EXCEL TO ACL CLEANUP GUIDE FOR ACL V.

Overview

Excel files can be read directly into ACL. This guide covers:

1. Steps for preparing an Excel file for ACL import

2. Steps in ACL to import a prepared Excel file

This guide will help you to:

 Determine whether the Excel file you have is a candidate for direct import into ACL, or
whether you will need assistance from an ACL data conversion specialist.
 Understand general considerations such as tying-out totals before embarking on an ACL
conversion. And, how to address Excel workbooks which contain a single data file which
spans multiple tabs.
 Perform six basic steps to prepare an Excel file for ACL conversion.
 Import an Excel file using ACL, ensuring columns are the correct width, and data type.
For example, description columns are not truncated, date fields are formatted as dates,
numeric fields are numbers and have the correct number of decimals, and all other fields
are text.
 After data conversion, verify totals match your expectations.

Is Your Excel File a Candidate for Direct Import to ACL? Or, Will a Specialist
be Required?

Almost any system exports or creates Excel files. Just because the data is in the form of an
Excel file doesn’t mean you’ll have an easy time importing it to ACL. This “do-it-yourself”
guide pertains to relatively straightforward or clean Excel files which can easily be prepared
for ACL. In fact, if an Excel cleanup is taking more than 10-20 minutes, something may be
wrong, and a specialist may be required.

Characteristics of relatively clean Excel files include:

 Data falls neatly into columns, looks uniform and not unnaturally split into multiple
columns

 No requirement to repeatedly copy/paste information

 You’re able to recalculate totals

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Characteristics of Excel files which may require an ACL data conversion specialist
include:

 The layout looks exactly like a report, complete with report headers, page numbers,
spacing issues, totals, and subtotals.

 Headings include required information: For example, headings include a customer

number, name and address, and that info needs to be repeated alongside the invoices
which lie below. (Massive copy/paste operation at hand.)

 All data is contained within column “A”

 A text report was imported into Excel and parsed into columns. Data which you
would expect to fit into one column are split into two or more. Amounts are text on
some rows, numeric in others.

 Your Excel Workbook actually has 12 tabs containing monthly data. The sum of the
rows for the 12 tabs combined exceeds 1,048,576.

 You are unable to recalculate totals

Where to access an ACL data conversion specialist.

Specialists who assist with file conversions can be located using the EDA Workcenter
(workcenters.deloitte.com), and clicking the following link:

General Considerations – Know before you go!

Before starting the conversion, verify that the totals at the bottom of the spreadsheet agree to
the account balance you are testing, or to some other expected amount. You should attempt
to recalculate totals within Excel.

If you have a workbook with a single data file spanning multiple tabs, such as monthly data,
and your desire is to combine the data into one ACL table, and the sum of the rows from all
tabs is less than 1,048,576, copy and paste all of the data into one Excel spreadsheet. Ensure
before copying and pasting, that each tab has the same respective columns. Recalculate
totals to ensure the total at the bottom of the combined spreadsheet agrees to the sum of the

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totals of each tab being combined, and to the account balance being tested or other expected
amount.

Excel to ACL Conversion – Summary Overview

The following table provides a brief overview of the necessary steps to prepare an Excel file
for ACL data conversion, and the steps in ACL to import the prepared Excel file.

Excel Cleanup Steps ACL Import Steps

1. Establish column names in Row 1 7. Create a new ACL project or access

2. Ensure data begins in Row 2
3. Eliminate non-data items, such as
blank rows, columns, page-breaks,
headings/titles, subtotals, totals, etc.
4. Format numbers 0.00/-0.00 and dates
MM/DD/YY
5. Highlight the data, including column
names, and name the highlighted
range giving it a range-name
an existing one
8. Access the Data Definition Wizard
and locate the “cleaned” Excel file
9. Select the named range and tell ACL
how to detect column widths and data
types
10. Preview the converted data and if
necessary, make final fieldname, data
type, decimal place and date format
changes.

6. Save the Excel file 11. Finish the conversion

Excel to ACL Conversion – Step-By-Step Instructions

Excel File Cleanup Steps

Step 1 — Establish Column Names (Fieldnames) in Row-1

Row-1 in Excel will become the fieldnames in ACL. Make Row-1 in Excel the fieldnames
that will be used as ACL’s fieldnames. The following are ACL’s rules for fieldnames:

 The first character in the name must be alpha (A-Z)

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  The rest of the fieldname can contain 0-9, A-Z or an underscore ( _ )

 No spaces or special characters like %, &, ©, $, or # are allowed.

Try to make fieldnames mnemonic. Mnemonic means “as short as possible yet
recognizable”. Examples include DOCNO, CUSTNO, DESC, INV_DATE, AMOUNT, ACCT, and
PART_NO. There is also an opportunity, later in Step 10, on the ACL-side of the conversion
to modify field names.

Step 2 — Ensure the first row of data appears in row 2, immediately after the row
containing fieldnames.

Make row 2 the first row of data. After the column headings described in Step 1, delete any
extraneous rows beneath row 1, so row 2 contains the first row of actual data.

Step 3 — Eliminate non-data items, such as blank rows, columns, page-breaks,

headings/titles, subtotals, totals, etc.

Your goal is to make your Excel file look exactly like an ACL table… In ACL, Fieldnames
are at the top and a contiguous block of data lies immediately beneath them. The steps to
take in Excel include deleting blank rows/columns, extra headings/titles, rows with subtotals
or totals, rows containing dashed lines, and any other non-data items.

HELPFUL TRICK- Sort your data on a column which has an expected content (range of values),
and doesn’t contain blanks on rows that you wish to retain.

Example problem: Your Excel file has Accounts Receivable invoice detail and contains
subtotals, totals, dashed lines, and page breaks with headings on every 50th row. The Excel
file has 800,000 rows. Column “C” is a Customer Number. The Customer Number ranges
from 000000 to 999999 and every row which is an invoice has a customer number in Column
“C”. Importantly, there is nothing other than a Customer Number in Column “C” having
values between 0 and 9. Solution: The file is basically laid out like a printed report and if
you sort the data by Column “C”, all of the rows with Customer Numbers 000000-999999
will be grouped together in one large contiguous block of data. From this point, it is easy to
scroll to the bottom, after the last 999999 and delete all of the unwanted debris (blank rows,
dashed lines, headings, totals, etc.). In summary, knowing that every invoice had a customer
number in Column “C” presented an opportunity to efficiently clean the file. It is a best
practice, after a large scale sort and delete operation, to total a key amount to ensure it agrees
with an expected figure such as the account balance being tested.

Step 4 — Ensure that the data is formatted properly to be recognized by ACL.

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Numbers: Format columns containing numbers using the 0.00 format. (Format cells /
Number / -1234.10) Make sure you specify decimal places. It is better not to have values
showing 30.3 instead of 30.30, or 12 instead of 12.00.

Dates: Format dates using the MM/DD/YY format. (Format cells / Date / 03/14/01) For
example, March 31, 2012, should look like 03/31/12. Note the leading zero.

Step 5 — Highlight from cell A1 to the lower right cell of your data, enter a range
name.

Naming a range of highlighted cells may be a new concept however it is very important.
Oftentimes, the data that you wish to convert is a subset of a larger and possibly complex
Excel workbook. The workbook may contain extraneous tabs, and possibly even extraneous
data on the spreadsheet you are converting. This step allows you to specifically select and
name the data-range for ACL conversion. ACL will recognize the data “range-name” and
will read-in the specified data; no more, no less. If you don’t take this approach, you run the
risk of ACL including unwanted rows and columns in the converted table.

The screen below illustrates the necessary steps.

Step 6 — Save your spreadsheet, close the Excel file.

ACL imports from a saved spreadsheet on disk, not from the clipboard. The last step is to
save your spreadsheet into the folder where you plan to house your ACL project and related
files. Close the Excel file. Your Excel file is now ready to be imported as an ACL table
within an ACL project.

ACL Import Steps

Step 7 - Create a new ACL project or access an existing one

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An ACL project is a small file in which ACL stores Table Layouts, Views and Scripts.
Using common terminology, ACL Projects point to your data files, indicates what the
columns are, and manages how the data is displayed on your screen. In Windows explorer,
you’ll notice ACL Projects have the *.ACL extension. An ACL Project is NOT your data
file. You should typically designate a folder under “Documents” in Windows Explorer
which would include the ACL project and all related data files. If the ACL project and all
related files are under one folder, it is easier to share this data with others.

To create an ACL project: Open ACL and select File / New / Project. Point to the folder you
have designated (where the cleansed Excel file resides) and enter a project name. Click
[Save] and the project will be created. Warning: If you create a new project with the name
of an existing one, the existing one will be obliterated.

To open an existing ACL project: Open ACL and select File / Open project… Point to the
folder you have designated (where the existing ACL project and cleansed Excel file resides)
and double-click an existing project name.

Step 8 — Access the Data Definition Wizard and locate the “cleaned” Excel file

To access the Data Definition Wizard…

If you just created an ACL project: The Data Definition Wizard will automatically launch.

If you have opened an existing ACL project: Select File / New / Table…

To locate the cleansed Excel file…

Within the “Select Data Source” screen, here should be a black-dot next to “Disk”, click
[Next >]

Point to your cleansed Excel file and select [Open]

The Data Definition Wizard should correctly identify the spreadsheet as an Excel file. Click
[Next >]

Step 9 — Select the named range and tell ACL how to detect column widths and data
types

Follow the steps displayed in the screen below. As noted in Step 3 in the screen below, use
the entire spreadsheet to determine the field (column) widths and data types. Do not use the
“First 100 records” option. This can result in data being truncated. Example: Your file has a
column containing customer names. In the first 100 rows, the longest name encountered was
17 characters in length. In the entire file, the longest name encountered is 50 characters.

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Using the “First 100 Rows” option will result in the column being truncated to 17 characters
wide and the 33 rightmost characters will be lost.

Step 10 — Preview the converted data and if necessary, make final fieldname, data
type, decimal place and date format changes

ACL will analyze your spreadsheet and then display a preview screen. This will be your
final opportunity to make edits to fieldnames, data types, date formats, number of decimals
and column widths.

Important note: Depending on the size of the Excel file you are trying to import into ACL,
the following process may take anywhere from several seconds to 10-15 minutes. Your ACL
screen will appear to be “frozen” while in fact it will be analyzing data. You are strongly
encouraged to wait this time out (and possibly focus on another task which doesn’t require
you to use your laptop) until the following screen appears.

The following “Preview Data” screen will appear:

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The following are key considerations when reviewing and making edits in the “Preview
Data” screen:

Field (column) names: If during Step 1 of the Excel file cleanup, you created a bad ACL
fieldname, you can fix it at this point. For example, the fieldname Cust # would appear as
Cust__ as ACL cannot accept the space and # symbol and replaces them with underscores.
As you click on each column, ensure you have appropriate ACL fieldnames.

“Type” refers to numeric, text or date designation or status. It is important that dates and
numeric fields are formatted as such. For example, an invoice date must be formatted as a
date otherwise ACL’s Aging Command will not recognize it. Numeric fields must be
formatted with a numeric data type. Examples of numeric fields include amounts, interest
rates, unit costs, quantity on hand, debit/credit, etc. If a field is not a date, and not a number
that you could perform mathematical operations on, then it must be formatted as text, even if
the column only contains numbers 0-9. For example, a Region field with values 001-004, or
Account numbers ranging from 10000-79999, or Customer numbers ranging from 00000001-
99999999 are not numeric fields that you would perform mathematical operations on. If

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ACL suggests these are numeric, you should change them to Text. As you click on each
column, ensure each field has an appropriate data type.

Date format and decimal places: By formatting dates appropriately in Excel (See Step 4
above), ACL should properly assign the date data-type and reflect the correct date format.
The date format tells ACL how the date is structured so ACL can use the field as a date and
perform date-related functions like aging. As for numeric fields, make sure the assigned
number of decimal places is correct. As you click on each numeric and date column, make
sure the date is appropriately formatted and the number of decimals is correct.

Step 11 — Finish the conversion

After clicking [Next >] on ACL’s preview screen, you’ll be asked to enter a filename which
will become the name of your ACL table. It will have the extension *.fil when viewing your
folder in Windows Explorer.

After the conversion is complete, a screen will display the fieldnames and data types. This is
when you click [Finish]. Important note: This process could take from a few seconds to
10-15 minutes or more if the file is very large. Wait it out, the task will complete.

The last step is to accept the table layout name which will be the same as the data file’s
name. When ACL says, “Table ‘Untitled’ was changed, save as”, Click [OK].

The next screen is ACL’s main view displaying your converted data. Run Analyze /
Statistical / Statistics on an amount field in order to verify it agrees with an expected amount
such as the total that you had in Excel and the account balance being tested.

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