Guide
How data migration works in GreenPOS
Free on every plan. Here is exactly what happens to your customers, catalog and inventory on the way in.
Data migration is free on every GreenPOS plan. The GreenPOS team runs it with you, using the same Data Import Tool you'll have in your own account afterwards (under Configuration → Data Import Tool). Here is what that tool does with each file, so you know what to expect before you send anything.
What moves over
| Data | What comes across | How a row is matched to a record you already have |
|---|---|---|
| Customers | Name, date of birth, medical license number and expiration, state ID, phone, email, address, email and text consent, tax-exempt and veteran flags, current points, total points earned and spent, tags | License number, email plus date of birth, or name plus date of birth |
| Products | Name, category, unit of measure, SKU, UPC, brand, supplier, price, unit and net weight, pricing group, tags | Name or SKU |
| Packages | Product, Metrc tag, your own package ID, UPC or EAN barcode, quantity, cost per unit, unit, room, status | Metrc tag, or internal ID when no tag matches |
| Suppliers, brands, categories | The name lists your products refer to | Name |
Past sales transactions don't move. Keep your old system's sales reports for your records.
The import, step by step
- Pick the type and download its template. Starting from the template avoids most column-name problems. Import categories first: a product row whose category isn't on your list is not created.
- Upload your file. If the export starts with a report title or a date line, GreenPOS looks through the first 20 lines for the row with the column headings and starts there, and tells you which lines it skipped.
- Check the column mapping. GreenPOS suggests a field for every column, matching common variations of the same heading. Change any suggestion from its dropdown, or skip the column. Required fields stay flagged in red until they're mapped.
- Choose what happens to records you already have. With Update existing records off (the default), matching rows are skipped. Turn it on and matching products, customers and packages are updated, but only in the columns your file fills in. A blank cell never wipes a value.
- Preview. The first 10 rows are shown with problems flagged: missing required fields, values of the wrong type, and names that don't match anything.
- Import and read the results. Progress shows live. The results split every row into Imported, Updated, Failed and Skipped, with the reason for each problem row. Download error list saves the problem rows as a CSV so you can fix them and import just those again.
Details that save you trouble
Loyalty balances come with the customer
Map your export's points columns to Current Points, Total Points Earned and Total Points Spent, and nobody has to explain to a regular why their balance went to zero.
The same person on two rows
Exports often list one person twice, for example an old record and a newer one. GreenPOS keeps every row as its own customer by default, so the import matches what you sent. You can turn on Combine duplicate rows into one customer instead, or review duplicates afterwards and use Merge Customers, which moves sales, loyalty points and discount history onto the record you keep.
Keep the labels already on your shelves
Metrc tags never change when you switch, and the package import also takes your own package IDs and UPC or EAN barcodes. The register looks packages up by those barcodes, so the labels you have keep scanning.
Rooms are created for you
A package file can say which room each package is in. A room that isn't on your Locations page yet is added (in GreenPOS only; an import never creates rooms or moves packages in Metrc). New rooms start out sellable, so review them and mark any hold, waste or sample room.
Metrc lab state needs a sync
A spreadsheet can't carry Metrc's lab state, and only a package Metrc shows as Test passed or Retest passed can be sold. The results tell you how many imported tagged packages have no lab result yet; a full sync from the Packages page loads them. Or skip the spreadsheet for Metrc inventory altogether: Import Packages on the Metrc page brings packages in with their lab state in one step.
A wipe never touches sales history
If a test import goes wrong, an admin can tick Wipe existing data before import. Products and packages that have been sold are always kept, so a wipe can't remove records Metrc already has sales against.
Every run is recorded
Import History lists every past import with its date, file name and counts, and opens each one to show its row-level errors. Useful when something looks off weeks later.
Common questions
What does the Data Import Tool accept?
CSV files for products, customers, packages, suppliers, brands and categories. Each type has its own downloadable template.
Can I run the same import twice?
Yes. With Update existing records off, rows that match a record you already have are skipped. With it on, only the columns your file fills in are changed. Tags are added, never replaced, so a second run doesn't pile up duplicates.
Does the import bring in past sales?
No. It brings in customers, your catalog and inventory. Keep the sales reports from your old system for your own records.
Who can run an import?
Admins and managers, from Configuration, then Data Import Tool. A product import is admin-only when managers aren't allowed to create products, and only admins see the option to wipe existing data first.
Next: hand Metrc reporting over cleanly with Metrc during a POS switch, or see the whole sequence in the migration checklist.
Talk it through before you switch
Book a demo and bring your questions: what your current system can export, how your Metrc connection moves over, and what your first week would look like.