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Importing sales data

This page shows you how to import your sales data into Royalties HQ.

Sales data consists of the sales reports you receive from your distributors and retailers, such as Amazon, Lightning Source, and ACX. 

Overview #

  • Sales data should be in the currency of the sales channel.
  • Each row in a sales report is imported as one sales line in Royalties HQ.
  • Sales lines are grouped into sales batches by Royalties HQ.
  • You can import sales data from custom sales channels such as your own e-commerce site, in-person sales, and wholesale orders using the Royalties HQ custom sales data import template, which you can download from the sales data upload page.

Supported file formats #

Currenlty, Royalties HQ sales import supports four file fomats (types of file):

  • Amazon KDP (XLSX).
  • Lightning Source (monthly “sales comp” XLS reports).
  • Findaway royalty compensation files (XLSX).
  • Royalties HQ format (CSV) – for any other sources of sales not listed above.

The Amazon KDP (XLSX), Lightning Source (monthly “sales comp” XLS reports), and Findaway files should be dropped into Royalties HQ without any amends or changes to the data within.

Locating your sales files #

Here’s where you will find those files, should you use any of these distributors/platforms:

  • Amazon KDP – download the royalty report XLSX file from your KDP account. Do not edit the contents of the file.
  • Lightning Source – use the monthly “sales comp” files (XLSX only) that Lightning Source emails you each month. We recommend that you rename each filename with the correct month and marketplace. Do not edit the contents of the file – you can rename the file without opening it.
    • You can also download sales reports directly from the Lightning Source account dashboard, however these reports do not contain sales month data. Therefore, you must edit the values in “period” (column AO) which will contain the value “CUSTOM”, and you must replace this with the correct month in the usual LSI format. For example, ‘December 2023’ must be entered as “DEC-23”.
  • Findaway – use the monthly sales report files that Findaway sends you (XLSX only). Do not edit the contents of the file.

If you have sale sdata from another source, e.g. a distributor not listed above, or whlesale or e-commerce sales, you need to use the Royalties HQ sales file template – see ‘Import custom sales’ section below.

How to upload sales data #

Uploading your sales files is the first step. After uploading, the file can be imported.

To upload your sales files:

  1. Go to the main menu (icon top left) and click Add New Sales. 
  2. Drop your sales file into the dropzone (or click the dropzone and select your file)
  3. Royalties HQ will attempt to recognise the type of file. This will be shown in a drop-down. Once the correct type of file is selected, click Continue.
  4. The file will now be checked, and will show status as “Validating”. If the file is safe to import, its status will update to ‘Ready to import’. If not, errors will be shown (A copy of the file is stored on Royalties HQ. Click the file name to see more details).
  5. If the file shows as ‘Ready to import’, click the Import button
  6. The contents of the file will be imported. Each row becomes a sales line, grouped into one or more sales batches. Click the View Batches button to see the imported sales batches.

Import custom sales using the Royalties HQ sales file template #

For sales from other sources, for example your own e-commerce website, wholesale orders, or sales via a custom distributor, use our sales import template CSV to prepare your data.

To download this template from the ‘Add New Sales’ page:

  1. In the main menu (icon top left) click Add New Sales. 
  2. Click the “Download sales import template” Link
  3. The template is downloaded to your computer

Next, use your spreadsheet software (for example, Google Sheets, or Excel) to populate the template with your sales data. Note: Excel and Google Sheets like to be ‘helpful’ and format your numbers, but avoid this. You must format numbers as text (see these instructions   ).

The sales upload template includes some instructions on each line that starts with a #. This is to help you format your data correctly for importing. Any line starting with a ‘#’ will be skipped in the import process, so can either be ignored or safely deleted before importing.

Custom sales – Required data #

  • Each sales line must contain an ISBN or an ASIN.
  • The ‘royalty_month‘ is the month in which the royalty applies in YYYY-MM format, for example 2024-08
  • The currency is the ISO-4217 code, e.g. USD or GBP.
  • The ‘royalty’ is the net amount owed to you, the publisher (‘royalty_on_sales‘ minus ‘royalty_on_refunds‘), in decimal format, without a currency symbol. For example, 3.78
  • The ‘royalty_on_sales‘ is the royalty payable on all sales. This may be higher than the ‘royalty’ if there were refunds. in decimal format, without a currency symbol.
  • The ‘units_sold‘ is required if the ‘royalty_on_sales’ is greater than zero. It is a count of titles sold. (Not required for Kindle ebooks that are part of Kindle Select and have a KENP read quantity). Must be a positive number, or zero, or it can be left empty.
  • sales channel – For custom imports, use ‘other’
  • The ‘discount_percent‘ (or just ‘discount’) is required only for titles sold on a list price royalty basis.

Custom sales – optional data #

  • The ‘royalty_on_refunds‘ is the royalty amount clawed back due to refunds. This must be a negative amount. Decimal format, without a currency symbol.
  • The ‘units_refunded‘ is required if the ‘royalty_on_refunds’ is greater than zero. It is a count of titles returned or refunded. Must be a positive number, or zero, or can be left empty.
  • The ‘kenp_read‘ number is Amazon’s measure of pages read and applies only to KENP ‘Kindle Unlimited’ e-books.
  • ‘marketplace’ is optional, but recommended. Use the name of the distributor or sale type, e.g. “wholesale”
  • ‘list_price‘ is optional but recommended; it is the price the product sold for, or was listed at, in the marketplace currency. In decimal format, without a currency symbol.
  • ‘title’ and ‘author’ are optional but can be useful as a visual check during import.

When you are ready to import your custom sales data, follow the steps in ‘How to upload sales data‘ above.