How to Prepare Your Menu Spreadsheet for a CSV Import

Typing a full menu into a website one dish at a time is slow, and it is easy to make mistakes along the way. Importing a spreadsheet is much faster, but only if the file is tidy. A messy sheet produces duplicate products, empty categories and prices that look wrong to guests. A little preparation saves hours of cleanup afterwards.

One row per product

Start with the simplest rule: every product gets exactly one row. Do not merge cells, do not leave blank rows between sections and do not put two dishes in one cell. Each column should hold one kind of information, such as name, category, price, description or image. If a dish comes in several sizes, decide in advance whether those are separate products or portions of one product, and stay consistent.

Keep categories consistent

Categories are created from the text you type, so “Starters”, “starters” and “Starter” may end up as three different categories. Pick one spelling for each category and copy it rather than typing it again. If you use subcategories, write them in the same format on every row.

Format prices the same way everywhere

• Use plain numbers without currency symbols, for example 12.50 rather than “€12.50”.
• Pick one decimal separator and check that your spreadsheet program does not change it on export.
• Decide whether prices include tax and keep that rule for every row.
• Leave sale or campaign prices for later unless you really need them on day one.

Options, extras and image names

Options and extras are where most imports go wrong. Write them in a clear, repeatable pattern, for example a group name followed by its choices and any extra price. Keep the same group names across products, so “Extra toppings” is not called “Add-ons” on the next row. For images, use simple file names without spaces or special characters, such as margherita-pizza.jpg, and make sure each file name in the sheet matches the uploaded file exactly.

Check the result and keep a backup

After the import, open the menu on your phone the way a guest would. Look for missing photos, wrong categories, odd prices and options that do not appear. Then compare a few products with the original sheet. QR Menu Manager imports and exports products as CSV files, which Excel and Google Sheets open and save easily, and because they are WooCommerce products, everything you import lives in your own WordPress database.

1. Import a small test batch and review it on a phone.
2. Fix the pattern in the spreadsheet, not product by product on the site.
3. Import the full menu.
4. Export the result straight away and store the file somewhere safe.

That export is your backup. Next time you change prices or add a seasonal menu, start from the latest export instead of an old file, and you will always have a clean starting point.