Cut List Import

Three Ways to Get Your Cut List In

RailChop gives you three paths to import work. You can pick a file from your device — CSV, TSV, or XLSX from your POS, email, or a folder. You can paste directly into the app — copy a table from Excel or Google Sheets and paste it in. Or you can photograph your work order using the AI Scan feature, which reads customers, dimensions, and profile names from the image. All three paths lead to the same review screen, where you check everything before the cut plan runs.

This flexibility matters because every shop gets cut lists differently. Some export from a POS system. Some use spreadsheets. Some still work from handwritten order sheets that need a photo. RailChop meets you where you are, whatever your workflow looks like.

Column Auto-Mapping

When you import a file, RailChop reads your column headers and automatically maps them to the right fields. It recognizes common variations: "width" or "W", "height" or "H", "quantity", "qty", "#", "customer", "name", "order", "profile", "moulding", "molding", "frame", and "size" or "dimensions" for combined columns. You don't tell RailChop which column is which — it figures it out.

If the auto-map isn't perfect, you can adjust columns on the review screen before importing. Drag columns to different fields, swap them around, or reassign them. You stay in control. Once you're happy with the mapping, the same column structure is remembered for future imports from that POS or file type, so you only do the setup once.

Fractions, Mixed Formats, No Problem

Framers write dimensions in fractions. Your POS might export "16-1/2 x 20-3/4". Excel might show "16 3/8 x 20 1/2". A work order might be handwritten as "16½ × 20¾". RailChop parses them natively, in whatever format they arrive. Combined dimension columns like "16 x 20" in a single cell are handled automatically. No conversion step. No separate entry. Whatever format your POS exports or however the dimensions show up, they come in cleanly and convert to decimal inches for the optimizer.

Review Before You Optimize

The import review screen shows every row as an editable job. You can see at a glance what was imported and what might need tweaking. Fix a dimension if the OCR read it wrong. Adjust a quantity if the column mapping grabbed the wrong number. Assign or create a profile name on the fly. Each job is editable before the cut plan runs. Nothing goes to the optimizer until you confirm you're ready.

Jobs with unrecognized profile names are flagged. You see them grouped together, and you can assign an existing profile from your library or create a new one right from the review screen. The system helps you catch issues early, before they produce a bad cut plan.

Profile Assignment for Teams

When a file includes a profile or moulding column, RailChop groups jobs by the profile name and shows an Assign or Create button for each unique name. This is especially useful when you're importing a batch of work that uses multiple profiles, or when different team members are handling different styles of frames. Each profile name gets its own section, and you can assign or create once per group rather than doing it job by job.

If the same profile name appears in a future import, RailChop recognizes it automatically and assigns it without prompting. This learning system saves time on repeated imports and keeps your library organized around the names and styles your team actually uses.