The guided import reads what you already have rather than making you retype it. This article covers the first half: getting your files in and confirming how their columns were understood. For what happens after that, see Review and finish an import. If what you already have is a spreadsheet, what you gain by moving off one is the case for doing this at all.
Uploading files and matching columns do not create inventory items. Items are added only when you approve rows in the review.
Who can import
PI and Researcher roles. Junior Researchers do not see the import option.
Where to start
- On the Dashboard, the "Set up your lab" card has a Start setup button.
- Or in the top bar, open Add Inventory and choose Import inventory.
- Or go to Tools in the sidebar and open Import Inventory.
What you can upload
| Type | Notes |
|---|---|
| CSV spreadsheets | Export from Excel or Google Sheets as CSV. |
| PDF documents | Supplier order confirmations, packing slips. |
| Photos | JPG, JPEG, PNG, HEIC, or HEIF. A shelf, a freezer box, a set of labels. |
Excel files are not supported. Save the sheet as CSV first.
Upload everything at once
Click Choose files and add the whole batch: the spreadsheet, the PDFs, the photos, together. They are read into a single review rather than one import per file.
This is worth doing deliberately. Labs usually have their inventory scattered across several sources, and importing them one at a time means reconciling the overlaps yourself afterwards. Bringing them in together lets the review handle it in one pass.
You can also add another file later and have it fold into the same session.
The templates
If you would rather start from a template than adapt your own sheet, use Download a template on the upload screen. There is one for each kind of item, and each has every column Labsistant reads for that kind:
- Reagent:
Item name,Quantity,Unit,Alert at,Quantity type,Hazard level,CAS number,Vendor,Catalog number,Category,Lot number,Received date,Expiration date,Lot cost,Sterile,RNase-free,Storage location,Box position,Ownership,Owner email,Owner group. - Supply:
Item name,Quantity,Unit,Alert at,Quantity type,Vendor,Category,Sterile,RNase-free,Storage location,Box position,Ownership,Owner email,Owner group. - Sample:
Item name,Quantity,Unit,Quantity type,Sample type,Collection date,Sample source,Biohazard,Already thawed,Storage location,Box position,Ownership,Owner email,Owner group.
Leave a column blank when you do not have the value. A few columns accept only certain values:
- Hazard level is one of
none,low,moderate,highorextreme. - Dates are written year-month-day, such as
2026-01-15. - Quantity type is
discretefor things you count andcontinuousfor things you measure. Leave it blank and Labsistant works it out from a unit it knows. - Ownership is
shared,grouporpersonal. - Sterile, RNase-free, Biohazard and Already thawed are
yesorno.
The single row inside each template is an example to be deleted and replaced. It is not real data and it is not a suggestion of what any value should be. If it is still in the file when you upload it, the review marks it so you can replace it or leave it out.
You do not have to use the template. If your spreadsheet has its own column names, the matching stage handles that.
Stage 1: Match columns
Once your files are read, the first step shows How I read your file: which of your columns it thinks maps to which Labsistant field.
Your job here is to check it and correct anything wrong.
What you will see
- Required columns. The minimum needed for a row to become an item. If one is unmatched, the step says which.
- A confidence indicator on each match, showing how sure it is that a column matches that field.
- Ignore this column on a column that will not be imported. Change its mapping if it should supply a field.
- Storage location is marked as set at the locations step, because that is handled separately and more carefully. See Review and finish an import.
Change any mapping that is wrong. This is the cheapest place to fix a problem, because everything downstream inherits it.
Review unit changes
The Units section shows each unit value from your file. Recognised conversions are pre-filled and marked Recommended, for example reading grams as g. Values needing a decision are marked Needs your input.
Read it rather than skipping it. It is telling you what it changed, and it is the place to catch a normalisation you did not want.
Units it does not recognise
If your file uses units Labsistant does not know, it says so and offers these choices per unit:
- Change to one of ours, mapping it to a known unit.
- Keep as typed, leaving your unit as written.
- Skip, excluding the rows that use that unit from this import.
An unfamiliar unit alone does not block the import. If you keep a custom unit, also say whether it means whole items or a measured amount; rows missing a required quantity type remain flagged.
Whole items or a measured amount
Each reagent is treated as either whole items, such as boxes and packs, or a measured amount, such as a volume or a weight. Where this is implied by the unit you picked, the step says so and does not ask again.
Asking the AI for a closer read
If your column names are unusual and the automatic matching struggled, you can ask the AI to take a closer look at the file.
If it cannot be reached, the step tells you plainly that it could not reach the AI and lets you try again. It does not silently fall back to a guess.
Either way, the AI's reading is a proposal, not a decision. Everything it suggests lands in the same review you were going to check anyway, and nothing is created until you approve.
What is never guessed
Whatever route your data takes in, the import will not invent a compliance value. Lot numbers, CAS numbers, hazard levels, and expiry dates come from your files or from you, never from an assumption.
Rows missing something required are flagged rather than filled in. See Lot numbers, CAS, hazard and expiry.