Setting up an import file for in-house expenses or time

In some cases, you record in-house expenses or time in a file outside of Ajera, such as a Microsoft Excel file, that you then import into Ajera.

This topic describes how to set up the file that you import to Ajera.

The software exporting the data often provides the comma-separated values (.csv) file that you import to Ajera. A third-party vendor or Ajera consultant ensures that the file is set up properly so you can import it into Ajera.

Data you can import

The file must be in a .csv file. The import file can consist of the columns listed in the table below. The columns can be in any order, but the order must be the same for every row of the file.

Note:

To know exactly what Ajera allows for import, experiment with the import options before setting up the import file. As you work, Ajera allows you to include only valid combinations of options. Follow these instructions to work with the import options: For time import files in Microsoft Excel, do not place the Notes or Employee Type columns at the end of a row. If these columns are blank, the import process cannot recognize them, and an error will occur. For time and in-house expense import files in Microsoft Excel, use the right-click > Delete command or the Home > Editing > Clear > Clear All command to delete information. Do not use the Delete key or the right-click > Clear Contents command. These functions do not delete all traces of content, and an error will occur during the import process.

For data that is redundant, you can use only one column or the other. For example, if you include the Activity Key, Ajera does not allow you to include the Activity Description.

Importing in-house expenses

Importing time

In-house expenses import file options	Time import file options
Activity Description Activity Key Billing Amount Billing Rate Billing Units Cost Amount Cost Rate Date Notes Phase Description Phase ID Phase Key Project Description Project ID Project Key Units	Activity Description Activity Key Date Employee Key Employee Name Employee Type Description Employee Type Key End Time Hours Hours Type Notes Overhead Detail Description Overhead Detail Key Phase Description Phase ID Phase Key Project Description Project ID Project Key Start Time

Key fields

A key field is a one-to-one match with the Ajera database. You may prefer to use the key field instead of the description field. When you use a key field, you eliminate import errors due to typos, misspellings, and so on.

To use Ajera's key fields in the import file, you can write a query of the Ajera database listing phases and activities. Another option is to modify the Transaction inquiry so it contains only the key, such as the phase key and activity key; you can then export it to Microsoft Excel and save it as a .csv file.

When all phases or activities are the same

If all phases are the same, or all activities are the same, you do not need to include a column for them in your import file. There is an option in the Ajera import where you can identify the specific phase or activity, and therefore, assign it to all the entries in the file.

Data you do not need in the import file

Ajera can automatically create some columns based on related columns, so you do not need to include them in your import file.

If your import file has a column for	It does not need a column for
Project Key	Project Description Project ID Phase Key
Project Description	Project Key Project ID Phase Key
Phase Key	Project Key Project Description Project ID Phase Description Phase ID
Phase Description	Phase Key Project ID
Phase ID	Phase Key Phase Description
Employee Name	Employee Key
Employee Key	Employee Name
Employee Type Description	Employee Type Key
Employee Type Key	Employee Type Description
Activity Description	Activity Key
Activity Key	Activity Description
Overhead Description	Overhead Key
Overhead Detail Key	Overhead Detail Description
Units	Billing Units, if you want the billing units to automatically equal the cost units Note: To enter separate values for billing units and cost units, include both the Billing Units and Units columns in your import file.
Billing Units	Units, if you want the cost units to automatically equal zero Note: To enter separate values for billing units and cost units, include both the Units and Billing Units columns in your import file.

Text entries

The capitalization of letters in the text (such as upper case or sentence case) for entries in the import file does not need to exactly match the entry in Ajera.

However, the text in the import file must include any spaces between words, such as for Schematic Design.

When subphase descriptions are the same

If some project subphases have the same description and your import file includes the Phase Description or Phase ID column, enter the full phase path for those subphases in the import file, not just the description. This way, Ajera can differentiate between the subphases.

Be sure to format the phase path as <phase description>\\<subphase description> (for example, Schematic Design\\Interior Architecture\\Documents\\March). Separate each phase description and subphase description with two backslashes.