How to import lots into Auction Flex

Auction Flex takes lots from a spreadsheet and photographs from a folder, in two separate steps, and the desktop and the 360 versions do not read the same file. Here are both: the columns, the photograph names, the limits and the steps in Auction Flex's own screens.

Most failed Auction Flex imports come down to three things: a consignor code that does not exist yet (the row is skipped), a title past the 360 limit, or photographs named in a way that does not match the lot number. Check those three before you press Import.

How sure is this page. Part of this format is not published by the vendor, or comes from a third party. Each fact is labeled at the foot of the page. Per the vendor's published documentation; check against your own import screen.

The file, column by column

Auction Flex (desktop)

12 columns; the header names follow the vendor's documentation.

#	Header in the file	What goes in it
1	`Lot#`	the lot number (a sublot keeps its letter, like 27A)
2	`Consignor/Vendor Code`	the consignor's own code
3	`Lead/Title`	the lot title
4	`Description1`	the description
5	`Quantity`	the quantity
6	`Ship`	left empty
7	`Full Category`	the category
8	`Start Bid Each`	the start bid
9	`Total Reserve`	the reserve (private)
10	`Min Est Each`	the low estimate
11	`Max Est Each`	the high estimate
12	`Long UDF1`	the condition note

Auction Flex 360

10 columns; the vendor does not publish these header names, so they are plain ones that its mapping screen matches. Per the vendor's published documentation; check against your own import screen.

#	Header in the file	What goes in it
1	`Lot Number`	the lot number (a sublot keeps its letter, like 27A)
2	`Seller Code`	the consignor's own code
3	`Title`	the lot title
4	`Description`	the description
5	`Quantity`	the quantity
6	`Category`	the category
7	`Starting Bid`	the start bid
8	`Reserve`	the reserve (private)
9	`Low Estimate`	the low estimate
10	`High Estimate`	the high estimate

Photographs

Photographs are named after the lot: 771-1.jpeg is the first photograph of lot 771 and 771-2.jpeg the second. A sublot keeps its letter (27A-1.jpeg). The first photograph of a lot is its cover.

A sale with more than 1,000 photographs is split into numbered folders of up to 1,000 files, whole lots only, so a lot's photographs are never separated.

The rules the file has to meet

Auction Flex (desktop)

No title limit is documented, so the full title is written.
The description is plain text; line breaks stay as line breaks.
dimensions has no column of its own, so it is added to the description, one per line.
Money is a plain figure in the sale's currency: no symbol, no thousands separator, and a trailing .00 is dropped (180, 180.5).
The reserve is written into this file for the house's own use. Do not post the file where a bidder can read it.
Every lot needs a consignor code that already exists in the platform: a row with an unknown code is skipped, so Lotdesk warns about any lot without one.
Start bid and estimates are per item, so a lot with a quantity above 1 is listed in warnings.txt to check.

Auction Flex 360

Titles are limited to 50 characters. Lotdesk lets a title run to 200, so a longer one is shortened at a word boundary and listed in warnings.txt.
The description is plain text; line breaks stay as line breaks.
dimensions and condition have no column of their own, so they are added to the description, one per line.
Money is a plain figure in the sale's currency: no symbol, no thousands separator, and a trailing .00 is dropped (180, 180.5).
The reserve is written into this file for the house's own use. Do not post the file where a bidder can read it.
Every lot needs a consignor code that already exists in the platform: a row with an unknown code is skipped, so Lotdesk warns about any lot without one.

The steps in Auction Flex

Auction Flex (desktop)

Auction Flex imports lots and photographs in two separate steps: the lots from the spreadsheet, then the photographs from a folder.

Back up first. In Auction Flex: Miscellaneous, System Maintenance, Backup.
Unzip the file you downloaded. You will have inventory-import.csv and a folder called images.
Make sure every consignor already exists in Auction Flex with the code Lotdesk wrote in the Consignor/Vendor Code column. Auction Flex skips a lot whose code it does not know.
Open Auction Lots & Preview and click Import Lots (Inventory Import).
Step 1, File Selection: click the ... button and choose inventory-import.csv.
Step 2, Field Mapping & Options: add the fields from Available Fields to Fields included with file to import in this order: Lot#, Consignor/Vendor Code, Lead/Title, Description1, Quantity, Ship, Full Category, Start Bid Each, Total Reserve, Min Est Each, Max Est Each, Long UDF1. Use the green up and down arrows to fix the order.
Step 3, Field Mapping Review: tick Skip First Row When Importing, because the file has a header row. A description with line breaks may show over several rows in the preview; it still imports as one description.
Step 4, Miscellaneous Options: choose the auction the lots go into. If a consignor code is not found the record is skipped; you can enter a fallback code here.
Step 5, Image Options: choose Do Not Use. The photographs come in separately.
Step 6: click Import Inventory. Auction Flex tells you how many items it imported; compare that with the lot count on this page.
Photographs: open Batch Image Import and select the images folder (the folder the files are in, extracted from the ZIP). Set Assigning Images by to Auction + Lot #, choose the auction, and choose an Existing Image Mode: Remove Existing Images Prior to Importing for a clean import, or Append.
A sale with more than 1,000 photographs is split into numbered folders (01_, 02_, ...) of up to 1,000 files each. Run Batch Image Import once for each folder.

The photographs are named {lot}-{n}.jpeg: 771-1.jpeg is the first photograph of lot 771, 771-2.jpeg the second. A sublot keeps its letter: 27A-1.jpeg.
Long UDF1 carries the condition note. Auction Flex has no condition field of its own; any user-defined long field will do.
The reserve is in the Total Reserve column. This file is the house's own: do not post it anywhere a bidder can read it.
Start Bid Each, Min Est Each and Max Est Each are per item. Lotdesk keeps them per lot; lots with a quantity above 1 are listed in warnings.txt.

Auction Flex 360

Auction Flex 360 takes a CSV for the lots and, once the lots exist, the photographs by name.

Unzip the file you downloaded. You will have lots-import.csv and a folder called images.
Find each consignor's code in Auction Flex 360: Customers, Customer List, Customer Code. Lotdesk wrote the code you gave each consignor in the Seller Code column; it attaches the right seller to each lot.
To compare headers, open Lots, Import Lots, CSV Template. Auction Flex 360 does not publish the template's header names, so Lotdesk uses plain ones and the next step matches them.
Go to Lots, Import Lots, Choose File and choose lots-import.csv.
Field Mapping: Auction Flex 360 lists the columns of your file (File Header) beside the fields it fills (DB Column). Match each: Lot Number, Seller Code, Title, Description, Quantity, Category, Starting Bid, Reserve, Low Estimate, High Estimate.
Import Options: start from the first data row (the file has one header row) and choose whether to overwrite existing data. If there are no lots yet, click Import.
Import Summary: read the report of how many rows were uploaded and any errors.
Photographs, after the lots are in: Lots, Lot Image Import, Select Lot Images. Open the images folder, click the first image, press Ctrl+A to select all, and upload. A Complete status confirms it.

Auction Flex 360 limits a lot title to 50 characters on bulk import. Longer titles are shortened at a word boundary and listed in warnings.txt, so you can put the full title back by hand.
The photographs are named {lot}-{n}.jpg: 1-1.jpg, 1-2.jpg for lot 1. Auction Flex 360 also accepts 1.1 and 1_1.
The file carries the reserve in the Reserve column. It is the house's own; do not post it anywhere a bidder can read it.

What each fact rests on

Status	What it says	Where it comes from
Vendor documentation	The desktop Inventory Import reads a CSV. A Consignor Code that already exists in Auction Flex and a Lot # (or Inventory #) are required; a row whose consignor code is unknown is skipped.	Auction Flex help center, Inventory Import, dated 2025-07-11
Vendor documentation	Photographs come in as a separate step, matched to lots by file name.	Auction Flex help center, Inventory Import, dated 2025-07-11
Third-party account	The twelve columns and their order for the desktop import: Lot#, Consignor/Vendor Code, Lead/Title, Description1, Quantity, Ship, Full Category, Start Bid Each, Total Reserve, Min Est Each, Max Est Each, Long UDF1.	Lot Lingo's guide to importing into Auction Flex, a third party's tool
Third-party account	Photographs named like 771-1.jpeg; more than 1,000 images split across folders.	Lot Lingo's guide, a third party's tool
Unverified	Long UDF1 carries the condition note. Auction Flex has no condition field, so this is Lotdesk's choice; any user-defined long field would do.	Not published by the vendor
Vendor documentation	Auction Flex 360 reads a CSV only, from a template at Lots, Import Lots, CSV Template. The Seller Code maps the consignor, a field-mapping step matches your headers to its fields, and photographs are named 1-1, 1-2 (1.1 and 1_1 are also read).	Auction Flex 360 help center, Mass Import Lots & Images, dated 2025-10-31
Third-party account	Auction Flex 360 limits a title to 50 characters on bulk import.	AuctionWriter's guide, dated 2025-03-11, a third party's tool
Unverified	The Auction Flex 360 template's own header names are behind a login, so Lotdesk writes plain names and the field-mapping step matches them.	Not published. Per the vendor's published documentation; check against your own import screen.

Date these sources were read: 2026-10-01. A format can change without notice; if your import screen shows something different, trust your screen and tell us.

Skip the typing: have Lotdesk write this file

Lotdesk writes this file from the lots you wrote at the piece, with the photographs named the way Auction Flex matches them and a list of anything to look at before you import. Here is the real output for the sample sale, so you can open it before you decide:

The first 25 lots are free; the export files come with the $79 a month plan. More on exporting from Lotdesk to Auction Flex.

Open a book — free for your first 25 lots Look at the sample sale first