Importing Journals

The nominals and ledgers in this topic may be different to those in your chart of accounts.

Downloading the Import Files

Download and save the following files to your computer:

Journal Import.csv

Journal Import.dtt

Please do not open or modify the Journal Import.dtt file. You need to save the Journal Import.dtt file on the cloud server on which you run IRIS Financials.

There are two stages to importing a journal.

  1. Adding your journal data to the Journal Import.csv Template.
  2. Importing the journal data using the Data Transformation Tool.

Adding your Journal Data to the Template

It is important you update your journal data carefully as any inaccuracies cause the import to fail.

  1. Download and open the Journal Import.csv file.
    The sample data contains information for two example locations - AST and DON. The New Doc Flag column determines which detail lines form part of the same document when they are imported into IRIS Financials, as shown in the following graphic. The information included in the download is for demonstration purposes only and your own nominal and account codes may differ to that of the demonstration system.
    Please remove the example data before adding your establishment/organisation's information.
  2. Enter the name of the Database to which you are importing the data. You can check which database you are importing data to in the top left of IRIS Financials. If you want to import a journal for another database, you can also select Home > ChangeConnection to view all databases.
  3. Enter the Company name, which can also be found in the top left of IRIS Financials.
  4. Enter the Doc Type code for the location for which you are importing the journal, for example ASGJ (where AS represents the location code of the Journal document type). You can have multiple journal documents on a single import, either for the same location or other locations. If you are unsure of the Document Type code, go to Documents > DocumentInput in IRIS Financials to find the applicable journal document code for the required location.
  5. The New Doc Flag column indicates which detail lines form part of a single document. Each time the number entered in the New Doc Flag column changes, a new document is posted.
    In the following example, two documents are posted. One for AS location and one for DO location. All detail lines with 1 in the New Doc Flag column is posted as a single document and all detail lines with 2 in the New Doc Flag column is posted as a second new document.
  6. Enter the Doc Date in DD/MM/YYYY format.
  7. Enter the Year. This must be in the same format as your Financial Years are set up in IRIS Financials - typically YYYY/YY format, e.g. 2020/21. You can check this by selecting Maintenance > Periods in IRIS Financials.
  8. The Period must always be in double digits, i.e. 01, 02, 03, etc. as they are set up in IRIS Financials. You can check this by selecting Maintenance > Periods.
    When you re-open a csv file any leading zeros will be removed so you will need to reformat the Period cells.
    To format the cell in the Period column:

    1) Highlight the entire Period column, right-select, then select Format Cells from the pop-up menu.
    2) The Format Cells dialog is displayed. Select Custom from the Category panel on the Number tab.
    3) Overwrite the word Custom with 00 in Type.

  9. Enter the code (including location code) for the Nominal to which the transaction is being posted, e.g. AST4010. If you are unsure which nominal to post to, select Maintenance > Nominals in IRIS Financials.
  10. Enter the applicable Account code, if required. Certain nominals are linked to a ledger, where applicable, you must enter an account from the ledger. To find a list of applicable ledgers:

    1) Select Maintenance > Nominals, then select the required Nominal from the left-hand panel.
    2) Make a note of the Ledger linked to the nominal. The following graphic shows nominal AST4010 is linked to the AST_COSTCTR ledger.

    3) Select Maintenance > Ledgers, then select the ledger linked to the Nominal to which you are posting the Journal.
    4) Select LINKS > Accounts. You must pick an account from this list, then enter the account code in Account on the Journal Import.csv.
  11. Enter the value in Amount, e.g. 2700 (do not enter any currency symbols, i.e., £, $, etc.) Any credit values must be entered in a negative format, e.g. -3700 (with a minus preceding the value).
  12. Enter an applicable Description for the transaction.
  13. Enter the applicable currency code in the Currency column. This is typically be GBP. For a list of available currencies, select Maintenance > Currencies in IRIS Financials.
  14. Repeat the previous steps to complete the journal. Before importing, you must check the document balances to zero. The easiest way to do this is select the cell immediately beneath the last entry in the Amount column (Column H), then select the AutoSum icon on the Excel toolbar. If the values do not balance to zero, check all the values entered in the Amount column for each individual document being imported and correct any discrepancies.
    You must delete the zero value from the AutoSum before you import the file.
  15. When you have entered all the required journal information, save the file in csv format.

Importing the Journal Data Using the Data Transformation Tool

Once you have completed the import data spreadsheet, you need to import it using the Data Transformation Tool. This is accessed via IRIS Financials.

If you have not imported a journal before, please download the Import.dtt from our Importing Journals Knowledge Base article.

  1. Select Modules > Data Transformation Tool in IRIS Financials.
  2. The PSF Data Transformation dialog is displayed. Select File > Open, then select the Journal Import.dtt file you downloaded earlier. You can download it from the bottom of this article if needed.
  3. Select Browse, then double-select the Journal Import.csv data file you created previously.
  4. A preview of the entries that are to be imported are displayed. You can increase the preview rows if needed. Select Next.
  5. The Step 3 dialog is displayed. A list of documents to be imported are displayed. You can increase the preview by increasing the number in the Document to Preview field.
  6. The Step 4 dialog is displayed, containing a summary of the import. Select Validate only, do not post any data, then select Post to check the import for any errors before posting to the database. The Summary dialog is displayed, check the posting details, then select Close to return to the Step 4 dialog.
  7. Deselect Validate only, do not post any data, then select Post to post the document(s).