Moving your item list into MartPOS from Excel

Most shops come to MartPOS with their records in Excel, in another program or in a register. Typing two or three thousand items in again is not realistic, and neither is guessing whether the old list came in correctly. MartPOS imports items, customers and suppliers from a CSV file and checks every row before it saves anything. This guide covers the import itself; the whole move, from choosing the week to the first days of billing, is in switching a shop from a register to a POS.

Before you start

1. Pick one closing date. Take the stock count and the khata balances as of the same day, for example the night before you start with MartPOS. Opening figures are dated with it, so every statement starts from the right amount.
2. Import in this order: items first, then customers, then suppliers. It is not required, but it is the easiest to check.
3. Keep a copy of every file you import. MartPOS keeps one too, but yours is the one you will correct.
4. Sign in as the owner or a manager. Items with opening stock need catalogue editing and stock adjustment permission; customers or suppliers with balances need the opening balance permission.

Save the file as CSV UTF-8

In Excel choose File › Save As and pick CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited). The plain "CSV" type cannot hold Urdu; MartPOS still reads it for English text, but warns you. The import reads CSV files, not the Excel workbook (.xlsx) itself, so keep the workbook as your master copy and save a CSV from it each time.

• Keep the heading row. Columns can be in any order and have any names; you match them on screen.
• Amounts may include "Rs", "PKR" and thousands commas ("Rs 1,250.50"), with at most two decimals.
• Write dates day-month-year: 30-06-2026, 30/06/2026 or 2026-06-30.
• One row per item as you sell it. A 1 kg pouch of a brand of salt and its 800 g pouch are two items, each with its own stock. Tell them apart in the Variant / size column.

The columns that matter for a general store

Tax rate, PCT code and Third Schedule columns are there too. Take their values from your tax adviser; MartPOS suggests none.

The three steps on screen

On the store PC, open Import data and choose products, customers or suppliers.

1. Choose the file. MartPOS shows how many rows and columns it found.
2. Match the columns. Each MartPOS field shows which of your columns fills it, with an example value, so a wrong match is easy to spot. Common headings such as "Item", "Price", "Qty", "Barcode", "Mobile" or "Balance" are matched for you.
3. Check all rows. Nothing is saved yet. Every row is marked as ready, already there (skipped), an error, or a warning that does not block the import.

Errors are listed with the row number as Excel shows it (the heading is row 1). Typical ones: a barcode of 13, 12 or 8 digits whose check digit is wrong (MartPOS never guesses a corrected one; how check digits work), opening stock without a unit cost, text in a price column, a part quantity on an item that is not sold loose, or the same item twice in the file.

Either correct the file and choose it again, or tick Import the other rows and leave out the ones with errors. Then press Import.

While it runs

• The import runs on the store server in the background. Tills keep selling meanwhile, and you can close the window.
• Rows are saved in small batches, each complete or absent. If the PC switches off mid-import, it carries on from where it stopped when the store server starts again, and nothing is imported twice.
• Import data lists every import: the file name, who imported it, when, and what became of each row.

Correcting mistakes afterwards

Imported records are ordinary records, and nothing is overwritten silently. Fix item details or prices in the item list (price history is kept). Correct opening stock with a stock adjustment, and an opening balance with a correction entry, each with a reason.

A row for an item that is already in MartPOS is skipped rather than written over it, so choosing the same file again does not double anything. To change an existing item's price, change it on the item itself.

Common questions

Which kind of file does the import read?

A CSV file. Save your workbook from Excel as CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) first; that keeps Urdu text intact.

How do I import sugar that I sell by the kilo and by the bag?

Put one row for sugar with Unit kg, Sold loose yes, the price per kilogram, and opening stock in kilograms. In the pack columns, put "Bag", 50, the bag's own price and the bag's barcode if it has one. Stock stays in kilograms, so selling bags and loose kilos keeps one figure.

What happens to rows with errors?

Nothing is saved until you decide. Correct the file and choose it again, or import the other rows and leave out the ones with errors.

Will importing stop the tills?

No. The import runs on the store server in the background, in small batches, and the tills keep selling while it runs.

Can I bring in customers' khata balances?

Yes. Customers and suppliers can be imported with their opening balances, dated with your closing date. An advance a customer paid you before MartPOS is not an opening balance: take it as a new advance on your first day.

Every column and message is explained in the help centre. Until the installer is offered on the Download page, the MartPOS team sets MartPOS up on your shop PC with you: talk to us.