How to import a CSV into additem.to

What your CSV needs

Very little. The file needs a header row, and Name is the only column that must be present - everything else is optional. Headers are matched flexibly ("Item Name", "name", and equivalents in 14 languages all work), and both comma and semicolon separated files are detected automatically, so a CSV saved from Excel, Numbers, or Google Sheets works as it is.

Column	Notes
Name Required	The item's name.
Description	Free-text description.
Category	Category label, e.g. "Power Tools".
Manufacturer	"Brand" and "Make" work too.
Model Number
Serial Number	"Serial", "Serial No" and "SN" work too.
Barcode	"EAN" and "UPC" work too.
QR Code	The exact contents of an existing QR code, so codes you have already printed keep working. Included in exports, so it survives a round trip.
Location	Location name. Locations that do not exist yet are created for you.
Quantity	Numeric. "Qty", "Count" and "Stock" work too.
Unit	Unit label for quantity items, e.g. "boxes".
Type	"Individual" for single tracked items, "Quantity" for bulk items. If missing, a quantity of 1 means individual.
Purchase Date	YYYY-MM-DD is safest; day-first dates like 14/03/2026 are recognised too.
Purchase Price	Plain numbers or with a currency symbol - both work.
Notes
Tags	Separate multiple tags with semicolons, e.g. work;fragile. New tags are created for you.
Lent To	A name here records the item as currently lent out.
Low Stock Threshold	For quantity items: warn when stock drops to this number.
Deleted	Careful with this one. On a reimport, "yes", "true" or "1" marks the matching item as deleted. It is not included in exports, so the column only appears if you add it yourself. If a file from another app happens to have one, set it to Skip.
Anything else	Unrecognised columns can become custom fields - see below.

Step by step

1. Open the import

On the Items page, a brand new inventory shows Import from CSV front and centre. If you already have items, it lives in the ... menu. Pick your CSV file and additem.to reads it on the spot.

2. Check the column mapping

Every column in your file is listed with the value from the first row underneath, so you can see at a glance what the data looks like. Recognised headers are already mapped to the right field. If something guessed wrong, tap it and pick the correct field - or set it to Skip to leave that column out entirely.

3. Let extra columns become custom fields

Columns that do not match a built-in field are offered as new custom fields, and additem.to works out a sensible type from your data. A column of numbers becomes a number field, dates become a date field, yes/no values become a switch, and a column with a handful of repeating values - "New", "Good", "Fair" - becomes a select field with those options ready-made.

4. Review new locations and tags

Before anything is imported, additem.to shows you every location and tag in your file that does not exist yet, each with a toggle. Leave one switched off and the items still import - just without that location or tag. A sample preview at the bottom shows how the first few items will come out.

5. Import

Tap the import button and let it run. Everything happens on your device, so it is fast - even a 20,000-item file imports in seconds. The import is also all-or-nothing: if it is interrupted, nothing half-finished is left behind. When it completes you get a summary of exactly what was created.

Updating existing items with a reimport

Import is also how you bulk-edit. Every CSV exported from additem.to includes an ID column with each item's permanent identifier. Reimport an edited export and rows with a matching ID update the existing item instead of creating a new one - change prices, fill in serial numbers, or fix categories for hundreds of items in one spreadsheet session. Keep the ID and Name columns in the file, plus whatever you are changing - the import needs a Name column even when you are only updating existing items and not touching their names. The Export with IDs button on the completion screen gives you exactly that file. See the CSV export guide for the full workflow.

Coming from another app

If you are moving from another inventory app, export your data there as CSV and import it here. Because unrecognised columns can become typed custom fields, data that does not fit additem.to's built-in fields - condition grades, insured values, service dates - survives the move instead of being flattened into notes. Photos are not part of a CSV file, so add those to your most important items after the import.

Requirements

CSV import is available on iPhone and in the web app at app.additem.to, on every plan including the free one. Files up to 50,000 rows are supported.