HiFinance 4


 

SECTION 6.5.8.1 – GENERAL LEDGER MASTER-FILE ASCII IMPORT

 

USAGE: To import a file containing, all or a subset, of new or changed information to be posted to the General Ledger master-file. The input file is required to be in a very strictly stylised format so that HiFinance can allocate data to the correct fields on the correct General Ledger records.

 

DISCUSSION: Make sure that you have a good backup of your data and that no-one is using HiFinance during the update. HiFinance may not update the files as you expected and the only completely safe way to correct the mistake is to restore your data from backup.

 

The import file required must be called glmf.csv, although case is not important in Windows. This file must reside in your data directory, eg \HF4DATA\COMP1. Also, the file must not be in use. This is important because if you have created the file from a spreadsheet and have saved it but not closed it, the file will still be locked by the spreadsheet program and HiFinance will not be able to open it.

 

The input file must be in CSV format. This is a comma-delimited file (without quotes) with one record per line. Exporting from Excel, choosing the CVS format, will produce the correct format automatically. Each alphanumeric field must be left justified. HiFinance will make no attempt to remove leading spaces (for names, etc.). Numeric fields should not have any dollar signs or commas. Do not use commas in any alpha fields. These will be treated as a field break and HiFinance will not import the row correctly. A blank cell will be treated as a valid entry, thus a blank alpha cell will clear the corresponding field in the master-file and a blank numeric cell will reset the corresponding field in the master-file to zero. Thus if you do not wish to change a field, either delete the row, delete the column or make sure that the cell contains the same information as the field in the master-file currently has.

 

The first line of the input file must contain only field names. These fields are mostly identical to those exported using GENERAL LEDGER ASCII EXPORT (see SECTION 6.5.7.1). In fact the easiest way to create the initial file is to export it first using this program with the headings option turned on. This also has the advantage of accurately exporting the current information. There are some fields available in the Import program that are not created in the Export program. The full list is detailed below. Note the use of the underscore character instead of spaces. This format must be copied exactly.

 

CODE

RENAME_TO

COPY_TO

NAME

EXPECTED_SIGN

ACCOUNT_TYPE

WARNING_FLAG

ASK_EMPLOYEE_FLAG

TAX_RATE

NOTES_P1

NOTES_P2

NOTES_P3

NOTES_P4

NOTES_P5

NOTES_P6

NOTES_P7

NOTES_P8

NOTES_P9

NOTES_P10

NOTES_P11

NOTES_P12

NOTES_P13

NOTES_P14

NOTES_P15

NOTES_P16

NOTES_P17

NOTES_P18

NOTES_P19

NOTES_P20

 

Notes:

1)                 The order of the columns is not important but they must not appear more than once.

2)                 CODE must appear, as it is used to link the row to the General Ledger Code as it currently exists on the General Ledger master-file.

3)                 Apart from CODE, you must have at least one more column.

4)                 RENAME_TO is only required if you wish HiFinance to change the current General Ledger Account code to another code. The new code must not exist and the old code will not exist after the import program has run. If you wish to switch two codes, it is possible to do this by entering three lines. The first row will change one of the codes to a dummy value, the second row will rename the second Account code to the first code and the third row will rename the first code to the second, eg 1000.00 ® 1000.01; 1000.02 ® 1000.01; 1000.01 ® 1000.02.

5)                 COPY_TO is used when you wish to duplicate Accounts. Sometimes you have a group of accounts that you wish to enter again, eg for export. This option can have other fields changed at the same time but it will change the original code’s fields, so normally this option is only used by itself.

6)                 RENAME_TO and COPY_TO can be used together, but care should be taken to achieve the results you expect.

7)                 Some fields are only relevant to specific installations.

8)                 No provision is made to import Bank information.

9)                 If you try to import the raw file form the ASCII EXPORT program, it will not read in successfully unless you choose to export with comma delimiters between fields and without quotes around fields (numeric and alphanumeric). This can be set in the options part of the export program. Normally this is not the way this function is used, the purpose of this function being to manipulate the file in a spreadsheet program and importing the result.

10)             Most fields are not verified on import. You must enter valid information. For the field that are validated, invalid data will be ignored.

 

When the program starts, it will firstly check whether the import file exists and is accessible. Having established this, HiFinance will read the first line of the file and check for its correctness. If no obvious errors are found, you will be asked to confirm that you have made a backup and then you will be asked to confirm that you wish to proceed.

 

HiFinance will then read import lines one at a time confirming firstly that the CODE field corresponds to an General Ledger Account code and then renaming, copying or just replacing the fields and records, as defined by the columns you have chosen. If an invalid or blank row is encountered, it will be skipped. HiFinance will continue processing until it reaches the end of the import program. Finally the import file will be renamed to glmf.old (to stop you from accidentally rerunning the program with used data) before returning you the MAIN MENU.

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