Import profiles

The Import Profile function in Payments enables you to import payment files into the system from locations on your network or local drive.

Standard and user-defined import formats

Payment Import supports two general types of file formats, standard and user-defined. Both formats have their advantages, as follows:

  • Standard – Standard formats require that the fields within a file follow a prescribed order.

    The standard format to be used depends on the type of data being imported:

    • For Payroll payments, the Transaction Method field should inform 001.
    • For Suppliers payments, the Transaction Method field should inform 002.
    • For Others payments, the Transaction Method field should inform 003.
  • User-defined – A user-defined format gives greater flexibility and more control over the data that is included in the import. You can define exactly the fields that you want to include, as well as their order within the file.

    How fields are designated in a user-defined file depends on the type of data being imported.

    The fields can be delimited (separated) by a variety of different characters, such as the asterisk or comma.

Importing templated payments

Payments can be imported to the database and associated with an existing template. This is similar to when a user creates a new payment through the user interface using a template. When importing payments based on a template, the profile requires only the following fields:
  • Repetitive - Template Name
  • Repetitive - Value Date
  • Repetitive - Amount/Debit Amount
The template provides the rest of the payment details. The following are the only two restrictions for importing templated payments:
  • Templated payments can be imported only with a user-defined profile.
  • Each imported payment file must contain a single payment type.

Record count and hash total checking

Profiles based on one of the standard formats enable the company to check record counts and hash totals.

A record count is a count of the number of records in the file, up to 9,999. Note that leading zeros are permitted. For example, 1, 01, 001, and 0001 are all valid values to indicate a file containing one payment record.

A hash total is where the values in all amount fields are added together. The hash total is calculated by first removing all punctuation from each amount. The resulting values, which are treated as integer (whole) amounts, are then added together.

For example, suppose the file of transactions contains the following amounts:

USD 700.00 70000
JPY 30,000. 30000
CAD 4,500.50 450050
SGD 1,000.00 100000
  TOTAL: 650050
The Hash Total is 000000000650050 (15 right-justified and zero-filled numeric characters).
  • Trailer when Hash Total Checking and Record Count options are enabled:

    PAYMENT,TRAILER,000000000650050,0004

  • Trailer when Hash Total Checking and Record Count options are not enabled:

    PAYMENT,TRAILER,,

Parent topic: Import