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Overview


The Group Policy Import feature, part of the Data Import Wizard, enables the user to import group policy data from a file directly into SmartOffice. This feature is useful for creating multiple gropu policies in SmartOffice without having to enter them manually.


Setup


User Account Setup


To use the Policy Import feature, a user must have the following user rights and licenses enabled in User Accounts - User Rights.


  • Data Import
  • Group Benefits (Group Policy)
  • Policy CSV Import
  • Policy Tracking

SmartOffice Setup


Carriers and Products


Before group policies can be imported, their associated carriers and products must already exist in SmartOffice. For more information, see Creating a Carrier and Creating and Deleting Group Products.


Contacts and Advisors


The contacts and advisors associated with the imported policies do not have to exist in SmartOffice; the import process creates these records if necessary. However, for advisor records, using the Advisor Import feature of the Data Import Wizard before importing the policies enables the user to map additional information, such as the advisor's address, phone number and supervisor information.


For more information, see Data Import.


Deleted Records


In preparation for importing group policies, any records in the Deleted Records area should be permanently deleted. This step eliminates problem data and reduces the chances of record duplication during the import process.


"Created Today" Filter


Setting up "Created Today" filters for contacts, advisors and group policies is recommended. After a group policy import, these filters can be used to quickly find and display records imported into SmartOffice on the current day. This helps the user differentiate between data that already existed in SmartOffice and data that was just imported.


For more information, see Filters.


Import File Requirements


File Format


The group policy data to be imported must be in the comma separated values (.csv) file format, which can be created in programs such as Microsoft Excel or exported from a variety of other programs.


Columns/Fields


To import group policies successfully without causing errors or duplicate records in SmartOffice, ensure that the following columns exist in the .csv file:


  • Business name (required)
  • Product name or product code (if using product name, ensure that the name exactly matches the product name in SmartOffice)
  • Policy number
  • Primary advisor's last name
  • Primary advisor's first name
  • Primary advisor's date of birth or Social Security/tax ID number

The carrier is selected during the import process and therefore does not have to be mentioned in the import file.


Note: During the import process, record matching algorithms for business and advisor records use the last name and date of birth and/or Social Security/tax ID number. While an import can be run without dates of birth or social security/tax ID numbers, duplicate records will result in SmartOffice.


Column Headings


It is recommended that the .csv file contain column headings so that the data in each column can be easily distinguished from data in other columns. These headings ease the import setup process.


The column headings can be labeled as the user wishes; during the import process, the user will map these columns to the appropriate columns in SmartOffice.


Phone Number Format


If the import file contains contact phone numbers, postal codes or other contact-related fields beyond those required, that data should be unformatted, i.e., it should contain no dashes, periods or spaces.


Date Format


If date columns are included in the .csv file, ensure that all dates are formatted in a consistent way. For example, do not use the format "6/7/2011" for some dates and "6/7/11" for others. Using a consistent format makes the user's task easier when specifying a date format during the import process.


Import Process


Initial Import


If this is the first group policy import that has been performed in the office, follow these steps:


  1. From the SmartOffice side menu, select Utilities > Data Import Wizard to open the Import Setup List. The list displays any existing data imports that have been created and saved in the office.
  2. Select Menu > New 'Import Setup' record to open the Add Import Definition dialog box.
  3. From the Select the type of records to be imported drop-down list, select Group Policy Import.
  4. In the Enter Setup Name field, type a name for the import setup to be created. This name will display in the Import Setup List the next time the user starts the Data Import Wizard, enabling the user to perform future policy imports more quickly (see Subsequent Imports).
  5. Click the Next button to open the Select File to Upload dialog box.
  6. Click the Choose File button to locate and select an import file (make sure the file conforms to the import file requirements).
  7. Leave the other fields in this dialog box at their default settings, unless any specific changes are necessary to accommodate the import file. These fields are described in Data Import - Import Process.
  8. Click the Next button to open the Select Options dialog box.
  9. In the Carrier field, enter the name of the carrier for which the group policy import will be run (a group policy import setup applies to only one carrier; you must create a separate import setup for each carrier). To search for the carrier, click the Carrier hyperlink to open the Search Carriers dialog box. See Searching for Carriers.
  10. Under the heading Add as contacts if not already existing, select any record types that exist in the import file but that do not exist in SmartOffice. The wizard will create these records in SmartOffice during the import process.

Note: If the import file contains advisors, businesses, etc., that do not exist in SmartOffice—and if the user does not select those record types in this dialog box—business and group policy data for these non-existent records will not be imported.

  1. Under the heading CSV Cell Blank Values, specify what the wizard should do when a record exists in SmartOffice and a corresponding record exists in the import file:
  • Do nothing when cell blank: If a field in the import file is blank, the wizard will keep the corresponding field in SmartOffice intact.
  • Clear from SmartOffice when cell blank: If a field in the import file is blank, the wizard will delete the data in the corresponding field in SmartOffice.
  1. Under the heading Do Not Update If Existing, choose the data elements, if any, that should not be updated at all by the import process if they already exist in SmartOffice.
  2. To update existing group policies in SmartOffice for the specified carrier without adding new group policies, select the Update existing policies based on policy # only option at the bottom of the dialog box. Selecting this option makes most of the other options in the dialog box unavailable, as those options do not apply to imports based only on policy number. Also, if this option is selected and the import file contains updates to flat extra amounts, the relevant commissionable modal premium amounts in SmartOffice will be automatically recalculated.
  3. Click the Next button to open the Select Mapping dialog box. Under each column heading from the import file, the dialog displays two drop-down lists. The first drop-down list contains a list of tables (i.e., categories of fields) in SmartOffice. The second drop-down list contains the SmartOffice fields within the table selected from the first drop-down list.
  4. Associate each column in the import file with the matching SmartOffice column (any unmapped columns will be ignored by the import process):
  • Choose the appropriate table from the first drop-down list.
  • From the second drop-down list, select the field that matches the import file column heading.
  1. When all column mappings are complete, click on the Next button to open the Import Mapping Problems dialog box.
  2. If any problems are listed, resolve them as follows:
  • If the problem is due to incorrect mapping for a complete column, click the Back button to go back to the Select Mapping dialog box and change the mapping.
  • If the problem is due to a mismatch between the import file's field value and the available drop-down list values in SmartOffice, click the column value's name (under the CSV Column Name column) and then select the appropriate SmartOffice value from the dialog box that opens.
  1. After correcting any problems, click the Save & Run Import button. When the process is complete, the Import Completed dialog box opens. The dialog box displays statistics about the import, including whether the import completed successfully, how many records were processed and how many records were added to SmartOffice.
  2. Click one of the following buttons:
  • Another Import: Return to the Import Setup List and run another import.
  • Done: Exit the Data Import Wizard and view the Data Import History.

Subsequent Imports


Manual Imports


After creating and running a manual group policy import for the first time, users can rerun the same import setup to import additional group policies. To make subsequent imports faster, SmartOffice remembers many of the settings selected during the first import; however, these settings can be changed.


  1. From the SmartOffice side menu, select Utilities > Data Import Wizard to open the Import Setup List.
  2. Select the previously created import setup, and then select Menu > Run Setup.

Viewing the Data Import History


The Data Import History displays when the user completes a group policy import and exits the Data Import Wizard. The user can also access it by selecting Utilities > Data Import Log from the SmartOffice side menu.


The Import Detail section displays any errors or non-imported data, as well as all data that was imported. Click a hyperlink under the Errors/Not Imported or Created headings to display the details of that log entry in the Detail section.