Importing from Excel: how it works
The Import from Excel flow for services, staff, customers and products: get the template, check the file, read the preview, import, and upload again safely.
Typing a long menu or a whole client book in one record at a time takes hours. Import from Excel lets you fill in a spreadsheet and bring it all in at once, and it shows you exactly what will happen before anything is saved.
Where to find it
| What | Where | Who, by default |
|---|---|---|
| Services and categories | Services & Menu → Import from Excel | Owners |
| Staff | Staff → Import from Excel | Owners and managers |
| Customers | Customers → Import from Excel | Owners, managers and receptionists |
| Products, brands, categories, suppliers | Products (or Suppliers, Categories, Brands) → Import from Excel | Owners and managers, on Pro and Business |
The columns for each are explained in adding services, adding staff, adding customers and importing products. Do services first: staff rows name the services each person does, and those must already exist.
The four steps
- Get the template. Click Download template (.xlsx). Required columns have a * in the header, most headers carry a short help note, and a How to use sheet explains every column. The grey rows are examples: replace them or delete them. A row left exactly as the example is skipped.
- Fill it in. One item per row. Do not rename the sheets or the headers.
- Upload it. Choose your file and click Check file. Nothing is saved at this point.
- Read the preview, then click Import now.
Reading the preview
A summary gives, for each sheet, how many rows are New, Updated, No change and Needs fixing. Below it every row is listed with its Excel row number and a result:
- New: it will be added. A row noted "Named on another row." is something created because another row mentions it, such as a new category typed on a service row.
- Update: it matches something already in StyleDesk and will be changed.
- No change: it matches and nothing is different.
- Needs fixing: the note says what is wrong, for example a price that is not a number.
If any row needs fixing, nothing can be imported until every row is valid. Correct the file in Excel, click Upload a corrected file and upload it again. If the file holds nothing new you see "Everything in this file is already in StyleDesk." Cancel drops the preview.
Import now
The whole file goes in together or not at all. When it is done you see, for example, "Import complete: 40 added, 3 updated." If a limit stops it part-way, such as your plan's number of staff, the message says so and nothing is saved.
Uploading again is safe
Rows are matched to what you already have: services by name, staff by email, phone or full name, customers by phone or email, products by SKU, barcode or name. Matching rows update rather than duplicate, and blank cells keep the current value. You can keep the spreadsheet as your master list and upload it again whenever prices or details change.
Limits and common problems
- Save the file as an Excel workbook (.xlsx), up to 2 MB and 1,000 rows per sheet. Split bigger lists into several files.
- "has no ... column": a header was renamed or deleted. Download a fresh template and copy your rows into it.
- Phone numbers losing the leading 0: format the Phone column as Text in Excel.
- Dates: write them as 2026-03-15 (15/03/2026 also works).
- "That preview has expired": upload the file again.