Welcome to the one-stop guide for managing price books in The Layer. Maybe you're updating tariffs, adding shiny new products, or sweeping out the digital cobwebs 🕸️ from old ones. Whatever you're doing, this guide is here to help you do it confidently and without accidentally deleting everything.
We’ve made it simple. No fluff, no tech talk. Just what you need to know.
Quick Overview - Price Book Imports
You can manage Price Books in a few ways:
Manually add/edit items in the system (fine for quick fixes)
Adding custom items while creating Quotes or Sales Orders (handy in a pinch)
Importing via spreadsheet (CSV)- that’s what this guide is for
This article focuses on the import method, the fastest way to update your Price Books when there’s a lot to change.
Before You Start Importing a Price Book
▶️ Get the right permissions
The Layer won’t work properly without the right permissions.
You’ll need:
Settings ➡️ Items for Inventory
And if you're adding items during quoting: “Add Product to Company Inventory”
▶️ Always export first
Go to the Price Book you want to update
Click Export
Check the item count matches: Before editing, make sure the number of items in The Layer matches what’s in your export.
Example: 1,000 items showing in the Price Book = 1,000 rows in your export file.
Save two copies:
One as a backup (to keep safe, just in case!)
One to edit and import
▶️ Tidy your spreadsheet
Do not touch the Existing Product GUID (Column A) for existing items
Leave the Existing Product GUID blank for new items
Delete rows for any products you want to remove
Double-check formatting:
Format Currency → two decimal places (£12.99)
Percentages → 20%, not 0.2
Ensure you have cleared all the blank cells of any data
Save it and close the file; you’re ready to import
Importing a 'Mobile' Service Price Book: Step-by-Step
Once your spreadsheet is ready to go, follow these steps to import:
Go to Settings ➡️ Inventory ➡️ Mobile
Click Services
Hit the Import button on the Service Manager page
Click Select File
Choose your edited file (CSV only) from your device or shared drive
You’ll see the file name appear just above the Continue button
Click Continue
On the Field Mapping page:
Check the Base Category; it should say Mobile
Ensure the existing Headers are mapped correctly
Click Process
On the Service Import Verification page:
Review your data to make sure it’s correct
Check for any alerts (e.g. new suppliers or subcategories will be created automatically)
Review the column mappings, triple-check that everything has mapped correctly
⚠️ If you’ve changed any column header names in your spreadsheet, they won’t map automatically and will need to be mapped manually
Choose your Decision checkboxes (see the scenarios below for guidance):
Click Proceed with Import
Your Price Book is now updated, nice work!
🚦 The Three Import “Decisions” - What They Actually Do
These are the options The Layer gives you before importing. They control how your existing products are handled.
🚨Important:
The choices you make here don't just affect the Price book, they can also change what's in existing Quotes and Sales Orders. Even a minor update can cause price mismatches, invalidate Quotes, or require reissuing documents.
Before deciding which options to tick, make sure you’ve read:
These will give you a clear picture of what each decision does, how it can impact live or in-progress work, and help you choose the safest combination for your update.
Think of them like rules for how the system should behave during import.
Decision1️⃣: Update item where product GUID is identical
Use this when:
You’re updating prices, names, or settings for existing products
You’re adding new items and want to avoid duplicates
This tells the system: “If this product already exists, just update it.”
Decision2️⃣: Delete products except those to be imported
This will:
Delete any product not in your spreadsheet
Create new Product GUIDs for all items
Only use this when doing a full Price Book refresh. It’s powerful, but not something to take lightly.
Decision3️⃣: Delete all existing products of this type before the import
This wipes out every product in that category before importing your new list.
⚠️ A rare one to use, ONLY go for this if you genuinely want to start from scratch.
Price Book Import Scenarios & Decisions
Scenario | What You're Doing | Which Decisions to Tick | 💡 Pro Tip |
1 | Brand new Price Book | None, leave all unticked | Just import your file as-is, no drama! |
2 | Updating existing products only (e.g. price or name changes) | Decision 1️⃣:
| Prevents duplicates and keeps things neat. Just don’t forget to tick that box! |
3 | Adding new products to an existing Price Book | Decision 1️⃣only | Leave Product ID blank for new items.
New items will be added safely, no duplicates. |
4 | Updating existing products + adding new ones | Decision 1️⃣only | Same as above, but you're doing both at once. Simple. |
5 | Adding new items, updating some, and removing others | Decision 1️⃣ and Decision 2️⃣ | A tidy 🧹sweep, only items in your spreadsheet will stay; everything else will be removed |
6 | Removing a few items and updating others | Decision 1️⃣ and Decision 2️⃣ | Delete the rows you no longer want from the spreadsheet.
Ideal for clearing out old products while updating the rest. |
7 | Deleting all products and replacing with a new list | Decision 3️⃣only | 🚩Warning: This deletes everything before importing
Careful! Use only if you really mean it. |
✅ Final Checks After Import
Review the final item count; it should match your spreadsheet
Confirm the updates have applied correctly
Got any alerts or issues? Don’t panic, Support or your Account Manager can help
Price Book Import Tips & Reminders
Always tick Decision 1️⃣ when updating existing items
Be cautious with Decision 2️⃣ or Decision 3️⃣ → they remove data
Don’t delete active product items that are in use on quotes or sales, wait until they’re no longer needed
When in doubt: ask your Account Manager, they’ll steer you right
💡 Tip:
Always let your team know when you’ve updated a Price Book, so they can check and adjust any open Quotes or Sales Orders.
Recognising and Handling Changes After a Price Book Update
When you update, delete or rename Price Book items, The Layer drops little hints all over your Quotes and Sales Orders to tell you something's changed. Here's what to look for and what to do:
For Quotes 📝
▶️ Name Changes:
You'll see a small i icon next to the item. Hover over it to see the new Price Book Product Name.
If it's just the name that changed (no price update), you can carry on as normal.
▶️ Deleted Items
Unable to Produce the Quote: Check if the item is deleted, scroll right to the Deleted column, and a ✅ green checkmark means it officially does not exist.
▶️ Price Changes/Updates
You’ll see a strikethrough on outdated prices
Spot an amber triangle near Deal Profit (and sometimes in the profit breakdown on the left).
Click the triangle and you’ll see: There is a difference between the current price and the generated price. Please check the service and profit breakdowns for details.
You might also see:
Service Profit change:
Recurring Cost change:
▶️ Handling price updates on sent Quotes
If you’ve already sent the Quote to the customer and the Price Book is updated:
The Quote becomes invalid and can’t be signed.
You’ll need to regulate it, save it, and resend it to the customer.
If you skip saving after regulating and try to produce the Quote, you’ll get:
Always double-check deleted items and updated prices before resending.
🚩If the Quote has already been sent to the customer and is awaiting signature, you’ll also need to reproduce and resend it; otherwise, the customer won’t be able to sign it.
⏰Reminder:
Let your sales team know when you delete or replace Price Book items, so they can update any active Quotes accordingly.
For Sales Orders📦: Special Attention → Here's Why:
What happens next depends on your internal process. You may:
You may replace the item in the Sales Order
Or cancel the Sales Order and issue a new Quote entirely
▶️ Deleted items
Appear with (Deleted) in brackets after the name.
Remove them from the Sales Order before proceeding and add/replace with another item where needed
👉 If the financials have changed, this will create a mismatch between the Quote Finance Report and the Sales Order Finance Report.
▶️ Name changes
Hover over the “i” icon to see the updated Price Book name.
If it’s just a name change, no problem, keep going.
▶️ Price or financial changes
Treat them like you would in a Quote: Regulate to update, then save.
💡 Recap:
Hover
= name change (no price impact) → carry on. (Deleted) Or amber triangle
= something’s changed financially → Regulate and Save before producing.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Price Book updates
What happens to Quotes & Sales Orders when I update the prices for existing items?
They’ll flag price differences and may require regulation before you can send or produce them.
➡️ See Price Changes in Quotes & Sales Orders for step-by-step guidance.
What happens if a Quote was already sent to the customer and I’ve since changed the prices?
It becomes invalid, and the customer can’t sign it.
➡️ See Handling Price Updates on Sent Quotes for exactly what to do.
What happens if I delete items from a Price Book?
They’ll appear as “Deleted” in Quotes and Sales Orders. You’ll need to remove them or swap them out.
➡️ See Deleted Items in Quotes & Sales Orders for the full process.
What if only the product name changes in the Price Book?
You can proceed as normal; no financial regulation is needed.
➡️ See Recognising Name Changes for details.
💡 Tips:
Always check with your team or management on the right steps, especially when changes could affect customer pricing or reporting.
Deleting items can impact finance reporting, so always double-check before making changes, especially in live customer journeys.