This article is meant for troubleshooting issues that arise during the Bulk Upload process. If you would like an overview of bulk uploads, click the button below:
Spreadsheet software can be a little tricky. Even with the power of Google Sheets there are certain assumptions made when certain values are entered into a spreadsheet.
Below are the most common issues you might run into:
Cannot Edit Protected Cells
To protect the integrity of the spreadsheet, certain columns cannot be edited. Protected columns are in grey to indicate that you cannot edit the field directly on the Edit Products, Edit Variants, Edit Variants Default Price, and Edit Vendors spreadsheets. If you are using a different spreadsheet and want to see the protected ranges, click View > Protected Ranges as shown here:
NOTE: You will need to click into the spreadsheet in order to see the option to view protected ranges.
Information that isn't intended to be changed on a given type of bulk upload will show up on the spreadsheet, but you will not be able to edit it. For instance, if you've generated an "Edit Variants" spreadsheet, you cannot edit Product-level characteristics (like Product Name and Categories).
You may not be able to edit Variant Names. This would happen if variants were generated in Thrive Inventory by Shopventory with multiple attributes/options (e.g. Size, Color, Style, Flavor, etc.)
Leading zeros are stripped from numbers
Problem: 001234 becomes 1234
Cause: All spreadsheet apps (including Google Sheets) treat numbers as values to be calculated by default.
Fix: Just add a single quote (apostrophe) at the start of the number. That indicates to Google that this is to be treated as text instead of as a number value. So 001234 becomes '001234.
Large numbers (i.e. SKU and Barcode numbers) are converted to scientific notation
Problem: 10000000000 becomes 1E+10
Cause: This is also the result of spreadsheet apps (including Google Sheets) treating numbers as values to be calculated by default.
Fix: Same as above, simply add a single quote (apostrophe) at the start of the number. That indicates to Google that this is to be treated as text instead of as a number value. So 10000000000 becomes '10000000000.
Not seeing the bulk upload option
Bulk Uploads Spreadsheets are available on the Standard plan and above. If you don't see the Bulk Upload option, you may need to check your plan in the Billing settings in your Thrive Inventory account.
Here is our Plans and Pricing page to make sure you're on the right plan!
Generating Variant Attributes From the Spreadsheet
Currently, Thrive Inventory can only create attributes for products inside of Thrive. If your Variant uses attributes, it must be created in Thrive Inventory and not via a spreadsheet. Learn more
Editing 'Variant Name' for Attributes
Variant Names of attributes (created using the "Generate Variants" button or otherwise) cannot be edited on the Edit Variants spreadsheet.
Generating SKUs
SKUs cannot be generated inside the spreadsheet. You can have Thrive Inventory generate SKUs automatically after the products have been created though. Learn more
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