What columns you need and why
Most supplier files arrive with whatever columns the supplier felt like exporting. A review-ready file carries nine: enough to match, compare, and approve without going back to ask what a number meant. Anything missing becomes a guess, and guesses are what eat margin.
The template, row by row
supplier_sku
The supplier part number, exactly as the supplier writes it. Stored as text so leading zeros survive. This is the match key for your whole review.
description
Short plain description. Used for human checks and fallback matching when a SKU is reworded.
list_price
The supplier list price in the file currency. Watched together with the multiplier, never alone.
multiplier
The discount multiplier as a decimal, such as 0.46. Multiplier-only moves are invisible to anyone watching list price alone.
net_cost
Your computed cost: list price times multiplier, on the stated pack and unit basis. Recompute it on import instead of trusting it.
uom
Unit of measure per row: EA, BX, C for per-hundred, and similar. A flipped UOM is the costliest silent error in this job.
pack_qty
Units inside one pack. Compare per-each cost, never box price to box price across different packs.
currency
Three-letter code such as USD. Mixed-currency files need this per row, not per file.
effective_date
ISO date the prices take effect, such as 2026-09-01. Ambiguous dates like 01/07/2026 are ignored until clarified.
Identifier hygiene before anything else
The template's last sample row carries a leading-zero SKU on purpose. Open the CSV by double-clicking and Excel will silently turn 00712-4 into 712-4, breaking every match for that item. Import through the Text Import Wizard or Power Query with the SKU column set to Text, and verify the zeros survived before you review a single price. This one habit prevents more phantom misses than any formula.
From template to reviewed update
A clean template is the halfway point. Try the recompute habit on the sample elbow row right now: $9.20 list times 0.46 multiplier equals $4.23 net. If the file claimed anything else, you would have caught a moved multiplier or a changed basis in ten seconds. The second half is the review: match each SKU to your catalog, convert every change to cost per each, and approve line by line. The full method is covered in how to compare two supplier price lists in Excel, including the filtered-paste bug that corrupts formula reviews. When the manual version starts costing afternoons, the free RowTune sample shows the same review with matching, pack checks, and margin context built in.
Frequently asked questions
Which columns does a supplier price file need?
At minimum: supplier SKU, description, list price, multiplier, unit of measure, pack quantity, currency, and effective date. Those nine columns answer what changed, on what basis, and from when. Anything less forces guesswork during review.
How do I stop Excel from eating leading zeros in SKUs?
Format the SKU column as Text before pasting data, or prefix values with an apostrophe on entry. Never open a supplier CSV by double-clicking and re-saving without checking identifiers first. One stripped zero breaks every match downstream.
Should I trust the net cost column in a supplier file?
Treat it as a claim, not a fact. Recompute list times multiplier on the stated pack and unit basis, and flag rows where your math disagrees with theirs. A mismatch usually means a moved multiplier, a changed pack, or a flipped unit.
What do I do with this template once it is filled?
Review it the same way you would any update: match SKUs, normalize to cost per each, approve each change, export only approvals. The free RowTune sample shows that review on fictional data, and a $19 single-file pass runs one real file through it.