Generic General Ledger Conversion Program

ASI has developed numerous General Ledger (GL) interfaces to work with popular third-party accounting software packages. See ASI Support for the list of supported interfaces and the support policy.

If you are integrating to an accounting package that is not included in the list of GL Interface types supported by iMIS, you can use the Generic GL Interface and the Visual Basic (VB) Conversion Template.

The Generic GL Interface creates a standard generic export file. The VB Conversion Template reads this file and reformats the data as you specify. The advantages of using the VB Conversion Template include:

  • You do not have to write a VB program to convert data; simply modify the template to meet your requirements.
  • After you modify the template to meet your requirements, you can run it within iMIS during month-end procedures. No additional interface is needed to do this.

To perform a GL export with the Generic GL Interface and VB Conversion template, you must have an iMIS FSI license and you must install Microsoft Visual Basic runtime. To obtain a license, please contact your Reseller or ASI.

To use the Generic GL Interface and the VB Conversion Template

The Generic GL Interface and the VB Conversion Template are used together to create an export file that is formatted to your specifications. To use these products:

  1. Create a generic export file with the Generic GL Interface.
  2. Modify the VB Conversion Template for your data requirements.
  3. Test the modified VB conversion program (outside iMIS).
  4. Run the VB conversion program in iMIS to modify the generic export file.
  5. Check the results.

To create a generic export file

  1. From AR/Cash, select Set up module, and click G/L Interface to open the AR/Cash General Ledger Interface window.
  2. Click Edit.
  3. From the GL interface type drop-down list, select Generic or Generic 2000. The Generic type uses a 2-digit year format. The Generic 2000 type uses a 4-digit year format.
  4. Select an option from the Summarize by drop-down list.
  5. Enter the Output file path/name of the export/import file to be used by the conversion program when the GL Interface runs.
  6. Click Save.
  7. To create the generic export file, select AR/Cash > Process month-end procedures, and click Create GL Journal. You should see one export file:
generic.txt  (standard generic layout)

The generic export file is generated, as in the following example:

"iMIS","8",1,04/03/2011,04032011,20110403,"1-1100",,"","000403-8","000403-8: DEMO Cash Receipt",150.00,150.00,0.00
"iMIS","8",2,04/03/2011,04032011,20110403,"1-4000",,"","000403-8","000403-8: DEMO-MEETING-BAMS/MAIN",-150.00,0.00,150.00

To modify the VB Conversion Template

  1. From the ASI main site, go to Support Portal > Support. Click Resources > iMIS Community > Resource Library.
  2. Click the GL Interface folder and select GenGL.zip.
  3. Click Download.
  4. Open the GenGL.zip folder.
  5. Select the desired project folder location, then click Unzip.

    6. Note: The password is ASI_GLUser and it is case sensitive.

  6. Double-click the GLIntConversion.vbp file to open it in Visual Basic 6.
  7. Make layout modifications to the ts.write line in the WriteOut() procedure.
  8. (Optional) Make other modifications to the VB Conversion Template if the GL package has other requirements. For example, some GL packages require an additional header record or limit the number of transactions per file.

To test the modified program outside of iMIS

To make sure the modified VB conversion program is correct, test it outside of iMIS.

  1. Run the standard Generic or Generic 2000 interface in iMIS to produce a test export file. Do not fill in the Conversion Program File Path/Name.
  2. Create a batch file:
  3. Open an editor, such as Notepad.
  4. Enter the command to call the VB Conversion Template executable file and include the path of your standard generic output file. For example:
    5. C:\glinterface\glintconversion.exe C:\glinterface\generic.txt
  5. Save the file with a .bat extension.
  6. Double-click the .bat file to run the program.
  7. If the program completes and the Visual Basic syntax is correct, a .bak file is created, for example: C:\glinterface\generic.bak
  8. Make sure the .bak file has a more recent date or timestamp than its corresponding generic export file.
  9. Compare the .bak file to the generic export file to make sure all records in the generic export file are also included in the .bak file.
  10. Import the .bak file into the GL package to make sure it works correctly.

To run the VB conversion program in iMIS

ASI recommends that you test on a demo database within iMIS and make a backup before beginning the conversion process.

Note: The VB conversion program runs after the generic export file is created; therefore, all transactions included in the generic export file are marked as posted and sent to GL in iMIS before the VB conversion program executes. If the program fails, restore from a backup or use the batch file created in the previous procedure to convert the file outside iMIS.

  1. Enter the conversion program file path in AR/Cash > Set up module > GL Interface > Output file path/name.
  2. To create the generic export file, select AR/Cash > Process month-end procedures, and click Create GL Journal. You should see two export files:
    • generic.txt  (standard generic layout)
    • generic.bak  (VB Conversion Template layout)

To check the conversion

Check the conversion to make sure iMIS finds the correct executable program and to verify that the correct records are being exported.

  1. Make sure the .bak file has a more recent date or timestamp than its corresponding generic export file.
  2. Compare the .bak file to the generic export file to make sure all records in the generic export file are also included in the .bak file.