There are many automations you can create with Transaction Pro using command line codes that don’t involve expensive programming or a hired developer. With just a few keystrokes, you can set up these automations usually in less than an hour if you have a clear goal.
Consider the basic command line code below. This simple script is used to accomplish a variety of automation functions within Transaction Pro. Once you complete your mapping and you have successfully imported a record, it’s easy to build a script for your first automation, such as:
The yellow section of the above script executes Transaction Pro.
The blue section defines the type of file, where the file is stored, and the format of the data. In the above example, we’re telling Transaction Pro that it’s a text file that is delimited by a tab.
The green section tells Transaction Pro that we plan to import a Sales Invoice into QuickBooks.
Numerous parameters can be added to accomplish more sophisticated tasks, including running Transaction Pro automatically in the background. (See this Knowledge Base article for a full list).
Command Line Scripts in Batch Files
If you add your command line scripts to batch files, you can take advantage of Windows Features and Tasks to create many practical applications, including:
- Change File Name Before Execution. If the import file has a different name each time it is generated, this keeps the file’s name consistent.
- Move Files. Move your import files into a location for importing or to use other batch commands.
- Download Files from FTP site. Some software vendors send automated downloads to an FTP folder every day. Create a retrieval of the file with the command line.
- Scheduled Imports/Exports. If import files are being generated by one of your current systems automatically, use the Windows Scheduled Tasks to automatically run the batch scripts, which will automatically import the file.
- Imports Based on Triggers. Trigger an event that will automatically launch your command line script and import your file.
- Launching Excel VBA Macros Automatically. If you are good with Excel macros, write the command line to open Excel and launch your macros automatically to convert files into different formats or find and replace data within the Excel document. The command line can also be used to close the Excel document and continue with the test of the script.
The batch file illustrated above was launched using the Windows task scheduling feature.
Top Ways to Use Batch Files with Transaction Pro
- Month-end Accruals. If you create Journal Entries that need to be reversed out the following accounting period, create a batch file that will import the current file and then import the reversal.
- Import of Online Orders Throughout the Day. If you have an online store, create a Windows Task and a batch file to automatically launch when a file is downloaded into a specific folder.
- Imports from other Business Systems. Whether your business system creates an importable file or you use a report that is generated by your business system to import, you can use the command line to launch an Excel macro to convert your file into an importable format using the command line.
- Batch-based Imports. If you have several imports to do at once, create a batch script to execute multiple functions and multiple imports from the one script.
If you’ve never written or executed a command line code using Transaction Pro, reference this Knowledge Base article or contact our Customer Success Team at support@transactionpro.com.
