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. |