Data Importing: How to Import Pledge Accounts & Historical Pledge Transactions

Authored by: Megan Gill
on 12/13/2024 10:21:00 AM

Introduction

You may identify the need to import Pledge Accounts and their prior transactions to your CharityEngine instance. Leveraging the Workflow & Automation Importer tool will allow CharityEngine users with the ability to create pledge accounts in bulk while also connecting prior transactions to the pledge account to reflect accurate pledge balances.

Introduction
Prerequisites
Prerequisites - Best Practices for Data Preparation
Preparing your import files
Instructions: Creating a Custom Pledge Type
Instructions: How to Import Pledge Accounts - Step 1
- Importing with Import (new)
Instructions: How to Import Historical Pledge Transactions - Step 2
Instructions: How to Evaluate Bad Records
FAQs & Other Recommended Readings

Prerequisites

CRITICAL NOTE: Preparing your data is an important exercise to ensure your data is properly formatted and will be prepared for importing
NOTE: In order to import Pledge records, the minimum required fields will include an existing CharityEngine Contact ID, an existing pledge type, and a total pledge amount.
- If your data does not contain a CharityEngine Contact ID, you will need to create the contact record.
- If your data does not contain an existing CharityEngine Pledge Type, please follow the steps below to create your Pledge Type(s) for your organization.

Prerequisites - Best Practices for Data Preparation

When preparing your data, data cleansing practices are incredibly important to ensure you are importing good, clean data for your database. Here are a few examples to assist with data cleansing prior to import.

Step 1: Ensure basic information is correctly formatted, including:

1. -Does each row contain a unique pledge account.
  1. Please review for rows containing null values within your data import as these may result in importing errors
2. -Is the mailing address properly formatted - if the contact contains Address Line 1, Address Line 2, City, State, Postal Code, and/or Country, all address fields will be required
  1. CharityEngine recommends use of a full mailing record for best data practices. If the full address does not exist, best data practice is to leave full address as null.
  2. If the record contains partial address data elements and still require import, below are recommended placeholders. Please note, the use of these placeholders will create duplication and impact downstream reporting and functionality usage
    1. UNITED STATES
      - Street 1: 123 Missing Street
      - Street 2:
      - Postal Code: 00000
      - City: MISSING
      - State: AA
    2. ALL OTHER COUNTRIES
      - Street 1: MISSING
      - Street 2:
      - Postal Code: 000000
      - City: MISSING
      - State: AA
1. -Is the email address properly formatted and include the presence of "@" and a ".com/org/net" etc.
2. -Are phone numbers properly formatted (most formats are acceptable including 201.555.1234, 2015551234,(201)555.1234, 201-555-1234)

Step 2: Leverage Excel to identify duplicate pledge records

1. Conditional Formatting in Excel:
  1. -Select the cells you want to check for duplicates
  2. -In Excel click Home > Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cell Rules > Duplicate Values
  3. -In the box next to values with, pick the formatting you want to apply to the duplicate values, and then click OK
2. Removing Duplicates in Excel:
  1. In Excel click Data > Remove Duplicates
  2. In the popup box, select your columns for matching values

1. Sort & Filter in Excel: Leverage the Excel Sort and Filter options under the Data Ribbon
1. Text to Columns Excel features to modify data including splitting fields (i.e. splitting a first name and last name)

Step 3: Managing fields that require values

1. Minimum import requirements when creating a pledge account will include the need of an existing CharityEngine Contact ID as well as a Pledge Type.

Please Note: CharityEngine does not support data cleansing in basic data migration packages. Please ensure you take care to ensure you have properly reviewed and corrected any data elements. If you are interested in learning more about data cleansing support, please contact your account manager for details.

Preparing your import files

Step 1: Creating a Pledge Account

When importing pledges, preparation is an important activity to ensure you have clean data for your CharityEngine database. When importing Pledge Accounts, the minimum requirement is Contact ID, Pledge Amount (total) and Pledge Type.

The following table will provide you with basic data elements for importing. Provided below are details for the translated CharityEngine Field name. Please also notate importing requirements as outlined within Description.

Table Import	Field Section	CharityEngine Field	Required	Description
Pledge	Contact Info	Contact ID	Yes	Existing CharityEngine ID
Pledge	Pledge	Type	Yes	See Configuration App > Pledges > Type to add unique pledge types to import
Pledge	Pledge	Amount	Yes	This is the total overall pledged amount.
Pledge	Pledge	Create Date		Original pledge account creation date
Pledge	Payment Info	Payment Method		Primary payment method for pledge payments
Pledge	Address	Customer Street Address Line 1		Address to be associated with the pledge account
Pledge	Address	Customer Address City		If Address Line 1, requires City, State, Postal Code
Pledge	Address	Customer Address State		If Address Line 1, requires City, State, Postal Code; Format - 2 Alpha Value
Pledge	Address	Customer Address Postal Code		If Address Line 1, requires City, State, Postal Code; Zip + 4 required for support of applications such as Advocacy and identification of County; please ensure leading 0 is present where appropriate (i.e. 01104)
Pledge	Address	Customer Address Country		Assume US if null
Pledge	Email	Customer Email Address		Format: requires presence of @ and ".xxx"
Pledge	Phone	Customer Phone Number		Format expects 10-digit input; can be 210-555-1234, (210)555-1234, 2105551234

Click Here to Download a Pledge Account Import Template:

Step 2: Importing Previous (Historical) Pledge Payments

When importing pledges, preparation is an important activity to ensure you have clean data for your CharityEngine database. When importing Previous Pledge Payments, the minimum requirement is Contact ID, Pledge ID and Pledge Payment Amount.

Table Import	Field Section	CharityEngine Field	Required	Description
Transaction	Donor Info	Contact ID	Yes	Existing CharityEngine Contact ID
Transaction	Attribution	Pledge ID	Yes	Existing CharityEngine Pledge Account ID
Transaction	Transaction	Amount	Yes	This is the individual pledge transaction amount.
Transaction	Transaction	Date		Date of original pledge payment transaction.
Transaction	Transaction	Tax-Deductible Amount		This the individual pledge transaction tax-deductible amount.
Transaction	Transaction	Payment Method		Payment method

Click Here to Download a Historical Pledge Payments Import Template:

If the donor's pledge transactions are already located within CharityEngine and a transaction ID has been assigned, simply locate the CharityEngine Transaction ID and the Pledge Account ID.

Table Import	Field Section	CharityEngine Field	Required	Description
Transaction	Transaction	Transaction ID	Yes	Existing CharityEngine Transactions ID
Transaction	Attribution	Pledge ID	Yes	Existing CharityEngine Pledge Account ID

Click Here to Download a Historical Pledge Payments (With Existing CharityEngine Transaction ID) Import Template:

Step 3: Creating a Pledge Payment Schedule (if automated)

When importing pledges, preparation is an important activity to ensure you have clean data for your CharityEngine database. Once the Pledge Account, has been created and the pledge payment schedule is to be automated, the user will need to create a Pledge Installment Schedule. The minimum requirement is Pledge ID, Installment Frequency Start Date, Installment Frequency.

Table Import	Field Section	CharityEngine Field	Required	Description
Pledge	Pledge	Pledge ID	Yes	Existing CharityEngine Pledge ID
Pledge	Payment Info	Installment Amount	Yes	This is the recurring installment payment amount expected
Pledge	Payment Info	Installment Frequency	Yes	This is the recurring installment payment frequency (daily, weekly, bi-monthly, monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly, annually)
Pledge	Payment Info	Installment Start Date	Yes	Date of first or next installment payment. If the installment is active, it is important to use the next installment date or the database will assign the next installment as today.
Pledge	Payment Info	Installment End Date		Date of last installment payment

Click Here to Download a Pledge Installment Schedule Import Template:

Instructions: Creating a Custom Pledge Type

If the user is creating a pledge account, please follow these steps to configure a unique pledge type for the non-profit organization. This step is critical needed in order to import and create pledge accounts.

Step 1: Navigate to the Configuration App > Pledges > Types > Create New

Step 2: Create a Name (required) - this is an external reference if used with Web Forms. Create Code (required) - this is an internal reference.

Step 3: Click SAVE to secure your changes.

Step 4: Navigate back to the listing screen to locate the new Pledge Types. This value will be used in the Pledge Account create import.

Instructions: How to Import Pledge Accounts - Step 1

Now that you have cleansed your data, added your pledge type, identified all pledge totals, and added your CharityEngine Contact IDs to the import template, you are ready to begin importing. CharityEngine recommends importing a small sample to begin. This allows the user to QA and verify the data has imported as expected.

The user can choose to leverage the Import (new) or Import (classic). Classic workflow guides end user to map fields manually and then import the source file. Alternatively, new import flow guides end user to upload source file and then user will be guided to map based upon the column headers.

Importing with Import (new)

Step 1: Prepare your Excel file for import, entering one contact record per line. Once complete, save to your local drive.

Note: when saving the file, ensure you save it as a Tab Delimited (Excel) file to match the file type in CharityEngine.

Step 2: To import, navigate to the Workflow & Automation App > Import/ Export. Click on Create New and select Import.

Step 3: Select from the drop-down where the file will be imported to, for Pledge Accounts, you want to import to Pledge. Click NEXT to proceed.

Step 4: Upload your import file noting that any change to File Type should be adjusted prior to import. Click next to proceed.

Note: If your file does not contain a header row, then adjust Import First Row to yes. This will instruct the importer to import the values in the first row

Step 5: Begin your data mapping for all columns in your source file. Click next once complete.

1. 1. Leverage Existing Template to locate any prior templates for faster mapping
  2. MAP FILE COLUMNS:
    1. Use the drop down from each column to select the appropriate field selection for mapping
    2. Select IGNORE if you wish to have the importer skip importing/updating the contact record
    3. To save the template for future use, ensure Save Template is toggled to Yes. This will allow you to save time by loading the template instead of adding the fields one by one. This will also be helpful if you plan to import a sample and then complete a full import. Or if using an existing template, adjust Save Changes to adjust for any modifications of column mapping changes that may be needed for future reference.

Step 6: Next, prepare your settings for import. Modify the Name of the import job (optional), Mode: Import Data (preset), Start if you wish to schedule in the future (optional). Click next to proceed.

Step 7: Review and Confirm your import configuration. Click PROCESS to initiate your job. Click OK to confirm.

Step 8: An success page will be displayed allowing you to View Job Status, Setup Recurring Schedule (for this import), or Import More Stuff.

By clicking View Job Status, you will be able to monitor the import. CharityEngine will show you if the import has finished or still processing, if it was successful or if it was a bad record, how many pledge accounts were imported, if any pledges matched, and if any pledges were updated.

Step 9: Navigate to the Contacts App > Organization & People > Contacts and use the quick filters to review and QA your contact import records

Pro Tip: Use the Advanced Filters > More Filters > Source App: Data Import to locate imported contact records

Pro Tip: Review the contact record panels for verification of importing. Use the Go To to locate specific panels, use Edit to see additional contact information.

Step 10: Click on Pledge within Attribution to view the Pledge Account.

Instructions: How to Import Historical Pledge Transactions - Step 2

Now that you have created your pledge accounts (and created installment schedules where/if applicable), the next step is to connect previous pledge transactions (historical) with the new pledge account. This allows accurate reporting of remaining pledge balances. CharityEngine recommends importing a small sample to begin. This allows the user to QA and verify the data has imported as expected.

Step 1: Prepare your Excel file for import, entering one contact record per line. Once complete, save to your local drive.

Note: when saving the file, ensure you save it as a Tab Delimited (Excel) file to match the file type in CharityEngine.

Step 2: To import, navigate to the Workflow & Automation App > Import/ Export. Click on Create New and select Import.

Step 3: Select from the drop-down where the file will be imported to, for Transactions that are associated with a Pledge Account, you want to import to Transactions. Click NEXT to proceed.

Step 4: Upload your import file noting that any change to File Type should be adjusted prior to import. Click next to proceed.

Note: If your file does not contain a header row, then adjust Import First Row to yes. This will instruct the importer to import the values in the first row

Step 5: Begin your data mapping for all columns in your source file. Click next once complete.

1. 1. Leverage Existing Template to locate any prior templates for faster mapping
  2. MAP FILE COLUMNS:
    1. Use the drop down from each column to select the appropriate field selection for mapping
    2. Select IGNORE if you wish to have the importer skip importing/updating the contact record
    3. To save the template for future use, ensure Save Template is toggled to Yes. This will allow you to save time by loading the template instead of adding the fields one by one. This will also be helpful if you plan to import a sample and then complete a full import. Or if using an existing template, adjust Save Changes to adjust for any modifications of column mapping changes that may be needed for future reference.

Step 7: Review and Confirm your import configuration. Click PROCESS to initiate your job. Click OK to confirm.

Step 8: An success page will be displayed allowing you to View Job Status, Setup Recurring Schedule (for this import), or Import More Stuff.

Step 9: Navigate to the People App > Organization & People > Contacts and use the quick filters to review and QA your contact import records

Pro Tip: Use the Advanced Filters > More Filters > Source App: Data Import to locate imported contact records

Pro Tip: Review the contact record panels for verification of importing. Use the Go To to locate specific panels, use Edit to see additional contact information.

Step 10: Click on Pledge within Attribution to view the Pledge Account.

Instructions: How to Evaluate Bad Records

If you import a contact and a field is missing, for example, you have selected first name in the field selection, but the file you imported does not contain a first name, it will be a bad record and your contact will not import.

By clicking the number next to Bad, you will be able to see the file error. This will appear in a NotePad pop-up advising you what error was made. once you have found the error, you will be able to fix your file and try to import again.

FAQs & Other Recommended Readings

Q. I'd like to learn more about the overall structure and management of Pledge Accounts in CharityEngine.
A. See our article Pledge: How to Create and Manage Pledges

Q. I need to import Contact - Organizations. What resources are available for support?
A. Please see our article Data Importing: How to Import Contact - Organization Data

Q. I need to import Contact - Household. What resources are available for support?
A. Please see our article Data Importing: How to Import Contact - Household Data

Q. I need to import Contact - Transactions. What resources are available for support?
A. Please see our article Data Importing: How to Import Transactions