Guidelines for importing Google product catalogs
Before you begin
- Filename must start with "HSCR.V2." (no quotation marks)
- File extension must be .txt
- SFTP directory must be Inbound
- Format must be Tab Separated Value
- Column headings must be lowercase. Use underscores instead of spaces
- Column order doesn't matter
- Some field requirements are determined by Google
About required fields
- Required
This field must have a value. - Conditional
This field only requires a value under specific conditions. See the Description column for guidelines. - Recommended
This field isn't required, but we recommend adding a value for more accurate classifications. See the Description column for examples.
Download a sample import file
| Column heading | Required? (Character limit) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| company_id | Required |
This is your AvaTax company ID. Its a unique column required for Avalara customers.
Finding your company ID
|
| price | Required |
The price of your product and in the appropriate currency. Enter the price numerically and designate the currency by its ISO 4217 currency code.
|
| id |
Required (50) |
A unique value for each product that you sell. Typically the product SKU, but ecommerce platforms may require a different value.
|
| title |
Required (150) |
A short and accurate description of your product, including any distinguishing variations in material, color, or size.
|
| description |
Required (5000) |
An accurate description of your product.
|
| product_type |
Required (750) |
The full category used to organize your product in your inventory.
|
| link | Required |
A link to your product on a verified domain. URLs should comply with RFC 2396 or RFC 1738. For example, a comma is represented as "%2C" |
| image_link | Required |
A link to an image of your product on a verified domain. |
| condition | Required |
The condition of your product at the time of sale.
|
| coo | Recommended |
The country of origin. Enter countries by their two-letter ISO code.
|
| hs_hint | Recommended | If you already know the tariff code or HS6 designation, add it to this column. |
| hs_code_test | Recommended |
This value is used in preproduction testing to verify that Avalara's tariff code assignment functionality is working properly in your sandbox environment. Items aren't classified for sandbox accounts. |
| google_product_category | Recommended |
The product category as defined by Google's product taxonomy.
|
| availability | Recommended |
Your product's availability.
|
| sale_price | Recommended | The price of your product when on sale. |
| sale_price_effective_date |
Recommended (51) |
Only necessary if Sales Price contains a value. Separate start and end dates with a /
|
| gtin |
Recommended (50) |
The product's global trade item number. Added spaces and dashes are ignored
|
| brand |
Recommended (70) |
The brand name of the product. |
| mpn |
Recommended (70) |
The product's manufacturer part number as assigned by its manufacturer.
|
| material |
Recommended (200) |
The primary product material. For materials that have primary and secondary materials, separate up to three materials with a /.
|
| shipping | Recommended |
The shipping method associated with the product or purchase. Shipping values should include the country, shipping service, and shipping price.
|
| color |
Recommended (100) |
The color of your product. Separate multiple colors with a /, listing the primary color first.
|
| to_classify | Conditional |
The countries where your product should be classified. If this field is blank, AvaTax checks your nexus settings under Settings > Where You Collect and then assigns a tariff code to the product for each country. Entering a value in this field overrides the above behavior. Enter countries by their two-letter ISO code. Separate multiple countries with a /.
|
| item_group_id |
Conditional (50) |
A unique value for an item group containing multiple variants. Use item group IDs for sets of products that differ by color, size, pattern, material, age group, or gender. This isn't required if the item isn't part of a group of variants.
|
| gender | Conditional |
A gender designation that normally applies to gender-specific clothing. This isn't required for items without a gender designation, such as furniture.
|
| age_group | Conditional |
An age designation that normally applies to age-specific clothing. This isn't required for items without an age group designation, such as furniture.
|
| size | Conditional |
The size of your clothing products. If it has multiple dimensions (Ex: neck and sleeve measurements), combine them into a single value. This isn't required for items without a size designation, such as furniture.
|
| shipping_weight | Conditional |
The weight of the product. This information is required in some jurisdictions. Weight values can be 0-2000 lbs or 0-1000 kgs.
|
