Flat Rate Software Import Notes

When you wish to import into your flat rate pricing books, three files are needed. The files need to be identical in format to the files that were exported.

Note that the name of each file needs to be identical to the three files listed below.

Books.txt: Contains basic book info such as title, markups, labels, sales tax, etc.
Tasks.txt: Includes all information about your flat rate tasks.
Items.txt: Includes a list of items used and not used by the tasks with all fields.

These variable length export files include fields that are delimited using a pipe |. The Pipe is what separates the fields. The first row of each file contains a header. These files contain enough information that a technical person should be able to import their flat rate books into another software program. Before these files can be imported, they will likely need to be opened in MS Excel and manipulated or prepared in some way. For example, you may need to add chart of account ID fields or other information that is required by the software program you are importing into.

Important Note About Technical Support Limitations

Our technical support department can help you export these files and make certain that the formatting of these files meets the specifications that we intended. We cannot help you modify these files and we cannot help you import these files into another software program. Once your files are imported, we cannot help you troubleshoot errors, incorrect data, or missing information. Again, we will make certain that the export files were properly created and meet the specifications outlined in this document.

Important Note About Licensing

Importing the data is a Premium Level feature. Once you are no longer a Premium Level member, you are not authorized to use the CSV import. In other words, when you give up Premium Membership, you give up your right to use data that was exported when you were a Premium Member.

File Header Info Needed for Import

The following is a list of headers that need to be in each file. All Items with an * are not editable through the Import Process.

File Name: Books.txt

FieldId	Required?	Length and Type	Description
BookId *	Yes	Number	A number internally assigned to the book by the Application.
BookName	Yes	Alphanumeric (50)	The name you give the book.
Description	No	Alphanumeric (250)	The description you give the book. This value is optional.
LaborTaxRate	No	Decimal(11,8)	The sales tax rate for labor.
InvTaxRate	No	Decimal(11,8)	The sales tax rate for parts. This value is optional.
SavingsLabel	No	Alphanumeric (Max)	The description you give for the service agreement discount savings. This value is optional.
PrimaryMultiplier	Yes	Number	The multiplier which determines the "regular" price for the task. Only one is required.
SecondaryMultiplier	No	Number	The multiplier which determines the "second" price for the task. This could be overtime. This value is optional.
Other Multipliers *	No	Number	Multipliers are repeated. Multipliers are used to create price levels (like a price column). This value is optional.

File Name: Tasks.txt

FieldId	Required?	Length and Type	Description
BookId *	Yes	Number	A number internally assigned to the book by the Application.
TaskId *	Yes	Number	The internal number the system assigns to the task.
Number	No	Alphanumeric (55)	The number you assigned to the task.
Description	No	Alphanumeric (100)	The description you gave the task. This value is optional.
InternalMemo	No	Alphanumeric (Max)	This is the Internal Memo section of the task. Used to inform technician about something.
PriceLocked	No	True or False	You can lock a price against bulk updates. It will be True or False.
IsTaxExempt	No	True or False	You can exempt a task from sales tax. It will be True or False.
Price	No	Decimal (19,5)	The price you have established for the task. This will repeat for each price level.
Category *	No	Alphanumeric (50)	The category the task has been assigned to. This value is optional.

File Name: Items.txt

FieldId	Required?	Length and Type	Description
TaskId *	No	Number	The task the item has been assigned to. It does not have to be assigned to any book.
ItemId *	Yes	Number	The ID number of the item assigned by the system.
Number	Yes	Alphanumeric (55)	The item number given to the part. It is a part number.
Name	No	Alphanumeric (100)	This is the main description of the item.
Description	No	Alphanumeric (1500)	The description you gave the part. This value is optional.
UniversalProductCode	No	Alphanumeric (Max)	The UPC number. This value is optional.
IsTaxExempt	No	True or False	You can exempt an item from sales tax. It will be True or False.
DirectCost	No	Decimal (19,5)	The price you pay for the item.
Price	No	Decimal (19,5)	The retail price of the item (each).
Quantity	No	Number	The number of items used by the task.
TotalPrice	No	Decimal (19,5)	The total retail price of the items.
Manufacturer *	No	Alphanumeric (50)	The manufacturer assigned to this item. This value is optional.
Category *	No	Alphanumeric (50)	The category the item has been assigned to. This value is optional.
Vendor *	No	Alphanumeric (50)	The vendor the item has been assigned to. This value is optional.
ItemType *	No	Alphanumeric (50)	The system assigns this value. It is either "Labor" or "Inventory"

Notes and Tips

The best way to understand what each field is used for is to compare it to your flat rate book. The file field names are the same as the names of the fields used in the software. It will also make sense when you open the files and look at the information.
Images are not exported.