How To Attach Credit Reports To Debtor Accounts

Collect!'s Import/Export module enables you to process credit reports or other query results from external agencies. You can attach this information to the appropriate Debtor account and have it instantly available for reference.

Collect! requires that you obtain an ASCII text file with your query or reporting results. Then you can use the matching import map to parse this file and can attach information to each referenced account, automatically. Since each of the major credit bureaus has its own format for these reports, we provide three import maps, one for each.

In order to use the CBR Pull feature, you will need the Import/Export module. However, you can try it out in your Demo database, prior to purchasing the Import/Export module.

Samples of CBR Pull are shown in the Demonstration database that ships with Collect!. You can download CBR Pull import maps and sample credit report files from the Collect! Member Center. If you are not a Member, contact Administration for pricing options at 250-391-0466, option 3.

Download CBR Pull Sample Package

CBR Pull Data Files

Data files must be received in a format that Collect! can use. The import maps are designed to read a specific format for each bureau. You can review the sample files for details.

Reports pulled from the credit bureau, or other agencies, must reference the accounts by Debtor File Number for this to work as designed.

Please refer to Help topic, Credit Bureau Pulling for more information about requesting and receiving data files to use for your CBR Pull imports.

CBR Pull Import Maps

The import maps for CBR Pull are designed to parse the incoming data file, storing each account's report in a new attachment. You can visit the Debtor account and you will see the newly created CBR Pull attachment. When you open the attachment, you will see a file attached to it. The name is displayed in the Attachment's File field. The file opens in Notepad to show you the report details. You access the information quickly whenever you open the account.

If you use the CBR Pull import maps already provided in the CBR Pull Sample Package, you only need to create a new import library and you are ready to begin attaching credit reports to your accounts.

When the CBR Pull import is run for one of the bureaus, an attachment record is created for each account referenced in the incoming file. START and END identifiers tell Collect! how to read the text file. All text, from the START to the END identifiers for each account, is loaded into an attachment file in the database Attach folder.

It is important to use the import map that matches the bureau whose file you are reading. Each bureau has its own format.

When you run the import routine, attachment records are created for each account in the file and the credit report information is stored in a file in the Attach folder. The filename is displayed in the File field of the new attachment. Please view the samples in the Demonstration database for details.

Attachment File Security

The Attachment File field should be Read Only so that credit reports cannot be edited. Collect! handles files with numeric extension, such as 2886.1, 2886.2, as raw text files. If an attachment File field is Read Only for the user, then the file is opened as a Read Only file in a fixed pitch font.

Troubleshooting

The import will key on the debtor's File Number. There must be a match. If a debtor in the imported file does not exist in your database, then a new blank debtor is created with the file number in the report.

The appropriate map for each type of credit report file must be used. Experian, Trans Union and Equifax use different formats for headers. The offsets and identifiers in the import have to map to these to locate the debtor File Numbers and load the appropriate text from the imported file.

Sample CBR Pull Import Routines

Sample Experian, Trans Union and Equifax import maps may be downloaded from the Collect! Member Center. You can try out the routines using the sample files provided, or use actual credit report files that you have received from the credit bureau in text format.

Download CBR Pull Sample Package

In order to use the CBR Pull feature, you will need the Import/Export module. However, you can try it out in your Demodb database, prior to purchasing the Import/Export module.

To create your own maps, please examine the samples and the PDF contained in the sample package. Each credit bureau has a unique format for their credit report text files.

Summary

CBR Pull is a feature in Collect! that uses the import/export module to attach credit reports to Debtor accounts. You can request credit reports from any of the major bureaus. When Collect! processes the results, it creates a new attachment for each account and writes the incoming data for to a file attached to the attachment. You can instantly access this information whenever you visit the Debtor's account.

See Also

- Credit Bureau Pulling
- Loading A New Import Library