> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.getatelier.design/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Import and export

> Bring an existing spreadsheet into Atelier, and get a schedule back out as CSV or PDF.

Most studios arrive at Atelier with schedules already in Excel or Google
Sheets, and most still need to hand a file to a contractor now and then.
Both directions are covered.

## Import a spreadsheet

**Import** on a schedule takes a CSV. Atelier reads the columns and maps
them onto schedule fields.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Tidy the sheet first">
    One header row at the top. No merged cells, no blank rows between
    sections, no notes floating in column M. Every product on its own row.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name columns recognisably">
    *Product*, *Brand*, *Qty*, *Vendor cost*, *Retail price*, *Lead time*,
    *Room*, *Finish*, *Material*. Close is good enough — you confirm the
    mapping on import.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save as CSV">
    UTF-8, so accented characters and currency symbols survive.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Import and check the mapping">
    Confirm each column lands where you expect before committing.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review the result">
    Check the project Overview afterwards — **No price set** and **No room
    assigned** will tell you what did not come across.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  Imported rows arrive without library products behind them. They will not
  have vendor pages, product images, or a link to the pinboard they were
  presented on. For pieces you specify often, adding them to the product
  library properly is worth the extra minute.
</Info>

## Export

**Export** produces a file from the current schedule.

| Format  | Use it for                                                                                 |
| ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **CSV** | Handing data to a contractor, an accountant, or another system. Opens in Excel and Sheets. |
| **PDF** | A presentation or a site copy. Formatted, printable, not editable.                         |

The export reflects your current **Columns** and **Organize** settings, so
what you see is what you get.

<Warning>
  Set up a client-facing column view before exporting anything a client will
  see. Vendor cost and markup should not be in it.
</Warning>

## Moving from a spreadsheet for good

1. **Import one live project.** Not your whole back catalogue. One project
   you are actively working on.
2. **Build the library as you go.** Every product you specify from now on
   goes into the library. Within a few projects, most of what you reach
   for is already there.
3. **Stop maintaining both.** The moment you keep the spreadsheet updated
   "just in case", you have two schedules and one of them is wrong.