Will one bad row stop the whole import?

No. The preview flags rows with errors before anything is saved, and you can import the valid rows without fixing the rest first.

Can I import prices only, to update ingredients I already have?

Not through this dialog. Import creates new ingredients and skips names that already exist, so a price update is an edit on the ingredient itself rather than a re-import.

What if my spreadsheet has a cost per gram rather than a pack price?

Enter it as a purchase of 1 g at that cost. The math is identical, and recording the pack you actually buy is worth doing when you next revisit it, because that is the number on the invoice.

Academy

Operations 2 min readUpdated September 9, 2026by Dishboard

How to import ingredients from a spreadsheet

Already track ingredient costs in a spreadsheet? Import them into Dishboard directly from a CSV instead of entering each ingredient by hand, one at a time.

If you already track ingredient costs in a spreadsheet, you can import them into Dishboard rather than entering each one by hand.

How to import

Go to Ingredients in the sidebar.
Click the Import CSV button in the top right.
Download the template to see the expected column format.
Fill in your ingredients: name, purchase quantity, purchase unit, purchase cost, and usage unit. Yield is optional.
Upload your CSV or paste it directly into the dialog.
Review the preview. Rows with errors are flagged before anything is saved.
Click Import to add the valid rows to your workspace.

What a row becomes

One line of your spreadsheet carries everything needed to cost a dish from it:

Name: Chicken breast
Purchase quantity and unit: 5, kg
Purchase cost: $47.50
Usage unit: g

Cost per usage unit = $47.50 divided by 5,000 g = $0.0095/g

Add an optional yield of 92% for trim loss and the working figure becomes $0.0103/g, which is what a recipe line actually draws on. Get this one row right and every dish built on it is right.

Supported units

Weight: g, kg, oz, lb. Volume: ml, l, fl_oz, qt, gal. Count: piece, dozen, box, bag, jar, pack, and more.

Duplicates

If an ingredient name already exists in your workspace, that row is skipped automatically. Duplicate names within the same CSV are also caught before import.

Frequently asked questions

Will one bad row stop the whole import?: No. The preview flags rows with errors before anything is saved, and you can import the valid rows without fixing the rest first.
Can I import prices only, to update ingredients I already have?: Not through this dialog. Import creates new ingredients and skips names that already exist, so a price update is an edit on the ingredient itself rather than a re-import.
What if my spreadsheet has a cost per gram rather than a pack price?: Enter it as a purchase of 1 g at that cost. The math is identical, and recording the pack you actually buy is worth doing when you next revisit it, because that is the number on the invoice.

Already have a spreadsheet of ingredient costs?

Import it directly into Dishboard as a CSV, instead of typing each ingredient in by hand.

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