UPDATE_BY | general explanation

You can update existing data (items, customers, suppliers, employees, ...) in Robaws in several ways, for example to adjust item prices. Below we explain how you can do this with an update Excel.

Navigate quickly to:

• Changing existing data
• Updating through Excel
• Filling in the import template correctly
• Special attention for additional tabs

Worked examples:

• Adding a new supplier to an item
• Price update of an item supplier
• Adding price groups to an item
• Changes to a price group

Changing existing data

If you want to change existing items, suppliers, customers, ... in Robaws, you can:

1. do it manually, one by one - example: you want to assign a new supplier to one item
2. do it very easily in bulk (this is possible for some fields, not for all of them) - example: you want to adjust the item group for 50 items at once
3. do it through an update Excel, which is explained further below - example: you want to adjust the prices of all items of supplier X

Updating through Excel

To update existing data through an import Excel, you take the following steps:

1. Go to the module overview screen and filter on the data you want to update (e.g. filter on status, on item group, on brand, ...)
2. Export these items to Excel
3. Adjust this Excel with the changes you want (e.g. change prices, complete item groups, ...)
4. Delete the columns you are not changing to keep a better overview, but be sure to keep the 'ID' column!
5. Copy and paste this data into the Robaws import template and always fill in the UPDATE_BY column!
6. Import this Robaws template.

Filling in the template correctly

You find the Robaws import template in the settings > import > download template.
You can use it to import data into Robaws, but also to update your data. The UPDATE_BY column is there to make the distinction between the two.
Take a number of basic principles into account to import and update correctly.

Column 'UPDATE_BY'

If you want to update an item or a supplier, you must fill in the 'UPDATE_BY' column. In it you reference, for example, the item number, so that Robaws knows which item to update. This is always the first column (column A) on the tab.

Possible references

In the UPDATE_BY column you have to fill in a reference, which depends on the tab you want to update. So be sure to check per module which reference is possible for the tab you want to update. This can be a reference to the item number, the supplier name, ...

Referencing correctly

• Look up the correct reference
• Fill it in in the UPDATE_BY column
• Make sure that the reference is also filled in as a column!

Example: I want to update the cost prices of my items. On the 'articles' tab I will update on the basis of the item ID. I fill in the reference 'ARTICLEID' on all lines of the 'UPDATE_BY' column, and I also add the 'ARTICLEID' column with the right value.
That way Robaws knows that the cost price on line 2 belongs to item 159.

Special attention for additional tabs

For some modules (e.g. items) several tabs are available in the import template.
If you want to update these tabs, you have to both make the link to the main tab (e.g. the link from articlesuppliers to articles) and fill in a reference for the UPDATE_BY. This can quickly become quite complex. We therefore list a number of common cases below.

Tab 'article suppliers' (adding or updating item suppliers)

Adding a new item supplier to an existing item:

1. on the 'articles' tab, fill in which existing items are involved: fill in the NR column (item number) or the ARTICLEID column (technical id of the item)
2. fill in the same values on the 'articlesupplier' tab, through the ARTICLENR column or the ARTICLE_ID column
3. fill in the other data on the 'articlesupplier' tab

If the id is filled in, the link is made on that; after that on the item number. If neither column is filled in, the item supplier cannot be linked to an item.

Example: I have a new supplier for 3 existing items, and for one item I even have 2 new suppliers.

Updating the data of an existing item supplier:

1. on the 'articles' tab, fill in which existing items are involved: fill in the NR column (item number) or the ARTICLEID column (technical id of the item)
2. fill in the same values on the 'articlesupplier' tab, through the ARTICLENR column or the ARTICLE_ID column
3. on the 'articlesupplier' tab, fill in the reference SUPPLIERNAME on all lines of the 'UPDATE_BY' column
4. on the 'articlesupplier' tab, complete the SUPPLIERNAME column with the item suppliers that have to be adjusted (please note, case-sensitive!)
5. fill in the other data on the 'articlesupplier' tab

Note: there are 2 other UPDATE_BY references possible that are less common:

• SUPPLIERNR : references the NR column on the 'suppliers' tab. So this is only possible if you import your suppliers into Robaws at the same time. If they already exist in Robaws, you cannot use this option
• EXTRA_FIELD_1 : references an extra field you created yourself. This can be a unique number of the supplier, for example.

Example: Supplier Vandenberghe has adjusted the prices of 3 existing items.

Tab 'articlestierprices' (adding or updating price groups and tier prices)

Adding a new tier price to an existing item:

1. on the 'articles' tab, add the reference NR in the 'UPDATE BY' column
2. on the 'articles' tab, fill in which existing items are involved: fill in the NR column (item number)
3. fill in the same values on the 'articlestierprices' tab, through the ARTICLENR column
4. fill in the other data on the 'articlestierprices' tab

Example: for my existing item numbers 159, 160 and 161 I want to set a discount for 2 price groups: 5% discount for my A customers and 10% discount for my B customers

Updating the data of an existing price group:
This update is only possible for price groups, not for tier prices.

1. on the 'articles' tab, fill in which existing items are involved: fill in the NR column (item number)
2. fill in the same values on the 'articlestierprices' tab, through the ARTICLENR column
3. on the 'articlestierprices' tab, fill in the reference PRICEGROUP on all lines of the 'UPDATE_BY' column
4. on the 'articlestierprices' tab, complete the PRICEGROUP column with the existing price groups that have to be adjusted (please note, case-sensitive!)
5. fill in the other data on the 'articlestierprices' tab

Example: for my existing item numbers 159, 160 and 161 I want to adjust the discount for 2 price groups: 15% discount for my A customers and 20% discount for my B customers

Updated on: 09/09/2026