Select the BISAC / ROSI file you want

Click on the Import button

The Front List/PO Import window appears in iMerchant.

There are a few fields to fill out:

• Name: to Identify the file field, key in the name for this Front List file.
• Vendor: choose a vendor.
  • This is the vendor who provided you with the Front List file.
• Comment (optional): If there is a something you wish to key in here concerning this file, the Comment field is the place to do it.
• File Type: for a BISAC file, select BISAC (ISBN_10)
  • For Ingram ROSI, select Ingram ROSI (ISBN_13)
• Save your changes and close out of the window.
  • If any records have missing information, a dialogue box will appear informing you how many.
• You will be taken back to the Front List/PO Import Find window
• The Front List you just added will now be included in the grid at the bottom of the screen.

To import a delimited file or Edelweiss Front List file:

• Select the Delimited or Edelweiss file you want
• Click on the Import button
• Fill in the Name to Identify the file field and Vendor field, and add a comment to the Comment field if desired.
• These steps are no different than when you import a BISAC file.
• Under File Type
  • Select the Delimited File option or Edelweiss, if that is the file type you are importing.
  • When you do this, the fields underneath will become active (they are grayed out for BISAC and Ingram ROSSI files.
  • If the file you are importing has column headers and you want iMerchant to read and match them.
  • Check the Header Record is Included box
• In the Delimiter Used field
  • Click on the down arrow at the right and select the delimiter used in the imported file
    • i.e. if a .csv file, the delimiter would be a comma
• Click on the Match Fields button at the lower right of the window.
• This will call up the Front List/PO Import Delimited File window.
• Here, you will match the column headers from the imported file with the standard iMerchant headings
• ADD STEPS UNTIL YOU ARE BACK AT FRONT LIST PO IMPORT FIND WINDOW

At the top of the window, you can select an existing template with which to work.

Click on the Manage Saved Forms button

Select the option to choose from formats designed by all users, or just yourself.

Click on the down arrow on the field to the left and scroll through the options

Click on the Manage Saved Forms button

Select the option to Create a New Format

The new format dialogue box will appear, asking you to name it.

At the extreme left of the window, there is a column called Field Name

The values underneath this are the iMerchant header names.

What this window does is allow you to match the headers from the imported file with their iMerchant equivalents.

The rows under the Field in File column represent the header names in your imported Front List file.

They will all have a down arrow to the right of them.

Click on this arrow, and from the list, select the name that best matches the iMerchant equivalent to the left of it.

Sometimes, there will be a direct match.

• For example, Author will often be the same in both columns.
• But it doesn't matter. Because if the heading in the imported file was "Auth," it will still be converted to "Author" once the process is saved.

Only the top two rows Product Number and Description are required.

Set up your import process to fill in fields with a default value.

For this example we will use Binding code

• With Binding, if you do not have an equivalent column heading in your imported file, you can leave it blank
• or
• Select the Use Default Only choice from the pulldown menu under the Field in File column.
  • Use Default Only selection refers to the third column Default.
  • Whatever you select under Default for each row will be that row's default value for every title imported from the Front List.
    • e.g. with Binding, if you select Use Default Only under the Field in File column
    • Every title imported from this Front List file will have the Binding Code you select under the Default column.
  • Default can also be used in another way.
    • Let's say you choose Binding under the Field in File column in the iMerchant Binding row.
    • This means your imported file includes at least some Binding Codes.
    • Not every title in the imported file has a Binding Code though, some are blank.
    • So, under Default you select a default Binding Code of B
      • If you selected Use Default Only under the Field in File column
        • All titles imported from this file would have a Binding Code of B
          • If you had left the Binding Code blank under Default
          • The titles imported would have no Binding Code
        • If you select BINDINGS here, coupled with a Binding Code of B under the Default column
        • Any title that had an existing Binding Code on the import file will retain Binding Code after the import.
          • However, any title that did not have a Binding Code in the import file will now be assigned a Binding Code of B the default after the import.
          • This method applies to any non-required row in this window.
    • Also, take note of the No Default check box field to the right of the Default column.
      • This check box field will appear to all rows that have lookup boxes.
      • Unchecked = everything described above will take place.
      • Checked = the system will override a default value (if one is assigned) for any row whose value is invalid or blank.
    • Go through all of the rows and set the values accordingly, then, when finished,
    • Click on the Apply button at the top left of the window.
  • You are returned to the Front List/PO Import window.
• From here, having imported your file and matched your headings
• Click on the Save button at the top of the window and Close out of the window.
• You are returned to the Front List/PO Import Find window, and the just-added Front List file is now included in the grid at the bottom of the screen.
• From here you can select the Front List if you are ready to process its titles onto a PO.

That leads to the next part of the process

Once you have Front Lists imported into iMerchant, how do you work with them?

1. Back at the Front List/PO Import Selections window:

• The Import File field
  • Click on the binoculars button
  • This calls up the Front List/PO Import Find window
  • All imported Front List files will display in the grid at the bottom of the screen.
  • Double click on the file you want to work with.
  • You are taken right back to the Front List/PO Import Selections window
  • The name of the Front List file you just selected will appear in the Front List field.

2. Now choose your desired store.

• In the Store field
• Click on the binoculars button
• This will call up the Find Store window, select the appropriate store.

3. Next comes the PO step.

You can either stick titles from the Front List onto an existing PO, or you can create a new PO.

If you want to put the titles on an existing PO:

• Select the desired PO in the Purchase Order field
• Click on the Select PO button to the right of it.
• The system will tell you that it's creating a Front List Detail, and this will take a few seconds.
• Once it is done running, the Front List/PO Import Product Select window opens.
• This lists all of the titles on the Front List file.
• From here, you can add titles onto the PO, or add them into your inventory without putting them on the PO.

If you'd rather put the titles from the Front List onto a new PO:

• Click on the Create New PO button at the lower right of the Front List/PO Import Selections window.
• This will call up the Front List/PO Import-Create New PO window.
• Several fields need to be filled in here.
  • PO Prefix and Suffix (optional): Key in either a prefix or a suffix or both or leave the fields blank. It's optional.
  • Vendor Selection: allows you to choose a vendor with which to place the PO.
    • Click on the binoculars icon at the right of the field to call up the Find Vendor window
    • Select the appropriate vendor.
  • Discount (optional): You can override the to-be-ordered discount percentage already set up in iMerchant for the applicable vendors in Vendor Properties
    • Or you can leave this alone and use the discount percentage established in Vendor Properties
    • If you want to override an existing discount
      • Key in a discount percentage here in the Discount field.
  • There are two optional fields for the PO's Header information.  
    • Buyer: allows you to place the individual buyer on the header of the PO.
      • e.g. if a certain employee is cutting this PO, his or her name can be put in the header.
    • Ship Method: if you want, select the shipping method that will appear in the header of the PO you are creating or just leave it blank.
  • Cancel Backorder (checkbox):
    • Checked = items the vendor does not have on hand will be canceled from the PO
    • Unchecked = items will be placed on backorder
  • Cancel Order Date: Select a date that is the cut-off point for the order.
    • After this cut-off date, if the PO has not been fulfilled, it will be canceled.
    • Either key in a date or click on the arrow to the right of the field for a mini-calendar
  • Request Ship Date: Select the date that you would like the items on the PO to be shipped.
    • This defaults to the current date.

4. Once all of the fields have been set, Save your work and Close out of the window.

A message box appears, telling you the new PO will be created.

• If you want to proceed
• Click on OK inside this box.

The system will then tell you that it's creating a Front List Detail, and this will take a few seconds. Once it is done running, the Front List/PO Import Product Select window opens.

• This lists all of the titles on the Front List file. From here, you can add titles onto the PO, or add them into your inventory, but not to the PO.

At this point, whether you are calling up an existing PO, or creating a new PO, you will have been taken to the Front List/PO Import Product Select window.

All the titles on the Front List appear in this window, in the grid on the lower portion of the screen.

Front List, Product Store, and PO are informational

PO Defaults can be changed, if desired:

• Quantity: the default quantity that will automatically appear in the Quantity field as you add titles to the PO.
• Discount: the default Discount percentage is taken from what you keyed in in the Discount field back at the Front List-Create New PO window, or from the discount % as established in the already-existing PO you selected.

Product Defaults:

• Industry: Select the default industry that will come in when products from this Front List file are added into iMerchant.
• Set Defaults for New Products button
  • Click on this to call up the Select Fields for Defaults box.
  • This box lists the applicable fields (the ones you can set defaults for).
  • Check the box to the left of each field for which you want to set up product default values.
  • These are the fields that will be set to the default values you select.
  • Unchecked fields will not be used as defaults.
  • When you have placed a check beside all of the fields for which you want to establish defaults
  • Click on the Next
    • Enter values for the selected fields button.
      • If you want to back out without establishing defaults
      • Click on Quit - exit and do not save defaults
    • This calls up the Set Default values box.
  • All of the fields you had checked at the previous screen will be listed here.
  • For each field, select the default value you want to use.
  • When you're through, click on the Next - Update Defaults button
    • the fields will be set with the default values you have chosen
  • You will be brought back to the Product Properties screen.
  • If you need to go back to the Select Fields for Defaults box
    • Click on the Previous - select fields to update button.
  • If you want to abort the process entirely
    • Click on the Quit - exit and do not save defaults button.
• Use defaults when adding an item: Checked = Active
• Use Retail as MSRP: Checked = Active

In the grid itself, notice the icon at the left of each row

Green and smiling: this title is already on your inventory file.

• Therefore, you cannot add it to inventory as a new record, since it already exists
• you can, however, create a new item for the title, if you wish

Yellow and not smiling: you don't have it in your inventory, and therefore it can be added as a new title.

Most of the columns in this grid are self-explanatory

Two columns that need some elaboration are:

On Current PO: for each title listed, the quantity ordered on the current PO (the PO you just created or the PO you just called up) is listed.

• At the beginning of the process, all of the rows will be blank underneath this column heading, since you haven't placed any titles on the PO yet.

On All POs. lists the quantity for each title listed on ALL active POs in your store, including the existing one.

• So, if you place an order quantity of 2 on the current PO for a title, but the title is also being ordered on another PO, with an order quantity of 7, a value of 9 will appear under the All POs column
• A value of 2 will appear under the Current PO column

You can highlight as many titles as you want and add them to your inventory or onto the PO simultaneously

or you will need to scroll (using the mouse or standard Windows keyboard techniques) through the list title by title and either add titles to inventory, or add them to the PO.  

First, let's look at how to add a title to your inventory, but not to the PO.

If you do this, you are just adding the title record into your store inventory, with a zero onhand

• Highlight the title you want to add to your inventory.
• To add a new title, and not just an item of an already-existing title record, you will add titles with a yellow, nonsmiling face to the left of them.
  • Click on the Add Task Bar button
  • The New Product dialogue box appears.
  • Check to make sure the Product Number field and Industry field are correct
  • Click on Next.
  • You are taken to Product Properties for the just-added title.
    • If you subscribe to iMerchant's Venstock service, some of the fields will be filled in already.
      • If there is no Venstock record for the title, then the fields will be filled in with the information obtained from the Front List file.
  • You can add information to more fields at this point or you can wait to do that until later.
  • Once you review the information
  • Save the record
  • Close out of the Product Properties window.
  • You will be immediately taken back to the Front List Product Select window
  • The title you just added to your inventory will now have a green smiling face next to it.

To add an item to your inventory for a title that already exists (in other words, it has a green smiley face next to it):

• Highlight the title you want to add as a new item
• Click on the Add button
• The Add New Item for Product window appears.
  • This window has an assortment of fields for the selected title.
• To create a new item, you need to change at least one of the fields in this window.
• Once you have changed the desired field(s), click on the Add New Item button at the bottom of the window. (
  • If you want to back out without creating a new item, click on the Cancel button
• A dialogue box tells you that the new item has been saved.

You can also add multiple titles to your inventory simultaneously.

• Highlight the titles you want to add to your inventory
• Click on the Add Selected button
  • A message pops up informing you of how many titles you selected to add and letting you that the system will check to see if the titles already exist in your inventory file and will add those that do not exist.
• If you want to continue
  • Click Yes.
• Otherwise
  • Click No to abort the process.
• The titles that can be added will be, and the system will guide you through the process as needed with prompts and dialogue boxes.

Now, how to add the Front List titles, one by one, to the PO.

• Highlight a title in the grid on the Front List Product Select window.
• Click on the PO Detail button, or simply press Enter on your keyboard.
• One of two things will happen, depending on whether or not the title already exists in your inventory.
  • If it does not exist (yellow non-smiling face)
    • You will need to add it to your inventory before you can add it to the PO, and the New Product window will pop up.
    • Verify that the information in this window is correct, then click on Next.
    • In Product Properties, verify that the information is correct, and then Save and Close out of that program.
    • The Purchase Order Properties window work screen immediately appears for this title.
    • The Quantity field will default to the value established under PO Defaults at the top of the Front List Product Select window.
    • Change it if needed. Same with the Discount.
    • The value there comes from the default set in the Front List Product Select window.
    • That, too, can be changed.
    • Apply the title to the PO
    • Save the changes, and close out of the PO Properties window.
    • You are returned to the Front List Product Select window.
    • Since you added the title to inventory, the icon is now the green smiley face.
    • Since you added it to the PO, the values under the On Current PO and On All POs columns will be updated.
    • Go through the titles in the Front List Product Select window, and add as many as you want to inventory and the PO using the above method.
  • If a title in the Front List Product Select window already exists in your inventory:
    • Highlight the title in the grid.
    • Click on the PO toolbar button, or simply press Enter on your keyboard.
    • Since the title is already in your inventory, you will be brought straight to the Purchase Order Properties window
    • From there, set the Quantity and Discount and any other applicable fields the way you want them
    • Apply the title to the PO
    • Save the changes, and close out of the PO Properties window.
    • You will be returned to the Front List Product Select window, and the values under the On Current PO and On All POs columns will be updated.
    • Repeat the above procedures for any titles you want to add to the PO.
    • When you are through, close out of the Front List Product Select window by clicking on the Close button.

You can also highlight multiple titles in the list and place them onto the PO simultaneously.

But, there are some restrictions to this.

• The product must already exist.
• If it is not yet in your inventory, it cannot be mass-selected with other products onto the PO simultaneously.
• It must either be added to inventory first or you'll need to add it to the PO using the PO Detail method explained above.
• If any of the selected titles are already on the existing PO they cannot be added to the PO using this method.

Once you have highlighted the titles you want to add simultaneously onto the PO:

• Click on the PO Selected button.
• Instantly, you will notice the value under the On Current PO and On All POs columns be updated.
• The selected titles have all been instantly and simultaneously added to the PO.

If any of the titles selected had already existed on the PO, or were not already in your store's inventory

• An error message would pop up, explaining that you cannot add the titles to the PO using this method.

iMerchant Tip: If you do not have time to place all of the titles from the Front List onto the PO during one session, simply reopen the Front List Product Select window for the Front List at a later time, and resume with your work. Anything you did with titles from the Front List previously will have been saved by the system.

If you want to use the Grouping function:

• Click on the Grouping button

Go to TOOLS > OPTIONS > PURCHASING TAB

The CSV file should have fields with commas enclosed within quotes, otherwise data with single quotes will create issues when importing Front List file.