Keep material costs current with supplier price files

Overview#

Supplier price files keep your material costs current. You add the distributors you buy from, upload the price file they give you (CSV or Excel), and TradesWork matches each SKU to a material in your price book. Every file becomes a draft you review before anything goes live, so a bad file never changes your prices by surprise. Live catalog connections with distributors (Ferguson, Johnstone, Carrier/Watsco) are partner pending; price files work with any supplier today.

Before you start#

• You need permission to edit the price book: Owner or Admin.

• Your account number with the supplier.

• A price file from the supplier. Ask your rep for a "customer price file" in CSV or Excel with SKU and your price.

Steps#

1. Add a supplier#

1. Open Pricebook › Supplier Catalogs (the page is titled Suppliers and price files).

2. In Add a supplier, enter Name (for example Ferguson HVAC) and Account number.

3. Press Add supplier. It appears under Suppliers with SKUs, Mapped and Last file.

2. Import a price file#

1. In Import a price file, choose the Supplier and the file (CSV or XLSX). TradesWork finds the SKU and your-price columns.

2. Optionally tick Recalculate rule-based prices from the new costs (otherwise prices hold and margins move).

3. Press Stage as draft.

4. The file shows under Price files with Rows, Cost changes, To map and the Draft status.

3. Map SKUs to your price book#

1. Click the file name under Price files.

2. Under SKUs to map, pick the Pricebook material each SKU belongs to (Choose material…) and press Map. Its cost is staged in this file's draft.

3. Unmapped SKUs are kept for next time. Mappings are remembered, so later files match on their own.

4. When everything's mapped, you'll see Everything in this file is mapped.

4. Review and publish the draft#

1. Press Review cost changes (or click the draft status) to open the draft.

2. Check what changes for technicians and customers. Nothing is live until you publish.

3. Press Publish N changes to make the new costs live, or Discard draft to throw the file's changes away.

Settings that change this#

• Pricebook › Pricing Builder: rule-based prices that can recalculate from new costs.

• Accounting › Bills: supplier bills flag cost increases as draft price book updates too.

Tips#

• Upload the same supplier's file every month or quarter. After the first file, almost everything maps itself.

• Leave Recalculate rule-based prices unticked if you'd rather review margins before changing customer prices.

• Mapping matches by the SKU code the first time; give your price book materials the supplier's SKU as their code where you can.

Troubleshooting#

• Nothing matched → matching uses the supplier's SKU, and your materials don't have those codes yet. → Map a few by hand the first time; later files match on their own.

• The file wasn't read → the SKU or price column couldn't be found. → Ask the supplier for a file with clear "SKU" and "price" headers, in CSV or XLSX.

• I don't see Supplier Catalogs → your role can't edit the price book. → Ask an Owner or Admin.

FAQ#

Will a price file change my prices right away? No. Every file is staged as a draft. Nothing changes until the draft is published.

Can TradesWork pull prices from my supplier automatically? Not yet. Live catalog connections are partner pending. Upload files meanwhile.

Coming from ServiceTitan#

ServiceTitan's Pricebook Connect pulls catalogs from partner suppliers. In TradesWork you upload your own supplier price files today; each one becomes a reviewable draft, similar to ServiceTitan's pricebook history before and after.