CSV cleanup for Shopify
This workflow starts with a supplier spreadsheet that mixes music and apparel products, inconsistent titles, supplier-specific columns, quantity formats, image references, and even an invalid barcode. Catalog Intake reformats the supplier data into reviewed Shopify draft or active products and inventory updates before anything is pushed.
CSV cleanup workflow
This example follows a real CSV cleanup workflow: upload the original supplier file, normalize and reformat the bad supplier data, review the invalid barcode warning, approve the rows, then push draft products, active products, or inventory updates to Shopify.
The Baywave file is not a Shopify template. It mixes supplier operations fields, brand and artist data, product names, variant columns, UPC/EAN values, received quantities, costs, MSRP, image filenames, and row notes.
Catalog Intake accepts the CSV directly, so the merchant does not need to rename columns, rebuild handles, or split the sheet into separate product imports first.
Catalog Intake separates supplier data from Shopify product data, groups variants under the right product, matches existing variants by barcode, and shows whether each group creates a draft product or updates inventory.
The review screen validates identifiers and calls out rows that need a second look. In this CSV, one barcode failed its check digit validation and was flagged before approval.
After review, pending rows become approved rows. The grouped product view keeps SKUs, barcodes, quantities, image status, and push readiness visible before Shopify is touched.
Before push, Catalog Intake summarizes draft products, existing products, inventory updates, variants, images, blocked rows, product status, barcode behavior, and quantity mode.
The final push creates approved draft products and updates matched existing variants. New products remain drafts, while barcode-matched rows add received inventory to current Shopify stock.
What Catalog Intake normalized
Shopify's native CSV import expects a Shopify-formatted file. Vendor CSVs often reflect how a supplier sells and ships, not how a Shopify catalog should be structured. Catalog Intake sits before the push step, cleaning up supplier files into review-ready rows so merchants can approve the right catalog action instead of rebuilding the CSV by hand.
Push result
After approval, the batch pushed 14 rows with 0 needing attention. New products were created as drafts, and matched existing variants show current stock plus received units.
FAQ
Yes. Catalog Intake is designed for messy supplier CSVs that are not already in Shopify's native import format. Upload the vendor file as-is, review the normalized product groups and variants, then push approved rows to Shopify as draft or active products.
Catalog Intake reformats supplier data into reviewed Shopify changes. It maps vendor columns into product titles, handles, variants, SKUs, barcodes, prices, quantities, images, and inventory actions so merchants do not have to rebuild the CSV by hand.
No. Shopify's CSV importer is useful when the file already matches Shopify's required CSV format. Catalog Intake is built for vendor CSVs and spreadsheets that need interpretation, grouping, review, and cleanup before they become Shopify products or inventory updates.
Catalog Intake works best when the CSV includes product names and at least one useful identifier such as SKU, barcode, UPC, style number, or vendor reference. File quality still matters, so rows are sent to review before pushing.
Yes. When an approved row matches an existing Shopify variant by barcode, Catalog Intake can update inventory instead of creating a duplicate product.
Yes. Draft product creation is the default. When active product mode is enabled, merchants can publish approved products to selected Shopify sales channels.
Install Catalog Intake from Shopify, upload a supplier CSV or spreadsheet, review the extracted rows, then push approved draft products, active products, or inventory updates when the batch is ready.