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Importing new materials and variants
Importing new materials and variants

You can import new materials to Katana using our spreadsheet template

Dayvid Lorbiecke avatar
Written by Dayvid Lorbiecke
Updated over a week ago

If you need to import materials to Katana, you can easily to do so using our spreadsheet template or just add your initial stock levels get quickly started with Katana.

Note: While products can also be imported directly from an e-commerce platform, materials are typically not listed in e-stores. Materials need to be added manually into Katana or imported via spreadsheet.

Import new materials using a spreadsheet template

With our spreadsheet template, you can import materials and initial stock. The import template also supports variant creation of materials and adding new variants to existing materials. Instructions are included as comments in the template for how to structure the file to create variants.

If you have any existing materials in Katana, the imported file will match the items by Variant code / SKU to avoid importing existing materials (any data for those items will not update, and those matching items will be skipped during import). If you are looking to update existing materials, you should use the Update Existing Materials template.

Import materials and initial stock to Katana

  1. Find the template in Katana from the Settings screen > Data import > Add new materials > Download template.

  2. Fill in the template using the included comments on the column headers to help you understand the structure of the template. If you have any questions, reach out to us in chat or via email.

    The import template also supports the variant creation of materials. Material name fields are used for grouping variants, i.e. rows with matching names will be grouped under the same material card in Katana. Enter different Variant options and Variant values to create variants of the material.

    Example: If you have a material "Cloth" that comes in white and black color, create two rows with a matching material name "Cloth", add "Color" to "Variant option 1" for both rows, and enter "White" to the first row and "Black" to the second row for "Variant values 1".

    If there's an existing material in Katana that you want to add new variants to, you can import additional variants with the same template. Make sure the "Material name" in the imported file precisely matches with the Material name in Katana to add variants to the existing material.

  3. If you want to import initial stock, fill in the Initial stock quantity and Initial stock cost per unit columns in the template.

  4. Save the completed template in .xls or .xlsx format.

    Creating .xlsx on Mac: Open the spreadsheet in Numbers and choose File > Export to > Excel... from the menu at the top of your screen.

    Creating .xlsx in Google Sheets: Open the spreadsheet in Google Sheets and choose File > Download as > Microsoft Excel (.xlsx).

  5. In Katana, navigate to Settings screen > Data import > Add new materials > Upload data and select the completed template file.

  6. Your materials and initial stock levels will begin importing to Katana (this may take a few seconds up to a couple of minutes, depending on the amount being imported).

    When the import completes, a message indicating the number of items imported will display. For an item to be imported, the Material name must not be blank. Any rows in the imported file with a blank item name will not import.

    Note: If any cell in the imported file doesn't match the requirements for the cell (e.g. column name does not match the template; letters inserted to fields that allow numbers only), the data in the cell will not import, and the associated field for the item will be left blank in Katana.

    Find your new materials from the Items screen. If you entered the initial stock to the template, Katana will create a respective Stock adjustment and assign Imported from Excel as the adjustment reason. You can find the Stock adjustment from the Stock screen > Stock adjustments tab.

Tips for importing for data

  1. Column names in the uploaded file must match the template. If not, the import will fail, or some data will not be imported.

  2. The template supports multiple variant creation of the same material. The "Material name (required)" field is used for grouping variants, i.e. rows with matching material names will be grouped under the same material card in Katana. Enter different "Variant options" and "Variant values" to dedicated columns in the template to define variant characteristics for the same material.

    If there's a material in Katana that you want to add new variants to, import additional variants with the same template. Make sure the "Material name" in the imported file precisely matches the Material name in Katana to add variants to the material.

  3. Data in the columns will be uploaded to the associated data fields in Katana.

  4. "Material name (required)" is the only required field.

  5. You can import initial stock quantities and costs with the template by filling in the Initial stock quantity and Initial stock Cost per unit fields to import initial stock. A Stock adjustment will be created in Katana during the import to record the stock quantities and costs.

  6. You can assign a stock Location to the stock quantity you want to import. Stock quantities in Katana are Location-specific. The Location name must already exist in Katana. See more details below.

Additional importing information

Material name (required) - If you have variants of materials, the name field is used for grouping variants, i.e. rows with matching material names will be grouped under the same material card in Katana.

Category - All variants of the same material should have the same category. (Max. 35 characters allowed.)

Unit of measure - All variants of the same material should have the same unit of measure. (Max. 7 characters allowed).

Batch trackable? - Enable batch tracking for your materials by entering "Y", "y", "Yes" or "yes" to the column. If the field is left empty, the item will be set as not batch trackable. Batch tracking is an item-level feature, not a variant-level setting. We recommend using the same setting for all the variants of the same material item.

This is part of the Full traceability Add-on and the field only shows in the template if you're on a higher plan.

Variant code / SKU - We recommend using unique Variant codes for each material variant.

Supplier item code - Assign one or multiple supplier item barcodes to identify raw materials and purchasable products. Multiple barcode numbers are separated by a comma "," to your item variant as a supplier item code. Supplier item codes are imported only when the supplier item code is switched on in barcode settings.


​This is only available on a Standard or higher plan, and this field only displays in the template if you're using a higher plan.

Internal barcode - Assign one unique internal barcode to track your inventory movements. The barcode number has to be between 3-40 digits. The internal barcode is only imported if the internal barcode is switched on in the barcode settings.


If the internal barcodes are generated automatically, the internal barcodes are not imported.


​This is only available on a Standard or higher plan, and this field only displays in the template if you're using a higher plan.

Note: if you need to import internal barcodes and still want to generate barcodes automatically, you can switch off automatic barcode generation, import internal barcodes, and switch on the automatic barcode generation.

Variant option 1 - This column is used to define the characteristics of the material variants. It is the attribute of the item that differentiates the variants. E.g. "Color", "Size", "Type". Leave blank if you don't have variants of materials.

Variant value 1 - The values for the "Variant option 1". E.g. if you have defined "Color" as the "Variant option 1", values might be "Red" for one row and "Blue" for the other row (if you have 2 color variants of the material, for example).

Variant option 2 - This column is used to define another characteristic of material variants. For example, a material can come in different colors and sizes. In this case, use "Color" for "Variant option 1" and "Size" for "Variant option 2".

Variant value 2 - The values for the "Variant option 2". E.g. if you have defined "Size" as the "Variant option 2", values might be "Small" for one row and "Large" for the other row (if you have 2 size variants for the same color of the material, for example).

Note: Add new columns for variant options and values if you have more than 2 variant options per material. Name the columns in the same format, e.g. "Variant option 3", "Variant value 3" etc.

Default supplier - The supplier of the material that is added to Purchase orders (PO) in Katana by default. Can be edited on each PO. All variants of the same material should have the same default supplier.

Default purchase price - Maximum of 9 decimal places allowed.

  • Starter plan: Value is per unit of measure and in your base currency. You can set the base currency inside the Settings screen > General.

  • Standard, Professional, Professional Plus plans: Value is per unit of measure and in your supplier currency, by default supplier currency is your base currency. Read here about purchase prices in foreign currency.

Purchase UoM - Fill this in if you buy this material in a different unit of measure then you track your inventory.

Note. If you enter a purchase UoM, then the value in the "Default purchase price" is also considered in this purchase unit of measure.

Conversion rate - Fill this in if you have filled the Purchase UoM field. It's the conversion rate of the purchase UoM to the tracking UoM. For example: in case you buy the item from a supplier in boxes, each box is 100 items, then enter '100' as the conversion rate here.

Note. If you enter purchase UoM and do not specify the conversion rate or vice versa, then both values are not imported.

Location - specify the Location for the imported stock quantity and value. Stock quantities in Katana are Location-specific. The Location name must already exist in Katana. If the Location field is left empty, the default storage bin, stock quantity, and value will be imported to your main location. If the Location value doesn't match any existing Locations, the stock quantity, value, default storage bin, and reorder point will not be imported for this item (the new item will still be created in Katana).

You can also import stock quantities and values to multiple Locations for the same item with this template. In this case, add multiple rows for the same material variant (matching material name and variant settings) and assign a different Location for each row.

Default storage bin - Specify the Default storage bin. If the Storage bin value doesn't match any existing Storage bins in that Location, a new one will be created.

​This is only available on a Standard or higher plan, and this field only displays in the template if you're using a higher plan.

Reorder point - Only numbers up to 3 decimal places are allowed.

Initial stock quantity - Use this column to import initial stock levels to Katana. This is the quantity of initial stock of the material variant you currently have in your inventory. Quantity is in the Unit of Measure set in the respective column. Only numbers up to 3 decimal places are allowed.

If you enabled batch tracking for an item and import stock quantities with this template, the stock quantity will be assigned to an "Unbatched" batch. To import stock levels for batches, use the batch number import template.

Initial stock Cost per unit - This column is used to import initial stock costs to Katana. Assumes that Initial stock quantity is filled in. Insert cost per unit for the material variant in your initial stock (i.e. what you currently have in the warehouse). The value of stock in Katana is then calculated as Initial stock quantity x Initial stock Cost per unit. Limitations: only numbers up to 9 decimal places are allowed. Value is in your base currency. You can set the base currency inside Katana.

Additional info - This info is stored on the material card (the same info for all variants of the material). All variants of the same material should have the same additional info.

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