Universal Distribution does not offer Initial orders, they only offer Final Order Cutoff files.  We've built a system to allow you to create FOC files using the Manage Comics information.

NOTE - as of February 2024, Universal requires XLSX formatted files, Manage Comics is only capable of exporting CSV files, so you will need to convert your file at the end of this process.  See "Converting your CSV to XLSX". (We are working with Universal to improve this system).

Before you get started, ensure that you have set Universal as your preferred distributor in the Manage Publishers and Product Types settings of Manage Comics.

Generating your FOC files from Universal

Universal FOC's are currently per-publisher (we have asked Universal to create a single FOC file, we will update you on progress of this), on the Universal Distribution site, navigate to comics (1) and then to your distributor of choice (2), click the Download (3) button.

Select "Excel" from the download options

Select "Filtered Data", and save the file.  IMPORTANT, DO NOT OPEN THIS FILE, as Excel will mess it up as often as it doesn't.

Back in Manage Comics, in Ordering > FOC Weekly, select your Distributor/Publisher combo (1), upload the file into Manage Comics (2) by either clicking the Add File, or dragging your XLSX file from where you saved it previously, this will take a while (up to 1 minute in some cases).

Once the file has processed, you can now start to edit your quantities on the FOC.

  • QTY - the Quantity currently on order
  • Subscription QTY - the number of current orders (subscription and pre-orders) for the item
  • New Total QTY - the editable number you can enter.  This should be your shelf + subscription quantity

Scroll to the bottom of the page and select "Download Universal - DC Upload File".

You now have your FOC file for this publisher.  IMPORTANT, DO NOT OPEN THIS FILE UP, Excel will often mess it up.

Converting your CSV file to XLSX

Visit: https://tableconvert.com/csv-to-excel

Drag your XLSX file onto the red are indicated below.

Scroll down the page, and click Download

You now have an XLSX formatted file for Universal!

Back in Universal, upload your file, review your results, repeat for all publishers and enjoy.