Welcome to the Fit Small Business Xero
training course. In this lesson we're
going to cover how to input products and
services into Xero. To follow along with
me, log in to your Xero account now, or
click the link below this video for a
free 30-day trial of Xero. You can also
click this link to access our full Xero
course and other helpful resources.
Let's get started. In order to import your
existing products and services into Xero,
you should export this information from
your old accounting software program to
a CSV or Excel spreadsheet. It will make
it much easier to copy the information
into the products and services template
we will download from Xero next.
If your current accounting software program does
not allow you to download your existing
products and services list into a CSV or
Excel format, then you will need to
manually enter this information into the
Xero import template. Once you have the
list you are ready to import the data
into Xero. From the accounts menu we want
to go ahead and go down to inventory.
And on the right here we want to click
import and select items. On this screen
in this first step here download your
items template file, we've got a link to
an excel template that we need to
download to our computer. So go ahead and
click on a download template link here
to download this to your computer and be
sure to name it and save it.
An Excel spreadsheet similar to this one should
have downloaded to your computer. As you
will notice there are a total of 12
columns. The only required column is this
first column: Item Code. However, we
recommend that you complete as much
information as possible in the template
so that you don't have to manually enter
it later on. One other thing that I'd
like for you to note is columns 3,
4, 5 and 6 are related to items
that you purchase. So for example if you
plan to send purchase orders and you
want to save items that you order
frequently, then you want to go ahead
and complete these columns. Column 7
8, 9 and 10 are only for items
that you sell. The information that is
entered into these columns will appear
on quotes, invoices, and credit notes that
you send to customers. So let's go ahead
and talk about the Item Code field. This
is the only required field as I
mentioned. If you have a UPC or an SKU then
you should enter that information here
as your item code. A combination of
numbers and letters can be entered in
this field up to a maximum of 30
characters. Item codes help you to
organize and quickly locate items to
complete forms like invoices and
purchase orders. The Item Name field
includes a brief description of the item.
This is the internal description field
for the item and not the one that your
customers and suppliers will see.
Purchase Description includes the
description that you want your suppliers
to see on purchase orders. If you don't
use purchase orders, you can leave this
field blank. Purchases Unit Price
includes the agreed-upon cost of the
item in this field. This will pre-fill on
purchase orders that you create and send
to suppliers. You can always edit the
unit price when you create the purchase
order if you need to.
Purchases Account: if you are setting up an item
that you keep track of quantities and cost for,
also known as a tracked item, then leave
this field blank. Xero will use the code
in the Cost of Goods Sold column to keep
track of purchases. However, if you are
setting up an item that you do not track
quantity and cost for, known as an
untracked item, then enter the account
code in this field that you use for
purchases. To learn more about tracked
and untracked items click this link.
Please note that you need to be sure to
enter the account code and not the
account description in this account
field. For example if your purchases
account is
5-0-5-0, you don't want to enter
purchases in this field but instead you
would enter 5050. So just
the code. If you enter anything other
than the code in this field,
this information will not import into Xero.
Purchases Tax Rate: if applicable,
assign the appropriate tax rate to each
item. In the How to Set Up Tax Rates
lesson, we discussed how to manage sales
tax rates. Click this link to access this lesson.
Sales Description: include the
description that you want customers to
see on their invoices in this column.
Be as descriptive as possible so that your
customer knows exactly what you are
invoicing them for.
Sales Unit Price: include the price that you charge your
customers for the item. This will appear
on customer invoices and receipts.
If pricing varies by customer, you can leave
this field blank and complete it when
you create the invoices, quotes, and
receipts to your customers.
Sales Account: enter the chart of accounts code that
you use to track sales of the item.
In the How to Set Up a Chart of Accounts
lesson, we covered how to add accounts.
Click this link to access this lesson.
Similar to the Purchases Account, you
want to make sure that you're just
entering the code for the account as we
have done here. Sales Tax Rate: enter the
sales tax rate for each item in this
field. If the item is not taxable, be sure
to select the tax exempt option. In the
How to Set Up Sales Tax lesson, we
discussed how to set up and track sales tax.
Click this link to access this lesson.
Inventory Asset Account: if you
are setting up an untracked item, you can
leave this field blank. However, if you
are setting up a tracked item then enter
the account code that you use to track
inventory. If you are using the default
chart of accounts in Xero, then the
inventory asset account is automatically
included on your chart of accounts.
However, if you imported an
existing chart of accounts from another
accounting software, over the default
charge of accounts in Xero, then you will
need to add an inventory asset account
before you can import this template.
In the How to Set Up a Chart of Accounts
lesson, we walk through the steps on how
to add an account. You can click this
link to access this lesson.
Cost of Goods Sold Account: if you are setting up an
untracked item, you can leave this column
blank. However, if you are setting up a
tracked item, enter the account code that
you use to track cost of goods sold.
If you are using the default chart of
accounts in Xero then the cost of goods
sold account is automatically included
on your chart of accounts. On the other
hand, if you imported an existing chart
of accounts from another accounting
software over the default chart of
accounts in Xero, then you will need to
add a cost of goods sold account in Xero
before you can import this template.
Head over to our How to Setup a Chart of
Accounts in Xero lesson to add the
necessary account, and then come back to
complete this template. Click here to
access this lesson. Be sure that you
enter the account code in this field and
not the account description as we have
discussed for the sales account and the
purchases account columns. If you enter
anything other than the code, this
information will not import into Xero.
Once you have completed the items
template, save it in a CSV format.
Before we start the import, some tips on
formatting your import file.
Tip Number One: do not make any changes or delete
the header row. So make sure that your
template always includes this row here.
Which is your header row.
Tip Number Two: do not change the order of the columns.
Tip Number Three: the Item Code field,
this very first column, is required.
You cannot leave this field blank for any
item or the import will not work.
Tip Number Four: you can import up to a
thousand items at one time. If you have
more than a thousand items, you can put
them on a separate template and import
the remaining items or enter them
individually.
Tip Number Five: be sure to enter the
account code only and not the
description as we discussed for the
Purchases Account field, the Sales
Account field, Inventory Asset Account
column and the Cost of Goods Sold column.
I cannot say that or stress that enough.
Now let's return to the import screen so
we can import our data. Let's go ahead
and navigate over to accounts and
inventory, and let's click the import
button and select items. so if you scroll
down let's go ahead and click on browse
and locate our file. Once you have
located your file and selected it you
should see the file name to the right
here of the Browse button. And once you
have that file you can go ahead and
click Continue. In this next screen, Xero
will provide you with a summary of the
total number of items that will be
created or updated. If there are any
errors with your file, you will also be
notified what those errors are and
specifically what needs to be fixed in
this screen as well. This is your final
opportunity to review the number of
inventory items that will be created or
updated in Xero for the import. If you
are happy with what you see here and you
are ready to proceed with the import,
go ahead and click Complete Import.
If for some reason there are errors or your
spreadsheet does not agree with the
number of accounts that you see here,
then you want to go ahead and click the back
button. So we'll go ahead and click
Complete Import.
And now our inventory items have been
imported into Xero. That wraps up the
lesson on How to Import Products and
Services into Xero. To access our full
Xero course or any of the other lessons
in this series, click this link. You can
also find a link below this video for a
free 30-day trial of Xero.
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