Bulk Uploads are used for mass inventory updates, changes, or additions via a Google Sheets spreadsheet. It is helpful for initially setting up a large inventory or making large-scale changes to existing inventory.

The option to generate a bulk upload is found under the "Actions" button on the Inventory, Invoicing (under the Customer tab), Vendors, or Purchase Orders pages.

In addition, check out our articles that outline the different bulk uploads, and troubleshooting.

Protected columns are in grey to indicate that you cannot edit the field directly. Make any edits in the corresponding "New" column as shown here:

Any information added to the "New" column will replace the existing information. You will not see the "New" column when bulk-creating products, vendors, customers, etc, but those changes are coming soon. If a column is left blank, nothing will happen to that product and it will not be updated.

To Paste from another spreadsheet, use Ctrl+Shift+V (or Cmd+Shift+V on Mac) to avoid removing data validation columns and potentially causing errors. By pasting this way, it will remove the possibility of bringing over any unnecessary formatting from another spreadsheet.

On bulk uploads where you are making edits, there are new instructions on how to delete information. To clear, delete or remove information, enter %REMOVE% into the corresponding "New" column, to remove its contents upon upload. This is also noted at the top of spreadsheets when applicable.

Depending on which columns (or rows) you are working on, it can be helpful to have the column/row heading available to you, no matter how far down on the spreadsheet your product is.

To keep scrolling down to a minimum, you can freeze columns and rows on your Google Sheets by selecting the column or row you want to freeze and clicking View > Freeze on the toolbar (as shown above).

Here are more specifics from Google directly.

Keyboard shortcuts like Control+F (or Command+F) allow you to search for a word or phrase in the spreadsheet quickly. That means, if you're only looking to make edits to the products with "Muffin" in the product title, you can quickly and easily pinpoint them, make your edits, and import them!

Select your spreadsheet (see above) and Thrive Inventory will automatically generate a Google Sheets spreadsheet for you to edit. You may copy/paste from an external spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel, Numbers, or LibreOffice into editable cells.

Once you have made your changes, you can submit the spreadsheet to upload it into Thrive Inventory.

On the new Thrive navigation, under the Bulk Uploads section, you can recall active spreadsheets (from 2/10/2023, when the feature was released, moving forward) that have not yet been successfully submitted.

Recall the spreadsheet and make additional edits or additions by clicking the pencil icon shown below:

Every spreadsheet generated from that point moving forward will be on the Bulk Upload page, complete with details, like who it was started by, the date started, the date submitted, and its current status. Sort the Bulk Uploads page by Date Started, Date Submitted, or Status.

A spreadsheet becomes "Completed" when it's been successfully imported. Once it's "Completed," it will not be editable and cannot be undone.

For a rundown of what you can do in each bulk upload spreadsheet, click here. Or, if you run into any issues while submitting your spreadsheet, read our article on bulk upload troubleshooting.