Wholesale: FTP Guide

This article describes how to create and submit inventory files, check processing status, troubleshoot common FTP issues, and reconnect to the Chairish server, if needed. 

This article contains the following sections:

• Eligibility
• Creating Your Inventory File
• Submitting Your Inventory File
• Reconnecting to the Chairish FTP Server
• Checking File Processing Status
• File Format Templates

Eligibility

The FTP option is limited to managed, wholesale accounts. If you are interested in using the FTP inventory update process, please reach out to your account manager, and they will kick off the process with the Chairish team. You will receive information about connecting to the Chairish FTP server as part of your onboarding. 

Creating Your Inventory File

You will need to create a spreadsheet containing your inventory information in order to submit it to the FTP server. File formatting templates can be found below.

1. Open Excel or your preferred spreadsheet application.
2. Enter 'SKU' as the header in Column A and 'Quantity' as the header in Column B. 
   • Column Headers must be exactly 'SKU' and 'Quantity'. 
   • If you would like to use different column headers, please contact support@chairish.com to request them.                                                                    
3. Enter your SKUs in the SKU column and the corresponding quantities in the Quantity column.
   • Please include all of your SKUs- our system will automatically filter out any SKUs that are not currently listed on our website. 
   • Please also send a quantity of zero at least once before removing discontinued SKUs from your weekly files.
4. Save the file to your computer as a .CSV (comma delimited) file type.

Submitting Your Inventory File

Once you've created your .CSV inventory file per the steps above, you can proceed to submitting to the FTP server.

1. Open FileZilla.
2. Double-click on the Inventory folder in the lower right section of the page.
   • You must double-click the Inventory folder to avoid placing the inventory file next to the Inventory folder rather than inside it. The inventory file will not be processed if it is placed in that location.
   • If you do not see the Inventory folder, you likely need to reconnect to the Chairish FTP server. 
3. Drag your inventory file from any location on your computer into the black space inside the Inventory folder.
   • If you see folders labeled chairish_processed or chairish_unprocessed, do not drag the file into those folders. Make sure the file is placed directly into the blank space within the Inventory folder. If an inventory file is inadvertently place into the processed or unprocessed folder, you will need to re-submit it.

If you can resubmit your inventory files to the FTP server as often as needed to update your inventory, order details, or tracking information. You ca download file templates below.

Reconnecting to the Chairish FTP Server

If you open FileZilla and do not see the Inventory folder, you can reload the Chairish FTP connection using the steps below. Reconnecting will make the Inventory folder visible again.

1. Click on the Open Site Manager icon in the top left corner of the page.
   • A new window will open.      
2. Click on the Chairish site from the 'My Sites' list on the left side of the window.
3. Click on the Connect button, then select Yes to always trust this host and save the password, if those options appear.                

Checking File Processing Status

You can verify the processing status of your file by following the steps below. Please wait at least one hour after submitting your file before attempting these steps. Chairish only processes files once per hour.

1. Open FileZilla.
2. Confirm that your inventory file is not sitting next to the Inventory folder as shown below. 
   • If it is, drag the file into the Inventory folder as shown below. Files cannot be processed unless they are placed inside this folder.
3. Click on the Inventory folder.  
4. Check both the chairish_processed and chairish_unprocessed folders inside the Inventory folder.
   • Successfully processed files will appear in the chairish_processed folder. If your file appears here, no further action is required. 
   • If your file appears in the chairish_unprocessed folder, it failed. See below for potential reasons for failure.                                    

Failed Uploads

If your file submission failed, you will receive a failure notification email. Please find and reference that email for specific instructions on how to resolve the issue.  

The subject line of the failure notification email will be: Attention: Your inventory file has failed

Files fail for one of two reasons:  

1. Incorrect column headers
2. The file was not in .CSV format

If you did not receive the failure notification email and your file is in the chairish_unprocessed folder, please contact support@chairish.com for additional assistance. 

Correcting SKU-Level Errors

If your inventory file is successfully submitted but contains SKU-level errors, Chairish will send your .CSV back to you via email with an added Status column that will describe the nature of the error. The subject line of the error notification email will be: Action Required: SKUs within Chairish inventory file failed to process

Once you correct the errors on your .CSV, you can re-submit it to the Chairish FTP server.

File Format Templates

Please note that inventory submission is mandatory for all vendors with stocked inventory. Tracking ID submission and order data receipt functionalities are optional, and are only available to vendors with certain account, shipping, and listing configurations.  

Please only reference the Tracking ID and Order Data templates below if you have discussed and agreed to this functionality with the Chairish Wholesale team.