The Customer Import - Design page provides the means to configure (design) import definitions which are then used with the Customer Import - Execute page to import customer data to MealTime.


Customer Import definitions can be single use or used repeatedly for regularly scheduled imports, such as when automated with a File Upload Utility or connected via SFTP.


The data file used for import is generally exported from your SIS and will need to be in CSV or TXT format. The field layout of the data in the file does not have to be in any specific order however, specific data fields are required for a successful import. See Import Definition reference article for a list of required fields.


The Customer Import - Design page includes four steps: Import Definition, Customer Field Positions, Customer Field Matches and Customer Import Rules.


TABLE OF CONTENTS


-> Go To: Point Of Sale > CUSTOMERS > Importing > Customer Import - Design


Add or Edit a Customer Import Definition

1. Click Add to create a new definition, or select an existing definition from the list window and click Edit to edit.


STEP ONE - IMPORT DEFINITION

GENERAL

2. Name your definition by entering an *Import Name.
The Import Name is also used in the File Upload Utility.


3. Date Format is best left in Auto Detect. This will allow MealTime to identify individual date formats within your import file. 
Note! If Auto Detect is not used and a specific date format is selected, then all dates within the import file must conform to this format or the data will be rejected.


IMPORT SOURCE

4. With File selected as Import Source, click Upload Import File to open the Upload window:
Note! The Student Records API should only be selected when working with Mealtime Support to enable automated imports.


4b. Click Choose File to open the file selection window on your computer and select your import file. When your import file has been selected, the name of the file will be displayed in the Upload window as shown above (Student Import.csv).


4c. Next, click Upload File. When successful you will see the following confirmation:


4d. Click OK to complete the file upload process and continue with your definition.


CUSTOMER OPTIONS

5. Select the *Customer Type for the import; either Student or Non-Student.


6. Enable Add Customers to create new customer account records.


7. Enable Update Existing Customers to update existing customer account records.


8. Enable Inactivate if Not Imported to inactive existing customers if they are NOT found in the import file. Disable this option if your import file includes an Enrollment Status field. 
This option is useful for "graduating" students or inactivating students who are no longer in the district.
Note! When this function is enabled, make sure that your import file includes all active students. Any active students Not found within the import file will be inactivated.


9. Enable Allow Customer Reactivation to reactivate customer accounts that have an Inactive status.


10. Match on Alternate ID is used to match students during the import based on their Alternate ID instead of Customer ID. This option should only be enabled when suggested by MealTime Support.


STATUS

11. Status must be set to Active for your import definition to function. Set status to Inactive to disable your definitions.
Inactive definitions will no longer show up in the list window or in search. To locate them in search, click Include Inactive.


12. Click Next Step to move on to Customer Field Positions, click Save Settings to save the definition without completing it, or click Cancel to cancel:


STEP TWO - CUSTOMER FIELD POSITIONS


IMPORT FIELDS

13. Ignore # of Rows is used to remove rows from the import file that do not include data, which are generally header rows. In the example above, there is a single header row in the import file that needs to be removed, requiring a 1 to be entered as the value.
Ignored rows are counted vertically, from the top of the the file downward.


SAMPLE RECORDS

The Sample Records window displays the data columns in your import file, numbered from left to right, and is used to match that data to fields positions in MealTime.
Scroll the window from left to right to see all data columns in your import file.


FIELD POSITION

The Field Position window is used to map data columns from your import file, as displayed in the Sample Records window, to Field Names in MealTime, such as Customer ID to Customer ID, First Name to First Name, etc. *Customer ID, *Last Name, *First Name, *School Name and *Grade are required fields.


Field Names are displayed on the left in a vertical list. To the right, the Import Column dropdown menu is used to select the matching data column in the import file. The Position and Delimiter fields are used to separate data, such as first and last name, when both are included within the same column in the import file.
Note! Clear Data will remove data from MealTime during import. Please contact MealTime Support before enabling this function.


14. Click the Import Column dropdown menu to the right of the data field you want to map and select the number that matches the same data column in the Sample Records window above it. In the example below, *Customer ID, the number 2 is selected for the Field Name Position to match column 2 in the Sample Records window:
Use this process to map all data columns from the import file to their respective Field Positions in MealTime.


15. When all Field Positions have been mapped, click Next Step to move on to Customer Field Matches, Click Save & Exit to save the definition without completing it, or click Cancel to cancel. If you need to make changes to the previous step, click Previous Step:


STEP THREE - CUSTOMER FIELD MATCHES

The Customer Field Matches page is provided to match the names of data in the import file to the names of the same data in MealTime, such as School or Grade. While the application will attempt to match fields automatically, it is important to review the automatic matches to ensure the data imports as expected.


16. Click on the dropdown menu to the right of the name of a data field and select the matching name. In the following example the imported School Name is "lance elementary", which is then matched to the same school name in MealTime, "Lance Elementary":


16b. If there are records in the import file that you do Not want matched, select Ignore Row.


Use this process to match all imported names from the import file to their respective names in MealTime.


17. When all matches have been made, click Next Step to move on to Customer Field Matches, Click Save & Exit to save the definition without completing it, or click Cancel to cancel. If you need to make changes to the previous step, click Previous Step.


STEP FOUR - CUSTOMER IMPORT RULES

The Customer Import Rules page provides four settings that are used to help prevent importing bad customer data. If any of these rules are exceeded, the import will fail. You can use either a percentage or a number value. The values you use will depend on the total number of records you are importing. 


18. Enter a value in % or # to Prevent Import if _  or more records would be rejected. 
The default setting is 40%.


19. Enter a value in % or # to Prevent import if _ or more records would be added.


20. Enter a value in % or # to Prevent import if _ or more records would be updated.


21. Enter a value in % or # to Prevent import if _ or more records would be inactivated.
The default setting is 20%.


22. Click Finish to complete the definition or Cancel to cancel. If you need to make changes to the previous step, click Previous Step.


When finished, the application will notify you that your design is finished and ready to execute:


23. Click On to Execute to go to the Customer Import - Execute page and execute the import or click Back to Design to return to the Customer Import - Design page.