Donor Upload Process

This process allows a user for the entity to upload Donor standing data using a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file.

The CSV file must be in the standard CSV format specified below.

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

Ensure that file uploads are activated in the entity profile.

Control - Organisation Profile - Optional Features Tab - tick Use File Uploads

The Process in Summary

Source the information as necessary
Prepare the CSV file.
Ensure that file uploads are activated in the Organisation Profile
Access the Upload process via the Donors menu.
Map upload file names to system file names if necessary
Review the data upload and deal with any potential duplicate records and confirm the upload

required This may be done in a TEXT editor programme such as Notepad (usually supplied with Windows), Textedit (usually supplied with an Apple Mac) or Microsoft Excel (or equivalent). The key point is that commas separate the data fields and the file has a '.csv' file extension.

If using Microsoft 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.

File Format

Upload requires that data be presented in a standard csv file. Please follow the points below carefully and ensure that file is properly 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 - e.g. "office,Products Ltd".
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 - e.g. -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. PLEASE ENSURE THAT NO SYMBOLS OR TEXT ARE SHOWN AFTER THE LAST DATA LINE

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 that are indicated as mandatory and those for which you wish to include data.

Note that where field data exceeds the maximum permitted size it will be truncated.

Example of a formatted file

The information necessary is that which would be entered normally when setting up a donor.

The example of a valid file is shown here. The file was created in a simple text editor program.

Field Names and Descriptions

Required fields are indicated with .

donor_type_code
donor_name
donor_code
title
first_name
middle_name
last_name
address_line1
address_line2
address_line3
town
county
postcode
iso_country_code
email
phone
is_member
date_taxpayer_status_confirmed
date_taxpayer_status_ended
date_format

The parameters for each field are described below.

donor_type_code (text: max 1 character)

The validation rules vary according to donor type. More fields are required for gift aid donors. The donor name field will be used for corporate donors, but for the other donor types the donor name is constructed using the first, middle and last names to prevent duplicate donor records being created.

Donors are classified as:

(G)ift Aid Donors
(N)on-Gift Aid Donors
(C)orporate Donors

donor_name (text: max 60 characters) - Required but only needs to be provided for corporate donors

This field only needs to be provided for corporate donors, otherwise it is constructed using the first, middle and last names in the upload data. If you have no corporate donors in your upload you do not need to include this field.

title (text: max 15 characters) - Optional

The donor's title or honorific. A free format field for maximum flexibility, but you will need to take care to ensure consistency if that is important to you.

first_name (test:max 30 characters) - Required (but not for corporate donors)

The first name of a Donor

middle_name (text: max 30 characters) - Optional

The middle name of a donor - useful for distinguishing donors with the same name.

last_name (test:max 30 characters) - Required (but not for corporate donors)

The last name of a Donor

address_line1 (test:max 40 characters) - Required (but not for corporate donors)

First line of Donor address

address_line2 (test:max 40 characters) optional

Second line of Donor address

address_line3 (test:max 40 characters) optional

Third line of Donor address

town (test:max 25 characters) optional

Town of Donor address

county (test:max 25 characters) optional

County of Donor address

postcode (test:max 25 characters) - Required (but not for corporate donors)

Postcode of Donor address

iso_country_code (test:max 25 characters) mandatory

If present this field should contain a valid ISO country code. 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 customer will be set to "Not Specified". Some common iso country codes are:-

Some Common iso Country Codes
Country	Country Code
UK	GB
USA	US
Belgium	BE
China	CN
France	FR
Germany	DE
Netherlands	NL

A full list of country codes is available from www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/countrycodes.htm

email (text: max 50 characters) - Optional

An email address.

phone (text: max 20 characters) - Optional

A phone number.

is_member (text: max 5 characters) - Optional

Should only contain either 'True','False','T','F','yes','no', 'y', 'n'. Used to indicate a status of membership where relevant for Gift Aid purposes. Defaults to false if not provided.

date_taxpayer_status_confirmed (date formatted text) - Optional

A date from which the donor is treated a taxpayer for gift aid purposes. 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.

date_taxpayer_status_ended (date formatted text) - Optional

A date from which the donor is treated as a non - taxpayer; gift aid will not be claimed on any future donations. 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.

date_format (text: no max specified) - Optional

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 - N.B. Capital M for month (small m for minutes)
y - year

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

Activate File Uploads

Ensure that file uploads are activated in the organisation profile.

Control - Organisation Profile - Optional Features Tab - tick Use File Uploads

Upload Process

Once the CSV creation is complete the upload process is accessed via the Donors menu.

Donors - Donor Upload

The upload process screen is displayed. A technical specification (part of this user guide) is accessed via .

When uploading data using csv files one of two "Upload Modes" must Be 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.

Browse for the CSV file by clicking SELECT FILE and when loaded click SUBMIT

Map upload file names to system file names if necessary

If the uploaded file field names do not match the default field names expected by the system a screen is presented for the user to map field names.

The incoming file field names are shown in the first column. The expected (Target) are shown in the next column. Simply select from the drop-down box the appropriate field to map to. When complete click SUBMIT to confirm the mapping.

Review the data upload and deal with any potential duplicate records

Once the mapped file is uploaded and a screen is presented that displays the data to be uploaded.

The data table highlights any inconsistencies, duplicates or missing items. Amendments may be made by over typing the data.

When the user is content with the data click SUBMIT to store the information.

Reversing a Donor Upload

Reversing a Donor upload can only be done on an individual Donor basis. List the Donors, EDIT the particular donor and in the maintenance screen DELETE the record.