Importing and Exporting Data

How to import customer, ingredient, recipe, and order data from CSV files
How to export your data for backups or use in other tools
How to validate and fix import errors before confirming

What is Data Import and Export?

Whether you're switching from spreadsheets or another bakery management system, BakeOnyx makes it easy to bring your existing data in. You can also export your data anytime for backups or to use in other programs. Both features work with CSV files — a simple, widely-supported format that most spreadsheet apps can open.

Exporting Your Data

The quickest way to back up or share your bakery data is to export it as a CSV file.

Go to the list page for the data you want to export (Customers, Ingredients, Recipes, or Orders).
Click the Export button at the top of the page.
Your browser will download a CSV file with all the data currently shown on that page (including any filters you've applied).
Save the file to your computer for safekeeping or to use in another program.

Tip: If you've filtered the list to show only certain items, the export will include only those filtered results. This is useful if you want to export just a subset of your data.

Importing Data from a CSV File

You can import customers, ingredients, recipes, and orders from CSV files. Here's how:

Step 1: Prepare Your CSV File

Before you import, make sure your CSV file has the right column names. The easiest way to get the correct format is to download a template:

Go to the list page where you want to import (Customers, Ingredients, Recipes, or Orders).
Click Import at the top of the page.
Click Download Template to get a blank CSV file with the correct column headers.
Open the template in Excel, Google Sheets, or your preferred spreadsheet app.
Fill in your data, making sure to include all required fields (marked with an asterisk in the template).
Save the file as a CSV file.

Note: Required fields vary by data type. For customers: name and email. For ingredients: name, unit, and cost. For recipes: name and category. For orders: customer and order date.

Step 2: Upload and Preview

Go to the list page for the data type you're importing.
Click Import at the top.
Click Choose File and select your CSV file from your computer.
Click Preview to see how BakeOnyx will parse your data.

Ingredients list page showing import button at the top

Step 3: Review Validation Results

BakeOnyx will check your data for common issues:

Duplicates: Customers are checked by email; ingredients by name. If a match exists, you'll see a warning.
Missing required fields: Any rows missing essential data will be flagged.
Invalid data types: For example, a non-numeric cost or an invalid date format.

The preview will show you which rows have errors and why. You can fix these issues in your CSV file and re-upload, or proceed with a partial import.

Warning: If you proceed with import, only valid rows will be added to BakeOnyx. Rows with errors will be skipped. Review the error list carefully before confirming.

Step 4: Confirm Import

After reviewing the preview and any validation messages, click Import to complete the process.
BakeOnyx will add all valid rows to your system.
You'll see a summary showing how many rows were imported successfully.

Orders list page showing exported order data

Tips for Successful Imports

Always download and use the template to ensure your columns are named correctly.
Check your data for typos and missing values before uploading.
For recipes, ingredient sub-rows should have the recipe name repeated in the recipe name column.
Dates should be in YYYY-MM-DD format (for example, 2024-01-15).
Keep a backup of your original CSV file in case you need to re-import or troubleshoot.

Next Steps

Creating a New Order — Learn how to manually add orders in BakeOnyx.
Creating a Recipe — Set up recipes after importing your ingredient data.
Business Profile Settings — Configure your bakery details and preferences.