BuddyCRM provides the ability to pull data from an external CSV file into the Trading Profile of an account. This can enrich your single view of the customer by pulling data in from external systems and sources, to provide insights on the customers trading performance and more. In this guide we will talk about how to set this up.
Some suggested uses of CSV Lookup fields
- Indicating if a customer is on stop, or when from
- Pulling through credit limits
- Pulling through credit status
- Pulling any ongoing trading information that could change regularly where real-world updates are crucial
Creating the field
In BuddyCRM, browse to Admin then select ‘Data Management > Custom Fields’.
- Select ‘Trading Profile’ as the type, as CSV Lookup fields are used in the Trading Profile.
- In ‘Select Group’, you will need to decide if you want the new field to be applicable to Leads, Accounts, or Leads and Accounts.
- Select ‘CSV Lookup’ in the Data Type.
- Select the CSV Field Data Type, from Text, Numeric or Date
- Set your Field Priority, e.g where in the screen field order this new field will appear
- You can set your usual Title, ‘is Mandatory’, or ‘is Admin Only’ options at this stage if you require
- Enter the exact name of the CSV file into ‘CSV File Name’, as well as the column number from within the Excel document in ‘CSV Column Number’.
- Select ‘add new column’ when you are done to add the new field into your BuddyCRM system.
Getting the file into BuddyCRM
The CSV file or files that power the data for these fields need to be uploaded to a secure FTP location in the BuddyCRM environment in order for the system to read the contents.
If you first reach out to the BuddyCRM customer success team at support@buddycrm.com, they can provide you with the secure location and credentials to use for your subscription.
Whoever looks after your internal business IT should be able to configure a regular upload to our secure FTP server, at an interval that is most relevant to your business. For some lookup fields, a daily update to the FTP server may be sufficient, whereas for information that requires real-time, every 5 minutes may be required. Liaise within the business and instruct your IT on the best path forwards.
Remember to ensure that the exact file naming is respected to match the setup of the field within BuddyCRM.
The information will display just like a normal field, see the below example for ‘Payment Terms’ from an accountancy package:
If you need any guidance in setting up CSV Lookup fields, please get in touch with the BuddyCRM customer success team who will be delighted to help on support@buddycrm.com.