Format Guidelines for Your Catalog CSV File

Learn how to format your catalog CSV

Last updated
February 20, 2024

When you upload or re-upload your catalog items to Roofr, you’ll match each column in your import file to a field in your Roofr catalog.

In this article, you'll learn how to format each column in your file to get the best results when you upload.

Before you start

Here are some things to know before you begin this process.

  • If you’re trying to re-upload items to your catalog start off by downloading your catalog first
  • The only value that Roofr requires is Name. Other values are optional, but the columns are necessary for the upload
  • The columns in your file must be in the same order as the sample file. Do not re-arrange or delete any unused columns
  • Only .csv files can be uploaded. .xls or .xlsx will not work.

UUID

This is an internal column we use to remember some important information. Do NOT make any changes to any values in this column as it may result in loss of data.

If you’re uploading your items for the first time, this column will be empty and should be left as such. If you’re re-uploading items, this column will have some values in it which should be unchanged.

💡 If you want to add new items during your re-upload process, make sure you leave this cell empty and only fill in the other columns.

Name

This column reflects the “Name” column in your catalog. It’s what you can see in your catalog, proposals, invoices and material orders. This is a regular text field and can accommodate any values. This field is mandatory and can’t be empty

Description

This column reflects the “Description” column in your catalog. It’s an “enriched” text field and can accommodate any values. It has a 2000 character limit including spaces. If you’re familiar with HTML, you can input HTML code to format your text. This is an optional field and can be left empty.

When you download your catalog as a CSV, you may notice that your description column has some HTML code. This is so that we can remember the formatting you might have setup in the Roofr catalog. Do not update the description field if you are not comfortable with HTML as you will lose your text formatting.

Measurement

Measurement helps you calculate quantities for your proposals based on the measurement report generated on Roofr. This column reflects the “Measurement’ column in your catalog. This column can only have the values defined below. The values need to be wrapped in quotes. You can only add values from the same category. That means you can’t have one value from “Square Feet” and one value from “Linear Feet”.

Linear Feet

If you want to add mappings for linear feet, you can add any number of measurement types you want from the list above separated by a comma. For example, if you have multiple measurement types, you would have"EAVES_LENGTH, VALLEYS_LENGTH, WALL_FLASHING_LENGTH" as the value in the field. You can also leave the field empty if you don’t want to add any mapping.

Square Feet

If you want to add mappings for square feet, you can pick either of the two options or both from the list above separated by a comma. You can also leave the field empty if you don’t want to add any mapping.

Squares

If you want to add mappings for squares, you can pick either of the two options or both from the list above separated by a comma. You can also leave the field empty if you don’t want to add any mapping.

💡 The unit of “Coverage” depends on the type of measurement you pick. For eg: If you pick “Squares” the unit of coverage will automatically be set to squares

Coverage

Coverage refers to the amount of sq ft or linear feet a single unit of this item covers (eg: per bundle or per roll). This column reflects the “Coverage” column in your catalog. You can only input numbers in this field. The numbers inputted must be greater than 0. This is an optional field and can be left empty.

Additionally, if the Measurement field is left empty or is None the coverage needs to be empty as well.

Unit Cost

Unit Cost is the cost of 1 unit of this item. This column reflects the “Unit Cost” column in your catalog. You can only input numbers in this field. The numbers inputted must be greater than 0. Please do not enter the $ sign in this field. For eg: if a bundle of shingles cost $38.25 then you would enter 38.25 in this column.

This is an optional field and can be left empty.

Unit Type

Unit type is the unit you buy this item in. This column reflects the “Unit” column in your catalog. This is a regular text field and can accommodate any values. It has a 255 character limit. For eg: if you typically buy shingles in “bundles”, you would enter Bundle in this column

This is an optional field and can be left empty.

Tax

Tax is the amount the homeowner will have to pay on this particular item. This column reflects the “Tax (%)” column in your catalog. This field is expressed as a %.  You can only input numbers in this field. The numbers inputted must be greater than 0. There can be a maximum of 3 decimal points. Please do not enter the % sign in this field. For eg: if a bundle of shingles has a tax rate of 8.25%, you would enter 8.25 in this field.

This is an optional field and can be left empty.

Waste

Waste helps you account for the extra quantity you need to order because of the wastage. This column reflects the “Waste (%)” column in your catalog. This field is expressed as a %.  You can only input numbers in this field. The numbers inputted must be greater than 0. Please do not enter the % sign in this field. For eg: If the waste for each bundle of shingles is 15%, you would enter 15 or 15.00 in this field

This is an optional field and can be left empty.

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