A common method sharing data with Actuals on a regular basis is to export data from your system into a file and uploading it to the Actuals SFTP server. (Secure File Transfer Protocol) serves as a reliable method for exchanging files between different systems. You can inquire about the feasibility of this exchange method with your internal IT department. Most departments possess the capability to create a script that creates automated exports and uploads them to the Actuals SFTP server.
To gain access to the Actuals SFTP server, please reach out to your implementation consultant, who will provide you with the necessary SFTP credentials.
Connecting to the SFTP server
Upon receiving the username and password from your Actuals implementation consultant, you will use these parameters to establish a connection to the SFTP server:
- Server/Host:
sftp.actuals.io
- Username: Provided by your implementation consultant
- Password: Provided by your implementation consultant
- Port:
22
Best practices
File format
When uploading files to the Actuals SFTP server, ensure that they are in the ‘.csv’ file format. If you require sharing files in a different format, please consult your implementation consultant for available options.
If you are able to determine the file names of the files shared with our platform we have some best practices:
- Include the application from which the file was created (for example “CustomBackend”)
- Include the type/table of the export (for example: “orders”)
- Include the period of export date format ‘YYYY-MM-DD’A example clear file name would be “CustomBackend_orders_202X-01-01.csv”
Folder structure
Inside a SFTP server it is possible to create a folder structure. As a best practice we suggest creating separate folders for each different dataset. By Default you can use the naming convention “[Source Application Name] - [Dataset name]”.
For example if you provide order data from your backend and payment data from your backend we suggest to create two folders inside the SFTP server:
- Backend - Orders
- Backend_orders_202X-01-01.csv
- Backend_orders_202X-01-02.csv
- Backend - Payments
- Backend_payments_202X-01-01.csv
- Backend_payments_202X-01-02.csv
Manually interacting with the Actuals SFTP server
It’s possibly to manually interact with the Actuals SFTP server. This requires installing “FTP file explorer” software. An example is “FileZilla”. If you want to manually interact with the Actuals SFTP server we suggest that you contact your internal IT department.