Parsers

Purpose

Parsers are able to read data and then import the data into CartonCloud in a format the system can understand. Using the data, the Parser can create or update a record in CartonCloud, for example, a Sale Order or Consignment. See Parsers Overview for a more detailed description.

For information regarding non-parser Integrations, we suggest reading our guide: Integration with other Software

Benefits

Parsers take data or information you already have and turn it into a format CartonCloud can read. This means you do not have to manually re-enter the data into CartonCloud or adjust the way another software exports the data or the way you receive data from a customer. For example, if you receive a file from a customer with all their Sale Orders, rather than manually inputting this data into CartonCloud you can use the Sale Order Parser which will read the file and create the Sale Orders in CartonCloud.

How to set up a Parser

To set up a Parser please contact the CartonCloud team. See Available Parsers for a complete list of Parsers that can be set up on your CartonCloud account.

How to use the Parser with CartonCloud

There are three ways a Parser can be used with CartonCloud:

Web application upload - the parser file can be uploaded directly to CartonCloud. For example from the Consignments page, you can select More>Import Consignments and select the file you wish to parse and the new Consignments will be created. Your customers can also use CartonCloud to upload the parser file. To do this, you will need to add the Customer to the Parser.
Email - the parser file can be uploaded via emailing the file to a set email address. To do this, you will need to:
1. Add the Customer to the Parser. See Configuring Parsers for Customers.
2. Set up the email address for the incoming emails/Parsers. See Email Setup for Incoming Emails/Parsers/Auto Forward Emails for more information.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - please contact the CartonCloud team for more information.

How to navigate to the Parsers page

Type Parsers into the Search for anything bar at the top of the application.

Available Parsers

The following Parsers are currently available to be set up now by contacting our Support Team.

Parser	Description	Template
Sale Order	Allows a file type to be read into CartonCloud which will create a Sale Order in the system. This Parser is ideal for when you have a large number of Sale Orders which need to be entered and the data for those Sale Orders already exists in some format.	xls standard - XLS Standard Sale Order Template.xlsx xls with custom fields - XLS Sale Order Template v2.0 Incl Custom Fields (10).xlsx csv standard - Sale Order CSV Template.csv
Purchase Order	Allows a file type to be read into CartonCloud which will create a Purchase Order in the system. This Parser is ideal for when you have a large number of Purchase Orders which need to be entered and the data for those Purchase Orders already exists in some format.	Standard - CSV Standard Purchase Order Template.csv With custom fields - CSV Purchase Order Template - 3 Custom Fields .csv
Manifest	Allows a file type to be read into CartonCloud which will create a Manifest in the system.	xls - XLS Standard Manifest Template.xlsx csv- CSV Manifest Template (6).csv
Product	Allows a file type to be read into CartonCloud which will create a Product in the system.	Bulk_Product_Import_Template.xlsx
Consignment Invoice	Allows customer invoices to be uploaded and automatically attached to the relevant consignment. This works by scanning the uploaded document, using its reference number, and matching it against the consignment it is to be attached to. This can be used in association with QR Codes to automatically attach consignment invoices to consignments.	Not applicable
Stock Import	Allows a file type to be read into CartonCloud which will import the stock for Products already created in the system.	Stock import template.csv
Sale Order Invoice	Allows customer invoices to be uploaded and automatically attached to the relevant Sale Order. This works by scanning the uploaded document for its reference number and matching it against the Sale Order it is to be attached to. This invoice can then flow onto a generated consignment if required.
Stock Update	Allows a file type to be read into CartonCloud which will update the quantity of stock in the system by updating the corresponding Purchase Order it came into the Warehouse on.
Manifest with Consignments items
Consignment with Items	Allows a single file to be read which can create multiple Consignments, over multiple Customers, using zero or many Manifests. The parser can also be used to update existing Consignments for changes that have been made after the original Consignment was imported. If you are using another TMS to build Run Sheets and allocate jobs, you can use the Parser to import the Consignments into CartonCloud with the allocation information from the other systems. CartonCloud will then create the Run Sheets and allocation to match, therefore, removing the need for repeated manual work and Drivers can immediately perform the deliveries as scheduled. Update functionality By using the update functionality, any changes made in the other TMS can be easily replicated in CartonCloud using the Parser. If you are using the Parser to update Consignments see the below fields which can be modified on the Consignment: Service Type Addresses Consignment Data Custom Fields Consignment Items (all fields including Code, Description, Item Custom Fields and item properties – Qty, Pal, Cub, Weight, Space, L, W, H.) Driver Run Sheet Please note, only Consignments that are not associated with a Manifest can be updated using the Parser.	CONSIGNMENT_ITEMS_Import_Parser_TEST.csv

Parsers Overview

The word "Parser" is a fancy name for a piece of software that simply knows how to take data in a given format, and read it so it can be loaded into the system.
For example, when Parsers are created for Excel files, we're simply telling CartonCloud which column is which, so the import will be completed successfully.

In this particular case a Parser would be created telling the system that the column labelled:
customer_reference maps to the customer_reference field within the Sale Order
postcode should be added to the Addresses Postcode
qty is the quantity of the product that we need, etc.

Once this Parser is added, we can reliably import files in the given format every time, completely automating the process of data entry.

Parsers can be set up for almost any type of file: csv, xls, txt, xml and many others. We do not support parsing PDF documents however, as the structure of the content is often unreliable and difficult to read.

Parsing via Email

One of the most common uses of Parsers is automatically importing data from email attachments.

This allows clients to email files directly into CartonCloud, have them read, and then the jobs (Sale Orders, Consignments, Purchase Orders, and more) created automatically.

To learn how to set up this connection between email addresses and parsers, see our guide: Configuring Parsers for Customers