Reference Data Configuration
After install, Maica will create the data required to get you up and running
Configuring the Template
You will have a Spreadsheet template, in which you can enter your data. Each row of the spreadsheet corresponds to a record in Salesforce, and the columns directly correspond to the Salesforce attributes. It is important that you do not modify the first row, as these match up with the attribute names in Salesforce and changing them will cause issues.
You can download the data import template here. The purpose of the template is to allow you to bulk load the important reference data that Maica requires to get you up and running.
The provided template contains a tab that represents each data object in Maica that you can use the reference data sheet to load (some objects cannot be loaded using this tool and require manual record creation or more complex data loading tools).
Simply populate the tab with your data, download as a CSV formatted file and use our Data Import feature to simply drag, drop and load!
Data Types and Field Formats
Maica objects contain attributes of varying data types. When you’re preparing your reference data for loading, there’s some requirements around formatting that you will need to adhere to to ensure successful loading of your data.
Each tab in the sheet represents a data object and each column represents an attribute. The sheet will come pre-populated with a value for each column letting you know what data type is expected, but they are listed below with some more detail to help you get it right!
Object API Name - This column represents the data object you are loading for and must be populated with a valid API name of a Maica object. It’s required on every row to tell the import flow which object to retrieve and write the values to. Any row without a valid value will fail!
Related Record Name - Any column that references the Name value of a related object represents a lookup field linking the record to another related record. In the reference data loading process we use the Name value from the related object to search for, find and relate the loaded record. Note that if there is more than one record with the same Name value, the import for this row will fail. (The flow can be easily extended to reference IDs of records for loading purposes if required.)
Text Value - Free text values are accepted here, check the field under Setup > Object Manager > {Object Name} > Fields & Relationships to see if there are any length restrictions.
Rich Text Value - As per the Text Value but allows loading in of HTML formatted text.
Number Value - Numbers values are accepted here, check the field under Setup > Object Manager > {Object Name} > Fields & Relationships to see if there are any length restrictions or if decimals are allowed.
Picklist Value - Only valid available and active values from the picklist will be accepted. check the field under Setup > Object Manager > {Object Name} > Fields & Relationships > {Field Name} to check for valid, active values.
Multi-Select Picklist Values - As above, but allows for many values to be loaded. Each value must be valid and be separated by a semicolon ;.
Date Value - Only valid date formatted values will be accepted. Your Salesforce Org setting will determine the acceptable default date format, but typically this will be dd/mm/yyyy or mm/dd/yyyy.
Date/Time Value - Only valid date/time formatted values will be accepted. Your Salesforce Org setting will determine the acceptable default date/time format, but typically this will be dd/mm/yyyy, hh:mm:ss.
Boolean Value - Only valid TRUE values will be accepted (field is set to FALSE by default). (TRUE, true, True, 1, yes, Yes, YES).
Determining the Format of a Field
If you are wondering what format a field is, this is how you can find out. While most of them are text, some must be in Boolean or DD/MM/YYYY format. Suppose you are on LGAs and would like to know the format of the attribute LGA Name.
Go to Salesforce - Setup - Object Manager. Here, use Quick Find in the top right to find the object, which is LGA in this case. Click on the object, and then Fields and Relationships.
Here, you can see all the attributes of LGA. You can see LGA Name simply requires text, while State has a Picklist data type, which means Salesforce will search through a list and match what you have inputted to a value in this list. You can follow this process for any fields that you are unsure about.
Please note that the Object API Name must remain fixed for all object types.
Exporting the Data and Preparing for Upload
Once you have finished inputting your data, you must export it as a CSV. It is very important to ensure that it is a CSV and not another format, like xlsx. This is because Salesforce will only accept the CSV format.
Exporting the Data, if you have a Google Account
Open the Import Template above
Go to File - Make a Copy
Fill out the Template
Go to File - Download - CSV
Exporting the Data, if you do not have a Google Account
Open the Import Template above
Go to File - Download
Open the Template in Microsoft Excel and fill it out
Go to File - Save As - CSV
Uploading the Data to Salesforce
Go to Salesforce - Data Import. This is the tool you will be using to upload the data to Salesforce.
The first four objects must be loaded using Client Management Reference Data Import and the remaining objects must be loaded using Client Care Reference Data Import. Select the relevant Flow Setting, then upload your CSV file.
The Check Only checkbox simulates the data upload process. This means that you are able to check for errors, before actually uploading any data to Salesforce. If there are errors, you will be able to download an Error Report. When you are ready to properly upload it, then you can uncheck this checkbox and press import, to proceed with the actual upload. Allow Parallel will upload the data faster, but we do not recommend that you do this, because it can cause Record Lock issues.
Error Handling
At the conclusion of each load process, the UI will display you the number of successful rows and also a count of any failed rows. If there are failures, an Error Report will also be available for download.
The error report will contain all failed rows in their entirety, as well as an explanation for the failure.
You can then correct any data issues and simply reload the failed rows to complete your data load.
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