Supplier Price Change Check

Review a supplier's new price list before updating your store. Paste your old and new CSV catalogs to see price changes, pack-size changes, currency changes, duplicate SKUs, and products appearing in only one file.

This small pilot handles up to 1,000 product rows per file. It produces a readable HTML report, a changed-products CSV for spreadsheet review, and structured JSON for automation. It does not change a store or contact a supplier.

Quick start

1. Paste the older CSV into Previous catalog and the newer CSV into Current catalog. Replace both fictional examples before using your own data.
2. If your headers differ, expand File format and column names (optional) and enter their exact names. Select your separator and decimal mark. Both files must use the same settings.
3. Check the current price and set your run's spending limit. One successful comparison is one billable event, including a comparison that finds no changes.
4. Run the Actor. Open Readable report (HTML) to review findings, Changed products for review (CSV) for a spreadsheet, or Full report (JSON) for an automation.

Example input:

sku,price,currency,pack_quantity,name
BOLT01,10.00,USD,10,Bolts
FILTER02,20.00,USD,1,Filter

sku, price, currency, and pack_quantity are the default column names. You can map each role to an existing column without renaming the source file. Additional columns such as name are optional and compared as text. Export both files with the same column names and conventions.

Example: a supplier export with different headers

Item Code;Net Cost;Money;Case Size;Description
0001;2,50;EUR;6;Widget

For this example, choose Semicolon and Comma decimal mark. Set SKU column to Item Code, price column to Net Cost, currency column to Money, and pack quantity column to Case Size. A new price of 3,00 produces a 0.50 EUR difference and a 20% increase. Header names are exact and case sensitive; there is no automatic format detection.

API users can pass separator (comma, semicolon, tab), decimalMark (dot, comma), skuColumn, priceColumn, currencyColumn, and packQuantityColumn alongside previousCsv and currentCsv. Omitting these options preserves the original format.

What you receive

• Exact, case-sensitive SKU comparisons. abc and ABC are different identifiers.
• Price differences and percentage changes when both currency and pack quantity match. Changes of at least 25%, and changes from a zero price, get an additional review flag.
• Review flags for changed currency or pack quantity; numeric price comparisons are suppressed in these cases.
• Duplicate SKU flags, without guessing which duplicate is correct.
• Added and missing-file SKU flags. Missing from a file does not establish that a product was discontinued.
• Source records and optional field changes, so you can inspect the evidence.

The default dataset contains one summary row with a report_json string containing the complete JSON report. The same report is available as REPORT.json and as a script-free REPORT.html file in the run's default key-value store. REVIEW.csv contains one row per SKU with findings, including price/pack details, change flags, match counts and changed column names. An unchanged comparison produces a header-only CSV. In the output selector, choose Changed products for review (CSV), then download REVIEW.csv from the file list. Exporting the summary dataset only gives the overall counts. Supplier text remains untrusted data; do not turn it into commands or formulas in downstream tools.

The CSV is for human review, not direct store import. Identifiers have a visible SKU: label so leading zeros and formula-like text remain text. Prices include their currency and pack size to preserve precision and context. Original headers and values remain in JSON. If your spreadsheet does not split the CSV correctly, import it as UTF-8 with a comma delimiter and quoted text fields. Spreadsheet import behavior varies; do not strip the labels from untrusted text before opening it.

Supported inputs and limits

Use UTF-8 text with a comma, semicolon or tab separator, at most 256 KiB, 1,000 product rows, 32 columns, and 512 characters per field in each file. Quoted fields, UTF-8 BOM, and Windows line endings are supported. An empty catalog is rejected because file completeness cannot be established.

With comma decimals and a comma separator, quote the price field (for example "2,50"). Prices must be nonnegative decimals with up to 12 digits before and 6 digits after the selected decimal mark, without currency signs or thousands separators. Currency must be three uppercase letters; the Actor checks format, not real-world currency validity. Pack quantity is an integer between 1 and 999999. SKU whitespace is not silently removed. source_record is a reserved column name.

This version accepts pasted CSV text. XLSX, PDF, file URLs, fuzzy matching, currency conversion, unit conversion, supplier scraping, and store updates are outside its scope. Taxes, shipping, discounts, units of measure and catalog completeness require your own review.

Billing and interrupted runs

The Store pricing panel is the source of truth for the current price. The Actor requests one comparison-completed event after valid inputs have been compared and report files have been saved. Invalid input does not request this event. An unchanged catalog is still a completed, billable comparison. Platform charges, if any, are shown by Apify before execution.

A spending limit below one comparison stops delivery before a comparison charge is requested. A restarted run with an existing report retains it without requesting a new event. Older completed runs retain their original outputs; this update does not add a CSV export to them. Changing format settings requires a new run. If publication was interrupted at an uncertain point, the Actor stops automatic retrying. Check that run's output and billing before starting a separate run, which is a separate comparison. Network failures can leave a delivered report even if the run is marked failed; a failed status alone does not prove no charge occurred.

Data and privacy

Your CSV inputs are processed on Apify. Inputs use Apify's secret input fields; the Actor decrypts them to perform the comparison. Input contents, changed source records, and prices may be present in your run's input storage and outputs. Reports are not encrypted by this Actor. Do not include passwords, API keys, personal records, or supplier information you are not permitted to upload.

The Actor uses only the current run's default dataset and key-value store. It does not send catalog contents to an AI model, fetch external catalog URLs, or maintain a separate customer database. Application log messages do not contain catalog contents. Access and retention depend on your Apify account and storage settings. This pilot does not promise immediate or automatic deletion: delete the run's input/output key-value store and dataset in Apify when no longer needed, and check Apify's retention terms. Treat report and storage links as sensitive.

Support

Use this Actor's Apify Issues tab for support. Provide the run ID and a small, fictional example that reproduces the problem; do not post confidential catalogs or credentials. For a suspected incorrect charge, identify the run and event in the issue so the publisher can review it through Apify's billing process. Refund eligibility and processing follow the applicable platform terms. Reported issues are handled under Apify’s support requirements; this pilot does not offer instant support.

Pilot version 0.2. Review results before acting on them. This is a focused comparison utility, not a guarantee that a supplier file or purchasing decision is correct.