Associating Simple to Configurable Products via CSV

We have covered how to add products via CSV and how to add images to those products through CSV, but what is the use of a configurable product without the associated simple products to be options? This tutorial will walk you through creating a CSV file to link simple products to their configurable counterparts.  

Note: This is an advanced tutorial which assumes you are familiar with the following:
Product Creation or Product Updates via CSV
Simple & Configurable Products
Attribute Properties and Creation
We recommend becoming familiar with these aspects of our platform before attempting this tutorial. 

Before You Begin

Before you can associate two items, those items will need to be created in your control panel. You will need to have all your simple products entered and they must be using the attributes you plan to use with the configurable. It is also easiest to have your configurable product as well before you begin. 

As an example, if you have configurable product with three sizes, you'll need a total of four SKUs:

• SHIRT
  Your Configurable Product's SKU
• SHIRT-SMALL
  The Simple Product for the Small variation of the size attribute
• SHIRT-MEDIUM 
  The Simple Product for the Medium variation of the size attribute
• SHIRT-LARGE
  The Simple Product for the Large variation of the size attribute 

You may have more or less SKUs depending on how many variations and options your product requires. Every variation you need must be created before you begin association. 

CSV Columns Used

As this CSV is only dealing with the association of simple to configurable products, you will only need the following attributes as your CSV column headers. 

• sku
  The Configurable Product's SKU. This is the unique identifier for Zoey and tells your store which Product you are connecting this information to
• _super_products_sku 
  This will be your Simple Product's SKU. This tells the system the SKU you are connecting to the sku you listed in the previous column
• _super_attribute_code
  The Attribute Code you are using for this variation such as size or color. Please check your Attributes for the appropriate code. 
  All attributes used here must be Dropdown and for "All Product Types" or at least apply to both Configurable and Simple products
• _super_attribute_option 
  The option is the variation of the attribute used in the dropdown. This could be Small, Blue, Red- whichever option you need. 
  These options must be set up for your attribute before you use the value in the spreadsheet
• _super_attribute_price_corr
  If an option has a surcharge, add the additional amount here. As an example, if your shirt is $20 as a base price, and a medium is $25, this column should have 5 entered. A product that is the base price and no more, can leave this value empty.

These are the only five columns you need for the association and we recommend using your CSVs for one function at a time to make troubleshooting easier. If you need to create products, do so in one CSV. To associate images, use another and to associate configurable and simple, use a third. Keeping these separate ultimately makes importing and updating files much easier.

Examples and Importation

Using the example of Shirts, let's look at what a CSV for this association process might look like:

We're only using the five necessary attributes-

• sku with the Configurable Product's sku, SHIRT, the items are being associated to
• _super_products_sku with the three simple products that are being associated
• _super_attribute_code has the attribute that will differentiate the products, size 
• _super_attribute_option shows that product's variation of the attribute, such as Small, Medium and Large
• _super_attribute_price_corr has the additional price for each of these variations- the Small is the same price as the configurable, Medium is 5 more than the base and Large is 10 more than the base

Remember, all of these products have been created and are available in your Product List before this association was made.

Now that you have all of this information saved as a CSV file it's time to set it in action by Importing. From your control panel, go to Advanced > Import & Export and click on Manage next to Import. Use the following settings:

• Entity Type should be Products
• Import Behavior should be Append Complex Data
• Use Select File to Import's  Choose File to select your CSV from your computer 

Check your CSV is valid by using Check Data in the top right corner of the page. We recommend fixing any errors that are returned before selecting Import Data. Once your file has finished importing you can see the changes in your Product List, but you will need to Refresh and Reindex before this is seen on the front of your store. 

You can download a sample CSV at the end of this tutorial or by clicking here. This sample file will also show you how configurable products using multiple attributes such as size and color are formatted. 

Learn More

You should now be able to associate all the simple product variations to the Configurable Products they are selected from. Congratulations- you've accomplished one of the most complex parts of your store and have a new level of mastery over your products!

Additional tutorials that may be of help to you:

• Adding New Products by CSV Import
• CSV Fields - What do they mean?
• Mass Updating Products with CSV Files