Update Shopify prices from a supplier spreadsheet
Reviewed September 25, 2026 · PriceListPilot workflow guide
A supplier’s Excel file rarely has the same structure as your Shopify product export. First match the right variants, then review costs and selling prices, and only then prepare the fields you intend to import.
This guide is for retailers processing one supplier’s CSV or XLSX price list at a time. PriceListPilot is a standalone browser tool, not an installed Shopify app or an automatic inventory feed. You choose the updates and import supported files yourself.
The production site is a launch preview: the fictional demo, customer-file comparisons and issue reports are free. New purchases for customer-file export access are not open yet.
1. Start with a fresh Shopify product export
Export your products from Shopify and keep an unchanged copy. The store export supplies the product handles, variant options and existing values needed to prepare updates. A supplier file containing only SKUs and costs is not automatically a ready-to-import Shopify product CSV.
If products or prices change while you are reviewing the supplier list, use a fresh export and compare again. An offline comparison cannot detect intervening changes in your store. Shopify explains the export process in its product export guide.
2. Confirm the supplier columns and vendor
Choose your Shopify CSV and the current supplier CSV or XLSX. For a workbook, select the worksheet and header row that contain the actual price list. Confirm the store vendor, identifier column and per-item cost column. You may add a previous supplier list for a separate previous-to-current supplier comparison.
Confirm one currency, consistent tax basis and per-item units before comparing. A carton price is not a unit price, and a different currency is not a cost increase. PriceListPilot does not infer a currency conversion. Check the number format, including decimal and thousands separators, against the file preview.
3. Review exact SKU or barcode matches
Match identifiers as text within the selected vendor. Leading zeros matter: 00001 and 1 are different identifiers. If Excel already removed zeros or rounded a long numeric barcode, get a corrected text-formatted source rather than assuming the original value can be recovered.
Check duplicate identifiers, unmatched supplier rows, invalid costs and ambiguous store matches. Resolve those records or leave them excluded; a plausible first match is not proof that it is the correct variant. Use the free issue report to investigate the source rows.
4. Review the cost change before choosing a selling price
A higher supplier cost does not require the same percentage increase in selling price. Inspect the product-cost margin and decide whether to keep the current price, use a rule, or enter a manual price. Markup and gross margin use different denominators.
| Measure | Before | After supplier increase |
|---|---|---|
| Product cost | 30.00 | 35.00 |
| Selling price, if retained | 50.00 | 50.00 |
| Product-cost gross margin | 40% | 30% |
To maintain at least 40% product-cost gross margin, calculate 35 ÷ (1 − 0.40). Rounding upward to the next cent gives 58.34. That margin excludes shipping, advertising, payment fees and other operating costs; it is not net business profit.
5. Choose reports or supported Shopify updates
The analytical change report explains the comparison; it is not a Shopify import file. Select the reviewed cost and/or price changes you want, then use Prepare Shopify updates to create the separate supported cost and price files when export access is available. The fictional demo lets you try the export workflow for free.
Some product groups are deliberately excluded. Metafield-linked options are report-only, and a missing original sibling value can block the corresponding update file. Read the Shopify import compatibility details before relying on a prepared file.
6. Import manually and inspect the result
Review the generated file and use Shopify’s product import flow, with the overwrite option appropriate for existing matching handles. Test a small, reviewed set first and inspect the updated variants. Keep the original export so you can compare intended and actual changes. Shopify’s import guide and CSV field reference explain required fields and how blank versus omitted values can affect an import.
Can I do this with Excel or Google Sheets instead?
Yes. Keep the Shopify export as the starting table, verify that the vendor-and-identifier key is unique, use an exact-match lookup to bring in supplier costs, and calculate proposed prices in separate review columns. Investigate duplicates before using lookup results. Prepare a Shopify-compatible file with the required product and variant identity fields; do not import your analysis columns as product data.
PriceListPilot brings these review steps together, but an existing spreadsheet process may already suit your needs. Try the fictional sample and compare the workflow for yourself.
Need help with a file or exclusion? Ask a question.