This article covers the following topics:
- Standard Import feature
- How do I complete my Network CSV for import?
- How do I upload/import my network CSV?
- What are the statuses of my network CSV?
- How do I review my Import Duplicates?
Standard Import tools
How do I complete my Network CSV for import?
How do download my Network CSV?
- Go to Administration click on Import Tools
- Scroll down to the "CSV Import Information" section
- Click on Get Your Network CSV within the CSV Download section.
This spreadsheet will provide you with the template you need to complete a CSV with client import information.
Minimum Information Required
The MINIMUM information required in order for the import to go through is listed below. The import will not validate unless there is something listed in these fields.
- Household ID
- Household ID: every household requires a unique Household.
- This can use letters, numbers and symbols.
- For each individual residing in a single household, the Household column must be the same.
- The first name listed for the household will be considered the primary client
- e.g. if Jim, Bob and Sue all live in the same house, they would share the same HouseholdId.
- First Name
- Last Name
- Date of Birth
- Address Line 1
- City
Fields List
See Columns & Fields to ensure that you have filled out your network CSV correctly.
If you don't want there to be a forced profile review, select one of the available options of "Didn't Ask, Don't Know or Prefer Not to Answer"
Formatting Details
Dates
- Dates must be in the same format set in your network organization profile.
- To find this format, go to Administration, Organizations and click on the orange edit icon beside the network organization.
- The date format (DD-MM-YYYY, MM-DD-YYYY, YYYY-MM-DD) will be on that network organization's page.
- Dashes ( - ) or slashes ( / ) can be used to separate numbers.
Fields
- The CSV file items must EXACTLY match the fields in Link2Feed.
- If the ethnicity field in Link2Feed says “Black / African American” – the import document cannot say “Black” or “African American”. It needs to exactly match "Black / African American"
- If the Meal Program in Link2Feed is listed as “St. Mary’s Church” the import document cannot say “St. Mary’s”.
- For fields that allow multiple answers/options, separate them using a comma
- i.e. “Black / African American, White / Anglo”
Headers & Columns
- The top row of the CSV file contains column headings (eg- Household Id, FirstName, etc…). Do not edit this line.
- Do not remove columns from the CSV file. Do not rearrange the order of the columns.
- If you do not see one of these columns in your import file, it means that is a field you have chosen to disable it and you can disregard the instructions for that column.
Household Information
- A household’s repeated information (street address, expenses, etc…) needs to only be input once per Household, on the first record of that Household.
- Multiple members of the same household must be entered on rows one after the other.
For example, this is correct and will produce three different households:
Household ID | First Name | Last Name |
1 | John | Doe |
1 | Jane | Doe |
2 | Ranbir | Singh |
2 | Surabi | Singh |
3 | Violet | Chen |
However, the following will NOT produce three households, it will actually produce five:
Household ID | First Name | Last Name |
1 | John | Doe |
2 | Ranbir | Singh |
3 | Violet | Chen |
1 | Jane | Doe |
2 | Surabi | Singh |
Individual Information
- Input one individual on each row of the CSV file.
- Complete each column cell for each household member
- If you do not track a field in your current system, or cannot import that data, leave that column blank and the Link2Feed system will flag it for completion the first time that the client’s profile is accessed. The client's profile will be in a forced profile review.
Signature
- If your network collects clients' signatures for a Consent disclaimer, there is no way to import this and all of your clients will be in forced profile review after the import.
True/False Data
- If your field includes true/false options, the system will recognize any of the following (but only the following) as equivalent to “True” or “Yes”:
- Y
- X
- Yes
- True
- These options are NOT case-sensitive, so "Yes", "yes", "YES" and "yES" all work.
Tips: Formatting dates in excel
To easily format dates that can be recognized by the Link2Feed Import Tool, simply follow these steps:
- Select the entire column you wish to format
- Click on Data, then Text to Columns
- Click on Next until you reach the step asking Column data format. Choose the option Date and select MDY.
Tips on cleaning up data
- Remove duplicates based on the first name and date of birth.
- Bulk changed any identifiers to Link2Feed language using Find and Replace
Import Duplicates
Please click here to ensure you understand the import duplicate process prior to completing and uploading your network CSV.
Columns & Fields
See below for the list of columns and fields you may see in your network csv.
Column Title | Description |
Preferred Agency |
|
Household ID |
|
First Name |
|
Last Name |
|
Date of Birth |
|
Estimated Date of Birth |
|
Gender Identity |
|
Housing Type |
|
Address Line 1 |
|
Address Link 2 |
|
City/County/State/Zip Code/Country |
|
No Fixed Address / Prefer Not to Answer |
|
First Visit |
|
Last Profile Review |
|
Languages |
|
Referred By |
|
Ethnicity |
Every ethnicity type that has a "/" within the label requires one space before and after the "/" to make the import work.
For example: "White/Anglo" should be "White / Anglo". |
Self-Identifies As |
|
Relationship |
If option is left blank then this will remain blank for the household relationship. Upon the next attempt to save information on the primary client’s personal tab or the household member’s personal tab it will prompt a message that they are Missing relationships in the Household Members section.
|
Phone Number 1/2 |
|
Email 1-2 |
|
Highest Level of Education Completed |
|
Employment Type |
|
Income Description |
|
Monthly Household Income |
|
Social Programs |
|
SNAP |
|
Expenses |
|
Marital Status |
|
Dietary Considerations |
|
Note 1-5 Description |
|
Note 1-5 Date |
|
Note 1-5 Alert |
|
Consent: there currently isn't a way to import consent disclaimers or signatures. If tracking this field, all client profiles will be in a forced review after being imported.
CSFP-Specific Information
Field | Description |
CSFP ID |
|
CSFP Location |
|
CSFP Status |
|
CSFP Enrollment Date |
|
CSFP Last Recertification Date |
|
CSFP Last Status Change Date |
|
Signatory 1-3 Name |
|
Signatory 1-3 Phone |
|
CSFP Notes |
|
CSFP Caretaker |
|
CSFP Caretaker Phone |
|
CSFP Proxy Form on File |
|
CSFP Eligibility Notification Letter Sent |
|
CSFP Eligibility Notification Letter Sent Date |
|
CSFP Proof of Address/Age/Income |
|
How do I upload/import my Network CSV?
- Go to Administration
- Click on Import Tools
- Scroll down to the CSV Import Information section
- Click on Upload Your Network CSV
- Click on New Import
- Click on Choose File to find your file and once selected, click on Upload
The status must be Valid (Blue checkmark), and the action available must be a blue clock to queue for final import. See What are the statuses of my Network CSV? for other statuses.
Click on the blue clock to upload your file. Once uploaded, the status will show a green checkmark.
The queue might take some time depending on your time. Refresh your page (Ctrl+R) to see the most up-to-date status of your file.
How long should my import take?
Once you upload a file, it will first be validated in a Queue. Our import process can validate most files in a few minutes but may be processing another file. It will only process one file at a time and prioritizes validation over importing.
When the file is Importing it may be in this state for quite a while based on the size of the file. Based on observation and recording, we encourage imports to be no more than 1000 records at a time. If a large number of records need to be imported, we encourage breaking them up into files no larger than 1000 rows each, as the time it takes to complete the import increases much more with more records.
Number of Records | Expected Completion |
250 | 10min |
500 | 30min |
1000 | 60min |
2000 | 3-4hrs |
3000 | 6-9hrs |
100000 | 30-40hrs |
What are the statuses of my network CSV?
Statuses
- Queued: this is the first icon you'll see after uploading your file. It means the system is running the file through the system
- Invalid: this file has not been approved. Click on See Details beside the name of the file to see the reason(s) why the file was not valid. The system will provide a list of the household name and what's missing from that particular row.
- Valid: this file is valid
- Importing: this file is valid and is being imported. It is also checking for duplicates during this time.
Actions
- Delete: Delete or cancel this import file.
- Re-Upload File: This action means you will have to Re-Upload the file
- Queue: This file is for Final Import (You have to hit this button to queue the file for the final import)
- Blue checkmark means: valid and a blue clock (queue this file for final import) means the file is valid and ready to be entered but has not been checked for duplicates.
- Green checkmark: means it's time to go to the next stage; reviewing duplicates (if applicable).
How do I review my import duplicates?
Duplicate Criteria
Duplicates are matched based on 3 of the 4 criteria including:
- First Name
- Last Name
- A date of birth field (One of the following counts as a match)
- DOB: YYYY-MM
- DOB: MM-DD
- DOB: YYYY-DD
- Address Line 1
Independent of the criteria above, duplicates will also appear if an exact match is found on email address.
- Go to Administration
- Click on Import Tools
- Scroll down to View Import Duplicates
This duplicates list checks against clients already in the system and within the csv you have imported. The system will look at the first name, last name, date of birth and address of the client. The agency the organization was created at and the source are also shown. Email and phone numbers will also appear if in the client's profile
- ID: if the client is already in the Link2Feed system, their Client ID number will show
- Source: CSV (your imported list), Link2Feed (existing client in the system), FA (Form Assembly)
Dismiss
If you dismiss a pair of duplicates where one client was from the uploaded CSV and the other was already in the system, both will be entered into the system. You are basically saying "Don't worry, just import this client anyway".
HOWEVER...You may get this notification:
This notification means the client is not yet approved to be imported because this is still part of another pair of duplicates on this list.
Merging
Merging client duplicates works the same way as it does in the client intake system. See How Do I Merge Client Duplicates? and How Do I Manage My Client Duplicates/Dismissed Duplicates List? for more information.
Notes:
- The "Advanced Merge" is not available for Import Duplicates, so when you click on the up or down arrow the merge will automatically be completed
- There are no filters on the import duplicates page
- After you merge client profiles, the maintained client profile will be in forced profile review when you first view them in Client Intake.
- Once all the duplicates have been managed, all of your imported files will be appropriately added to the system. Remember that if a profile was not on this duplicate list, it was automatically added to the system already.