How to Import Your Data Into Our System
Transferring data from one system to another
involves three steps: exporting, clean up, and importing. Exporting is the
process of getting the data OUT of the original system into a portable
format. Clean up refers to getting the data ready to be brought into the
new system. Importing is the process of copying the data into the new
system. There are three ways to transfer your data from your system into
MyChurchData.com:
If you have just a few dozen records, this is the most cost-effective method.
There
is an added advantage...You will quickly come up-to-speed with
MyChurchData.com!
We charge hourly rates to transfer data (1 hour minimum,click
here for rates). If you give us
your data in electronic form, we can transfer it into our system for
you. Most programs have the ability to export
their data into a standard data format (see the list at the bottom of
this
page).
- Mail your data to us on a CD
You may prefer to send us your data on a CD (no floppy disks,
please). The data should be in standard data format (see the list at the
bottom of this page). Mail your CD to the address shown on our
Contact Us page.
- Mail your data to us on paper
We charge hourly rates to manually enter your data from
paper copies (1 hour minimum, click
here for rates).
Once we receive the data from you we will contact you with an
estimated cost and completion date for transferring your data. Once you
approve the estimate and provide a valid credit card number will
begin transferring data. If the data is "clean," which
means do not need to do much hand editing, we can transfer
hundreds of records quickly. If the data is "dirty" and
requires a lot of manual labor to fix it, the cost will be
more. Many people ask what "dirty data" looks like. Here are
some examples:
| Condition |
Dirty Example |
Clean Example |
| First and last names
combined in same field |
Name: John Doe |
First Name:
John
Last Name: Doe |
| Phone numbers formatted
and in one field |
Phone: (800) 555-1212 |
Area Code: 800
Exchange: 555
Number: 1212 |
| Notes in phone
number |
Phone: 555-1212 Ask for
Jane |
Put note in phone
extension field |
| Initials in First Name
field |
First Name: John
D.
Last Name: Doe |
First Name:
John
Middle Name: D
Last Name: Doe |
| Improper standard data format |
John,Doe,... |
"John","Doe",... |
| Incomplete dates |
Jan 1
June |
Must be mm/dd/yyyy
form:
1/1/2003
6/1/1999 |
| Combined address fields |
123 Main, Anytown, IA |
Address: 123 Main
City: Anytown
State: IA |
What We Can Transfer
We can readily transfer normal contact information such as
names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. We can also transfer
donation information if it is linked in some way to the donor.
What We Cannot Transfer
We cannot transfer pictures, special
codes, emails, or calendars. If you have any specific things in mind, just
ask us when you send your data files and we will let you know before we begin
work.
Standard Data Formats
Exporting is the process of getting data out of your current
data management system into a "portable format." A portable format is one
that is readily understood and easily imported by many other software
programs. The portable formats we accept are:
-
Quote/Comma delimited ASCII text files (.txt)
-
XML
-
Comma separated value files (.csv)
-
Data interchange format file (.dif)
-
dBase file (.dbf)
-
Lotus 1-2-3 files (.wk?)
-
Microsoft Excel file (.xls)
-
Microsoft Word file (.doc)
-
Microsoft Access file (.mdb)
-
Microsoft Works 2.0 file (.wks)
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