General Ledger Import Process (GLIM)

Owned by Jeremy Kramer
Last updated: Dec 22, 2014
3 min read

The General Ledger Import Process (GLIM) is a process to quickly import Journal Entries into Colleague using a template designed for use with the GLIM process.  This article is a general overview of how to create a file, upload and process it to import records into the General Ledger.  First, I'll discuss what's required from clients of the Business Office to perform this process and then I'll go into how the Business Office executes the process.

For Clients

To successfully aid the business office in streamlining journal entries into the general ledger, we’re asking that data be put into a spreadsheet with the following information.  Ideally, the data would be entered with this column order, but if something can be sent that is close, that is acceptable.  We’re happy to provide a template for use in capturing this data as well. 

Explanation of the columns

  • Source Code: this should always be JE
  • GL Account Number: the full account number is needed for processing transactions
  • Charge/Credit: either a charge or credit must be entered per line
  • Description: description of the transaction; must not be over 80 characters in length and may not include commas
  • Reference No: This should be the department where the charges initiated (each line must contain the same value)
  • Date: date of the transaction

 

We can work with delimited files, csv files or other types of files that can be easily imported into Excel.  

For the Business Office

Step-by-step guide

Depending on the format the data is received in, it must be converted to a comma delimited file (csv) to be able to be processed and imported using GLIM.  The easiest tool to do this in is Microsoft Excel.  The order of the columns is important for processing and thus need to be in the order shown below.

  1. Import or open (depending on how the data is received) the data into Excel and verify the data is setup like below.  Add/Remove columns as necessary, format the Debit and Credit fields to be two decimal places, remove commas in description if necessary, make sure the Reference No and Date columns include the same information.
  2. Once the data has been verified, it needs to be saved as a .csv file.
  3. The next step is to upload the file you just saved into Colleague.  This is accomplished using the FLUL screen.  The Target Directory will be GL.INTERFACES.  The Target File Name can be anything, however, to keep a clean environment, using the same file name over and over again is recommended.  MJE is currently being used for the recurring monthly journal entries.  When the screen asks if you would like to replace this file, click on Yes.  You'll then be prompted to Select File.  Browse to the file you saved and click on Open.  You should receive a message stating "File upload complete".  If it says "Upload cancelled", check to make sure you don't have the file open within Excel.  If so, close the Excel window and try again.
  4. Next, XGLI needs to be run to format the data and copy it to the GENERAL_IMPORT file.  The XGLI requires a Transaction Date (depending on requirements, it would typically be the last day of the month the transaction occurred in) and to choose a file name.  To choose the file name, click on the drop down arrow and choose the file, which in the case of this documentation would be MJE.  Click on Save All twice to process the file.
     
  5. Open GLIM and enter "GENERAL.IMPORT" when it asks for the GL Interface Def Lookup.  Choose "Report Only" for the Import Mode and enter "Y" for the OK to proceed box.  Set the Output Device to Hold (H) on the following two screens.  You'll first want to run GLIM in Report Only mode to verify the file you are processing is correct.  Once the process runs error free, choose "Update from Report" to import the data.  Inversely, you can choose "Immediate Update Mode" which will run the report process and if there are no errors, will immediately run the update process.  

    A successful report will look similar to the following:
     
    An error report will be similar to below:
     
  6. At this point, the data has been imported into Colleague and will post overnight.

 

Some tips and tricks for using GLIM:

  • Make sure all credits/debits are formatted with two decimal places (ie: 9.1 needs to be 9.10)
  • All commas need to be removed from the data. Commas are used to separate fields for processing and will cause import issues if they reside in the data.