Regardless of how you have previously managed your subscribers, they must be imported into ITERAS. For larger customers, the migration is handled by a consulting firm.
For smaller customers, this is done via our import template, which is an Excel sheet with predefined headers for the data the system requires. This is the subject of this article.
The import itself takes from a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on how many subscribers are imported. ITERAS performs the import, and we often also help fill in especially the subscription fields in the import file.
The system can also import Post Nord’s Publisher 2 and Publisher 3 formats, which are used, for example, in connection with return files from address validation.
Import template
As mentioned, the import template is an Excel sheet, and below are the column headers that can be used, along with an explanation of what they are for. Note that the column headers must be written EXACTLY as shown below. If there is no data for the fields, they should be left blank.
Download import template here. (note the file is in danish)
Basic data
Abonnent-ID / Subscriber ID: Leave blank when importing a subscriber/member for the first time, but the field can be used if the fields for the given Subscriber ID need to be updated. The previous subscriber ID can advantageously be placed in the notes field, for example with the text “Prev. subscriber ID: ” in front – this will make it searchable in Iteras.
Adgangskode / Password: The subscriber’s/member’s possible password from the previous system. If it is not transferred, the column can be omitted.
E-mail: The subscriber’s/member’s email address.
Navn / Name: All first and last names should be entered here, in a single field. Note: There must be no line breaks in the name field (but line breaks are allowed in the company name).
Firmanavn / Company name: If there is a company name, it can be entered here. Line breaks are allowed, i.e., multiple lines for the company name (e.g., university name on one line and department name on the next line, or company name on the first line and “Company House” on the second line).
Adresse / Address: Enter the full address here. There will typically be at least two address lines, namely a street address and postal code/city. An Excel line break must be inserted in the cell, which can be done manually or by first creating one field for the street address and another for the postal code/city, then merging the two fields with a line break in between. In Excel, a line break is “CHAR(10)”. The merge will then use the following Excel formula (in this example merging cell A1 and cell A2): =A1&CHAR(10)&A2.
Land / Country: Specify the country code in ISO3166 two-character format. Find the correct country code in this list. (Link is in danish)
Other payer
Fields for specifying another payer. These fields should be completed as described above:
E-mail, betaler / E-mail, payer
Navn, betaler / Name, payer
Firmanavn, betaler / Company name, payer
Adresse, betaler / Address, payer
Land, betaler / Country, payer
Other basic data
Telefonnummer / Phone number
Mobilnummer / Mobile number
EAN-nummer / EAN number: Remember, it must be 13 digits. Iteras looks up the numbers in the NemHandel database during the import, so non-existent numbers cannot be entered.
Momsnummer / VAT number
Note: This field can be used freely and is searchable in Iteras
Tidligere ID / Previous ID: Can be used for a previous subscriber or membership number, which will also be searchable in Iteras
Oprettelsesdato / Creation date: Date when the subscriber or member was created
Nets BetalingsService registration
Iteras can register subscribers/members for Nets BetalingsService during import if the following is filled in for the subscriber/member:
BetalingsService CPR/CVR: Either a personal identification number or a CVR number (if it is a company)
BetalingsService-registreringsnummer / BetalingsService registration number: Registration number of the bank account
BetalingsService-kontonummer / BetalingsService account number: Account number of the bank account
Subscription/membership – basic information
A subscription or membership is typically created together with the import – it does not have to be this way, but it is usually easiest because you then don’t have to figure out later who should get what. An unlimited number of subscriptions/memberships can be created per subscriber/member on the same row, simply by adding more sets of the columns below with the suffix “2”, “3”, etc. (so, for example, “Campaign number 2”). The columns you do not need can simply be omitted.
Dates must be written in the format yyyy-mm-dd.
Kampagnenummer/ Campaign number: Indicates which campaign should be created
Resterende tildelinger / Remaining allocations: Indicates the number of issues remaining in the current period if the period is based on issues. The field must not contain “0” – if there are zero remaining, leave it blank. This way, the next period will be created with the full amount during import.
Antal bestillinger / Number of orders: Fill in with a number if you want to create multiple identical subscriptions/memberships at the same time – if the field is not filled in, the system assumes that only 1 should be created at a time
Antal / Quantity: Can be used to specify the number of issues to be received in the subscription/membership. Must only be used for campaigns with a free quantity
Periodestart / Period start: Start date of the current period. If the field is not filled in, it is set to today’s date (which must be before the run date for the first issue the subscriber/member should receive – otherwise the field must be filled in!). The field can be used to choose an earlier start date than the import date if the subscriber/member should be invoiced for already published issues in connection with the import. These issues must, in that case, be created retroactively in Iteras before enabling the running of subscriptions/memberships, and by setting the period start you can choose which issues the subscription/membership should receive.
Periodeslut / Period end: Normally left blank, but can be used to override the campaign’s setting.
Opsigelsesdato / Cancellation date: Used to indicate that a subscription/membership is cancelled at the end of the period it is imported into. The date can either be the actual date the cancellation was received or any arbitrary date before the import date.
Stopdato/ Stop date: Date for immediate termination of the subscription/membership.
Fakturering tilbage / Invoice pay back: Here you can adjust what proportion of the first period should be invoiced compared to what is normally invoiced. Typical values are 0 for 0% or 1 for 100% of the first period. 0.5 would mean that half should be invoiced during import. If the field is left blank, the proportion is assumed to be 100%. If the period has been changed, e.g., the start date, and the invoicing should reflect this, then use “Adjust billing to period change” instead of this field. Note that the proportion indicated is multiplied by the proportion of the period to be invoiced. So if, for example, a recipient subscription should only be invoiced for 1/12, then entering 1 here means 100% × 1/12 = 1/12, not 12/12.
Faktureret via / Invoiced by: If the field is blank, billing is via the publisher’s preferred method. If a subscriber should be billed differently, it can be specified here:
For billing via email invoicing, write: “email”
For Iteras-generated invoices / self-print: “distributionlist”
For billing via Nets/BetalingsService, write: “netsdk”
For billing via NemHandel (EAN): leave blank, as entering an EAN number overrides other billing methods
For invoices that should not be sent or are sent manually, write: “manual”
Udsted faktura på dato / Issue invoice on date: Set a date to issue the invoice immediately on the selected past date. A note is added that the invoice was created during import. This can be used for creating shadow invoices*. The setting respects “Bill back”, so if “0” is in “Bill back”, no invoice is issued.
Betalingsbeløb / Payment amount: A paid amount can be imported, which will appear as a credit and be used for invoices created.
Betalingsdato / Payment date: The date of payment for the payment amount created during import
Betalt / Paid: When this field is set to 1, the importer calculates which invoice lines will be created and creates a payment for that amount (on the group subscription if it is a recipient). Can be used, for example, to create shadow payments.
Rabatbeløb / Discount amount: Enter the discount amount in kroner. Always fill in the Discount text field as well!
Rabattekst / Discount text: Write the discount text, which is shown on the invoice
*: Shadow invoices and payments are copies of invoices/payments from previous systems. They are created so Iteras can correctly calculate credits upon termination.
Subscription/membership – advanced import fields
Import files using the import fields below should always be reviewed by an Iteras consultant before import!
Videreført / Continued: Enter “1” if the subscription is not new. The sending of the invoice is then calculated accordingly (sent faster than if it is a new subscription where the first issue must be sent first; however, it is sent as 0112 (i.e., renewal invoice) only once a month on the 19th, so it is not always the fastest)
Udelad periodetekst / Omit period text: Indicates that you do not want the period to be shown in the invoicing of the first period after import
Gruppeabonnement / Group subscription: If it is a group subscription, when importing recipient subscriptions, enter here the subscription number (not the subscriber number) of the subscription to which the recipient should be linked (i.e., recipients must first be imported without using this field, but on group campaigns, and then exported, and then the subscription number must be matched using information about payer campaign quantity remaining). Note! The campaign number must not be filled in if the group subscription is filled in!
Tilpas fakturering til periodeændring / Adjust billing to period change: Iteras normally bills all periods at 100% of the price. The only exception is when the system itself has moved the start or end date, e.g., for a synchronized campaign or for recipients in a group subscription starting after the group subscription has started. In some cases, however, you import a changed first period to make it fit better into overall accounting and want the invoicing to reflect the change in the period. In these cases, you can tell the system here that the period has changed and whether it is the start date (“begin”) or end date (“end”) that has been moved – there may be slight differences in date calculations for time-based campaigns. Normally, it is the start date that has been moved. Can be used, for example, when taking over a magazine from another publisher and needing the system to invoice the remaining delivery obligation. In such cases, you enter “begin” in this field, and if, for example, 52% of the period remains, then 52% of the price is invoiced. If you had not filled in the field, 100% of the price would have been invoiced despite the shorter length – which may be desired if the first part has not previously been invoiced.
Forudbetaling påkrævet / Prepayment required: Indicates that the imported subscription/membership must be paid before it is activated
Manuel godkendelse ved fakturering / Manual approval for invoicing: Enables manual approval, meaning that no invoices are sent automatically without first being approved. Enter the value “1” to activate manual approval.
Ignorer fakturanumre fra / Ignore invoice numbers from: Fill in with a number, and existing invoices with this invoice number and higher will be ignored in the import when invoices are created. This can be used if you run shadow invoices on a lower number series than the ongoing forward invoicing, and in the beginning need to make changes to some imported subscribers with shadow invoices. Without this option, shadow invoices would be created with the next invoice number in the sequence. Likewise, the setting for which invoice number to start from is ignored.
Importing method
Once you are familiar with the tool – the import template – you are as ready as when you need to drive in a nail and have found the hammer. There is still a craft to it, when different types of nails must be driven into different materials without damaging both hammer and nail.
Import method is about figuring out how to most effectively move data from the old system to Iteras. The old system will almost certainly not resemble Iteras, and in addition, there may be a need for data cleanup. It may also be that you want to take the opportunity to simplify things.
Group subscriptions
Group subscriptions are subscriptions that pay for other subscriptions. In some systems, e.g., Navision, there are subscribers who have another payer (debtor) attached, which in Iteras becomes group subscriptions.
This raises the question of how many group subscriptions are needed. The answer is: As many as there are variations over the parameters price, duration, start time, and campaign. If all recipients on a payer have the same price, same duration, are continued at the same time of year, and receive the same products, then they can all be gathered on one group subscription. If, on the other hand, there are multiple different prices, then one subscription is needed per price. If there is also a need for multiple product packages (without this coinciding with the price), then multiply by the number of product packages. And similarly, if some subscriptions are continued at different times.
This can quickly become many group subscriptions on the same subscriber. Here, part of the import craft can be to look at whether you can reduce the number of factors making the subscriptions different – for example, reduce the number of different durations or start times. This can result in significantly fewer group subscriptions and thus a more manageable structure for everyone.