Integration with Generic Practice Management Software

FYI provides an option to connect with Generic Practice Management Software. This allows Clients, Contacts, Users (that is, Staff) and Jobs to be uploaded and updated in FYI via previously defined .csv files. The .csv files are put in your practice's OneDrive, in the folder FYI - Practice Sync. The files are then picked up by FYI on a scheduled basis and used to synchronise your Clients, Contacts, Users and Jobs in FYI.

Not all data that is available can be imported using this method. FYI will be extending this and adding more over time, but certain fields (that are available from Xero Practice Manager) are not available using this sync.

Note: This tool is used to import data into FYI only. The Generic Practice Management process does not sync any data back to Xero Practice Manager.

If data is imported into FYI for Jobs, Clients or any other data that exists in Xero Practice Manager, the data may be overwritten by the overnight synchronisation back to the values stored in Xero Practice Manager.

File Format, Filenames and What to Send

For samples and information about the format and filenames of the .csv files used in the import, refer to Files for the integration with Generic Practice Management Software.

Important: Files must be saved in a CSV format. In Excel, this can be done via:

1. Select File > Save As
2. Change the File Name to match the required filename (as per above)
3. Set File Type to CSV UTF-8 (Comma Delimited) (*.csv)
4. Click Save

Step 1 - Select the OneDrive Admin Account to Use

The first step is to connect the OneDrive Admin Account to use. This is a one-off step and can only be done by an FYI Admin. This OneDrive Admin Account is used for all the common activities across the practice. Refer to Link your Practice's OneDrive Admin Account.

Step 2 - Enable the Practice Sync Process

1. Login to FYI as an FYI Admin.
2. Click the Automation menu option.
3. Go to the Apps tab.
4. In Practice Sync, click the cog icon to edit this process.
   
   
5. Set this to "On" to enable the generic Practice Sync.
   
   

Step 3 - Select your preferred Practice Sync Source (if required)

Typically this option will already be configured, however, if you need to select your Practice Sync source, this can be done from the Automation - Apps section.

1. In FYI, click the Automation menu option
2. Click the Apps tab
3. Locate the Practice Management Sync app tile and click the Settings cog icon
   
   
4. In the Practice Manager drop-down, select your preferred Practice Management solution
   
   
5. Click Save

Step 4 - Add the folder "FYI - Practice Sync" to the OneDrive

1. In a separate session/profile, login to OneDrive as the user you specified when linking the OneDrive Admin Account in FYI in Step 1 above.
   
   
2. In the OneDrive for this account, create a folder called FYI - Practice Sync.
   This folder needs to be at the top level within the OneDrive.

Step 5 - Add the .csv files to the "FYI - Practice Sync" folder

Arrange for your exported .csv files to go to the FYI - Practice Sync folder with the correct filenames. FYI will check the FYI - Practice Sync folder for files with a filename starting with "clients", "staff”, "jobs" or "contacts".

Files are Picked up by FYI, which then Updates your FYI Data

As long as the Practice Sync process is enabled:

• FYI picks up the .csv files in the FYI - Practice Sync folder.
  This would usually be every hour, but this will depend on the number of transfers that are occurring with the practice sync at the time.
• Your Clients, Contacts, Users and Jobs are uploaded or updated as relevant to FYI.
  Any duplicate or unchanged information is not updated in FYI.
• The .csv files are then removed from the FYI - Practice Sync folder.

Inactive or Archived Data

Currently, if you need to archive a Client, this cannot be done using this method of syncing data.  Also, the sync will not disconnect a Contact from a Client. If required, for information purposes, you can use the sync to update the Client or Contact name to indicate it is no longer active.

You can change the status of a User to "Inactive" directly in FYI (refer to Making a User Inactive in Managing Users).

You can change the Status of a Job to a "completed" Job Status (refer to the article Job States and to the section Working with Jobs).