Creating Foundation Records

Administrators can add, delete, and update records individually or en masse.

With proper permissions, you can manage foundation data and complete the following tasks:

• Create a new record
• Modify an existing record, using Insert New Record. Effective date can be in the past, present, or future
• Make a correction to current or historical record
• Permanently delete an entry for past, present, or future records

The system records which users made the changes and when.

To create or manage existing XML-based records, you can use the Manage Organization, Pay, and Job Structures tool. This tool has three different parts.

1. The Search dropdown menu allows you to open an existing foundation data, for example, Location.
2. Once selected, you can use the additional dropdown menu to choose the specific record, such as New York. You can also use the Advanced link to change the date of the search and look for inactive records.
3. To create a new record, use Create New .

To create or manage existing MDF-based records, you can use Manage Data.

1. The Search dropdown menu allows you to open an existing record. For example, Legal Entity.
2. Once selected, you can use the additional dropdown menu to choose the specific record, such as ACE_USA. You can also use the Advanced link to change the date of the search and look for inactive records.
3. To create a new record, use Create New .

The Import Foundation Data is used for importing XML-based records. Whether creating new or updating existing records, the import file must match the object configuration. Hence, you must use the appropriate template.

The Import Foundation Data doesn't allow you to download the existing foundation records. If you want to extract the existing XML-based records, you must use the reporting tool, Report Center→Table Report→Single Domain→Foundation Objects.

High-level steps in using the Import Foundation Data tool are as follows:

1. Download the CSV template for the corresponding Foundation Object. The CSV template matches the configuration of the data structure in the system; therefore, two customer instances could have different templates.
2. Select the object you're importing. It is vital to take note of any associations that have been configured between the objects. The order of your import depends on whether the records have dependencies. For example, if a location is associated with a legal entity record, before importing the location, you must first ensure the corresponding legal entity record exists in the system.
3. Select between Full Purge or Incremental Load. Full Purge is used for initial data uploads or if you intend to fully replace the records. Incremental Load adds to existing data into the system.
4. The recommended File Encoding is Unicode (UTF-8), which supports the most languages.
5. Use Validate Import File Data to check if your file passed the system validation. You can use the Scheduled Job Manager to check validation results of imports exceeding the real-time threshold.
6. Select the file and import when you encounter no errors.

The Import and Export Data is used for importing and downloading MDF-based records.

In the same way as its XML-based counterpart, you must download the appropriate template to match the data object definition. Unlike Import Foundation Data, the Import and Export Data allows you to download existing MDF-based records.

The options in the tool depend on the action you selected to perform.

To download a template:

1. Select Generic Object: Choose the record that you will import.
2. Include dependencies: Choose Yes to include templates for object associations, otherwise No.
3. Include Immutable IDs: Immutable IDs are database numbers. Not required for import.
4. Exclude reference objects: Choose Yes to exclude unrelated, non-dependent objects. Only visible if Include dependencies are set to Yes.
5. Key Preference: Either Business Key (set of fields that identify the record) or External Code
6. Hide External Code: Visible only when Key Preference is set to Business Key
7. Identity Type: User ID or Assignment ID

Select Import Data as the action to perform when you are ready to import the file.

1. Select Generic Object: This refers to all MDF-based objects in the system. Choose the record that you will import.
2. File: Browse for the CSV file.
3. File Encoding: Unicode (UTF-8) supports most language encoding.
4. Purge Type: Incremental Load or Full Purge.
5. Suppress redundant Date-effective Records: Eliminates redundant entries to improve performance
6. Key Preference: Either Business Key (set of fields that identify the record) or External Code
7. Use Locale Format: Choose to set dates and numbers format on the file - Locale: Visible only when Local format is set to Yes
8. Enable Decimal Rounding: If you want to round decimal values
9. Identity Type: User ID or Assignment ID
10. The Validate Import File button ensures that the import headers match and that the CSV file you are attempting to upload contains valid data. We recommend that you use this button before any import.
11. View the result from Scheduled Job Manager.
12. Import to complete the upload process.