Everything needed to load a catalogue into Southbeam and generate the first files. If something here is wrong or missing, tell us — the docs are maintained by the people who build the product.
Loading a catalogue
Southbeam reads .xlsx and .csv. Upload the file, then map each column to a Southbeam field — item code, family, wattage, luminous flux, CCT, CRI, beam angle, IP rating, dimensions, mounting. The mapping is stored against the source, so the second import of the same sheet is one click.
Rows that fail validation are refused rather than imported as placeholders. An item code must be unique, a wattage must parse as a number, and a CCT must be a plausible value. The importer reports every refused row with the reason.
Photometric inputs
There are two ways to give a product its photometry, and they are treated differently on purpose.
Measured. Upload the LDT or IES from the laboratory. Southbeam validates the header, normalises it, and every file it generates carries the lab reference. This is the only route that produces files marked as measured.
Modelled. Where no lab file exists yet, Southbeam can build a preliminary distribution from luminous flux, beam angle and optic type. Every file generated this way is stamped preliminary — modelled, not measured in the header and on the datasheet. It is for early-stage specification and is replaced automatically the moment a measured file is uploaded. Southbeam never presents a modelled distribution as a measurement.
Generating files
Once a product has photometry, every format is one click from the product record: IES (LM-63), LDT (EULUMDAT), a DIALux project with the product placed in a reference room, a Relux project, a Revit family with a type catalogue covering the variants, and IFC 4. Files regenerate when the underlying data changes, and the previous version is kept.
Datasheets and catalogues
Datasheets are built from the record using your brand template — logo, colours, typography, footer wording — in the languages you enable. A catalogue is a selection of products in an order you choose, laid out automatically, exported as press-ready PDF. Neither is edited in a layout tool; when the product changes, the document changes.
BIM parameters
Revit families carry the parameters consultants filter on: manufacturer, item code, wattage, luminous flux, efficacy, CCT, CRI, IP rating, mounting, dimensions, and a link to the datasheet. Variants of a family become a type catalogue rather than separate families, which is what keeps a project file manageable. Families are produced for the three most recent Revit versions.
Partner portal
Distributors and specifiers log in to a portal scoped to what they are allowed to see: the products, the files, the price list and the stock position you have chosen to share. Every download is recorded against the account that made it.
API
REST over HTTPS. Authenticate with a bearer token generated in account settings. Every generated file is addressable, so a website or a PIM can link to the current datasheet or IES without copying it.
curl https://api.southbeam.net/v1/products/DL-90-12-3K/files/ies
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SB_TOKEN"Rate limits
1,000 requests per minute per token on Growth and Enterprise. Exceeding it returns 429 with a Retry-After header.