.50.  

Required fields  

Modifier Name 
The name of the modifier.   
  • e.g., Burger Toppings or Size  
Option 
The name of the modifier option.   

  • e.g., Avocado   

Optional Fields 

Price 
The price for the modifier option.   
  • e.g., $2.00 for Avocado 
 
Tare Weight 
The weight of the container for that modifier option. Only applicable if the modifier has weight-based units and Tare Weight set to On.   

  • e.g., If you sell soup by the ounce and there are different weights for each container size, you will need to enter the weight of each size container. Small- 0.5, Medium, .75, Large 1.0.  

 

 

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Upload the template 

When you are finished filling in the applicable fields, make sure the file is saved as an .XLS file.  

  1. Navigate to Items > Products.  
  2. In the top right, select the ellipsis > Upload from Excel.  
  3. Select the upload option you selected earlier to download your Excel template.  
  • Upload products only 
  • Upload all items 
Note: Make sure you select the same option you used earlier to download the Excel template from. If you select a different option, the Excel template won’t upload correctly and the bulk upload of your menu will error.  
Computer showing the upload screen

 

  1. In Step 2 of 2, select the Upload Excel File button. Locate and select your updated Excel template.  
  2. Select Submit File.

Two step upload screen with excel file attached. 

 

  1. On the next screen, it will tell you if your file uploaded successfully or not.  
  • If the file upload was successful, your menu will be available on talech.com shortly.  
  • If the file upload was not successful, proceed to the next step.  
  1. If the file upload was not successful, select Download error template.  

Upload screen with error message. 

 

  1. Open the error template and review the errors.  
  • Cells shaded in red are errors that need to be resolved.  
  • In the last column the description of the error is listed for each row where an error is found.  

Screenshot of an excel template

Screenshot of an excel template
 
  1. Resolve each error and save the spreadsheet. Try re-uploading the file by following these steps again under Upload the template section above.  
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Edit existing products in bulk

To edit your existing products in bulk instead of one by one, follow these steps.

  1. Login to talech.com.
  2. Navigate to Items > Products.
  3. In the top right, select the ellipsis > Upload Product Edits.

 

Products dashboard showing upload product edits option from the new product button.

 

  1. A pop-up window appears with a 2-step process. Confirm the email address listed is correct for the file to be sent to and note the reminders about avoiding file upload errors. Then select Send Product List under the Step 1 of 2 section.
Note: If the email is incorrect, close this window and go to Settings > Business Information and update the Contact Email in the Contact Info section. Then come back to this step.

Upload product edits screen with send product list button highlighted.

 

  1. Check your email for the product list .xls. Download the .xls and update the products as needed. Refer to the section above called Complete template for guidance on what each of the sections/tabs of the .xls refer to and how to update.

 

Email with product bulk edit list attached.

 

  1. Once your updates are complete, return to talech.com and complete step 2 to upload your edited .xls file.
    1. Select Upload Excel File.
    2. Select Submit File.

 

Upload product edits screen with upload excel file button highlighted.

 

  1. After submitting, a notification appears telling you the file is being processed. Wait for an email that will either confirm the file upload was successful or failed.
  2. If successful, the email states the product update was completed successfully. You are done!

 

Email with product update successful message.

 

  1. If unsuccessful, the email states the product upload failed and provides the menu template with errors highlighted within.  
    1. Open the error template and review the errors.
    2. Cells shaded in red are errors that need to be resolved.
    3. In the last column the description of the error is listed for each row where an error is found.

 

Email with product update failed message.

 

  1. Once you’ve resolved the errors, re-upload the Excel file again and wait for your email confirmation.
  • If successful, you are done!
  • If unsuccessful, try resolving the errors in the attached spreadsheet again and re-upload. If issues persist, contact our support team via one of the methods listed in Contact Us - talech Support Options.
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Need more help?

  • talech training & device support: 1-888-995-1998
  • Paytura merchant support: 1-855-4-PAYTURA or contact Paytura

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