How to import unit of measure lists into QuickBooks desktop



Overview of how to import unit of measure sets

Unit of measure is used in QuickBooks to simplify the purchasing and selling of inventory items where the item is purchased or sold using a different measure ie purchasing wine "by the case" of 12 bottles but selling the wine "by the bottle" or "by the glass".  Using Zed Axis it is possible to import unit of measure lists in batch from text or Excel files into QuickBooks Desktop.

Before importing unit of measure lists please consider the following:

  • Requires the company to be enabled for unit of measure (UOM), in the inventory preferences
  • Decide whether you are using either a single unit of measure per item, or multiple units of measure. However, in order to support both single or multiple units per item of measure enablement, you must prefix all UOM set names with “By the”, for example, “By the Barrel”. Otherwise, the UOM set will not show up in the QuickBooks UI in single UOM per item mode.

Steps to import unit of measure sets

Follow these steps to import unit of measure lists in batch into QuickBooks desktop:
  1. Open Zed Axis and click Connect to make a connection to your QuickBooks desktop company file
  2. In the import module click Browse and select the file that contains your unit of measure list
  3. Create a mapping between the fields in QuickBooks and the columns in your data file
  4. Click Import and the unit of measure list data will directly be added to QuickBooks desktop

More help?

Download a sample unit of measure list template

Where the fields appear in QuickBooks




Fields that you can map on a unit of measure import


QuickBooks fieldFormatDescription
NameStr 31Mandatory - Name of the unit of measure
Is ActiveBoolWhether the unit of measure is enabled (values true or false)
Unit Of Measure TypeEnumThe type of UOM set, like Count, Length, Weight. Volume, Area, Time
Base Unit NameStr 31Name of the unit of measure in a unit of measure set by which quantities of an item are tracked, priced, etc. If the company file is enabled for single unit of measure per item, the base unit is the only unit that is available for transaction line items. If the company file is enabled for multiple units per item, the base unit is the default unit for transaction line items, unless you specify different defaults in the unit of measure set.
Base Unit AbbreviationStr 31Short name for the base unit
Related Unit NameStr 31A unit of measure set (UOM set) consists of one base unit and 0-n related units. This is the optional list of related units in the UOM set. Each related unit contains a certain number of the base unit, and that “certain number” is specified in the conversion ratio property.
Related Unit AbbreviationStr 31Short name for the related unit
Related Unit Conversion Ratio
Within a unit of measure set, in any of the related units in that set, this indicates how many base units are in the related unit. That is, if the base unit is “box”, and the related unit is “case” with a conversion ratio of 10, that means there are 10 boxes in a case.
Default Unit Used For
In a default unit of measure, this specifies whether the default is to be used for purchase line items, sales line items, or shipping lines. values: Purchase, Sales, Shipping
Default UnitStr 31Name of default unit (ie roll, foot, ounce etc...)