> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.mathership.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Upload Products
> Upload product data to create or update vendor products
# Upload Products
Upload products lets vendors add product data from a file instead of creating every product manually.
This is useful when you already have a price list, product catalog, or inventory export.
## What is product upload?
Product upload is the process of importing product data into Mathership from a file.
Vendors can use it to create or update products in their vendor catalog.
Typical uploaded product data includes:
* Product name
* Product number
* Packaging
* Stock
* Price
* Product description
## Who can upload products?
Product uploads are available to vendor users.
A vendor can only upload products for their own vendor company.
Vendors cannot upload products into another vendor company.
## Supported upload format
Product upload is based on a CSV file.
The file should contain product data in columns.
Mathership reads the file and uses a field mapping to understand which column belongs to which product field.
The exact CSV delimiter can vary. Mathership can detect common delimiters such as semicolon, comma, tab, or space.
## Required fields
The upload requires certain fields so products can be created correctly.
| Field | Required | Meaning |
| -------------- | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| Product name | Yes | Name of the product |
| Packaging | Yes | Packaging or order unit shown to customers |
| Product number | Usually yes for vendors | Vendor article number or product identifier |
## Optional fields
Optional fields can improve the product catalog.
| Field | Meaning |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| Stock | Current stock value |
| Price | Product price |
| Product description | Additional product information |
If stock or price is missing, Mathership can save the value as `0`.
## Field mapping
Before importing the file, Mathership needs to know which CSV column matches which product field.
Example:
| Product field | CSV column |
| ------------------- | ------------- |
| Product name | Artikelname |
| Product number | Artikelnummer |
| Packaging | Gebinde |
| Stock | Lagerbestand |
| Price | Preis |
| Product description | Beschreibung |
This mapping helps Mathership import files with different column names.
## Product numbers
Product numbers help identify products during upload.
If a product number already exists for the vendor company, the existing product can be updated.
If no matching product number exists, a new product can be created.
Product numbers are especially important when using uploads to update an existing catalog.
## Products without product numbers
If no product number is available, Mathership can still create a product using a fallback product number.
This is useful for simple catalogs, but it can make future updates less precise.
For reliable future uploads, use stable product numbers whenever possible.
## Updating existing products
Product upload can update existing products when the product number matches an existing product in the same vendor company.
This can update fields such as:
* Product name
* Packaging
* Stock
* Price
* Product description
## Creating new products
If the uploaded product does not match an existing product number, Mathership can create a new product.
The new product is assigned to the vendor company used for the upload.
## Upload result
After the upload, Mathership can return an import result.
The result can include:
| Result field | Meaning |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| Success count | Number of rows successfully imported |
| Errors | Rows that could not be imported |
| Row number | The row where an error happened |
| Error message | What went wrong |
## Partial success
Product upload can partially succeed.
This means some rows are imported, while other rows contain errors.
A few invalid rows do not necessarily prevent all other rows from being imported.
## Example: Simple product upload
A vendor uploads a CSV file with these columns:
| Artikelnummer | Artikelname | Gebinde | Preis |
| ------------- | ------------ | -------------- | ----: |
| 1001 | Tomato juice | Crate 12 x 1 L | 18.50 |
| 1002 | Orange juice | Crate 12 x 1 L | 19.20 |
The vendor maps:
| Product field | CSV column |
| -------------- | ------------- |
| Product number | Artikelnummer |
| Product name | Artikelname |
| Packaging | Gebinde |
| Price | Preis |
Mathership can then create or update the products.
## Example: Upload with stock
| Artikelnummer | Artikelname | Gebinde | Lagerbestand |
| ------------- | -------------- | ----------------- | -----------: |
| 2001 | Mineral water | Crate 12 x 0.75 L | 50 |
| 2002 | Apple spritzer | Crate 12 x 1 L | 35 |
The stock value can be saved with the product and used in the vendor catalog.
## Example: Missing price
If a product row has no price, Mathership can still import the product.
| Artikelnummer | Artikelname | Gebinde | Preis |
| ------------- | ---------------- | ------- | ----- |
| 3001 | Seasonal product | Box | |
The product can be created with a price value of `0`.
## Common problems
### Upload file is missing
Check that a file was selected before starting the upload.
### Mapping is missing
Check that all required product fields are mapped to CSV columns.
### Required value is empty
Check that required columns contain values in every row.
Required fields usually include product name and packaging.
### Product number is missing
Use stable product numbers whenever possible.
Without product numbers, future updates can be harder to match.
### Price or stock is not imported correctly
Check that price and stock values use a clear number format.
Avoid text such as currency symbols, units, or extra comments in numeric columns.
### Wrong products were updated
Check whether product numbers are reused incorrectly in the CSV file.
Product numbers should identify one product clearly within the vendor company.
## Best practices
### Clean the file before uploading
Remove empty rows, old test rows, duplicate products, and unnecessary columns.
### Use stable product numbers
Stable product numbers make future catalog updates safer.
### Map fields carefully
Review the mapping before starting the upload.
### Start with a small test file
Upload a small sample first if the catalog is large or the file structure is new.
### Review errors after upload
Check failed rows and correct them before uploading again.
### Review the catalog after upload
Open the product list and confirm that names, packaging, prices, and stock values look correct.
## Related pages
Add products manually to the vendor catalog.
Import or update many products from a CSV file.
Update product data after upload.
Add or manage product images.
Mark uploaded products as available or not available.
Define product packaging structures.