The Data Exchange process lets successive imports overwrite previous imports when their data fields overlap. That makes it easy to, for example, change or correct the name and billing address on an account by simply importing a new Data Exchange file. But that same capability requires Account IDs, Location IDs, Service Point IDs and Meter IDs to behave differently from other data. Those four IDs cannot simply be overwritten when a new Data Exchange file is imported, because doing so would impact BEACON’s ability to associate incoming data with existing service configurations or to create new service configurations.
As a result, doing things like correcting typos or changing all of your Account IDs when you start working with a new billing vendor requires an ID Update data exchange file that tells BEACON you are replacing one ID with a new ID while preserving their service configurations.
To easily update or change Account and Asset IDs, create an ID Update data exchange file with the one or more of the following pairs of columns:
| Column Heading | What to put in the data field (row). |
| Account_ID | An existing Account ID that you want to change. |
| Account_ID_new | The new value for the previous Account_ID. |
| Location_ID | An existing Location ID that you want to change. |
| Location_ID_new | The new value for the previous Location_ID. |
| Meter_ID | An existing Meter ID that you want to change. |
| Meter_ID_new | The new value for the previous Meter_ID. |
| Service_Point_ID | An existing Service Point ID that you want to change. |
| Service_Point_ID_new | The new value for the previous Service_Point_ID. |
Note: You cannot use an existing ID as a new ID.
Update Service Point IDs
Service Point IDs are used to distinguish multiple service hook ups at a single location. As a result, Service Point IDs work in conjunction with Location IDs in a manner that prevents you from changing a Service Point ID without specifying the Location ID it is associated with. Therefore, to correct or change a Service Point ID, you must include two pairs of columns:
- The existing Location_ID and Location_ID_new, where the existing Location ID is duplicated in the Location_ID_new field
- The existing Service_Point ID and Service_Point_ID_new.
| Location_ID | Location_ID_new | Service_Point_ID | Service_Point_ID_new |
| 123456 | 123456 | 1 | 2 |
When you are finished creating an ID Update data exchange file:
- Save the ID Update file in CSV format.
- Login to beaconama.net by entering your user name and password.
- Click the Assets tab.
- Drag and drop the file onto the Drop Zone in the Import module.Each time you drop a file onto the Import module, the system scans the file for issues without importing records. This lets you to make updates and corrections before proceeding to import.To accept an import, click the Approve Import button. To stop an import, click the Cancel Import button. Click the Download File link to review the original source file. Click the Exceptions link to open in a new window or tab the Exceptions Report created during the import test run. The combined total of exceptions and warnings is shown next to the Exceptions link, letting you quickly see whether you need to open the report and correct any errors or proceed with the import.
- When the import process is complete, the number of records imported is displayed along with Download File and Exceptions links on a new line in the Activity List.
Alternately: ID Update data exchange files can be brought into BEACON using the BEACON Data Exchange Import API.
Tip: We recommend testing the ID Update function by importing an ID Update file that contains a single row of data before updating IDs en masse.
