Blender: Overview

Version 20190312

OVERVIEW OF DATA IMPORT PROCESS

Our current data import platform is called Blender and is managed by the Engagement team within IT. Any team which is responsible for correcting data will receive full training (delivered by CIS Support Team) and be provided with links to the Blender portal.

The loading process for data files received from our suppliers is as follows:

A supplier will provide data files to Diabetes UK using the secure SFTP site. The data should be sent in accordance with our import specifications document
Blender will select this file and attempt to load the data in to our CIS database
To access Blender you will need to be set up as a user, you can contact the IT team through Redmine to request this. To access Blender go to http://sl1dukmappv02/ When you login to Blender, click ‘Execute’ to see the status of your jobs, as below:

Here you will be able to see the status of your jobs as follows.

The format of the job status message is (overall status) / (most recent status)

For example, if the most recent status was complete, but the overall status was stopped it shows

Stopped / Completed.

This is explained further below:

Completed: This means that the load has completed and no action is required by you:

Stopped/Completed: The overall status of the job is stopped, meaning there are loads in the job with the status of stopped which may need your attention but the latest load has the status of completed:

Stopped/Stopped: The overall status of the job is stopped, meaning there are loads in the job with the status of stopped which may need your attention and the latest load also has the status of stopped and needs your attention to correct errors:

Click ‘Results’ then you will be able to see the results of your recent data load:

The status of each load can be viewed by accessing the ‘Results’ menu within Blender:

Green - All data successfully loaded
Amber - Some data missing/to be reviewed. This is usually non – financial information and should be ignored as part of this process
Red – Errors recorded and require manual fixing (either through Blender or the CIS database)

MOSAIC FULFILMENT SOLUTIONS

This exception handling guide has been developed to provide step by step instructions to those members of staff who are responsible for correcting data load errors stored within Blender (Data import platform).

Mosaic FS send a number of data files to Diabetes UK on a daily basis. The two files which will generate exceptions and should be monitored closely by Supporter Care are as follows:

MO_Membership_Payments_2017/XX/XX – File contains donations (excluding Membership)
MO_Membership_Contacts_2017/XX/XX – File contains contact data and Membership transactions

Supporter Care (TBC) will be responsible for reviewing the loads which are marked ‘Failed’.

Select ‘Results’ then identify the files marked with a Red status

All errors recorded for each load can be viewed by selecting on the number within the ‘Errored’ table. The error will detail the reason why the load has failed.

Alternatively you can download these to an Excel spreadsheet by returning to the ‘Results’ page, selecting the relevant file then clicking on the Download icon

Three files will appear on your screen:

Select the file called ‘errored’ – this data will contain all the relevant information you need to process the transaction. If you are unclear what any of these error messages mean please speak to Paul Partridge, CIS Product Manager or Nelia Townsend, Senior Systems Analyst.

Please note: Exceptions received from Mosaic FS can be fixed in two ways:

How to fix exceptions within Blender (minor changes to data) – see Page 6
How to fix exceptions using the CIS database (all financial transactions) – see Page 9

HOW TO FIX EXCEPTIONS WITHIN BLENDER

There are some exceptions which can be fixed in Blender and do not require any amendments to a supporter’s record within the CIS database.

DUPLICATE DATA

Here is where Blender matches the data in the dataset with what is in CIS. Blender will match your data with CIS data using a number of fields e.g. contact information, transaction details etc. Most of the time Blender will be able to find the contact in the database or create a new contact if it doesn’t exist. Sometimes Blender is unsure what contact to load data against e.g. if there are duplicates in CIS. This is where you will need to tell Blender the correct contact in CIS to load the data against.

Under the ‘Matches’ section here are various headers:

Ambiguous = More than 1 possible match in CIS already. See below on fixing these errors.
Skipped = Contacts that the load has skipped
Unmatched = Contact not on CIS and new record has been created
Matched = Contact on CIS and has been matched and data has successfully been loaded against a contact in CIS

FIXING ‘AMBIGIOUS’ ERRORS

Errors are highlighted in blue. Below you will be able to see an example of what errors look like, here we can see there is one ambiguous contact record and 5 ambiguous organisation records.

Click on the blue highlighted number under ambiguous button to review the data. On the left hand side of the screen will be the data that is in the data file trying to be loaded into CIS and on the right are the records that already exist in CIS but which Blender is unsure to load against.

Choose the contact you believe to be the correct one. Scroll along and ensure that the data matches the data on the left. Once this has been established, go for the earliest record or the one that is a member. If you think these are duplicates then raise a Redmine ticket for IT to merge them.

Records that already exist in CIS but which Blender is unsure to load against.

Keep amending and working through the records and click save and then return. The load number will now be in Blue, this means data has been changed but the load has not been attempted. Click the refresh button and the load will try again.

A few examples of error messages are included below for your reference:

Supplied surname doesn't match CIS value OR a suspect name has been supplied. Ignore error if supplied data is correct
1. ACTION: Check the supporters contact details on CIS – if it is the same data you can ignore the error by selecting then clicking on ‘Save’. If the records do not match please seek advice from Paul Partridge, CIS Product Manager.

Incorrect Source code provided
1. ACTION: Locate the record on CIS and view the Mailing History tab to obtain the correct source code. Add this within the relevant field on Blender and click on ‘Save’

Paying In Slip Number: field must not be blank
1. ACTION: Contact Paul Partridge or Nelia Townsend, Senior Systems Analyst, for support. We will contact the supplier and ask them to provide this information. Load can then be refreshed by Engagement team.

Overlapping Gift Aid Declaration (GAD)
1. ACTION: You need to consider what open GAD we have on CIS and the start date of the incoming GAD.
2. If the incoming declaration has a start date going back four years (for example, 1/1/2013), you need to cancel the existing declaration on CIS with today’s date – you can do this by right-clicking on the declaration and selecting ‘cancel'. Next step is to amend the start date of the declaration - Start date=end date of previous declaration plus one.
3. Refresh the data; this will load the incoming declaration with amended date onto CIS.
4. Sometimes incoming declaration might have a ‘recent’ start date. You can end the declaration on CIS the day before the start date to accommodate the import.

For example: On CIS we have

This GAD is being imported

Cancel the current GAD on CIS with end date of 14/5/2017 and refresh the data load.

If you come across records that have multiple open declarations or other non-standard situations, please inform Gift Aid Manager by email, stating the name of the file. Such instances will include situations where CIS GAD has an end date amended by gad_validation.

(as this is likely to indicate that the current declaration is invalid and need to be cancelled before the new one is imported).

Please note: You will need to refresh the load if you make any changes/add data using Blender. This can be completed by selecting the following option

The file name will change colour to Grey which means that the load is in progress – see above (line 4). Once completed the system will detail if all fixes are complete or further action is required.

HOW TO FIX EXCEPTIONS USING THE CIS DATABASE

We are unable to fix all data issues within Blender so the following instructions will help you understand how these can resolved using the front-end of CIS.

The types of error messages which will be displayed in Blender include:

Incoming renewal is Not DD and existing Payment Plan is DD
1. ACTION: Contact supporter and enquire if Direct Debit should remain in place. If ‘YES’ then you will need to determine what the supporter would like us to do with the additional amount – process as a donation or request refund.

Incoming renewal DD bank account is different to existing Payment Plan DD Bank account
1. ACTION: Add new Bank Account details for Direct Debit using front-end of CIS

Incoming renewal is for different membership type than the existing Payment Plan
1. ACTION: Contact supporter to confirm which membership is required (Lay or Professional) and make necessary changes on CIS – Please remember to amend the GAD from membership to ‘donation only’ if moving to Prof Member

Existing Payplan is not due for renewal
1. ACTION: Process additional amount as a donation (DON-GIFTAID-DUK-OS) using process below

Once all errors have been resolved using the CIS Database, you will need to ‘Skip’ each exception that has been processed through the database. This can be completed by opening the error file and selecting the following option . You will need to provide a reason from the drop down menu then select ‘Skip’ followed by ‘Save’

Blender will record all ‘Skipped’ exceptions for auditing purposes. The status of the load will also change colour from Red to Amber.

PLEASE NOTE: All donations within these data files have been banked by Mosaic but will not show on CIS until they are fixed.

Exceptions MUST be completed on a daily basis as failure to do so will impact on financial reporting and a supporter journey (no fulfilment will be sent until record is fixed and is loaded in to the CIS database)

Once the errors have been adjusted in CIS and then ‘Skipped’, you will need to load the remaining financial transactions into CIS using the process below.

PROCESSING FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS

This process will involve creating a ‘dummy’ batch to enable the processing of transactions which have failed in the load process. Please follow these step by step instructions:

1. Batching – adding a manual entry to CIS record

Go to Applications (top menu) within CIS
Batch Finder/Editor
New
Bank A/c field = MOSD
Trans Type = P
Entries = 1

Batch Total = amount in £0.00
Batch Date = date of the transaction
Source = Source code within data
Paying in Slip # = paying-in slip number within data – If CC payment then you will need to type the date of the transaction backwards i.e. 20160918
Save

Second screen:

Payment method = cheque or cash *please note credit card is also entered as 'cash'
Contact number = drag and drop CIS contact
Amount = enter amount in £0.00
Source = source code
Acknowledgement = must ensure you enter 'NO_ACKNOW'
Next
Select : DONATION or PAY PLAN PAYMENT

Product code = enter relevant appeal product code. If the transaction is to renew a membership BUT the amount provided within the data is different to that on CIS you will need to use the code: MEMBER-SUPPCH-DUK-OS. This will create an additional line on the pay plan at which point you will be required to enter the difference in amounts.
Source
Amount
NEXT

Comments box(pop up) = enter details of the manual entry you are making ( e.g. for membership additional payment : MOSAIC MANUAL INPUT – RENEWAL EXCEPTION
FINISH
CLOSE (closes the batch)

Once you have finished this process, check the financial/unprocessed tab on the supporter record to ensure the payment you entered is now showing.

IRAISER (REGULAR GIFTS)

Over the past 12 months we have seen an increase in customers who wish to create a number of direct debits (online) for small amounts (usually £1.00) using the same bank account details. By creating multiple direct debits to Diabetes UK these customers are able to obtain additional account benefits from their bank.

Unfortunately our Blender data load platform is unable to process these donations so we have configured our systems to exception these donations. The Supporter Care team will be required to process these using the front-end of CIS.

This procedure manual has been developed to provide step by step instructions on processing these donations, including the relevant codes to be used.

IDENTIFYING THE ISSUE IN BLENDER

The following error code will appear within Blender:

Step 1

Access the raw data by selecting the download option

Three files will appear on your screen:

Select the file called ‘errored’ – this data will contain all the relevant information you need to process the transaction. If you are unclear what any of these error messages mean please speak to Paul Partridge, CIS Product Manager or Nelia Townsend, Senior Systems Analyst.

Step 2

Locate the contact record on CIS and access the Trader Application called ‘CO – Direct Debit’

The next step is to create the multiple direct debits using the data within the ‘errored’ file. You will need to use the following codes when processing these individual transactions:

Source code: 0XURGXO00

Product Code: DON-REGGIV-DUK-OS

Please note the following rules must be followed to ensure compliance:

We are required by law to provide our customers with sufficient notice to amend/cancel a Direct Debit before the first payment is taken. This information is sent within an ANL (Advanced Notification Letter).

The Advanced Notification Letter (ANL) must be sent to our customers when: they sign up to a Direct Debit; if changes are made to the amount; or if changes are made to the due date. The ANL needs to be sent out at least 14 working days in advance of the customer’s account being debited.

If the first payment is due to be taken within 14 working days then you will need to amend the start date for the gift. You should select the next payment date as the start date. This can be actioned by amending the start date when creating the gift – see below:

Step 3

The next stage within the process is to produce the ANL and send this to the customer. Please note that you will need to manually create a letter for each Direct Debit and ensure you add the following information:

Account Name
Branch Sort Code
Your Account Number
Direct Debit Reference
Amount
Frequency Amount
First Payment date and payment frequency

The letter can be produced by selecting the following document within CIS:

Letter code: SRRGANL

Description: SR RG - ANL