Price Updates
A price update is one import into the catalog, such as the monthly price file of your distributor. You import price files with Data Pipelines: a pipeline reads the file and ends with the Save catalog items step. The pipeline keeps how the columns of the file match the catalog, so the next file of the same vendor imports with one click. The Price updates page then shows what each import changed, and compares its prices with the prices they replaced.
| Menu | Estimator > Price updates |
| Permission | View the catalog and prices, to see the price updates. To import, Manage data pipelines and Manage catalog items; Manage prices and price files to keep the prices; Manage labor units to keep the labor columns |
| Feature | Estimator Catalog, Data Pipelines and Media |
What you see depends on your role. If the menu, a button or a setting on this page is missing, ask your administrator to give you the permission listed above or to turn on the feature. Only administrators can turn features on and change site settings.
Prepare the price file
The price file is an Excel workbook or a CSV file, with the column names in the first row. Use one row per item. Common column names are matched for you:
| Catalog field | Column names that match it |
|---|---|
| Item number (required) | Item number, SKU, Part #, Part number |
| Description | Description, Desc, Name |
| Unit | Unit, UOM |
| Price | Price, List price, Cost, Net price |
| Price basis | Per, Price per, Basis: E, C or M |
| Effective date | Effective date, Price date: such as 2026-11-01 |
| Manufacturer, Catalog number | Mfr, Manufacturer; Cat no, Catalog number, Model |
| Labor columns | Labor normal, Labor difficult, Labor very difficult, Labor basis |
The file can also have the category, kind, industry, MasterFormat section, package size, waste, labor category and status. An empty cell keeps the value the item has.
Upload the file to the media library (Content > Media), for example to a folder named price-files. Excel files can be uploaded on any site. To upload CSV files, an administrator allows the .csv extension (see the Technical Manual).
Make the import pipeline
You make the pipeline once per vendor, and run it for every new file.
- Open Tools > Data Pipelines, click Add Pipeline, name it, such as Northwind price file, and click Create.
- In the Steps list, click Read a media file. In its File box, enter the path of the file, such as price-files/northwind-november.csv, and click Apply.
- Click the output port (the dot on the right side) of the step, type catalog, and pick Save catalog items.
- In the settings of Save catalog items, check the field of each catalog field. Automatic shows the column it matched; pick another column, or Leave out.
- Enter the Vendor. Leave Prices in effect from empty to use the day of the run, or enter a day such as 2026-11-01.
- Leave Add the items that are not in the catalog on to add new items, or turn it off to change only the items you have.
- Click Apply, then Publish.
Run the import
Click Run in the designer, or Run now in the Actions menu of the pipeline. The History tab shows the run when it ends: the rows read, the rows refused and why, and a link to the price update report. For the next file, replace the file in the media library, or change the path in Read a media file and publish again, then run it.
The import changes the catalog this way:
- An item whose number is not in the catalog is added.
- An item that is in the catalog takes the values of the row. Empty cells keep its values.
- A price is added only when it differs from the price in effect on its day. The price it replaces is kept with it.
- A row that cannot be read, such as a price that is not a number, is refused and changes nothing. The other rows are imported.
To import every month without a click, a workflow with a Timer Event and a Run Data Pipeline Task can run the pipeline.
Compare the prices of an update
- Open Estimator > Price updates. Each row is an import, with the rows read, the prices added (up and down) and the rows refused.
- Click its name, or Compare prices.
The top of the report gives the counts. Rows refused lists the first rows that were refused and why. The list shows each price the import added, with the price it replaced and the change per unit. Pick Increases or Decreases to see the largest changes first, or New prices to see the items that had no price.