Download Fact Sheet What`s involved in converting data into Income Manager?

Fact Sheet
What’s involved in converting data into Income Manager?
Income Manager provides professional data conversion services to a wide variety of
clients and users.
Inquiries
All inquiries regarding data conversion services should be directed to Teresa Knechtel at
[email protected] or [email protected].
Quotes and Costs for data conversion services
Data conversion is a specialized and labour intensive process. Each conversion is a
customized procedure that requires mapping client data to the Income Manager data
architecture. Rarely are two data conversions similar and, they are never identical.
Because data conversion is a highly individualized and custom process, costs can vary
considerably from one conversion to another depending upon the complexity of the data
conversion.
Unless otherwise indicated, all conversions are quoted and billed at the rate of $75 per
hour. Conversion quotes can only be provided upon receiving a sample of all files or data
to be converted. Quotes are estimated on the time to convert client data, based on the
sample files provided. Any additional files provided after a quote has been given or,
while a conversion is in progress, or after a conversion has been completed, will affect
the original quote and/or the cost of the conversion. In addition to the conversion quote,
there is a system setup charge of $150. This fee covers communications with the client
concerning their data conversion, file transfers, and system implementation.
Data/file formats and structure
Data conversion services are available only for electronically submitted data files. In
other words, data conversion services are not available for paper files or paper records.
Data files must be provided in one of the following formats:
Delimited Text file (comma separated or Tab delimited)
Excel
MS Access databases (versions 2, 97, 2000, 2002, 2003)
MS SQL Server 2000
FoxPro
Dbase
All data files or database tables should include Field Names or Column Names if in Excel
format. If Field or Column names are not provided, then a listing of all numbered fields
or alphabetic columns with an accompanying description or interpretation of the
numbered fields or alphabetic columns must be provided. These descriptions should
accurately reflect the use of these fields from the client’s perspective of the type of data
being captured.
Ambiguous data
For the most part, field or column names describe the type of information being retained.
Fields or ‘First Name’, ‘Last Name’, ‘Address’, ‘City’, ‘Province/State’, ‘Phone’,
‘email’, etc. are self-evident. However, many organizations create custom databases or
Excel files for their own particular use. These databases or files may have fields or
columns that are unique to your organization and their significance or meaning may not
be immediately apparent to anyone outside your organization. It is incumbent upon you
or your staff, to provide written documentation to us, describing or interpreting the
meaning and/or use of any ambiguous data, so that this information can be accurately
interpreted and converted to Income Manager.
Factors that affect the cost of conversion and, things you can do to save money
Field and column names
Files or tables without field or column names will cost more to convert because field or
column names will have to be manually added to convert the data. You can save money
by ensuring that all files and/or tables have field or column names as opposed to
numbered fields or alphabetic columns.
Number of records versus number of columns
Many people are of the misconception that a fewer number of records can be converted
more quickly than a large number of records and therefore expect lower conversion costs.
This is because other software providers quote conversion costs based on the number of
records to be converted. This is a myth because, while the number of records has some
bearing on conversion time, it is much less of a factor than the number of fields or
columns in a file or the number of different files to be converted. Each field or column
must be mapped to a corresponding table and field in Income Manager. This is a labour
intensive process and applies to the conversion to any database and so is not unique to
Income Manager database conversions.
By example: 500 records across 30 or 40 fields or columns, will take significantly more
time to convert than 50,000 records across 3 or 4 fields or columns. Appending records is
handled by the computer and happens very quickly, while mapping fields is a manual and
individualized process. Eliminating unnecessary fields or columns, will save conversion
time and expense.
Clean versus messy data
Clean (consistent) data is much easier and therefore faster to convert than messy data.
Messy data is that in which data has been entered inconsistently and/or into inappropriate
fields or columns. For example; ‘cities’ entered into the ‘province’ or ‘state’ field or into
the ‘PostalCode’ field. Or the same data inconsistently entered: such as ‘Ontario’, or
‘Ont.’ or, ‘Ont’ or, ‘ON’. There are many examples of messy or inconsistent data.
Ensuring that your data is consistent before submitting it for conversion will save time
and money.
The number of files to be converted
Many organizations have multiple files located throughout their offices and wish to
consolidate and centralize their data. The number of files (such as Excel spreadsheets or
workbooks) greatly affects the amount of time it takes to convert data. As a general rule,
multiple files usually means that each file must be handled and setup like a separate
conversion. Therefore, converting 20 Excel spreadsheets will probably take 10 times
longer to convert than 2. Where possible, consolidating multiple files into one or a few
files will help reduce conversion costs. This is usually only feasible where the files
contain the same types of data.
Duplicate data
Conversion quotes do not include the removal of duplicate data.
Multiple files can result in numerous duplicate records. The number of duplicate records
can be reduced to a certain extent however a definition of duplicate records is required.
E.g.: Does duplicate record mean same first name, last name, address or just same first
name and last name. When using such definitions remember that the computer sees the
record John Smith as a different record than J. Smith or John Smyth. Similarly if the
address for John Smith is 23 Some St versus 23 Some Street this is not a duplicate record
according to the computer.
Business Rules
Certain rules will have to be provided for the conversion. As an example, in Income
Manager, records can be either Individual or Organizational records. You will need to
provide us with a rule that allows us to identify which records in your existing files are
Organizations and which are Individuals.
Another instance where a business rule would apply is if financial transactions in your
current files do not have complete date formats (Day – Month – Year), in such cases a
default date will be required.
Preparation of data files
Assistance with extracting data from your database can be provided, there will be a data
handling fee.
Scheduling and timing
A minimum of two (2) full weeks is required to complete the conversion process from the
date that data files are submitted. We recommend that clients be trained on their own
converted data. This means that data files must be submitted at least two full weeks prior
to the scheduled training date.
IMPORTANT: Once data files have been submitted for conversion, no further data entry
should be carried out by the client on their original database or files, as this data will not
have been included or captured in the original data submitted to us. This means your data
entry is on-hold during the data conversion process. If data continues to be entered after
submitting data files then this data will have to be manually re-entered into Income
Manager after installation resulting in duplication of effort.
Transferring data files
When transferring data files use a compression utility such as PKZip, WinZip, or
WinRAR, to compress (zip) your data files. Be aware of the size of the files before and
after compression. A rule of thumb is that compressed files will be reduced to
approximately ¼ to ½ of their original size.
Compressed (zipped) files will transfer much more quickly than uncompressed files
because of their size. In addition, compressing your data files help to secure the
information against possible corruption during the transfer process.
Email or FTP
Privacy and Security
Password protection
In the interests of security you may wish to password protect your compressed file(s). If
so, you will need to provide us with the password in a separate email so that we can open
and extract the data files.
Income Manager Privacy Statement
A copy of the Income Manager Privacy Statement is available from our web-site
www.incomemanager.net
Questions or inquiries concerning the privacy of your data should be directed to
[email protected]
2-way Confidentiality Agreement
Income Manager provides a two-way Confidentiality Agreement helping to safeguard
and ensure the confidentiality of any data provided to us.
Retention of data
Unless otherwise instructed, Income Manager will retain original data files provided to us
for a period of three (3) months from the date of submission after. This is to provide a
support archive of the original data files should any questions concerning the conversion
of your data arise at a later date. No further inquiries can be explored following removal
of the original data files.