Import Customer Information from a Text File or Database Table

Overview

When importing data from a text file, if the data contains commas, the file should be saved as a tab-delimited file, not a CSV, or you will encounter errors.

Quotes should not be present in text files, whether a CSV or tab-delimited file or you will encounter errors.

Importing Customer Data

1. Go to Main Menu > Manage My Customers >  Import My Customers.
2. Type in the path to the text file or database containing the imported data, or click the Folder to navigate to the file’s location. The table containing the data must also be selected if a database is used.
3. The program displays the records from the input file at the bottom of the screen. If the input file contains headers, the program attempts to map them to the appropriate SEOM fields automatically. Manually map any fields the program cannot distinguish later in this process.
4. Click Next to proceed to the Import Options tab.
5. Change the default settings of the Field Delimiter field and First Row Contains Field Names check box as needed to match your input file.
6. To select the mode, the import process follows clear or select Match on Customer ID. (Create New Customers is always selected by default.)
   1. If Match on Customer ID is cleared, the program creates records for any “new” customers, as defined by CustomerSearch1-4.
   2. If Match on Customer ID is selected, and UseCustomerMatching = TRUE, the customer match screen appears during the import when a matching record is found and allows you to select and update a limited number of fields in the record. Also, review the parameter CustomerMatchConfirmEmails. See Matching New Records to Existing Customers for more information.
7. Click Next to proceed to the first page of the Customer Fields tab and map those fields as needed.
8. Click Next to proceed to the second page of the Customer Fields tab and map those fields as needed.
9. If custom inventory fields are defined, click Next to proceed to the first page of the Custom Fields tab, which contains custom Text and Integer customer fields. Map those fields to areas in the input file as needed.
10. Click Next to proceed to the second page of the Custom Fields tab, which contains custom Currency and Date customer fields.
11. Click Next to proceed to the Finish and Import tab.
12. Select the Backup Before Importing check box to make a backup copy of the program tables affected by this process. Click Restore from Backup on the Select File to Import tab if it is necessary to roll back the changes. For example, restore the backup, correct the field mappings, and repeat the import process if you discover that a field was mapped incorrectly.
13. Optional: Click Test Data, and the program checks for limited data errors.
14. Select Begin Import to start the process.
15. If a backup copy was requested, respond OK to the confirmation message.
16. The program provides a summary of the outcome, including a count of any new and edited records.
17. Click  OK.