Importing Sales via CSV

This guide walks you through how to import sales (orders) into Eventuall from a spreadsheet file (CSV). The end goal is simple: get your paying customers access to your event rooms. When a customer buys a ticket through an external platform like Shopify, you need to bring that order data into Eventuall so the system knows who bought what and can grant them access to the right rooms.

This guide covers the full process from start to finish, including setting up the pieces you need before you can import.

Table of Contents

1. Before You Start: Prerequisites
2. The Big Picture: How It All Connects
3. How to Get to the Orders Tab
4. Step 1: Add a Retailer
5. Step 2: Map Your SKUs
6. Step 3: Prepare Your CSV File
7. Step 4: Clean and Fix Your Data
8. Step 5: Upload and Import Your CSV
9. Understanding the Import Results
10. Common Problems and How to Fix Them
11. Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Start: Prerequisites

Only need to add a few people? If you are adding talent, moderators, staff, or a small number of VIPs, you do not need a CSV file at all. You can add people one at a time directly from the dashboard. See the Managing Users and Access guide instead.

Importing sales is not the first step. You need to set up a few things in your event before the import will actually do anything useful. Here is what you need, in order:

1. Rooms must be created

Your event needs at least one room. Rooms are the spaces customers get access to (like a "Main Stage" or "Meet & Greet"). Without rooms, there is nothing to grant access to.

If you haven't created rooms yet: Follow the Setting Up Rooms guide first, then come back here.

2. Tickets must be created

Each room needs at least one ticket associated with it. A ticket is what links a customer's purchase to a room — for example, a "VIP Access" ticket might grant access to both the Main Stage and the Meet & Greet. When you create a ticket, the system generates a unique SKU (product code) for it.

If you haven't created tickets yet: Follow the Setting Up Tickets and SKUs guide first, then come back here.

3. You need a CSV file with order data

This is a spreadsheet file containing your sales data — customer emails, what they bought (SKUs), quantities, and so on. This guide covers how to prepare and clean this file.

4. You need to be logged in

You need dashboard access to an account that has permission to manage events.

The Big Picture: How It All Connects

Before diving into the steps, here is how all the pieces fit together. Understanding this will make the rest of the guide make a lot more sense.

Your event has Rooms (like "Main Stage" and "VIP Lounge").

Rooms have Tickets (like "General Admission" gives access to Main Stage, "VIP Pass" gives access to both). Each ticket has an internal SKU — a unique code the system uses to identify it.

Your external sales platform (like Shopify) sells products with its own SKU codes. These external SKU codes are probably different from the internal ones in Eventuall.

A Retailer is a label you create in Eventuall to identify where orders came from (like "My Shopify Store").

SKU Mappings are the bridge: they tell the system "when you see external SKU SHOP-VIP-001 from my Shopify store, that means the customer bought the internal VIP Pass ticket."

The CSV import reads your order data, matches the SKUs using your mappings, and grants customers access to the correct rooms.

So the full chain is:

Room ← Ticket (internal SKU) ← SKU Mapping ← External SKU in CSV ← Customer's purchase

That is why you need rooms and tickets set up first, and why you need to create a retailer and map SKUs before the import will grant anyone access.

How to Get to the Orders Tab

All of the remaining steps happen on the Orders tab. Here is how to get there:

1. Log in to your Eventuall dashboard.
2. In the left sidebar, click Events.
3. Click on the event you want to import sales into. This opens the event detail page.
4. At the top of the page, you will see a row of tabs: Details | Users | Orders | Rooms | Tickets | Livestreams | Recordings
5. Click the "Orders" tab.

You are now on the Orders page. On the top right, you will see two buttons:

• "Import CSV" — You will use this later to upload your file.
• "Actions" — This dropdown menu is where you will add retailers and manage SKU mappings.

Step 1: Add a Retailer

Before you can import orders, you need to tell Eventuall where the orders came from. This is called a "Retailer." Think of it as a label that identifies the source of your sales — like "Shopify Store," "Eventbrite," "Box Office Sales," or whatever name makes sense for your situation.

You only need to do this once per sales source. After you create a retailer, it stays available for all future imports.

How to Create a Retailer

1. On the Orders tab, click the "Actions" button (the dropdown button to the right of "Import CSV").

2. From the dropdown menu, click "Add External Retailer".

3. A pop-up window titled "Add Retailer" will appear with a form. Fill in:

   • Retailer Name (required) — A friendly name you will recognize. For example: "Main Shopify Store", "Box Office Sales", "Partner Ticket Sales". This is just for your reference.

   • Platform (required) — Select which platform the orders come from. Your options are:

     • Shopify — "Import orders from a Shopify store"
     • Eventbrite — "Import orders from Eventbrite events"
     • Stripe — "Import payments from Stripe"
     • Manual Entry — "Manually enter orders or import from custom CSVs"
     • Other — "Import from other e-commerce platforms"

   • External ID (optional) — A reference to identify this specific store or account on the platform. For Shopify, this might be your store URL (like mystore.myshopify.com). For Eventbrite, it could be your Organization ID. You can leave this blank if you are not sure.

4. Click "Create Retailer" to save. The window will close and your new retailer is ready to use.

Step 2: Map Your SKUs

This is the most important setup step. SKU mappings are what connect your external sales data to the tickets and rooms you set up in Eventuall. Without mappings, the system can import your orders but it cannot grant customers access to any rooms — the orders will just sit there with "unmapped" SKUs.

What Is a SKU Mapping?

A SKU mapping tells the system: "When you see this product code from my retailer's spreadsheet, it means the customer bought this specific ticket in my event."

Example: Your Shopify store sells a product called "VIP Ticket" with the Shopify SKU SHOP-VIP-001. In Eventuall, you created a ticket called "VIP Access" which has the internal SKU bq4r8n1w.... A SKU mapping connects these two:

SHOP-VIP-001 (what Shopify calls it) → VIP Access / bq4r8n1w... (what Eventuall calls it)

How to Create SKU Mappings

1. On the Orders tab, click the "Actions" button.

2. From the dropdown menu, click "SKU Mappings".

3. A pop-up window titled "SKU Mappings" will appear. It has two tabs at the top: "Existing Mappings" and "Unmapped SKUs". You should be on the "Existing Mappings" tab.

4. At the top of the window, select your Retailer from the dropdown (the one you created in Step 1).

5. You will see a form with three fields to fill in:

   • External SKU (required) — Type the product code exactly as it appears in your sales platform or spreadsheet. For example: SHOP-VIP-001 or TICKET-GA. This must match what is in the sku column of your CSV file.

   • Product Name (optional) — A friendly name for this product, for your own reference. For example: "VIP Ticket" or "General Admission". This is just a label to help you remember what the SKU represents.

   • Internal SKU(s) (required) — Click the "Select rooms..." button. A dropdown will appear showing all the tickets you created in Eventuall. Each option shows the ticket name, the room it grants access to, and the first few characters of the internal SKU code. Check the box next to the ticket(s) that this external SKU should be linked to. You can select more than one if a single external product grants access to multiple tickets.

     You can use the search bar at the top of the dropdown to search by ticket name, room name, or SKU code.

6. After selecting your internal SKU(s), you will see them listed as small tags below the dropdown. You can click the X on any tag to remove it if you selected the wrong one.

7. Click the "Add Mapping" button to save this mapping.

8. The mapping will now appear in the table below the form, showing the External SKU, Product Name, and which internal rooms it is linked to.

9. Repeat for each product SKU in your sales data. If your spreadsheet has orders for three different products (like VIP, General Admission, and Merch), you need to create three separate mappings.

Tips for SKU Mappings

• Mappings are case-insensitive. If your spreadsheet has shop-vip-001 and you entered SHOP-VIP-001 as the mapping, it will still match.
• Mappings are reusable. Once you create a mapping for a retailer and event, it applies to all future imports from that retailer. You do not need to re-create them.
• Mappings work retroactively. If you import orders first and map SKUs later, the system will go back and grant access for the already-imported orders. So the order you do things in is flexible, but setting up mappings first avoids confusion.
• To delete a mapping, click the trash icon on the right side of the mapping row in the table.

How to Know What External SKUs to Map

You need to know the product codes (SKUs) that your sales platform uses. Here is how to find them:

• Shopify: Go to your Shopify admin > Products > click on a product > scroll down to Variants. The SKU is listed for each variant.
• From your CSV file: Open your spreadsheet and look at the sku column. Each unique value in that column needs a mapping.
• From your sales team or retailer: Ask them what product codes they use in their system.

Step 3: Prepare Your CSV File

A CSV file is a simple spreadsheet format where each column is separated by a comma. Most spreadsheet programs (Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, Apple Numbers) can save files in CSV format.

If You Have an Excel File (.xlsx)

You need to convert it to CSV first:

1. Open your file in Excel.
2. Click File > Save As (or Export on Mac).
3. In the format dropdown, choose "CSV (Comma delimited) (*.csv)" or "CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) (*.csv)".
4. Choose where to save it and click Save.
5. If Excel asks about features not compatible with CSV, click Yes to continue. This is normal.

If You Have a Google Sheets File

1. Open your spreadsheet in Google Sheets.
2. Click File > Download > Comma Separated Values (.csv).
3. The file will download to your computer.

What Columns Does My CSV Need?

Your CSV file needs specific columns so the system can process each order and grant customers access to the correct rooms. Here are the columns, listed in order of importance:

To be clear: While only customer_email is technically required by the system to accept the file, you need sku and status for the import to actually do anything useful. Without a SKU, the system does not know what the customer bought. Without a status of "paid", the system will not grant access. An import without these columns will succeed but your customers will not get access to any rooms.

The system is flexible with column names. For example, all of these work for the email column: customer_email, email, or customeremail. The system is also not case-sensitive, so Customer_Email, CUSTOMER_EMAIL, and customer_email all work the same way. Here are common alternatives for other columns:

Downloading an Example CSV

Not sure what your file should look like? The import window has a built-in example you can download:

1. On the Orders tab, click "Import CSV" to open the import window.
2. Select "Generic CSV" as the format (on the left side).
3. Near the bottom of the window, click the "Download example CSV" link.
4. Open the downloaded file in your spreadsheet program. You can use this as a template — replace the example data with your real data, save as CSV, and upload.
5. Click Cancel to close the import window for now.

Step 4: Clean and Fix Your Data

This is the most important section of this guide. Dirty data (data with errors, formatting issues, or missing information) is the number one cause of import failures. Taking a few minutes to clean up your spreadsheet before uploading will save you a lot of headaches.

Work through each of these checks on your spreadsheet before you try to import:

1. Check Your Email Addresses

Why: Every row must have a valid email address. If the email is missing or malformed, that entire row will fail to import.

What to look for:

• Missing emails: Look for any rows with a blank email column. Either fill in the email or remove the row entirely.
• Invalid emails: Look for entries that are clearly not real emails. Common problems:
  • Missing the @ sign (for example: janeexample.com instead of jane@example.com)
  • Extra spaces before or after the email (for example: jane@example.com)
  • Special characters that don't belong (for example: jane@example,com — notice the comma instead of a period)
  • Placeholder text like N/A, none, no email, or test@test.com

How to fix in a spreadsheet:

1. Sort your spreadsheet by the email column. Blank emails will float to the top or bottom, making them easy to spot.
2. Use your spreadsheet's "Find & Replace" feature to remove leading/trailing spaces, or use the TRIM function.
3. Delete or fix any rows with invalid or missing emails.

2. Check Your SKU Column

Why: The SKU column is what connects each order row to a ticket in your event. If a row has no SKU, or the SKU does not match any of your mappings, that customer will not get access to any rooms.

What to look for:

• Missing SKUs: Any row without a SKU value is essentially useless for granting access. Either fill it in or remove the row.
• Extra spaces: TICKET-VIP (with a trailing space) will not match TICKET-VIP. The system is case-insensitive, but extra spaces cause mismatches.
• Typos: TIKCET-VIP vs TICKET-VIP — look carefully at your SKU values.
• Inconsistent values for the same product: Make sure the same product always has the same SKU. Do not have some rows as VIP and others as VIP-TICKET if they are the same thing.

How to fix:

1. Use Find & Replace to standardize SKUs.
2. Use the TRIM function in your spreadsheet to remove hidden spaces: =TRIM(A2)
3. Use the UPPER function to make everything uppercase if that helps you spot errors: =UPPER(TRIM(A2))
4. Cross-reference your SKU values against the mappings you created in Step 2. Every unique SKU value in your spreadsheet should have a corresponding mapping.

3. Fix the Status Column

Why: The order status determines whether the customer gets access to your event content. Only orders marked as "paid" will automatically grant access. If your status column has values the system does not recognize, those orders will still be imported but will not trigger access.

Valid status values:

• paid — The customer paid and should get access
• pending — Payment not yet confirmed
• partially_fulfilled — Some items fulfilled
• fulfilled — All items sent/delivered
• cancelled — Order was cancelled
• refunded — Order was refunded

Common problems:

• Using "complete" or "completed" instead of "paid" or "fulfilled"
• Using "success" or "successful" instead of "paid"
• Using "active" instead of "paid"
• Capital letters do not matter — Paid, PAID, and paid all work

How to fix:

1. Open Find & Replace in your spreadsheet.
2. Search for any non-standard status values (like "complete") and replace them with the correct value (like "paid").

4. Remove Empty Rows

Why: Blank rows in the middle of your data can cause parsing errors.

What to look for: Rows where every column is empty — sometimes these get accidentally added when editing a spreadsheet.

How to fix:

1. Scroll through your data and delete any fully blank rows.
2. In Google Sheets or Excel, you can sort all columns to push blank rows to the bottom, then delete them.

5. Fix the Date Column

Why: If order dates are in an unusual format, the system may not be able to read them.

Accepted date formats:

• 2024-01-15 (recommended — year-month-day)
• 2024-01-15T10:30:00 (with time)
• January 15, 2024
• 01/15/2024

Common problems:

• Dates formatted as 15/01/2024 (day first) — this can be ambiguous. Use 2024-01-15 format instead.
• Dates showing as numbers like 45306 — this happens when Excel converts dates to serial numbers. Reformat the column as a Date in your spreadsheet before saving as CSV.
• Dates with timezone text like EST or PST — the system handles common timezone abbreviations, but the safest approach is to use a simple date without timezones.

How to fix:

1. Select the date column in your spreadsheet.
2. Format it as a Date (in Excel: right-click > Format Cells > Date).
3. If dates look like numbers, format as Date first, then verify they show correctly.

6. Fix Price / Amount Columns

Why: Prices with currency symbols or commas in them can cause errors.

What to look for:

• Currency symbols: $49.99 should be just 49.99
• Commas in large numbers: 1,299.99 should be 1299.99
• Text in price fields: Free or N/A should be 0 or 0.00
• Negative numbers for refunds: These are fine as-is

How to fix:

1. Use Find & Replace to remove $, USD, or other currency symbols.
2. Remove commas from numbers.
3. Replace text values like "Free" with 0.

7. Fix the Quantity Column

Why: Quantities must be whole numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.). If this column is blank, the system defaults to 1.

What to look for:

• Decimal quantities like 1.5 — round these to the nearest whole number
• Text like "one" or "two" — replace with the number 1 or 2
• Zero quantities — remove these rows since they represent no purchase

8. Check for Special Characters in Names

Why: Some special characters in names or text fields can cause parsing issues, especially if commas are involved (since CSV uses commas to separate columns).

What to look for:

• Names or item names that contain commas: "Doe, Jane" — these should be fine if your spreadsheet properly wraps them in quotes when saving as CSV, but double-check after saving
• Unusual characters like emojis, accented characters, or non-English scripts — these usually work fine, but test with a small batch first if you are unsure

9. Check for Duplicate Header Rows

Why: Your CSV should have exactly one header row at the very top. If headers are repeated somewhere in the middle (perhaps from copying and pasting data from multiple sources), the system will try to treat those as order data and they will fail.

How to fix:

1. Look for any row that has values like email, order_id, sku, etc. that appears after the first row.
2. Delete any duplicate header rows.

10. Final Pre-Import Checklist

Before you upload, quickly verify:

• File is saved as .csv (not .xlsx or .numbers)
• First row contains column headers
• Every row has a customer email address
• Every row has a SKU value that matches one of your mappings from Step 2
• The status column says "paid" for customers who should receive access
• No completely blank rows in the middle of the data
• SKUs are consistent and free of extra spaces
• Dates are in a readable format (ideally YYYY-MM-DD)
• Prices are plain numbers without currency symbols
• No duplicate header rows

Step 5: Upload and Import Your CSV

Now that your retailer is set up, your SKUs are mapped, and your data is clean, here is how to actually import it:

Open the Import Window

1. On the Orders tab, click the "Import CSV" button in the top right.
2. A pop-up window titled "Import Orders from CSV" will appear.

Choose the CSV Format

On the left side of the window, you will see a "CSV Format" dropdown. You have two options:

• Shopify Export — Choose this if your CSV file was directly exported from Shopify's Orders > Export feature. Shopify files use specific column names like "Lineitem sku" and "Financial Status."
• Generic CSV — Choose this for any other CSV file. This is the more flexible option and works with the column names described in Step 3.

If you are not sure which to pick: Choose Generic CSV. It accepts the widest range of column names and is the safest choice.

Choose the Retailer

On the right side of the window, you will see a "Retailer" dropdown. Select the retailer you created in Step 1.

Upload Your CSV File

In the center of the window, you will see a file upload area with an upload icon. You have two options:

• Drag and drop: Open the folder on your computer where your CSV file is saved, then drag the file and drop it onto the upload area in the browser.
• Browse for file: Click the "Browse Files" button and use the file picker to navigate to your CSV file.

Once the file is uploaded, the system will immediately check it. If everything looks good, you will see:

• A green checkmark icon
• The file name displayed
• The number of rows ready to import (for example: "47 rows ready to import")

If there is a problem, you will see a red error icon with a message explaining what went wrong (see "Common Problems" below). You can click "Try Again" to upload a different file.

If you uploaded the wrong file, click "Choose Different File" to start over.

Review and Import

After your file is validated:

1. Verify the row count looks correct. If your spreadsheet has 50 orders and it says "50 rows ready to import," you are good to go.
2. Click the "Import X Orders" button at the bottom right (where X is the number of orders).
3. Wait for the import to complete. You will see a spinning loading indicator and the text "Importing..." while it processes.

Understanding the Import Results

After the import finishes, the pop-up window will update to show a results screen.

Successful Import

If everything went smoothly, you will see:

• A green checkmark icon
• "Import Complete"
• "X order(s) imported" — the number of orders that were successfully brought in

Partial Success (Some Failed)

Sometimes some orders import successfully while others fail. You will see:

• A yellow warning icon
• "X order(s) imported, Y failed"
• An Errors section in red listing what went wrong with the failed rows, including which row number had the problem (for example: "Row 5: Missing email")

Unmapped SKUs Warning

If your orders contain SKU codes that have not been linked to tickets in your event, you will see:

• A yellow "Unmapped SKUs" warning box
• A list of the specific SKU codes that need to be mapped

This does not mean the import failed — the orders were still recorded. However, customers will not receive access to your event rooms until you map those SKUs. If you see this:

1. Click "Done" to close the import results.
2. Go back to Step 2 of this guide and create mappings for the listed SKUs.
3. Once the mappings are created, the system automatically goes back and grants access for the already-imported orders. You do not need to re-import.

After Reviewing Results

Click the "Done" button to close the results window. You will be taken back to the Orders tab, where you should now see the newly imported orders in the table.

If there are unmapped SKUs, you will also see a yellow "Unmapped SKUs Detected" banner at the top of the Orders page with a "Map SKUs" button. Clicking that button opens the SKU Mapping window directly to help you resolve unmapped SKUs quickly.

Common Problems and How to Fix Them

"CSV must have a header row and at least one data row"

What it means: Your file is either empty or only has a header row with no actual data underneath it.

How to fix: Open your CSV file and make sure:

• The first row has column names (like customer_email, sku, etc.)
• There is at least one row of actual data below the header row

"Missing required column: customer_email or email"

What it means: The system could not find a column for email addresses in your file.

How to fix: Open your CSV file and check:

• Is there a column with email addresses? If so, make sure the header (first row) for that column is named one of these: customer_email, email, or customeremail.
• Is the header spelled correctly? Look for typos like emai or e-mail.
• Are there extra spaces in the header name? Remove any spaces before or after the column name.

"Row X: Missing email"

What it means: A specific row in your file does not have an email address.

How to fix: Open your CSV file, go to the row number mentioned in the error (keep in mind the header is row 1, so "Row 5" in the error is actually the 6th line in your file). Either add the missing email address or delete the row if it is not a real order.

"Please upload a CSV file"

What it means: The file you selected is not a CSV file.

How to fix: Make sure your file ends with .csv. If you have an .xlsx file, convert it to CSV first (see Step 3).

Some orders imported but some failed

What it means: The file was partially valid. Some rows had issues (like missing emails or invalid data) while others were fine.

How to fix:

1. Note the error messages — they tell you exactly which rows had problems and what went wrong.
2. Fix those rows in your spreadsheet.
3. Save the fixed file as a new CSV.
4. Re-import only the corrected rows. (The system handles duplicates based on order ID and email, so reimporting orders that already succeeded is generally safe.)

Unmapped SKUs after import

What it means: Your orders contain product codes (SKUs) that have not been linked to any tickets in your event. The orders are recorded, but customers will not get access to rooms.

How to fix: Go back to Step 2: Map Your SKUs and create mappings for the unmapped SKU codes listed in the results. Once mapped, access is granted retroactively — you do not need to re-import.

Prices or dates look wrong after import

What it means: Your CSV had formatting issues in the price or date columns.

How to fix:

• For prices: Make sure there are no currency symbols ($, etc.) or thousands separators (commas) in your price values. Use plain numbers like 49.99.
• For dates: Use the YYYY-MM-DD format (for example: 2024-01-15). This is the most universally understood format.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I import the same file twice?

Yes. If orders have the same order ID and come from the same retailer, the system will handle them appropriately. However, it is generally better to avoid importing the same data twice — keep track of what you have already imported.

What happens to customers who don't have an Eventuall account?

The system will automatically create a profile for them using the email address from the CSV. When that customer later signs up or logs in with that email, they will automatically have access to the content their purchase grants them.

Do I need to map SKUs every time I import?

No. Once you create a SKU mapping, it stays in place for that event and retailer. Future imports with the same SKUs will automatically use the existing mappings.

Can I undo an import?

There is no one-click undo for imports. If you imported incorrect data, contact your administrator or development team for assistance.

What's the maximum file size for a CSV?

There is no strict file size limit displayed in the interface, but very large files (tens of thousands of rows) may take longer to process. If you have a very large dataset, consider splitting it into smaller batches of a few thousand orders each.

Can I import from Shopify directly?

Yes. When you open the import window, select "Shopify Export" as the CSV format. This is designed to work with the exact file format that Shopify produces when you go to Orders > Export in your Shopify admin panel. You do not need to modify the Shopify export file — just upload it directly.

What does "paid = grants access" mean?

When an order's status is set to "paid", the system automatically gives that customer access to whatever rooms the purchased ticket is linked to. This is the core purpose of importing sales — getting your paying customers access to your event content. Orders with any other status (pending, cancelled, etc.) are recorded but do not grant access.

I mapped SKUs after importing. Do I need to re-import?

No. SKU mappings work retroactively. When you create a new mapping, the system automatically goes back through all previously imported orders with that SKU and grants access. Your customers will get access without you needing to upload the file again.

My retailer sent me a spreadsheet with different column names. Will it work?

Probably. The system accepts many common variations of column names. For example, all of these work for the email column: customer_email, email, Email, CUSTOMER_EMAIL, customeremail. See the full list of accepted column names in Step 3.

If the system cannot find a required column, it will tell you. You can simply rename the column header in your spreadsheet to match one of the accepted names.