Set Up simPRO Data Feed

Overview

simPRO Data Feed extracts data from emails and attached documents, including PDFs, CSVs, Excel spreadsheets, and text files, to automatically generate new workflows in your simPRO build and save time on manual entry. Learn more in About simPRO Data Feed.

A feed defines how this data is extracted and how a workflow, such as a lead, quote, job, supplier invoice, or task, populates in simPRO using that data.

To begin automating your simPRO workflows, you need to provide simPRO with the information they need to set up feeds.

To express interest in using simPRO Data Feed, contact your local simPRO admin team:

You then need to identify workflows you frequently create in simPRO using information received in an email and / or email attachment, and provide simPRO with the information they need to set up feeds using the following steps:

  1. Locate an example of an email you always use to create and populate a specific workflow in simPRO. This email and applicable attachments must:
    • Always present information in the same format
    • Always be used to generate the same type of workflow in simPRO, for example, a lead, quote, job, supplier invoice, or task.
  2. Highlight, outline, and / or annotate the information you use in the email and attachments to populate the relevant workflow in simPRO.
    • You can also specify the exact fields in simPRO this information populates, for example, text in a specific cell in a CSV or XLSX attachment is always entered in the Description field in a job. See Which fields are populated in simPRO? to learn which fields can be populated using data extracted in simPRO Data Feed.
  3. Provide additional information on:
  4. Provide simPRO with at least two more examples of this email.
    • This is so the rules simPRO defines in the feed can account for variations when extracting data. It is not necessary to annotate these emails.

You can repeat this information-gathering process for each feed to be set up by simPRO.

What the feed does

Provide simPRO with a brief summary of what the feed is to achieve with this email / document. For example, which workflow do you always create and populate using the email or attached document examples you have provided?

You also need to specify additional information such as:

  • Whether the email has an attachment and the attachment's file format, for example, TXT, PDF, CSV, XLSX
  • The date format always used in the email or attachment, for example, DD/MM/YY, YYYY-MM-DD, etc
  • Whether email notifications about the feed's status are required and which email address they should be sent to
  • The company the feed is to generate workflows in if you use a Multi-company build.
How the feed interacts with simPRO

Specify what the feed can and cannot do when it interacts with your simPRO build, for example:

  • If a record such as a customer, customer contact, site, or purchase order related to a supplier invoice does not exist in simPRO, do you require the feed to create it?
  • Do you use this attachment to create one workflow, or can you create multiple workflows of the same type from it? For example, the attachment may have a table with a different quote per line.

You can also set fields to always populate with specific values if they are not available in the email or attachment, including the:

  • Cost centre
  • Customer
  • Project manager
  • Technician
  • Salesperson
  • Initial quote status
  • Site.
Which emails the feed matches to

Specify the elements of the email that are always consistent, such as:

  • The email sender username or name
  • The email sender domain
  • The text contained in email subject line or in the email body.

This enables simPRO to match the feed with the emails and applicable attachments that contain all relevant information to generate the workflow. You can also specify email elements to be excluded, for example, a supplier invoice.

Click a workflow to view which fields of information in simPRO can be populated with data extracted in simPRO Data Feed.

The following fields of information can be populated in a simPRO lead using data extracted in simPRO Data Feed:

  • Customer
  • Customer contact
  • Site name
  • Site address, city, postal code, state, and country
  • Site contact
  • Description
  • Estimated price
  • Follow-up date
  • Notes
  • Project tags
  • Assigned project manager
  • Custom fields
  • Assigned salesperson.

The following fields of information can be populated in a simPRO quote using data extracted in simPRO Data Feed:

  • Customer
  • Customer contact name
  • Site name
  • Site address, city, postal code, state, and country
  • Description at the project overview level
  • Notes at the project overview level
  • Project tags
  • Cost centre description
  • Cost centre notes
  • Order number
  • Request number
  • Date issued
  • Date due
  • Validity days
  • Pre-builds added in the cost centre Parts & Labour tab
  • Forecast probability of sale percentage
  • Assigned project manager
  • Assigned technician
  • Assigned salesperson.

The following fields of information can be populated in a simPRO job using data extracted in simPRO Data Feed:

  • Customer
  • Customer contact name
  • Site name
  • Site address, city, postal code, state, and country
  • Description at the project overview level
  • Notes at the project overview level
  • Cost centre description
  • Cost centre notes
  • Order number
  • Request number
  • Project tags
  • Response time
  • Date issued
  • Date due
  • Pre-builds added in the cost centre Parts & Labour tab
  • Assigned project manager
  • Assigned technician
  • Assigned salesperson.

The following fields of information can be populated in a simPRO supplier invoice using data extracted in simPRO Data Feed:

  • Invoice number
  • Order number
  • Date issued
  • Items received
  • Notes.

The following fields of information can be populated in a simPRO task using data extracted in simPRO Data Feed:

  • Customer
  • Customer contact
  • Site name
  • Site address, city, postal code, state, and country
  • Assigned employee
  • Subject
  • Description
  • Notes
  • Whether the task is billable
  • Whether to show the task on the job card
  • Due date
  • Start date
  • Complete date
  • Custom fields
  • Project number.