What it does
Instead of adding suppliers one at a time, you can upload a spreadsheet of suppliers and Tern will create or update them in your agency's library in one pass. Each import is processed in the background, and you get a downloadable results file showing exactly what happened to every row.
Who can use it
Available to advisors who can add suppliers to your agency's library. You import into the agency you're currently viewing, so switch to the right agency first if you belong to more than one.
Before you start
Download the Supplier Import Template.csv and fill in your suppliers data. Each supplier should be one row.
Give every supplier an Import ID (see below). This is required and is how Tern matches rows to suppliers.
Make sure every supplier has a name.
Understanding Import ID
The Import ID is your own unique identifier for each supplier, usually carried over from the spreadsheet or system you're importing from. Tern uses it as the supplier's permanent key for imports.
Import ID is required on every row, and matching is based only on the Import ID, never on the supplier name.
If a row's Import ID matches a supplier already in your library, that supplier is updated in place.
If a row's Import ID is new, a new supplier is created.
If two rows have the same supplier name but different Import IDs, they become two separate suppliers.
To update a supplier later, re-import a row with the same Import ID. This updates the existing supplier instead of creating a duplicate.
The columns you can import
Required
Import ID: your unique identifier for the supplier.
Supplier Name: the supplier's name.
Optional
Website: the supplier's website URL.
Services Category: the type of supplier (for example, Hotel, Cruise, Tour Operator). If a value doesn't match one of Tern's categories, it's set to "Other."
Description: free-text notes about the supplier.
Description Format: how to read the Description column. Choose Plain text, Markdown, or HTML. Set this if your descriptions use formatting so they display correctly.
Tags: one or more tags for the supplier. Separate multiple tags with semicolons (for example,
luxury; europe; preferred-rate). Tags that don't exist yet are created automatically, and matching is case-insensitive.Preferred: marks the supplier as a preferred supplier. Use
yesortrueto mark it preferred. Leave it blank to leave the supplier's preferred status unchanged.
You don't need a column for every field, and your spreadsheet's column names don't have to match Tern's exactly. You'll map them in the next step.
How to import suppliers
Go to Library, then Suppliers.
Open the More menu. Click the More (three-dot) button to the right of the "New supplier" button.
Click "Import suppliers." A short window opens explaining how to prepare your file.
Click "Next." The column mapping tool opens.
Upload your spreadsheet and follow the prompts to map each column to a Tern field.
Fix any flagged cells. The tool checks your data as you go and highlights problems. Correct them before continuing.
Submit the import. A progress notification appears at the bottom of the screen while Tern processes your file.
You'll know it worked when
The progress notification changes to a completion message. If every row succeeded, it confirms success. If some rows had errors, it shows a partial-success message. Either way, click Download results to get an annotated copy of your file showing the status of each row and any errors.
Common issues
A row failed with "Import ID is required" or "Supplier Name is required."
Every row needs both an Import ID and a Supplier Name. Add the missing values and re-import. Re-importing rows with the same Import IDs updates the existing suppliers rather than duplicating them.
My import created duplicate suppliers.
Duplicates happen when the same real-world supplier has two different Import IDs, because matching is based only on Import ID. Give each supplier one consistent Import ID and reuse it on future imports.
My Services Category didn't apply.
If a category value doesn't match one of Tern's categories, the supplier is set to "Other." Use one of Tern's category names.
My description shows raw formatting symbols.
Set the Description Format column to match how your descriptions are written (Plain text, Markdown, or HTML).
Some rows show errors in my results file.
Open the downloaded results file, fix the rows flagged with errors, and re-import. If an error isn't clear, contact Tern support and include the results file.