Bill Export Detail and Process

Billing data can be exported from the EnergyCAP^® database to a user-selected file type. The following file formats are supported:

.txt (text file—default format)
.dat (text file)
.csv (comma-separated value file in ASCII format)
.prn (contains a sequence of raw bytes that are understood by the printer hardware)

The bill export procedure involves defining and/or selecting an export Profile which specifies precisely what data will be exported and the format of the file. The bill export Profile includes a topmost Cost Center filter, as well as options for selecting which accounts and/or billing dates will be included in the export. The exported file can then be imported to the client A/P system, manipulated in a spreadsheet program for energy analysis, and/or used for reporting or other purposes. For most EnergyCAP clients, the export process is defined and all details finalized during software implementation.

There are two export streams in EnergyCAP; these export options offer additional flexibility for integration into an organization’s accounting structure:

A/P (often used for bill payment for accounts which receive bills)
G/L (often used for internal invoicing from accounts which calculate and issue bills based on submeter data)

There are also two ways to initiate bill export:

Using the Bill Export window/wizard
Running the bill export external task (EXPTSK.EXE) found in the EnergyCAP program directory

The advantage of the export task is that it can be run independently of the EnergyCAP program, even as a ‘scheduled task’ in Windows^®, using a previously-defined export profile. For more information about this procedure, see the topic on External Tasks.

The advantage of using the Bill Export window/wizard is that the bill export profile can be defined and/or modified. Follow the procedure below to define an export profile and export billing data from the EnergyCAP program.

Open EnergyCAP and navigate to the Account Manager or Work Flow Manager.
Click File>Export.

The Export As: window will open.
Click the Save in: drop-down arrow and browse to highlight/select the desired location for the export file on your hard drive or network.
Click the File name: field and input the desired file name for the export file, including the desired three-letter file type extension (txt, dat, csv, prn). NOTE: If no file type is specified, the export will default to a .txt format file.
Click Save. The Bill Export window will open.
If the desired export profile has previously been defined, click the Use an existing profile radio button and select the profile from the drop-down list. Then proceed to step 8.
NOTE: Defined profiles reside in the billexp.ini file. The default location for this file is C:\Documents and Settings\[User]\Local Settings\Application Data\EnergyCAP Enterprise\.
(where [user] is the Windows^® ID for the user)
If it is necessary to create a new export profile, click the Create a new profile radio button. Then input the Profile Name in the field provided.
Click Next. The Export Selection Filters window will open.
Click to select/highlight the desired Topmost Cost Center in your organization from which bill information will be exported. The Topmost Cost Center tree duplicates your Account Manager organizational hierarchy.

If necessary, expand the hierarchy by clicking the ‘plus’ icon to the left of the Cost Center.
NOTE: Bill export options may be limited by individual User Permissions.
Click the radio button corresponding to the desired Bill Creation Method:

All Bills will export all unfiltered bills associated with the Cost Center.
Vendor Bills will export only bills from accounts that receive bills (see Account Properties/Billing tab).
Customer Bills will export only bills from accounts that create bills (see Account Properties/Billing tab).

Click Next. The Bill Export-Delimiter and Output window will open.
Choose the desired delimiter (the character separating each piece of exported billing data from the next in each record in the exported bill file). Comma or tab-delimited files are most common.
Click the radio button corresponding to the desired Output type:

a. Select Automatic output if the export parameters will be defined only by the presence or absence of export flags associated with the bill records.
Select Manual output to add additional export filters, including specific accounts and bill start/end dates.

If using bill tracking options, click the Mark bill as “Exported” check box. When the bill is exported, this option sets an Exported flag (corresponding to export mode A/P or G/L) in the EnergyCAP database Bill table for the record associated with the bill, preventing the bill from being exported again in the future. This check box should ordinarily be checked.
NOTE: Manual output includes an override option: Ignore “Exported” flag.
If the Ignore restrictions checkbox is unchecked, Work Flow Wizard export restrictions will be honored in the bill export process. If checked, the exporter will ignore Work Flow restrictions, generally resulting in export of a larger number of bills. the default (unchecked) setting is recommended.
Select the desired Export mode, A/P or G/L. Each bill record in EnergyCAP has an APExported flag and a GLExported flag. The Export mode determines which field will be flagged during the export process:

Select A/P if exporting to A/P.
Select G/L if exporting to G/L.
NOTE: in Work Flow Manager are two Waiting for Export folders – one listing G/L bills and the other listing A/P bills. After each bill is created, approved, and the batch is closed, it appears in BOTH Waiting for GL Export and Waiting for AP Export since both the export flags are set to ‘0’. Then when an export is run, depending on the choice in the profile (A/P or G/L), the flag corresponding to the export mode is set to ‘1’ and the bill disappears from the corresponding folder.

Manual ouput options should only be used in consultation with an EnergyCAP support technician. If using the Manual output options, set these additional filter options:

Accounts: To limit the export to a specific account or accounts, click the Plus button to add specific account filters to the export. The Advanced Search window will open, enabling input of account search options. Once accounts appear in the Results: pane, accounts to be exported can be selected/highlighted using the Ctrl-click and Shift-click keyboard-mouse combinations. Click the Select button to close the Search window and populate the Accounts pane with the selected accounts. Repeat the process as many times as necessary until all desired accounts have been included in the export.
Start/End date: To limit the export to a specific timeframe, click the Start date: and End date: drop downs and use the calendar interface to select each desired date.

Click Next. The Bill Export-Line Selection window will open.
Click the checkboxes associated with the additional information desired for export. Then click Next. A series of windows corresponding to your previous selection(s) will open, one after the other.

In each window, the Available pane (left) displays available data for export. Click the arrow keys to move desired Available data to the Selected pane. The double-arrow button moves all data. The single-arrow button moves only the highlighted item. When desired data has been relocated to the Selected pane, click Next. Repeat this step until the Finished window appears.
When the Finished window appears, click Finish to initiate the bill export. Bill data will be exported to the file and file location specified, and the Log window will open, displaying export information.
NOTE: Depending on the number of bills and the amount of data required, and the selected export file format, the export process may take some time.
Click Close to close the Log window.

The bill export process is complete.

Bill Export Detail and Process

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