Use the Customer Import Template in conjunction with the Import Setup Data screen function to import customers.

The Customer Import Template contains the following worksheets:

• Customer worksheet
• Address worksheet
• Contact worksheet
• UDF worksheet

In most cases, each worksheet corresponds directly to a tab of the related entry screen. Required fields in a worksheet are highlighted yellow; fields that are required only under certain conditions are highlighted gray. Viewpoint suggests formatting all values as text in the Excel template.

Include the primary information for the records you want to import on the first worksheet, ensuring that each record has unique values in the key fields for the import type. For most import types, the first worksheet is the only worksheet that is required. Use the additional worksheets as needed to provide record details. When importing, key fields for the import type are used to prevent duplicate records and to link detail records to primary records.

For example, the key field for the Customer import type is Customer. In the Customer import template, include each new customer in the Customer worksheet, ensuring that each record has a unique value in the Customer field. If needed, include details for those customers (such as a shipping address or associated contact) in the additional worksheets.

Customer worksheet

	Customer	Customer Name	Sort Name	Payment Terms	Sales Tax Authority	Statement Type	Status
1	JJ108	Smith & Associates	SMITH & ASSOCIATES	N30	NT	Open Item	Active
2	JJ110	Peterson Group	PETERSON GROUP	N30	NT	Open Item	Active

Address worksheet

	Customer	Address Type	Street 1	Street 2	City	State	Zip	Country
1	JJ108	Ship To	2 Maple St		Philadelphia	PA	19101	United States
2	JJ110	Ship To	315 Main St		Springfield	PA	19064	United States

If a detail record does not match a primary record based on key field values, the detail record is marked as “orphaned” during the validation process. If you continue with the import without correcting orphaned records in the import file, you must manually enter the orphaned records into the system.

Importing customers is part of Customer Setup. Before importing customers, you must complete the following Customer Setup steps:

• Accounts Receivable Revenue Type
• Customer Classification
• Finance Charge

In addition, there are other setup steps that must be performed in advance of customer import, either because they are required for this import or for prior imports (for example, payment terms and tax authorities).