This article explains how to import new customer accounts and how to configure product-level customer group pricing using bulk import tools in Pulse Commerce. The Customer Import is used to create new customer accounts with profile and address details. The Customer Group Pricing Import is used to define or update special pricing for existing products by Customer Group.
Required Reading:
- How to Create and Manage Customer Accounts – For understanding how customer accounts are structured and managed manually.
- How to use Customer Groups (Simple) – For understanding customer groups, pricing, and visibility behavior.
Customer Groups (Simple) allow you to create special pricing and product visibility for specific customer segments (for example wholesale or B2B buyers). The Customer Groups (Advanced) add-on module extends this with purchase managers, budgets, payment restrictions, and custom discount rules.
Pulse Commerce provides two separate import tools related to customers and customer group pricing. They serve different, complementary purposes:
Customer Import – New Customer Accounts Only
Use Customer Import when you need to:
- Create new customer accounts in bulk.
- Capture basic profile details (name, email, password, company, phone).
- Import primary billing/shipping address information.
- Set mailing list and account status flags at creation time.
This import is for new customers only. It does not update existing customers.
Once a customer exists, ongoing changes (including assigning or changing Customer Group membership) should be done via the Customer Editor: Customers > Search Customers > Edit.
Customer Group Pricing Import – Product-Level Pricing for Customer Groups
Use Customer Group Pricing Import when you need to:
- Define or update special pricing for products by Customer Group.
- Specify group-specific regular price, customer price, and minimum quantity per product.
- Enable or disable visibility of a product for specific Customer Groups.
- Clear and rebuild all Customer Group Pricing for a product in bulk.
This import updates the product–Customer Group pricing relationship. It does not create Customer Groups or Products; both must already exist.
Identification & Matching:
- Customer Import identifies customers by E-Mail (which is also their login ID). Each imported row creates a new customer record.
- Customer Group Pricing Import identifies products by SKU. The Customer Group Pricing field then associates that product with one or more existing Customer Groups and defines the pricing for each group.
Use this import to create new customer accounts in bulk. This import creates the customer profile, login credentials, and address records. It does not update existing accounts.
Download the Template and Legend
1 Navigate to Import/Export > Import in your admin panel.
2 Locate the Customer Import row.
3 Click Download default Template for Customer Import to download the CSV template.
4 Click Legend to download the field definitions document.
Download Import Templates:
Right-click and “Save As” if the files open in your browser instead of downloading.
Legend Notes:
- The Customer Import allows importing new customers only.
- The legend itself recommends entering the first 10 customers via the Admin UI, then exporting and using that file as a reference for your import format.:contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
Prepare Your Import File
5 Open the Customer CSV template in Excel, Google Sheets, or a text editor.
6 Populate your customer data according to the legend. Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*).
Required Fields (Customer Import):
- First Name* – First name of the customer.
- Last Name* – Last name of the customer.
- E-Mail* – Customer’s email address. This is also the login ID for the site and must be unique.:contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
- Password* – Login password. Must be at least 8 characters and contain at least one number and at least one English lowercase or uppercase character.:contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
- Address1 FirstName* – First name for the first address.:contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
- Address1 LastName* – Last name for the first address.
- Address1 Street1* – Address line 1 for the first address.
- Address1 City* – City for the first address.
- Address1 State* – State for the first address.
- Address1 Zip* – ZIP/Postal code for the first address.
- Address1 Country* – Country for the first address.
The legend explicitly notes: “The customer import allows importing new customers only.”:contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4} Existing customers cannot be updated through this import.
Key Field Definitions (Highlights)
| Field Name | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mailing List Option | Indicates whether the customer opted into your mailing list. | Values: Yes or No.:contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5} |
| Address1 LocationType | Location type for the first address (e.g., residential, business, school). | Accepted values include: House or Residence, Business, Apartment, Hospital or Assisted Living Center, School, Funeral Home, Other (including Hotels).:contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6} |
| Address1 Verified | Flag indicating whether the first address is verified. | Values: Yes or No. If blank, the system considers it not verified.:contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7} |
| Registration Date | Date the customer registered. | Format should follow your site’s date settings. |
| IsSurcharge | Indicates whether the customer price is a discount or surcharge. | Values: Yes or No. If Yes, the customer price is surcharged.:contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8} |
| Percentage | Percentage used to calculate customer price based on the IsSurcharge flag. | Must be numeric (including 0).:contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9} |
| Account Status | Whether the customer account is active. | Values: active or inactive.:contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10} |
| Customer Group Code | Code for the Customer Group to which the new customer should be assigned. | The specified Customer Group must already exist in the system. For ongoing changes to group membership for existing customers, use the Customer Editor.:contentReference[oaicite:11]{index=11} |
Upload and Process the Customer Import
7 Save your completed file as a CSV.
8 Return to Import/Export > Import.
9 Select the radio button next to Customer Import.
10 Click Choose File and select your CSV.
11 Click Import to start processing.
Verify the Customer Import
12 Navigate to Customers > Search Customers.
13 Search for several of the new customers you imported by email or name.
14 Open each customer and review:
- Name, email, and account status.
- Primary address details (Address1 fields).
- Mailing List Option and any other flags (e.g., IsSurcharge, Percentage).
- Customer Group Code if used at import time.
For any additional Customer Group assignments or changes after import, use: Customers > Search Customers > Edit.
Use the Customer Group Pricing Import to configure or update group-specific pricing at the product level. This is especially useful when you have wholesale groups, B2B customers, or other segments that require different prices and minimum quantities than your default retail pricing.
Prerequisites:
- Products must already exist in the system; the import identifies them by SKU.:contentReference[oaicite:12]{index=12}
- Customer Groups must be created in the Admin UI before they can be used in Customer Group Pricing. The group name used in the import must match the existing group name exactly.:contentReference[oaicite:13]{index=13}
- If you are using the Customer Groups (Advanced) add-on, this import complements the advanced rules by setting product-level prices for groups.
Download the Template and Legend
1 Navigate to Import/Export > Import in your admin panel.
2 Locate the Customer Group Pricing Import row.
3 Click Download default Template for Customer Group Pricing Import to download the CSV template.
4 Click Legend to download the field definitions document.
Download Import Templates:
Right-click and “Save As” if the files open in your browser instead of downloading.
Prepare Your Import File
5 Open the Customer Group Pricing CSV template in Excel, Google Sheets, or a text editor.
6 Populate your product pricing data according to the legend. Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*).
Required Fields (Customer Group Pricing Import):
- Product Name* – Name of the product (reference only; not updated via import).:contentReference[oaicite:14]{index=14}
- SKU* – Product Stock Keeping Unit. Must match an existing product.:contentReference[oaicite:15]{index=15}
- Cost* – Product cost. Numeric only. Applied only if the product’s costing method is Fixed Cost. If the costing method is Average Cost, this value is ignored and not updated.:contentReference[oaicite:16]{index=16}
Key Field Definitions
| Field Name | Description | Rules / Overwrite Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Regular Price | Product regular price displayed on the product detail page.:contentReference[oaicite:17]{index=17} | Optional; numeric only. Leave blank to retain the current regular price. |
| Our Price | Customer price (site “Our Price”) for the product.:contentReference[oaicite:18]{index=18} | Optional; numeric only. Leave blank to retain the current Our Price. |
| Customer Group Pricing | Defines product-level pricing and minimum quantities per Customer Group. |
Format:
Erase / Retain Behavior:
|
Important Data Update Rules:
- Cost is required and only updates when the product’s costing method is Fixed Cost. If the costing method is Average Cost, the legend specifies that the Cost value is ignored.:contentReference[oaicite:21]{index=21}
-
Customer Group Pricing supports
xto remove all existing group-pricing entries for that product. - To keep existing group-pricing while editing only certain products, export the current data first, then maintain the existing values in any rows you do not want to change.
Upload and Process the Customer Group Pricing Import
7 Review your data and save the file as a CSV.
8 Return to Import/Export > Import in your admin panel.
9 Select the radio button next to Customer Group Pricing Import.
10 Click Choose File and select your CSV file.
11 Click Import to begin processing.
Verify the Customer Group Pricing Import
12 Navigate to Products > Product Catalog Manager.
13 Search for a product included in your import by SKU.
14 Open the product and review:
- Regular Price and Our Price on the product detail configuration.
- Customer Group Pricing configuration (if you are using the Customer Groups (Advanced) add-on).
- Minimum quantities and visibility for each Customer Group.
15 Confirm that products where you entered x have had all Customer Group Pricing cleared, and that products left blank retained their previous group pricing.