Uploading Your Abila data (BETA)

Launching DataShare Connect

Before attempting to upload your accounts using DataShare Connect, please ensure the following:

• You have read THIS article
• The DataShare Connect Pre-requisites for user permissions are in place on your machine
• You are online and connected to the internet.
• You have a working Accounting Package and you are able to access the data you wish to upload within the Accounting Package.
• Your Abila package must have a valid license file.
• You know the SQL Server Instance Name, Username, and Password that can access your Abila data.
• You know which version of Abila you wish to upload from (if you have multiple versions installed).
• You know the Name of the Company Database from which you wish to upload data.

This connector is released in Beta status. Beta release status means that the connector has been fully developed and meets all the DataShare software and security standards.  A Beta release has been developed against vendor-supplied test data, meeting the Validis standard of upload processing. It is released as a Beta as it still requires additional volumes of live data to meet the required standards of performance and data integrity.

 It should be noted that any issues discovered with a connector released in the Beta state will not be managed within existing production SLAs. By its very nature, the Beta process may highlight issues that require further development. Consequently, production SLAs cannot be applied in the case of Beta releases.

Click here for more details on BETA releases.

To begin the upload process using DataShare Connect you need to be logged in to the DataShare Portal.

From within the DataShare portal choose the Engagement for which you wish to upload data.

Once the appropriate engagement is selected, select Upload.

If enabled, please select either Collateral or Full as the Upload Scope.

Choose the Accounting Package from the drop-down menu. You can type in the search bar to locate the Accounting Package quicker.

When the correct Accounting Package is selected click the Continue button.

Click Download on the Download DataShare Connect window.

Click here if you are using Google Chrome

Click here if you are using Firefox

Click here if you are using Microsoft Edge/Explorer

This will start the download of the DataShare Connect setup application. Your browser will show the download progress. Depending on your desktop setup you may encounter some security warnings that you need to acknowledge during the installation.

Once the DataShare Connect application installs it will begin connecting to your Accounting Package. The DataShare Connect package is quite small and will be automatically removed from your desktop once the upload process has been completed.

DataShare Connect for Abila

Once installed, the DataShare Connect application will automatically launch and will attempt to locate and identify your Abila installation.

By default, Abila demands that the current Windows user has read-write access to the SQL Server that Abila is using so you will not be asked to supply a User ID and Password.

Alternatively, there is an option to select a SQL Server Instance where the company database is stored. When using this option please Enter the SQL Server Instance Name, Username, and Password and press Next.

Once the authentication is successful you will be able to select your Company Database from a list of databases stored on the SQL Server Instance.  If your company does not appear in the list please enter the database name manually and press Next.

The DataShare Connect data extraction process will begin and progress will be displayed on the screen. Depending on the size of your database and the number of entries it contains, this process may take a few minutes. Once all data has been extracted the data is then compressed, encrypted, and transmitted securely to the DataShare central server. 

You can continue with other tasks whilst the extraction takes place.

Do not close the DataShare Connect window or interrupt the extraction process.

When the upload completes the success message is presented.

Click Close to exit DataShare Connect. At this point, there is nothing more to do. Your Engagement Manager or Client Manager will be notified by email that you have submitted a new upload.

Your uploaded data is now being queued for processing in the DataShare central system. You can switch off your desktop and disconnect from the network at this point if you wish.

You can view your upload progress in the DataShare Portal (to see the current status you may need to refresh your browser). The status will change from Processing to Completed.