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Ingesting Data

In this article, we'll go through how to use the Ingest Data functionality.

Things to know: 

  • You can search through your processed batches using the search bar at the top left-hand corner of the Processed Batches page

Contents

Ingest data is most commonly used for:

  • Data migration for a new merchant coming to MyTime with existing data from another system
  • Easily update existing data for a merchant already using MyTime, such as a large service price update
  • Creating test accounts and populating those with test data

How to Create a ZIP File

Before ingesting your data, you must create a folder and then ZIP that folder to ingest. Creating a ZIP file on your computer is a quick and easy process.

  1. To zip your files, add all CSV files to a folder then name that folder "inventory"
  2. Right-click one of the folder and choose the Compress or Archive optionzip_file.png
  3. Name your file. When the parameter pops up, select ZIP for the format type, and rename to file's name to "inventory.zip". Please remember where you are saving your ZIP file and note that your modal may appear differently based on your system. zip_file_1.png

ZIP File Contents

Batch Manifest 

The filename should be batch_manifest_UUID.csv where UUID is a unique identifier (different for each file) so that the MyTime system recognizes that there are different manifests. The batch manifest contains the files you want us to process and their types. The manifest file has 2 columns, the filename, and the type. Please note that using the batch manifest when ingesting data is optional

An example of a batch manifest can be seen and/or downloaded here. Notice that some of these files are CSV files and some are ZIP files. You can tell the difference between the .csv and the .zip at the end of the filename.

The ZIP files are sets of files that contain all of the data necessary to build complex data. This is required for appointments, tickets, inventory, memberships, etc. This is what the file should look like in your system.

Inside each ZIP file is another set of CSV files necessary to import that specific dataset. This is what your files should look like when you double-click on the ZIP file in your system.

An example of a complete account set with nesting would be:

  • salon_set.zip
    • batch_manifest_202106141221.csv
    • addonmappings.csv
    • appointments.zip
      • appointment_manifest.csv
      • appointments.csv
      • appointmentservices.csv
      • appointmentstatuses.csv
    • categories.csv
    • clients.csv
    • giftcards.csv
    • inventories.zip
      • inventory_manifest.csv
      • inventoryproducts.csv
      • inventoryskus.csv
      • inventorystocks.csv
    • locations.csv
    • pricings.csv
    • services.csv
    • staffs.csv
    • tickets.zip
      • tickets.csv
      • tickets_manifest.csv
      • ticketpaymentitems.csv
      • ticketsetviceitems.csv
      • ticketskuitems.csv
      • tips.csv

The batch manifest for this file looks like this:

Full list of manifest file types 

child_companies, locations, employee_titles, employees, working_hours, breed_groups, categories, services, pricings, pricing_templates, duration_templates, durations, packages, classes, bundles, client_packages, add_ons_mappings, custom_services_mappings, custom_fields, clients, children, appointments, inventory, inventories, purchase_orders, promo_codes, promotions, tickets, spiffs, one_off_hours, worked_hour_categories, clocked_hours, gift_card_purchases

CSV Files

The .csv file should only have one tab or sheet. The columns should have the field type in the first row (also called a header) which matches the allowed fields from the full list of field options from above. This must EXACTLY match the field, so, for example, location_id should be typed like that, not location id, Location ID, etc. 

Now that you have your files, you are ready to import+

Ingesting Data

To ingest any data from the resources listed above:

  1. Create a zip file with the data to ingest
  2. Login to the merchant account in MyTime with admin access
  3. In the top right corner, click on the account owner’s name to see the options > Ingest Data           ingest_data_1.png
  4. The page will be directed to the Processed Batches page > Click Upload File                                      ingest_data.png
  5. Choose the zip file that you have saved on your computer then click Openingest_data_2.png
    • You will not see the name of your file anywhere and your file is NOT importing until you click on the Import File button.  
  6. Go ahead and click the button to begin the import process  ingest_data_3.png
  7. Once the file has begun to ingest successfully, the file will appear below with a start date and time along with the status ingest_data_4.png

View the Ingested Data File

  1. This screen gives you a view of the import including:
    • Path - The file name
    • Status - The current status of the import. Possible options are pending, processing or processed.
    • Resource - What is being imported with this file
    • Total Records - Total number of rows that are to be processed
    • Imported Records - Number of rows processed so far
    • Errors - The number of rows that did not import because there were problems with the data on that row
    • Progress - Percentage of rows that have completed processing so far
    • View - Click to view more information about each row from the import fileingest_data_5.png
  2. If you click the View button for a file here, the page shows each row from the file that was imported and gives you more information about what happened with that specific row. 
    • External_id - Generally the first row on the CSV and would be the unique identifier within the file, such as location_id, employee_id and so on
    • Actions - Lists what actions were taken for the data for that specific item (error, updated, created, deleted, etc)
    • Last Modified - The date and time that the update from the file was made
    • View - Click to view more details about the changes made for that specific item
  3. Clicking the View button for a specific item opens a modal that gives you details about the data that MyTime received and what MyTime did with that data.
    • ID - The MyTime unique identifier ID for the imported item. This cannot be found anywhere in the merchant’s data file and is only found in MyTime.
    • External ID - The merchant’s unique identifier from the file. Generally, the first row on the CSV would be the unique identifier within the file, such as location_id, employee_id, and so on.
    • Actions - Lists what actions were taken for the data for that specific item (error, updated, created, deleted, etc)
    • Last Modified - The date and time that the update from the file was made
    • Errors - List any errors from that specific row that may have prevented the data from being imported. For a list of common errors and solutions, see the Error Handling section below.
    • Row Data - All of the data that we received from that specific row.

Note - The data shown here is in JSON format. It gives you the field name followed by the data that we imported but in condensed form. If you have trouble reading data in this format, there are many free JSON formatters online that will convert the data for you. Simply copy the data from the modal like the data above and paste it into the formatter for easy reading.

That’s it! Pat yourself on the back for a job well done!

 

For more information contact us at support@mytime.com.

 

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