Import job costs

Use these instructions to import a CSV file containing costs relating to specific jobsA job is the overall project that you or your organisation works on for a client..

Before you begin

Before you import data into , you need to prepare a suitable import file.

• Tips for ensuring a successful import
  • In your import file, each column header identifies a data field that you want to include in your import. You need specify column headers for the mandatory fields plus any additional fields that you want to import.
  • The column headers in your import file must match the format of the column headers in the sample file exactly. You must use the same capitalisation, with any spaces, punctuation or other characters as shown.
  • Make sure that you save the import file in the correct format: CSV

    When working with the CSV file in Excel, make sure you save it using CSV (comma delimited) (*.csv) format. There are several other CSV formats, which are not currently supported by .

  • Make sure there are no carriage-return characters in any of the data fields. These characters are created by pressing the Enter key and may have been included in the original data to break text onto several lines; in an address, for example.
  • Make sure there are no blank lines at the end of the data file. If you see error messages reporting that several mandatory items are missing, open the CSV file in a text editor like Notepad to check for (and remove) blank lines.
  • Depending on the source of your import file, you may notice that there some columns that you do not wish to import. You can remove any such columns (as long as they are not mandatory columns - see Set up a file from scratch, below) before you run the import. Alternatively, during the Map fields step of the import process, you can flag any unwanted columns as Do not import, so they are ignored.
  • If any custom fields have been set up for job costs, those fields will be listed: Custom Field (Field Name) at the Map fields step of the import process. To import data into a custom field, you need to include the Field Name as a column header in your import file, in the same way as regular data fields.

Setting up an import file

To set up an import file, do one of the following:

• Modify a sample file
  1. Download the Job Cost Import Example CSV file at the end of this article.
  2. Open the file using a suitable desktop application, such as Microsoft Excel.
  3. Remove any columns that you do not wish to use (but not the mandatory columns - see Set up a file from scratch, below).
  4. Replace the sample data (from row 2 onwards) with the information you wish to import.
  5. Save the completed file in CSV format.

• Set up a file from scratch
  1. Create a spreadsheet using a suitable desktop application, such as Microsoft Excel.
  2. Include the mandatory column headers (plus any optional column headers you require) in row 1. Each column header should be in a separate column. Copy each column header exactly (the import is case sensitive).

     If a column header in the import file has an exact match with a column header shown below, will automatically assign the CSV input data to the correct data field. If any column headers do not match exactly, you can match them manually during the field mapping stage of the import.

     Column Header	Description
     Job Number	The number of the job that this cost item is to be applied to.
     Cost Name	Name or brief description of cost item.
     Date (DD/MM/YYYY)	The date that the cost item was added to the job.
     Unit Cost	The cost to you of one cost item. This would normally be the amount you paid to purchase the item, excluding tax.
     Unit Price	The selling price of one cost item. This would normally be the price paid by one of your clients to purchase the item, excluding tax.
     Quantity	Number of cost items to apply to the job. Must be greater than zero.
     Phase	Name of the job phase to apply the cost item to. The phase name must match the name of an existing phase on the specified job.
     Supplier	If specified, it must match an existing supplier name.
     Cost Code	Unique identifier (such as a model number) used by the supplier to order or track the cost item. If linking to a cost in the Cost Admin database, this cost code must match.
     Type	Cost type is "Stock" or "Service".
     Billable	Yes=billable (default); No= non-billable.
     Cost Note	Descriptive note about the cost.
     Estimated/Actual	Specify how the cost is to be applied to the job: Estimated or Actual.

  3. In row 2 onwards, enter the information that you wish to import.
  4. Save the completed file in CSV format.

• Modify a file containing data exported from another application
  1. Open a CSV file that has been exported from another application.
  2. Remove any rows that you do not wish to use.
  3. Remove any columns that you do not wish to use (but not the mandatory columns - see Set up a file from scratch, above).
  4. Change each column header so that it exactly matches the equivalent column header listed under Set up a file from scratch above. Using the standard column headers reduces the effort required when you map the CSV file column headers to the standard column headers.
  5. Save the completed file in CSV format.

Notes on import data for job costs

• The Job Number (that you are importing costs for) must already exist in .
• Re-importing a job cost against a specific job number will result in a duplicate cost record being added to that job.

Importing the data

To import job cost data into :

1. On the toolbar click and select the Import tab. The Import screen displays the status of any previous import operations:
• Imported. The import is complete.
• Validated. The import was partly completed. You can click the Validated flag to complete the import operation from the data validation stage reached earlier.
2. On the Import screen, click Import to start the import wizard.
3. In the import wizard, Upload File step, provide the following information, as required.

   Field	Description
   Data Type	The data type of file that you wish to import. Select Job Costs.
   Click to upload	Drag and drop or click to select the CSV file you wish to import.
   Import Method	Select the import method to use: Create. Use the imported CSV data to create new costs on the specified jobs. Update. (coming soon) Create & Update. (coming soon) Delete. (coming soon)

4. Click Next. The fields you can import are listed.
5. In the import wizard, Map Fields step, make sure that each field is correctly mapped to the column names specified in the uploaded CSV file.

   If you have used the standard column header names, mapping will take place automatically. Sample data items from row 2 of the CSV file are displayed, at right, to help you verify that the mapping is correct.

   To ignore data in optional data fields, you can select Do not import in the Column Name drop-down list, if you wish. This saves you having to physically remove any fields you do not wish to import.

6. Click Next. Your CSV data is validated and produces an error report. Choose your next step from the following table.

   Errors Yes/No?	Next Step...
   No	Click Import Rows to complete the import process. displays the Import screen. You may need to refresh the screen to update the Importing.. flag to show Imported.
   Yes	Do one of the following: Click Import Rows Excluding Errors to complete the import process using only rows that were correct. Click Download Error Rows to download a CSV file that contains only those rows that contain an error. You can correct the errors and re-start the import process using the corrected file. Pause the import process by clicking the back-arrow at top-left of the screen. displays the Import screen.