Import shipping orders from a spreadsheet
The seven-step Import Shipping Orders wizard — upload a CSV or Excel file, map the columns, resolve references, preview, create in the background, then convert to house shipments.
Import Shipping Orders — reached from Import on the Shipping Orders header — creates many orders at once from one spreadsheet: "Import shipping orders from a CSV or Excel file — rows group by Customer Reference."
Rows that share the same Customer Reference become one order with several cargo lines. Rows carrying different references become different orders.
A stepper runs across the top with seven steps — Select type, Upload file, Map fields, Validate references, Preview, Create, Done — and Back returns to the previous step until the import has been submitted.
1. Select type
Confirms what the run will create: shipping orders, grouped by Customer Reference. It also states the rule that matters most for your numbering — the customer's reference is kept verbatim and Linbis mints its own order number (see Your reference, our order number).
2. Upload file
- Download template gives you the exact column names Linbis expects plus one filled-in example row. A file built from the template auto-maps completely in the next step.
- Drag and drop a .csv or .xlsx file (Excel
.xlsis accepted too), or click to browse. Only the first sheet is read and row 1 is the header row; blank rows are dropped and every cell is trimmed. A CSV and an Excel file holding the same data import identically. - Limits: 10 MB per file, and 500 rows per import. Linbis reports how many data rows and columns it found; a file over 500 rows blocks Next and asks you to split it and import in batches.
3. Map fields
Columns are auto-mapped by name — common aliases such as PO Number, Bill To or Qty are
recognized — and every field can be re-pointed by hand. Two tables split the sheet by grain:
| Table | Fields |
|---|---|
| Order fields (one per order) | Customer Reference, Customer, Shipper, Consignee, Incoterm, Order Date, Cargo Ready Date, Origin, Destination, Notes |
| Cargo line fields (per row) | Description, HS Code, Pieces, Package Type, Weight (+ Weight UOM), Volume (+ Volume UOM) |
Each row shows the value from the first data row, so you can see you picked the right column. Customer and Description are required — until both are mapped, an amber banner names what is missing and Next stays disabled.
Reusing the same customer's file every week? Save the mapping under a name and load it next time; saved templates can also be deleted here.
4. Validate references
Check references runs a dry run on the server: it groups the rows and looks up every account and port. Nothing is written at this step.
Values Linbis could not match are listed by kind — Customers and parties, Ports. Search the catalog and pick the right record; the pick rewrites that value in every row that uses it, so it resolves on the next check. Re-check re-runs the dry run with the corrected values.
An unmatched customer, shipper, consignee or port does not block an order import — the field is left empty on the created order and can be filled in afterward.
5. Preview
The preview tallies the groups, the cargo lines, and how many orders will be created versus skipped (already imported — see Re-importing the same file) or blocked. The button reads Create N shipping orders.
6. Create
The import is handed to a background job, so you can leave the page. The screen polls the batch and shows created / updated / skipped / failed counts plus a per-group result table — worst results first — with an outcome pill, the Customer Reference, the spreadsheet row numbers, and the reason for anything skipped or failed.
7. Done
A summary of the run, then the Convert to house shipments panel — see Convert the new orders.
Your reference, our order number
The Customer Reference column is your customer's own number — their PO or order number. It is stored verbatim on the order as the customer reference; nothing is reformatted or renumbered.
Linbis separately mints the order's own number (SO000001, SO000002, …) at creation, exactly as
the interactive create form does. A spreadsheet can never supply the order number.
Imported orders are created with status Open.
Because the spreadsheet carries no transport-mode column, imported orders default to Ocean / Import. Change the mode and operation type on the order afterward when the shipment is air, ground, or an export.
Re-importing the same file
The Customer Reference is also the deduplication key. Before creating anything, Linbis looks up the references already present on your existing orders:
- a reference that already exists is skipped — re-running yesterday's file does not create a second copy of the same order;
- a reference that is new is created.
A blank Customer Reference is never deduplicated: every blank-reference row becomes its own
standalone order. That is deliberate — with no reference there is nothing to match on, so Linbis
never merges unrelated rows and never suppresses one. In the results table a standalone order shows
(standalone) instead of a reference.
If your sheet has no reference column at all, every row therefore becomes a separate order. Map the column when you want grouping and re-import protection.
Convert the new orders
The Done step can turn the orders you just created into house shipments — but a house always hangs under a master, so you must pick a master shipment first. Search for an existing master by number, select it, then Convert N order(s) to houses. There is no one-click convert without a master.
No master yet? Create one from the Shipments screen first and come back, or convert later from the Shipping Orders screen — see Convert shipping orders into house shipments.