A technical catalogue is only as accurate as the spreadsheet behind it. If the product data arrives incomplete, inconsistent or still changing, the design stage turns into a slow loop of corrections. Preparing the data properly before layout begins is the single biggest thing a manufacturer can do to get a catalogue that is right first time.
Start with one master spreadsheet
Bring every product into one file, one row per product or variant, before any design work starts. Data scattered across old catalogues, price lists, emails and drawings has to be reconciled at some point; doing it before layout is far cheaper than doing it on proofs.
Columns every catalogue spreadsheet needs
- Product code / SKU — unique, and the key that links data, images and pages
- Catalogue section and category — where the product sits in the catalogue structure
- Customer-facing product name — not the internal ERP description
- Short description — one or two lines, written for the buyer
- Specification fields — one column per attribute (size, rating, material, finish…)
- Units in the column header — e.g. "Weight (kg)", never mixed into the values
- Standards or approvals that apply to the product
- Image file name matching the product code
- Variant group — to show which rows belong in the same table
- Status — new, existing, discontinued, to be confirmed
Make the data consistent
Most catalogue errors are consistency errors, not wrong values. Agree simple rules before filling the sheet: the same unit for every product in a column, the same number of decimal places, the same spelling of materials and finishes, and the same way of writing ranges. A designer can lay out a perfect table only if every row follows the same pattern.
Group products the way buyers search
The catalogue structure should follow how customers look for products — by application, product family or size range — rather than how the factory or ERP happens to organise them. Add a section column and a sort-order column, so the designer can build the index and page order straight from the sheet.
Mark what is still unconfirmed
Very few catalogue projects start with every value final. Rather than leaving blanks, mark open values as "to be confirmed" with the name of the person responsible. This lets layout start on confirmed sections while the open items are chased, and stops placeholders slipping into print.
Hand-over checklist before layout
- Every product has a unique code and a section
- No blank required fields — open values are marked TBC with an owner
- Units sit in column headers; values are numbers only
- Image files are named by product code
- Discontinued products are removed or flagged
- One person is named as the data owner for questions
- The file has a version number and date
When the data is ready, the next question is how the catalogue will be kept up to date — see our guide to catalogue version control. For images, see the catalogue photography shot list.
Frequently asked questions
One named person on the client side — usually in product management or engineering — should own the master spreadsheet. The designer works from it but should not be the place where specifications are decided.
An ERP export is a good starting point, but it usually needs cleaning: customer-facing names, consistent units, grouping into catalogue categories and removal of internal-only fields.
Use one column per value with the unit in the column header (for example "Length (mm)"), not mixed into the cell. If the catalogue needs two unit systems, give each its own column.
Changes should be made in the master spreadsheet and logged with a revision number, then re-issued to the designer. Editing values directly on the layout creates mismatches between editions.
Send us the product list. We will show you the structure.
Corpfolio turns product data into catalogue systems that stay coherent across hundreds of SKUs. See our product catalogue design service.