This feature allows for the upload of supplier standing data and opening balances using a csv file. This feature is only available to the Primary User.

When uploading data using csv files one of two "Upload Modes" must me selected:

Delete all prior upload data and add new data :-

When this mode is selected the application will try to delete all previously uploaded data before adding data from the new file. If previously uploaded data has been edited, or has additional related data that has been added since the upload, the item will not be deleted and will not be replaced by any new data in the upload file.

Replace any matching prior upload data and add new data :-

When this mode is selected the application will try to add all the data in the new file. If any item in the new upload matches an existing record the existing record will be replaced unless the previously uploaded data has been edited, or has additional related data that has been added since the upload.

The upload requires that data is presented in a standard csv file. Please note the following points carefully and take care to ensure that your file is properly formatted.

When using MS Excel to generate csv files you are advised to select the full area of the dataset and format the cells as "Text" before saving as a csv file. This will help to ensure that the file is consistently formatted.

• The order of the fields is not significant but the order of the data fields must match the order of the field names in the first line.
• Where a text field contains a comma the field should be quoted using double quotes.
• Numeric fields should NOT include comma formatting of thousands etc.
• Numeric fields may include a decimal point as appropriate.
• Numeric fields may include a - sign as a prefix if negative - eg -9999.99
• Date fields must contain 4 digit year and be in the following format: dd/MM/yyyy eg 25/1/2006 if no date format is provided in the import file.
• A date format pattern may be specified on each line of the import file if desired; define a field "date_format" and include a date pattern using the standard date patterns as specified for the java language SimpleDateFormat class.
• If the file is generated from a software package such as your accounting package or a spreadsheet you should review the file using a simple text editor before uploading it to ensure it is properly formatted.

Liberty Accounts reserves the right to charge for any support required following a failure to adhere to the guidelines in this specification.

The first line of the file should contain valid field names from the list below. Note the underscore character in place of spaces. It is not necessary to include every field in your upload file, just include those for which you have data. Note that where field data exceeds the maximum permitted size it will be truncated.

This field should contain the name of the business.

This field should contain a valid title from the list "Mr"/"Mrs"/"Miss"/"Ms" . For other valid titles check the Title dropdown list on the "Add Supplier" form. If the title supplied is not valid it will be set to null on the supplier record.

The first name of a contact in the business.

The last name of a contact in the business.

First line of business address.

Second line of business address.

Third line of business address.

Town of business address.

County of business address.

Postcode of business address.

If present this field should contain a valid ISO country code. This field is important because it is used in Liberty Accounts to assist in handling of VAT transactions.
If the field is not defined in the upload all records will default to GB. If an invalid ISO code is presented the country on the supplier will be set to "Not Specified".

An email address.

A phone number.

A fax number.

A VAT number.

This field will set default trading terms specific to the business. If a value is presented it should be one of the following 3 character codes where the numeric value indicates the terms in days. If an invalid code is presented the default terms will be set to null

A code that may be used to refer to the business within your organisation.

Customer bank account sort code - used in generation of payment claim files. Should only contain the numeric sort code characters. If the uploaded data is more than 6 characters it will be truncated. Typically used sort code separators ("/","\","-") will be removed.

Customer bank account number - used in generation of payment claim files. Should only contain numeric characters. BACS files require 8 characters, so account numbers with less than 8 characters should have leading zeros e.g. 00123456. For accounts with more than 8 characters surplus characters should be removed from the left of the account number. If the uploaded data is more than 8 characters it will be truncated. If the uploaded data is less than 8 characters it will be left-padded with zeros. Typically used separators ("/","\","-") will be removed.

Customer bank account name - used in generation of payment claim files. If the uploaded data is more than 18 characters it will be truncated.

If a non-zero balance is presented an opening balance transaction will be created for the business.
If a non-zero balance is presented and the business is a cash vat business the opening balance transaction amount will be split into net/vat amounts based on the standard VAT rate.
The date of any OPB transaction can be controlled using the "balance_date" field - see below.
Numeric values must not include comma formatting. Negative values are indicated with a "-" prefix.

If a non-zero balance value is presented this field will control the date of the opening balance transaction. If no balance_date is presented, or the value is invalid, the date of the upload will be used.
The default format for the date is: d/M/yyyy e.g. 25/1/2007
If an alternative date format is used the date_format pattern should be included in every line of the import file - see below.

If using date formats different from the expected default a pattern must be supplied using the date format patterns as specified for Java SimpleDateFormat class.
d - day
M - month - NB Capital M for month (small m for minutes)
y - year

e.g.
ddMMyyyy - 25022007
d/M/yyyy e.g. 25/1/2007