Ecommunciations requires a plugin (a link to your accounting system) to run. Demands are saved as pdf files in line with accounting system naming conventions. The demand files are saved into the plugins export folder and are uploaded to Dwellant.
As described below, you will sometimes need to include an ‘End file’, this tells the plugin to stop exporting files to dwellant, creating a new batch. The ‘End Files’ is a .txt document following the same naming convention as the demand files.
Below outlines which files are needed for various situations:
One file upload with lease holder id (END file not required).
- One file upload with external unit id (END file not required).
- Multiple files with lease id (START file optional, END file Required).
End file not required:
- As soon as a file is dropped in the folder that matches one of the regex, a new batch will be created (if it doesn't exist) with status "New" and files will be uploaded to that batch. If the batch exists and was already published, an exception is thrown and the file is not uploaded.
- On the front end, a "New" batch will be shown as "In progress" for 10 minutes after the last file arrived to the batch. In that time, the batch cannot be published.
- If there is any error in any of the files uploaded (tenant, property or lease Id are not in dwellant or are not related to a unit user), then the batch is flagged as "Batch with errors!!", this allows the batch to be published anyway, but shows a warning to the user asking to confirm a batch with errors will be published.
- If the file had any errors, it will not be deleted from the data gateway, and a new file with the same name suffixed with "ERROR.txt" is created on the data gateway folder with the exception message.
End file required
- If START file arrives a batch is created in status "InProgress". If ten minutes pass and no other files arrive the batch is shown to the user as "Batch crashed!!" near the status.
- If the first file is not the START file, the process is the same, START file is really optional.
- If and END file does not arrive after 10 minutes of the last file received, the batch is shown to the user as "Batch Crashed!!".
- As son as an END file arrives, the status of the batch changes from "InProgress" to "New". On the front end the status will still show "In progress" for ten minutes after the last uploaded file.
- Whist a document is "In progress" the batch cannot be published.
- If a batch has crashed it can still be removed from the front end.
Below is a summary of how files are handled.
- Files are processed in the order they are dropped. If all files are dropped simultaneously they are processed randomly.
- If the data gateway was stopped for some reason, and all batch files were in the folder already, when the data gateway starts, it will pick the files randomly as well.
- The plugin can process the files in any order, and the start file is not mandatory. The important part is that the file names are either in the old format, or the new.
- The code never expected two different formats. But it will still process the files if they do arrive.
- If a mix of old and new formats is sent the status (possibility to show as crashed) will depend on the first file received. i.e, if the first file is in the old format it will behave as new batch (can't crash). If the first file is in the new format then it will wait for an end file (it could crash if end file doesn't arrive). If the first file is the end file, then it will only show the batch as crashed if no other documents arrive in the next 10 minutes.
- During the 10 minutes the process is waiting for the end file the batch will say "in progress".
- As soon as the end file arrives the batch is treated as new/complete. So it can't be crashed anymore unless it has no documents as pointed before.
- Any batch that appears as crashed is waiting for an end file.
Once your new batch has been uploaded to Dwellant, you can proceed to your online portal. Here will be able to view a sample from the batch, publish batches and download a report which shows the status of notifications and any errors that may have occurred.
eCommunications on the Dwellant Portal
You can find your newly created batch by navigating to Finance / Accounts / eCommunications Document Batches. You will need to be part of the Portfolio Accountant group to see this tab.