Importing items V2
There are several ways to add items to Robaws, and one of them is the import of an item list. You can also update existing items in bulk, for example to adjust prices. The item import is a little more complex than the import of other modules, because there are a great many options.
Navigate quickly to:
- How can I add items?
- Importing a simple item list
- Importing an item list with several tabs, referencing correctly
- Explanation of the columns per tab
How can I add items in Robaws?
If you want to add items to Robaws, you can do so by:
- importing the items from a webshop (advantage: the webshop can update the prices daily)
- importing the items from an item list in Excel (this is explained further below)
- entering the items manually in Robaws, one by one
Importing a simple item list (tab 'articles' only)
To import items into Robaws in a simple way, it is enough to fill in the columns you want on the 'articles' tab.
You then determine the cost price and the selling price yourself, and they are not linked to a supplier. If you do want to link a supplier with its price, you have to fill in 2 tabs.
How do I import a simple item list?
- First read the general information about data import in Robaws.
- Collect your items in an Excel file. You can sometimes get an item list from your supplier to work from.
- Complete this Excel yourself with, for example, your margin and selling price.
- Copy and paste this data into the Robaws import template, on the 'articles' tab.
- Import this Robaws template.
Importing an item list with several tabs
Depending on how you work in Robaws, you can fill in one or more additional tabs, which correspond to the various parts of the item card in Robaws.
The item import is always based on the 'articles' tab.
On every additional tab you want to import, you have to reference the 'articles' tab to indicate which item this extra information belongs to.
- fill in the 'articles' tab
- on the 'articles' tab, give all your items a unique number in the 'NR' column (without unique numbering you cannot import additional tabs!)
- fill in the additional item tabs you want
- reference the unique number from the 'articles' tab on these additional tabs. You do this in the column provided for it (see the table below).
Reference to tab 'articles'
The item import is always based on the 'articles' tab.
Tab | Fields in Robaws |
|---|---|
articles | general information on an item card (item details, cost price, selling price, description) |
In addition, you can complete extra information with the other tabs, depending on how you work:
Additional tab | Fields in Robaws | Reference in tab 'articles' | Reference in the additional tab |
|---|---|---|---|
articlesuppliers | item suppliers at the bottom of the item card | NR | ARTICLENR |
articlestocklocations | enter details per stock location for each item | NR | ARTICLENR |
articlesalesunits | the 'alternative sales units' part | NR | ARTICLENR |
articleadditionallines | the 'additional line items' part | NR | NR |
articlecomposites | the 'composed of' part | NR | NR |
articlemaintenanceschedules | lets you link the correct maintenance template to the item | NR | ARTICLENR |
articlestierprices | the 'price groups and tier prices' part | NR | ARTICLENR |
Explanation of the tabs
Items (tab 'articles')
Column title | Field in Robaws | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
UPDATE_BY | Field that is used for the update | see the explanation about updating items |
NAME | Item name | |
NR | Item number | number your items if you also want to import another tab |
UNITTYPE | Unit | Robaws looks for an exact match with an existing unit in Robaws. If there is none, a new unit is created |
SALEPRICE | Selling price | can only be imported if the selling price strategy is 'fixed price'. Enter a number without the € sign |
BARCODE | Barcode | |
MARGIN | Margin for the selling price | can only be imported if the selling price strategy is 'margin on...'. Enter a number without the % sign |
ARTICLETYPE | Type (not to be confused with the 'Item type' field) | must be an existing type from the item settings |
MINIMUMSALEAMOUNT | Minimum amount (= minimum sales quantity) | |
COSTPRICE | Cost price | can only be imported if the cost price strategy is 'fixed price'. Enter a number without the € sign |
STOCK | Stock (is adjusted on the default stock location) | |
DESCRIPTION | Extra description | |
BRAND | Brand | |
CALCULATIONTYPE | Cost type | choose from: ARTICLE (material), WORK (labor), SUBCONTRACTOR (subcontractor), MATERIAL (equipment), COST (indirect cost), COMPOSITE (composite) |
ARTICLEID | Id from the database, can be used for an update_by. You can find it in the Excel export | |
AGREEMENTTYPE | Type (SOG, FH, ... ) | must be an existing type from the general settings. This is only useful when importing items into posts. |
DEVIANTSALESNAME | Salesname | |
BTWTYPE | VAT tariff | must be an existing VAT tariff from the general settings |
ACCOUNTANCYCODE | Gl-account sales | Robaws looks for an exact match with an existing GL account in Robaws. If there is none, a new GL account is created |
ACTIVITY | Activity | Robaws looks for an exact match with an existing activity in Robaws. If there is none, a new activity is created |
ARTICLEGROUP | Item group | Robaws looks for an exact match with an existing item group in Robaws. If there is none, a new item group is created. Fill in an item group at the lowest level. |
NAMEENG | English sales name | |
NAMEFR | French sales name | |
DESCRIPTIONENG | English extra description | |
DESCRIPTIONFR | French extra description | |
COSTPRICESTRATEGY | Cost price strategy | choose from: PURCHASEPRICE (Purchase price preferred supplier), COMPOSITE (Cost price determined from the composite items), FIXED (Fixed price), LOWEST (Lowest purchase price), HIGHEST (Highest purchase price) |
SALEPRICESTRATEGY | Sell price strategy | choose from: MARGINPURCHASEPRICE (Margin on gross price preferred supplier), MARGINCOSTPRICE (Margin on cost price), FIXED (Fixed price) |
ACCOUNTANCYCODE_PURCHASE | Accountancycode purchase | Robaws looks for an exact match with an existing GL account in Robaws. If there is none, a new GL account is created |
TIME_OPERATION | Hour code | |
WAPPY | Wappy | choose from: Yes (ticked) No (unticked) or TRUE (ticked) FALSE (unticked). Please note, case-sensitive! |
STOCK_PLACE | Stockplace | |
INSTALLATION | Installations | |
STOCK_PLACE | Stockplace | |
PROJECT_SUPPLY_ROUTE | Project supply route | must be an existing one from the project settings |
LIBRARY_TYPE | Item type (not to be confused with the 'Type' field) | choose from: FIXED (Item), MATERIAL (Equipment), MATERIALINSTALLATION (Installation), MATERIALREGISTRATIONOPERATION (Hour code - material), EMPLOYEETIMEOPERATION (Hour code - employee) |
LINE_TYPE | Line type | |
INTERNAL_PHOTO | Internal photo | choose from: Yes (ticked) No (unticked) or TRUE (ticked) FALSE (unticked). Please note, case-sensitive! |
Item suppliers (tab 'articlesuppliers')
This tab only works in combination with the 'articles' tab.
- Number the items on the 'articles' tab (NR column)
- Reference the correct item by filling in the right number in the ARTICLENR column on the 'articlesuppliers' tab
Column title | Field in Robaws | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
UPDATE_BY | Column that is used for the update | see the explanation about updating items |
ARTICLENR | Reference to the 'articles' tab | must reference a number in the NR column on the 'articles' tab |
SUPPLIERNR | Id from the database, can be used for an update_by. You can find it in the Excel export | |
SUPPLIERNAME | Supplier name | must be an existing supplier in Robaws (exact spelling!) |
DATE | Date of the price change | if left empty, the date of the import is filled in |
PRICE | Net purchase price | mandatory |
GROSSPRICE | Gross purchase price | mandatory |
REFERENCE | Specific reference of the supplier | |
UNITTYPE | Purchase unit | |
WEBSHOP | Name of the supplier with an active webshop integration. | Please note: the name has to be entered in capitals! |
WEBSHOPREF | Reference of this item in the webshop | |
MINIMUMAMOUNT | Minimum purchase quantity | |
EXTRA_FIELD_1 | Extra field 1 created in the item settings | |
EXTRA_FIELD_2 | Extra field 2 created in the item settings | |
EXTRA_FIELD_3 | Extra field 3 created in the item settings | |
AMOUNT_PER_UNIT | Quantity in package |
Price groups and tier prices (tab 'articlestierprices')
This tab only works in combination with the 'articles' tab.
- Number the items on the 'articles' tab (NR column)
- Reference the correct item by filling in the right number in the ARTICLENR column on the 'articlestierprices' tab
Column title | Field in Robaws | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
UPDATE_BY | Column that is used for the update | see the explanation about updating items |
ARTICLENR | Reference to the 'articles' tab | must reference a number in the NR column on the 'articles' tab |
AMOUNT | Quantity for this tier price | |
PRICE | Tier price | |
PRICEGROUP | Price group | Robaws looks for an exact match with an existing price group in Robaws. If there is none, a new price group is created |
PERCENTAGE | Margin | enter the number without - or % |
DISCOUNT | Discount | enter the number without - or % |
Example: I want to import items with different prices for 3 price groups.
Composed of (tab 'articlecomposites')
This tab only works in combination with the 'articles' tab.
- Number the items on the 'articles' tab (NR column)
- Reference the correct item by filling in the right number in the NR column on the 'articlecomposites' tab
Column title | Field in Robaws | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
NR | Reference to the 'articles' tab | must reference a number in the NR column on the 'articles' tab |
AMOUNT | Quantity | |
UNITTYPE | Unit | |
COSTPRICE | Cost price | |
DESCRIPTION | Description | |
ARTICLENR | Item number of the underlying item | the underlying item must already exist in Robaws |
Example: I want to import 2 switch cabinets that are composed of 4 different items that already exist in Robaws. The cost price of my switch cabinets is determined by the cost price of the 4 items. To calculate the selling price I take a 20% margin on the cost price.
Updated on: 09/09/2026
Thank you!