Importing your data

Bring members, payments, expenses, collections, the rent register and the staff list in from a spreadsheet.

If you are already keeping records in a spreadsheet, you do not need to type everything in again. The Import & export section lets you import your existing records from a CSV file, which is simply a spreadsheet saved in the CSV format. This brings your history into InflowBooks in one go.

What you can import

The Import and export section can bring in six kinds of records. Each one expects slightly different information.

Members: Names, subscriptions and profile details. For mahallu masjids this can include houses and relationships: House is the house number, with House name, House address and Ward in their own columns. For members living away, Away country takes a country name or short form such as UAE or KSA, and Away place the city. Phone numbers are stored in one format whatever way they were typed. Include opening balances so any amount already owed starts out correct.
Payments: Historical receipts. Members must be imported first, because each payment attaches to an existing member. Importing payments adjusts each member’s balance.
Expenses: Past outgoings. Categories and vendors are created as needed while the file is read.
Collections: Past lump-sum donations. Sources are created as needed while the file is read.
Tenancies: Your rent register, one tenancy per row: the property, the room, the tenant, the rent, and the dues carried in (or the month paid up to) and the deposit held. Properties and rooms are added as needed. Rent is counted from this month unless the file gives another month. Shown only when Waqf properties is on.
Staff: Your staff list: name, post, monthly salary, and any salary still owed and advance not yet recovered from the old register. Salary is counted from this month unless the file gives another month. Shown only when Staff and salary is on.

app.inflowbooks.in/data

Import data

Upload CSV

Members

Names, subscriptions, balances

Payments

Historical receipts

Expenses

Past outgoings

Collections

Lump-sum donations

The Import and export section lists each kind of record you can bring in.

Importing a file

Open the Import & export section from the menu.
Choose what you want to import: Members, Payments, Expenses or Collections.
Prepare your spreadsheet and save it as a CSV file.
Upload the file and match the columns in your spreadsheet to the fields InflowBooks expects.
Review the preview and confirm. Your records are then added.

Filling in details for members already on the register

To add what was missing after a first import, such as houses, relations, dates of birth or occupations, import a file again and choose Update details when asked what to do with members already on the register. A member is recognised by their member number, or, in a mahallu, by the same name in the same house. A filled cell replaces what is stored and a blank cell changes nothing, so a sheet with only the columns you are filling in is enough. An existing subscription is never changed by an update; a member with none in the row's fund gets the subscription and previous outstanding from the file. A row naming someone as head of a house that already has a head is updated but not made head, and the result says so.

Choosing Skip leaves those members as they are, so importing the same file twice never adds anyone twice.

Exporting your data

The Import and export section also works the other way. You can export your records out of InflowBooks at any time. For a fuller picture, complete statements and registers can be produced from Reports as a PDF for printing and sharing, or as a CSV for your own spreadsheets.