Preparing a File to Import for Batch Matching
Whether you are performing a manual batch or an automatic batch, before you can import your data you need to prepare it for D&B Integration Manager to process. You can import a flat file, also known as a delimited or fixed field, or a database table. If you have an on-site version of D&B Integration Manager, you can import your data as a text file or as a database import. If you have an on-line version of D&B Integration Manager that D&B hosts, you can import a flat file that can be delimited or fixed field.
Rules for Preparing Your Text File
- Make sure that you have sufficient information in your file so that D&B Integration Manager can successfully match and enrich it.
- The file must be a flat file, that is, a standard text file.
- The file must have a delimiter such as a tab, comma, vertical pipe, or so forth, between the data fields or be set up with fixed fields.
- If you must use commas to separate fields, make sure that you surround all text fields by a text qualifier. For example, you can use double quotes (“ “ ) or single quotes ( ‘ ). If you don't do this, D&B Integration Manager will consider the commas within fields as delimiters. For example, if the Company Name is “ABC, Inc.” and the delimiter is a comma, D&B Integration Manager will separate ABC from Inc. unless there is a text qualifier such as double quotes.
- If your data is in an Excel file or Access file, you must export it as a .CSV file or tab-delimited file, with the field names in the first row.
The file should contain the following information. The more information you make available, the better your match results will be.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
Unique key number | This number is needed for each record in your original data source. This is important for matching the new D&B data to your original database data. |
Required: Company Name | The legal name or tradestyle / doing-business-as (DBA) name for the organization. D&B also offers the option to add contact names. |
Address | Can be up to two address lines. D&B can match either a physical address or a mailing address. |
City | City |
Required for only US and Canada: State/Province | You can remove State/Province as a required field by deselecting it on the Candidate Selection window. However, we do not recommended that you do this if you want High Confidence matches. You can see the D&B State Code values under System Settings\Decode Scndry Div\State_ZipMapping. If it is required that the default values be modified or amended, you can do so. |
Country | You can see the D&B Country Code values under System Settings\Decode Country Table/Country. If it is required that the default values be modified or amended, you can do so. NOTE: Country is required for versions prior to 7.0. For 7.0, Country is not required, but special considerations need to be taken during set up. |
Postal Code | Postal or Zip Code |
Telephone | These must be numbers only: Do not add spaces. For area codes, do not use a 1 or + before area code. |
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