Where to start

The main reason to convert data is that you are presently using a none Syspro ERP manufacturing/accounts system. If you are using IMPACT Encore presently, SYSPRO™ provide automation programs to convert from one version to the next. This may take two (or three) steps depending on how early is the version you’re using. Please check HELP text for further notes and explanations.

The main and usually first hurdle is; how to extract data from your current system. This can be anything from very hard to quite easy (& in between)

Very hard

1. There are no ‘Extract’ routines/programs available
2. The reports available cannot be printed to a ‘diskfile’

Quite hard

1. There are ‘Extract’ programs, but they don’t export all the data you require
2. The reports available can print to a ‘diskfile’ but the format is multi-line and the data may be spread across multiple reports.

Quite easy

1. You can ‘Extract’ data to a spreadsheet
2. Any ‘datafiles’ can be read as ASCII, therefore imported into a spreadsheet

Much easier

1. Your current system is ODBC compliant (Open DataBase Connectivity)

The main aim here is to be able to present your data in a form that is readable by Syspro ERP or a utility that can present the data correctly to Microsoft SQL Server.

From the ‘very hard’; your only option will be to re-key all your data in from scratch. This may be directly into Syspro ERP or into a spreadsheet so that it can be checked and/or modified in batches. The spreadsheet option allows a SORT to be made against Stockcodes/Product classes/Supplier no./Customer no. etc.

The main advantage of keying data directly into Syspro ERP (which you will probably be doing after you’re live) is that the data is verified and any obvious omissions are prompted for. This won’t happen if you import data directly into MS SQL Server. There are exceptions, SYSPRO ERP has a few ‘Import’ routines which do a verification pass before the import proper. There are only a few of these, they are listed later.

From the ‘quite hard’; you can create a starting point within a spreadsheet and add further data that isn’t readily extracted. You may still have to filter the data ‘extracted’, unless regular maintenance has been performed on the previous system. Don’t forget you will have to supply headings for the spreadsheet. Please make sure there is one supplied for every single column and that the headings are unique.

If you can ‘print to disk’, this will allow you to obtain a computer readable form of the reports. You can then import this ‘ASCII’ or Text file directly into a spreadsheet. This will have an odd format at first. Macros will need to be written to remove page headings and possibly reformat the data. This method only really works if the data is presented uniformly, line by line.

If the report is complex, your next option is to invest in ‘Monarch’ software or an equivalent. This is a program that reads report formatted diskfiles and translates them into usable data. Monarch is programmed with a report layout method, digests the report presented and provides a database-like return of the data contained within. Monarch is also ODBC compliant and can be addressed directly from another ODBC compliant application, such as MSExcel or MSAccess. The only downside is that you will have to design and tests a series of formats for every report you want to access.

From the ‘quite easy’; you will be able to choose from a 100% of the data fields available and possibly even process them. If your current system has a report writer, your worries are over. It should allow you to print to a datafile or spreadsheet formatted file (CSV – Comma Separated Values)

A lot of manufacturing systems are written in COBOL and may adhere to the C-ISAM (indexed filing) method. Data is stored as ASCII data in records where the first part of the record is used as an index or key. IMPACT Encore C-ISAM uses this method and it’s (smaller) data files can be examined with a text editor. ON NO ACCOUNT SHOULD ANYTHING BE SAVED after using a text/word editor, as this could change the layout/formatting of the datafile, especially the index and corrupt it!

You will still need to discover the formatting of the data and supply headings when you import to a spreadsheet. Lastly: beware of numbers and especially negative numbers. In IMPACT Encore (MicroFocus/Merant COBOL) decimal places are implied and a negative number has the last digit replaced with a lowercase letter signifying a ‘set bit’ in the 7th position within an 8-bit character.

From ‘much easier’; IMPACT Encore is ODBC compliant, via a 3rd party software for the C-ISAM version (Transoft ODBC) and directly via a Data Source to MS SQLServer used by Syspro ERP. This connection, via ODBC, deals with data formatting such as date and numeric fields.

Module by module field guide – bare minimum data required, please refer to Syspr ERP Setup programs to decide if elements of your current data have a corresponding location in Syspro ERP, from this you will have to develop your own ‘mapping’. You may need to convert the same data more than once, as you test it.