The Variant Location Plan Metrics import lets you bring SKU × Location × Date level plan data into Toolio — for example, units, retail, or any custom metric you plan outside of Toolio. Once the file is uploaded, Toolio automatically rolls those numbers up to the choice and cluster level so they appear in your New Assortment Plan (NAP) without any extra setup. This article walks through exactly how that roll-up works and what to check before you import.

Each row in the import file represents the plan metrics for one SKU at one location on one date. The required columns are:

A small example file might look like this:

Toolio stores each row in the Variant Location Plan Metrics Import table. If you re-import a row with the same VariantId, LocationId, and date, the metrics are overwritten with your latest values.

This is the part most people want to understand. Your file is at the SKU × location × date level, but the New Assortment Plan is at the choice × cluster × date level. Toolio bridges the two with a three-step roll-up that runs automatically right after your import finishes: it groups SKUs up to their choice, maps locations to clusters via your default Automated Cluster Group, then combines the two to build the Choice × Cluster rows that surface in New Assortment Plan.

Every SKU (variant) in Toolio belongs to a Choice (its style/color). Toolio looks at the choiceId already configured on each variant in your file and groups the SKUs accordingly.

Continuing the example above, suppose SKU-A-S and SKU-A-M are both sizes of the same choice CHOICE-A. After this step, the data looks like:

Toolio uses your default Automated Cluster Group (ACG) to translate each location into the cluster it belongs to. The default group is the one flagged as the default on your account — Toolio picks it automatically and applies it across the entire import. Only one cluster group is used per import.

Within that group, only cluster assignments that meet both of these conditions are picked up:

If a location doesn't have a matching, included, Adjusted assignment in the default group, its rows are skipped. The unmatched location IDs are listed in the sync log so you can fix the cluster mapping and re-import.

For each location that does map, Toolio attaches three things to the row:

Continuing the example, suppose your default cluster group puts STORE-01 in CLUSTER-NORTH and STORE-02 in CLUSTER-SOUTH. After Step 2, every row in your data carries its cluster information alongside the choice and metrics.

Now Toolio combines the choice (from Step 1) and the cluster info (from Step 2) to build the rows that actually surface in New Assortment Plan.

A Choice in New Assortment Plan is uniquely identified by three things together:

The cluster group itself is part of the choice's identity: rolling the same Actual Choice up against a different cluster group would produce a separate Choice row in NAP. In practice you only have one default cluster group, but this is why every Choice is tied to a specific cluster configuration.

A Choice Offering then narrows a Choice down to one cluster within that group — it's the plan for that choice in that cluster, over time.

Bringing the example together, your file becomes these rows in New Assortment Plan:

These are written as Choice Offering Scenario Metrics under the plan scenario — the same scenario that powers the Plan columns in New Assortment Plan. If multiple locations land in the same cluster (e.g. both STORE-01 and STORE-05 are in CLUSTER-NORTH), their numbers are summed together at this step.

In parallel with Step 2, Toolio also writes the data at the Choice × Size × Date level. Each variant's size value is matched to a size option, and metrics are summed up for every (choice, size, date) combination. This is what lets the size breakdown views in New Assortment Plan reflect your imported plan without any further action.

For every (Actual Choice + Automated Cluster Group + Assortment Group) triple Toolio derives from your import, it checks whether a matching Choice already exists in New Assortment Plan. The behavior is distinctly different in each case.

If a Choice already exists in New Assortment Plan with that exact triple, Toolio reuses it without modification:

In short, re-importing into an existing Choice is a metric-only update.

Worked example.

Suppose CHOICE-A × CLUSTER-NORTH already exists with Plan Units = 9 on 2026-02-01. You re-import Plan Units = 12 for 2026-02-01:

If no Choice exists for that triple, Toolio creates the full structure from scratch:

Worked example.

Same CHOICE-A × CLUSTER-NORTH, but this is the first time it's been imported. Your file has rows on 2026-02-01, 2026-02-08, and 2026-02-15:

The sync depends on several pieces of master data being in place. If any of these are missing, the affected rows are skipped silently and only logged.

The sync is fully automatic. The lifecycle is:

You don't need to trigger the sync manually — uploading the file is enough.

The plan scenario. They appear wherever New Assortment Plan views surface Plan metrics for a Choice Offering or Choice Size.

The row is skipped. Toolio logs how many rows were dropped for this reason in the sync log. To fix this, make sure your Product/Variant feed sets choiceId on every SKU that should be planned.

Rows for that location are skipped. The sync log lists the unmatched location IDs so you can update your cluster mappings and re-run.

For brand-new offerings created by the import, the launch date is the earliest date in your file for that (choice, cluster) and the end date is the latest. For offerings that already exist, neither date is changed — the import only updates metrics.

Yes. Re-importing a row with the same VariantId, LocationId, and date overwrites that row's metrics. The roll-up to choice and cluster level then re-aggregates from the latest imported values, so the numbers in New Assortment Plan reflect your most recent file.

No. If a Choice already exists for the (Actual Choice, Automated Cluster Group, Assortment Group) combination in your data, Toolio reuses it. Only brand-new combinations result in new Choices being created.

Size metrics require the variant's size attribute to map to a known size option in Toolio. If a variant's size value doesn't match any option, that variant's data still flows into the choice and cluster totals, but isn't counted at the size level.

Check the import status under Settings > Imports. The sync's async task will appear in the Task Manager once the import finishes, and the log captures totals for processed rows, created offerings, created offering metrics, and created size metrics — along with any skipped variants or locations.