Validate before importing

An import is fast and hard to unpick: new items are created published, matched items are updated and moved to the end of the order, and nothing can be rolled back. Ten minutes of validation is the cheapest part of the whole operation.

Validate the sheet

Work down the columns before you copy anything.

Titles

• [ ] Sorted and read through once; near-duplicates spotted.
• [ ] No trailing spaces.
• [ ] Apostrophes and accents consistent.
• [ ] Wine titles carry no vintage.
• [ ] Every title that is meant to update an existing item was copied from an export.

Prices

• [ ] Plain values with no spreadsheet currency formatting.
• [ ] Empty where the format is not offered.
• [ ] No 0 used to mean "not offered".
• [ ] One decimal convention.
• [ ] Outliers checked — sort each price column and look at the extremes.

Shape

• [ ] Column order matches the on-screen table.
• [ ] No heading row.
• [ ] No extra columns.
• [ ] Row count is what you expect.

Predict the outcome

Before pasting, write down two numbers: how many items you expect to be created and how many updated.

After saving, the screen reports exactly that — Process complete. N new items created, M items updated. If the numbers do not match your prediction, the titles did not match the way you assumed, and that is the moment to investigate rather than after fifty duplicates exist.

Run a three-row rehearsal

For any import that matters, paste three rows first:

1. One row that should update an existing item.
2. One row that should create a new item.
3. One row with an intentionally empty price cell.

Save, then check:

• the updated item kept the values you left blank;
• the created item is published, in the chosen category, at the end of the list;
• the counts reported match one created and one updated.

That single rehearsal validates the column order, the title matching and the empty-cell behavior at once.

Take the "before" export

Download the current export and keep the file. It is the only record of the previous state — menu items have no revision history and deletion is permanent.

Name it with the menu type and the date.

Check the category

Confirm the category exists and is the right one before saving. It applies to the whole batch, and reassigning afterwards is per-item work.

Confirm timing

An import changes the live menu immediately: new items are created published. If the menu should not change yet, either do the import outside service and draft the items afterwards, or wait.

After saving

• [ ] The reported counts match the prediction.
• [ ] A fresh export compared against the "before" file shows only intended changes.
• [ ] Uncategorized Items is empty.
• [ ] The menu order has been re-checked.
• [ ] The public menu was read signed out.

Full sequence: A safe bulk update workflow.