Client Import Routine
Concept
Argos Vault provides functionality to import client records from an external source into a Vault Database. A tab delimited file can be generated which complies with a predefined format and used as the data source for the Client Import. This could be used to simplify the creation of large numbers of new client records, or could provide an interface for managing client details in an external CRM system and updating the Argos Vault client record with any changes to the external record.
To support external CRM maintenance the Client records must have been imported into the Argos Vault Database with External ID values which allow each record to be uniquely identified. The import routine will use this unique identifier to determine whether a particular client record already exists and if so there is an option to overwrite the details on the existing Argos Vault Client record with the information provided in the import file.
Mapping files can be setup to allow automated linking to ‘lookup’ records within the Argos Vault system such as Staff, Gender and Occupation etc based on known identifiers for those links within the external system. Where a matching relationship cannot be found within the Argos Vault database a default link can be specified.
If you require any assistance in the setup and use of the Client Import functionality please contact Argos Support. It should be noted that this functionality falls outside the support component of your Business Partnership Fee and therefore may be deemed billable.
File Formats
Import File Specifications
The import file must be a tab delimited file and must
contain a header row identifying the appropriate Argos Vault client field for
the data. Each subsequent row will
contain a single client record with each column containing the data that is to
be applied to the Vault Client field identified by the column header.
Client Fields Available for Import
The following fields can be managed through the Client
Import Routine. The table shows the
Column Heading expected in the Import File Header row along with the field
within the Argos Vault Client Record that the data will be persisted.
Column Header | Argos Client Field | Type | Details |
| CLI_ALP | Code | text | Code - Up to 70 Characters |
CLI_ALPSEC | Secondary Code | text | An additional code field which can be used to
provide a second code for the client |
CLI_EXTID | External ID | text | External ID which can be used to provide a link
to an external system. This must be
unique to the record and must be specified if ongoing updates of the client
record are to be undertaken through the import routine. This will generally be the unique identifier
from the external system. |
CLI_DES | Description | text | The description of the client. This is the name as seen on client lists and
lookups |
CLI_OCCNUM | Occupation | FK | Link to the Occupation table within Argos |
CLI_NTS | Notes | text | Free text for simple client note or
comment. Not intended to maintain
multiple notes as these would be entered as Diary notes via
Communications. Each new line separated
by a double tilde (~~) in the import file.
This mean Carriage Return/Line Feed characters must be replaced by the
double tilde. |
CLI_WRKPHN | Work Phone | text | Work Phone Number |
CLI_HMEPHN | Home Phone | text | Home Phone Number |
CLI_ACTADD | Actual Address | text | Multi line text field with the full physical
address of the client. Each line
separated by a double tilde (~~). This
mean Carriage Return/Line Feed characters must be replaced by the double tilde. |
CLI_POSADD | Postal Address | text | Multi line text field with the full postal
address of the client. Each line
separated by a double tilde (~~). This
mean Carriage Return/Line Feed characters must be replaced by the double tilde. |
CLI_DIRECTPHN | Direct Phone | text | DDI number |
CLI_MOBPHN | Mobile Phone | text | Mobile Phone Number |
CLI_WRKFAX | Work Fax | text | Work Fax Number |
CLI_HMEFAX | Home Fax | text | Home Fax Number |
CLI_WRKEML | Work Email | text | Work Email Address |
CLI_HMEEML | Home Email | text | Home Email Address |
CLI_IRDNO | IRD Number | text | Client IRD number for Tax Purposes |
| CLI_COTNME | Contact Name | text | Name of the client. Often used for addressing communications. |
CLI_COTPOS | Contact Position | text | Can be used to identify the position held by the
Contact person if the client record is a company. E.g for a dealer account it may be the
Manager |
CLI_COTSAL | Contact Salutation | text | Salutation for creating communications |
CLI_BIRDTE | Birth Date | date | Date of Birth |
CLI_DRVLICEXPDTE | Drivers Licence Expiry Date | date | Drivers Licence Number |
CLI_DRVLICNO | Drivers Licence Number | text | Expiry Date of Drivers Licence in dd/mm/yyy
format |
CLI_CLIGENNUM | Gender | FK | Link to Gender table within Argos |
CLI_STFNUM | Staff Member | FK | Link to the Staff member assigned to the client |
CLI_BRNNUM | Branch | FK | Link to the Branch table within Argos |
CLI_BNKBRN | Bank Branch | text | Name of the Bank and Branch of the clients bank
account |
CLI_BNKACC | Bank Account Number | text | Clients Bank Account number |
CLI_WTHNUM | Withholding Tax Code | FK | Link to the Withholding Tax Table within Argos |
CLI_CRDNUM | Credit Rating | FK | Link to the Credit Rating table within Argos |
CLI_CRDNTS | Credit Review Notes | text | Free text for notes regarding the credit rating
or review. Each line separated by a
double tilde (~~). This mean Carriage
Return/Line Feed characters must be replaced by the double tilde. |
CLI_CRSRVWLSTDTE | Credit Last Review Date | date | The date of the last credit review in dd/mm/yyy
format |
| CLI_CRDRVWNXTDTE | Credit Next Review Date | date | The date of the next scheduled credit review in dd/mm/yyy format |
CLI_CRDJONDTE | Date Joined | date | Used for Credit Union (CU) clients to identify
date client joined CU in dd/mm/yyy format |
CLI_CRDLFTDTE | Date Left | date | Used for Credit Union (CU) clients to identify
date client joined CU in dd/mm/yyy format |
CLI_USERNAME | Username | text | Allows a user defined 'username' to be specified
for identification for call centre staff.
This username is only used for direct verbal identification and is not a
login code. |
CLI_PASSWORD | Password | text | Allows a password to be specified for
identification for call centre staff.
This password is only used for direct verbal identification and is not a login password |
Import File Format
The import file must be a tab delimited file with an
extension of .tab and have a header row which specifies at least one column
with a valid column header identifier.
Each subsequent row should contain all the details for an individual
client record, in the event that a specific data field does not have a value
the associated column should be left empty.
Any multi-line text data with carriage return/line feed
characters must have the new line identified by using a double tilde character
sequence (~~).
Creating the Import File through Excel
If this file is being created manually then the easiest
method is to create an excel spreadsheet containing the data and selecting the
‘Save As’ option for “Text (Tab delimited)”.
Once this has been selected it is possible the file extension will be
.txt instead of the required .tab so you may need to manually change this after
saving the file.
An important point to note when creating tab delimited
files using Excel is that the Excel does NOT pad out the rows with tabs when
the last field is empty. Given this
‘issue’ the last column of the import file must have a value.
We recommend that the CLI_ALP field be used
for the last column in this case as this field must be supplied for all records
and this will ensure that Excel will correctly pad out any missing values up to
the end of the row.
Mapping File Specifications
Mapping files allow a record from the external system to
be linked to records within the Argos Vault database. This ensures that details such as occupation,
staff etc can be carried through from the external system so that they
correctly match an Argos Vault record.
Map Files are tab delimited files which have 2 columns,
one of which identifies the value that will appear in the import file and the
other which identifies the primary key number of the record within the Argos
Vault database that matches it. As new
relationships are created in the external system which are to be carried
through a new record within Argos should be created and the appropriate mapping file updated.
Mapping file must consist of a header row with 2 columns
one labelled [FROM] and the other [TO].
The subsequent rows will show the mapping details for a single
relationship with the [FROM] column identifying the string value that will
appear in the import file and the [TO] column identifying the primary key of
the value within Argos that will be assigned during the import.
Argos Support can provide assistance in creating the
mapping files however this is a billable service.
Processing the Import File
The client import function within Argos Vault will search
for all files in a specified folder with an extension of .tab and will process
them in alphabetical order using the filename allowing multiple files to be
imported in a predefined order. This
is useful for external CRM systems which are setup to generate a file for any
changes made to a client record. In the
event that multiple changes are made to a single client record that would
result in a number of such files these will be applied to the Argos Vault
Client record in the correct sequence. When the file is loaded a check is undertaken to attempt
to ensure the file format is correct. If
the filename does not end with “.tab” or there isn’t at least one valid column
heading in the first row of the file it is rejected.
As with any operation which makes large
changes to the Argos Vault Database we strongly recommend that a backup of the database is taken
prior to the import function being run.
All users should be out of the
Argos Vault system until the import process has completed and the results have been
verified as correct.
Setting up the Import Parameters
The import routine requires a number of parameters be
specified in order to operate.
Client Import Parameters | (* denotes mandatory entry) |
Import File Folder | The folder that will contain the .tab files that
will be imported. It is recommended that
UNC naming conventions be used. |
Post Import Relocation Folder | The folder that the processed files will be
archived to. The filename will be
appended with the date and time the file was processed in the format of
YYYYMMDD_hhmmss. It is recommended that
UNC naming conventions be used. |
Default Branch * | The default Branch record to use for any clients
that are imported and either a matching mapped record cannot be found or no
mappings have been specified. |
Branch Map File | The identity and location of the mapping file to
be used. This can be left blank in which
case all imported records with a value in this field will be assigned the
specified default. It is recommended that UNC naming conventions be used. |
Default Gender * | The default Gender record to use for any clients
that are imported and either a matching mapped record cannot be found or no
mappings have been specified. |
Gender Map File | The identity and location of the mapping file to
be used. This can be left blank in which
case all imported records with a value in this field will be assigned the
specified default. It is recommended that UNC naming conventions be used. |
Default Occupation * | The default Occupation record to use for any clients that are imported and either a matching mapped record cannot be found or no mappings have been specified. |
Occupation Map File | The identity and location of the mapping file to
be used. This can be left blank in which
case all imported records with a value in this field will be assigned the
specified default. It is recommended that UNC naming conventions be used. |
Default Tax Code * | The default Tax Code record to use for any
clients that are imported and either a matching mapped record cannot be found
or no mappings have been specified. This
is used for clients with Investment Accounts to allow calculation of
Withholding Tax. |
Tax Code Map File | The identity and location of the mapping file to
be used. This can be left blank in which
case all imported records with a value in this field will be assigned the
specified default. It is recommended that UNC naming conventions be used. |
Default Staff * | The default Staff record to use for any clients
that are imported and either a matching mapped record cannot be found or no
mappings have been specified. |
Staff Map File | The identity and location of the mapping file to
be used. This can be left blank in which
case all imported records with a value in this field will be assigned the
specified default. It is recommended that UNC naming conventions be used. |
Default Credit Rating * | The default Credit Rating record to use for any
clients that are imported and either a matching mapped record cannot be found
or no mappings have been specified. |
Credit Rating Map File | The identity and location of the mapping file to
be used. This can be left blank in which
case all imported records with a value in this field will be assigned the
specified default. It is recommended that UNC naming conventions be used. |
Overwrite Clients with Matching Ext ID | If this option is checked any client records
imported which have an EXT_ID value which matches an existing Argos Vault
Client record will update the Argos record with any data provided in the file
instead of creating a new record. |
Processing Existing Clients with Matching External ID
When a row from the import file is being processed a check
is undertaken to see if the EXT_ID value in the file matches an existing client
record within the Argos Vault Client Database.
If a matching record is found the import routine has two options and the
behaviour will be dependent on the users selection of the “Overwrite Clients
with Matching Ext ID” option. This
option when selected will overwrite the existing details on the Argos Client
record with any new data passed into the file as long as some data exists. If the field is empty the existing value is
retained. This allows ‘updated’
information only to be included in the import file.
If the data updated on the client includes the address or
phone number an ‘Address Change’ communication record will be created against
the client identifying the old details.
If the “Overwrite Clients with Matching Ext ID” option is
not selected a new client record will be created for every row in the import
file regardless of whether an existing record is present in the Argos Vault
Client Database. This option should be
used with care as it may result in duplicate client records.
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