Import Customers

To import customer data in bulk, follow these steps:

First, create the customer data template file:

1. Go to Data Imports/Exports > Import Customers in the IRP Admin left navigation menu.
2. Click the Create Template Import File tab.
   
3. The Download Template File screen appears (note that all of the sections in the screen capture below have been truncated for display purposes; your screen will look different):
   
4. You can download either a custom template file or select the columns to appear in the template file:
• Download Custom Template File: These template files contain the key fields associated with IRP customers. Use the radio buttons to download a template file with your customer data in the columns or without your customer data (blank). Any data will come directly from your IRP. You can download the files in one of the following formats:
  
  • CSV (Comma Delimited Text File)
  • TSV (Tab Delimited Text File)
  • Pipe (Pipe Delimited Text File)
  • XLSX (Microsoft Excel 2007 - ) Note that, for files containing in excess of 20000 rows, it is often more efficient to use a flat file (.tsv, .csv or .txt) rather than a Microsoft Excel file.
• Select Columns for Template File: You can customise these template files by selecting fields from the database tables. Alternatively you can check the Select All Columns box. You MUST include prerequisite fields in the file. Any data will come directly from your IRP. You can download the files in one of the following formats:
  
  • CSV (Comma Delimited Text File)
  • TSV (Tab Delimited Text File)
  • Pipe (Pipe Delimited Text File)
  • XLSX (Microsoft Excel 2007 - ) Note that, for files containing in excess of 20000 rows, it is often more efficient to use a flat file (.tsv, .csv or .txt) rather than a Microsoft Excel file.
• Use the 'Date From' and 'Date To' boxes to restrict the file to only include records created during this date range.
• Click the Download button when you are finished.
• You can then edit the data in the file, as necessary, and save it for staging and importing.

Next, upload the customer data template file and stage the data temporarily before fully importing it:

1. Click the Import Customers tab.
   
2. The Import Customers screen appears, as follows:
   
3. In the Step 1: Upload and Stage Customers Import File section, beside Upload and Stage File, click the Browse button to find the file that you created earlier.
4. Click the Upload and Stage button to upload the file to the IRP. You will be asked to confirm your decision. If any rows of the import file are invalid, the file will not be accepted and error messages will inform you which data in invalid so that it may be rectified for the next upload attempt. Note also that, for files containing in excess of 20000 rows, it is often more efficient to upload a Flat File (.tsv, .csv or .txt) rather than a Microsoft Excel file.
5. In Step 2: Customer Import Options, optionally check the Send Password Reset Request Email after Importing box. Customer Import files can be uploaded with or without the inclusion of Passwords. If Customer Passwords are included within the Import file, they MUST be in PLAIN-TEXT and not encrypted. These Passwords will be encrypted prior to import and the Customers' Passwords will not change. If Customer Passwords are not included within the Import file, the IRP can automatically generate a temporary Password. Once the Customers have been imported, a Password Reset Request Email can be sent to each Customer's registered Email Address, inviting them to Reset the Password on their Account.
   Optionally also check the Overwrite Existing Customers box. When importing newly-staged Customer data, there may exist cases where a Customer being imported already exists within the database. Using this option allows the choice to overwrite the already existing Customers with the staged Customer data or to import only the staged Customer data which is completely new.
6. The lower sections display the data that is in the staged data set:
• The Staged Customers Data Analysis section shows the following details:
• New Customers shows the total number of customers that are in the data set that do not exist currently anywhere in the system.
• Existing Customers indicates the total number of customers in the data set that already exist in the system.
• Right at the bottom of the screen, the Sample of Staged Customers section shows the details from the staged data set. This includes all of the columns that you selected for the data set when you created the template.
7. In the Step 3: Import Staged Customers section, click the Import Customers button to import and display the customer data on the IRP:
   

Note: for the Gender column, '0' means 'unspecified', '1' means 'male' and '2' means 'female'.