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How to Import Menu Items for Price Mode

Bulk-load items into a specific Price Mode in Creator using a CSV file. Covers the required columns, the import preview step, and what to do when the import doesn't match items the way you expected.

Last updated on July 23, 2026

📋 Overview

Price Modes let you charge a different price for the same item depending on context — for example, a "Happy Hour" or "Employee" mode. To get items into a Price Mode quickly, upload a CSV with the item IDs and the new prices, and Creator will create or update them in one pass.

When to use this:

  • First-time setup of a Price Mode with many items
  • Refreshing prices after a menu change
  • Standing up a new Price Mode without clicking through every item one at a time

Already in the Price Mode and just need to nudge a few prices? Edit them in place — see How to Edit Existing Price Mode Items.

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New to Creator? Start with How to add and edit menu items for a quick tour of where Price Modes live in the sidebar.

📋 How to Import Price Mode Items

Step 1. Navigate to Creator

  1. Go to creator.mashgin.com and log in
  1. Confirm you're in the correct location at the top of the screen

Step 2. Open Price Modes → Import Items

  1. In the left sidebar, find the Price Modes section
  1. Click Import Items
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Step 3. Pick the Price Mode and upload your CSV

  1. Choose the destination Price Mode from the dropdown at the top
  1. Click Browse and select the .csv file you want to import
  1. Click Preview Import to review what will change before committing
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💡

Required CSV columns:

  • item_id or pos_id (one is required)
  • price (required)
  • name (optional)
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Other columns in the file will be ignored. Make sure prices use a plain decimal format (e.g. 3.50, not $3.50)

Step 4. Apply the changes

  1. Read the preview carefully — confirm the count of added vs updated items matches what you expected
  1. Click Apply Changes to commit the import
  1. The new prices sync to the kiosk automatically within a couple of minutes

To verify, open one of the affected items in the Price Mode and confirm the price is correct, or run a test transaction with that mode active on the kiosk.

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💡 Tips

  • Always export your existing Price Mode first, so you have a rollback file before bulk operations
  • Keep CSV filenames dated (e.g. happy-hour-2026-04-28.csv) so you can roll back to a specific point in time
  • Test with a single-row CSV first when trying a new layout — confirms columns map the way you expect

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Import fails with a "missing required column" error

Issue: Creator rejects the file before processing.

Fix:

  1. Open the CSV and confirm the first row contains column headers (item_id, price, etc.)
  1. Confirm at least one of item_id or pos_id is present, plus price
  1. Save the file as CSV (Comma-separated values) — not .xlsx or .numbers

Items I expected to update were added as new instead

Issue: The import created duplicates of existing items in the Price Mode.

Fix:

  1. The CSV was probably missing item_id / pos_id — Creator can't reliably match by name alone
  1. Re-export the menu, copy the item_id column into your edited file, and re-import

Kiosk still shows old prices after import

Issue: Import succeeded, but the kiosk still rings up the old prices when the Price Mode is active.

Fix:

  1. Wait 1–2 minutes — sync is automatic
  1. If still stale, enter Manage Mode on the kiosk and press Sync DB
  1. Confirm the kiosk is on the right Price Mode at checkout — a price change has no effect if a different mode is active

🔗 Related Articles

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Need help? Contact support at 📧 help@mashgin.com or call (855) 475-0889

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How can I import new menu items? How to Bulk Edit Menu Items