Business Unit import

Learn about the headers and values supported for importing Business Units from CSV files.

Supported headers and values

Business Units can either be a Company if the Business Unit is a top-level unit, or a Division if it is a sub-unit. The following headers and values apply to both types:
HeaderValueRequired/Optional
keyA unique identifier for the Business Unit. The key must only include letters, numbers, underscores (_), or dashes (-).

If a Business Unit with the provided key exists, the Business Unit is updated with the provided value—otherwise, a new Business Unit is created.
Required
nameName of the Business Unit.Required
contactEmailEmail address of the Business Unit.Optional
statusActive or InactiveOptional. If not included, the default value is Active.
associates.associateRoleAssignments.associateRole.keyThe key of the referenced Associate Role.Required, when importing associates.
associates.associateRoleAssignments.inheritanceEnabled or Disabled. If Enabled, the assignment can be inherited by child Business Units.Optional. If not included, the default value is Disabled.
associates.customer.keyThe key of the Customer that acts as an Associate for the Business Unit.Required, when importing associates.
storesKey of a Store the Business Unit is associated with. To assign multiple Stores, separate the Store keys with a semicolon. Can only be set when storeMode is Explicit.Optional
addressesSee Addresses for more information on what headers and values to include. To import an address you must always include addresses.key and addresses.country.Required, when shippingAddressKeys, defaultShippingAddressKey, billingAddressKeys, or defaultBillingAddressKey are included.
shippingAddressKeysThe key of the Address to be a shipping address. To assign multiple Addresses, separate the Address keys with a semicolon.Optional
defaultShippingAddressKeyThe key of the Address to be the default shipping address.Optional
billingAddressKeysThe key of the Address to be a billing address. To assign multiple Addresses, separate the Address keys with a semicolon.Optional
defaultBillingAddressKeyThe key of the Address to be the default billing address.Optional
custom.type.keyThe key of the Type referenced in a Custom Field.Required, when importing Custom Fields to a Business Unit.
custom.fields.{nameOfCustomField}Replace {nameOfCustomField} with the name of the Custom Field, as defined in the respective FieldDefinition. The value must conform to the FieldType of the Custom Field. For more information, see Custom Fields.Optional

Company

The following headers and values apply only to Company Business Units.
HeaderValueRequired/Optional
unitTypeCompanyRequired
storeModeExplicitOptional
associateModeExplicitOptional
approvalRuleModeExplicitOptional

Division

The following headers and values apply only to Division Business Units.
HeaderValueRequired/Optional
unitTypeDivisionRequired
parentUnit.keyThe key of the Business Unit that is the parent of the imported Business Unit.Required
storeModeExplicit or FromParent. If Explicit, you must define the Stores in stores. If FromParent, the Stores are inherited from the closest parent in the hierarchy that has Stores defined.Required, when stores are included.
associateModeExplicit or ExplicitAndFromParent.

If Explicit, you must define the Associates in associates.

If ExplicitAndFromParent, the Associates can be defined and are also inherited from a parent.
Optional
approvalRuleModeExplicit or ExplicitAndFromParent.

If Explicit, you must define the Approval Rules of the Business Unit.

If ExplicitAndFromParent, the Approval Rules can be defined and are also inherited from a parent.
Optional

Addresses

HeaderValueRequired/Optional
addresses.keyUser-defined identifier of the Address. Must be unique when multiple addresses are referenced in a Business Unit.Required
addresses.countryThe ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code of the country, for example, US or JP.Required
addresses.titleTitle of the contact, for example 'Dr.'Optional
addresses.salutationSalutation of the contact, for example 'Mr.' or 'Ms.'Optional
addresses.firstNameGiven name (first name) of the contact.Optional
addresses.lastNameFamily name (last name) of the contact.Optional
addresses.streetNameName of the street.Optional
addresses.streetNumberStreet number.Optional
addresses.additionalStreetInfoFurther information on the street address.Optional
addresses.postalCodePostal code.Optional
addresses.cityName of the city.Optional
addresses.regionName of the region.Optional
addresses.stateName of the state, for example, Colorado.Optional
addresses.companyName of the company.Optional
addresses.departmentName of the department.Optional
addresses.buildingNumber or name of the building.Optional
addresses.apartmentNumber or name of the apartment.Optional
addresses.pOBoxPost office box number.Optional
addresses.phonePhone number of the contact.Optional
addresses.mobileMobile phone number of the contact.Optional
addresses.emailEmail address of the contact.Optional
addresses.faxFax number of the contact.Optional
addresses.additionalAddressInfoFurther information on the Address.Optional
addresses.externalIdIdentifier for the contact used in an external system.Optional
addresses.custom.type.keyThe key of the Type referenced in a Custom Field.Required, when importing Custom Fields to an Address.
addresses.custom.fields.{nameOfCustomField}Replace {nameOfCustomField} with the name of the Custom Field, as defined in the respective FieldDefinition. The value must conform to the FieldType of the Custom Field. For more information, see Custom Fields.Optional

Custom Fields

Replace {nameOfCustomField} with the name of the Custom Field, as defined in the respective FieldDefinition. The name of the Custom Field is case-sensitive.
When importing LocalizedString Custom Fields, provide headers and values for each language. For example, for English and German, provide custom.fields.{nameOfCustomField}.en and custom.fields.{nameOfCustomField}.de respectively.

When importing boolean Custom Fields, the values must be lowercase.

For Money Custom Fields, provide the following additionally:

HeaderValueRequired/Optional
custom.fields.{nameOfCustomField}.currencyCodeAn ISO 4217-compliant currency code such as USD, EUR, or GBP.Required
custom.fields.{nameOfCustomField}.centAmountAn amount in the smallest indivisible unit for a currency. For example, 500 can be equal to USD 5.00 or JPY 500.Required
custom.fields.{nameOfCustomField}.typecentPrecisionRequired
custom.fields.{nameOfCustomField}.fractionDigitsThe number of digits after the decimal separator. For example, 2 for USD or 0 for JPY.Required

Sets of Custom Fields

For sets of simple Custom Fields (such as numbers, text, and booleans) the header would contain the Custom Fields name, and value would be a semicolon-separated list. The following example demonstrates how to import sets of text and numbers.

custom.fields.colorCombinationcustom.fields.numberSet
red;green;blue10;5;32

Sets of complex Custom Fields

For sets of complex values (such as localized text, references, and money), you can import single set values by defining the index and the subfields in the header. The following example demonstrates how to update the first entry of a set of Custom Fields called relatedCategories that references Categories.
custom.fields.relatedCategories.1.keycustom.fields.relatedCategories.1.typeId
red-shirtscategory
To update the second entry, include the same headers but change 1 to 2.
You can also import multiple set values by using * instead of a number. With this approach, the values of set items are entered into sequential rows.
The following example demonstrates how to create a set of Custom Fields called relatedCategories with four entries.
custom.fields.relatedCategories.*.keycustom.fields.relatedCategories.*.typeId
red-shirtscategory
summer-collectioncategory
new-arrivalscategory
red-accessoriescategory

Delete data

When updating resources, you can remove data for optional fields. To remove data, in the CSV file, enter [DELETE] as the value for the header (field). When deleting values for reference fields or multi-value fields, you must add a new column with the common prefix as the header, and enter [DELETE] as the value.