1. CAR Site Maintenance
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Your CAR site is configured based on your company’s business rules. A site is built in CAR for each set of business rules your company has. You may have multiple CAR sites if multiple sets of business rules need to be followed in CAR.
If your company uses multiple accounting systems, each with unique accounting strings, multiple CAR sites will be needed.
If your company is using CAR for multiple card products (CPC, CMC, etc.), a unique CAR site will be needed for each card product.
Let’s start by reviewing the key components for all CAR sites, and then look at some options that may be useful for your company.

2. Business Objective
Enable the Program Administrator(s) to manage key elements of CAR Site Maintenance including:
Where and how accounting fields are defined and maintained
How to maintain validation values
How values are assigned to your accounting fields when transactions load into CAR
How to create and maintain User Defined Fields
How to create and activate Broadcast Messages
Advanced Topics: How to maintain CAR functionality involving Approvals, Mass Updates, List Options, and Locking Data
The key topics of focus in this module are:
Reviewing how your accounting fields were set up and how to maintain the validation values assigned to each accounting field
Reviewing the data mapping rules CAR uses to assign accounting values to each transaction when they load into CAR nightly
How to use User Defined Fields and
How to set up messages that your users will see when they log-in to CAR.
We will also review some optional features that you may be using at your company, such as Approvals, Mass Updates, List Options, and Locking Data in CAR.

3. Agenda Account Field Maintenance CAR Data Validation CAR Data Mapping
Lesson 1: The Basics - Understanding Account Field, Validation, and Data Mapping
Account Field Maintenance
CAR Data Validation
CAR Data Mapping
Lesson 2: Advanced Topics
User Defined Fields
Broadcast Messages
End-User Tab:
Approvals
Mass Updates
List Options
Locking Options
This training session is divided into two parts:
Lesson 1: The Basics where we will be spending most of our time. In this lesson we will cover everything related to your company’s accounting fields: maintaining the fields, validating the values, and setting up the rules for data mapping.
Lesson 2: Advanced Topics exposes you to some advanced features of CAR that you may use now or later as your card program expands.

4. Lesson 1: CAR Account Field Maintenance
Objective:
By the end of this lesson, the PA should know where to go in CAR to review how the accounting fields were set-up in CAR, how to work with validation tables and files, and how to review the data mapping rules set up for their CAR site.
Why Is This Important:
It may save you a lot of time if you know where to go in CAR to see the business rules that have been configured in CAR for your company. Understanding how your accounting fields are defined in CAR, how to refresh validation values, and how data mapping works will answer any questions that arise once you start using CAR.
The goal of this training session is for you to know everything there is to know about how your accounting fields are managed in CAR. You will know where they are defined, how they are validated, and the rules that are followed to derive the best possible accounting values.

5. Lesson 1: The Basics – Locating your CAR Site
Step
Action 1
Log into CAR System Administration. 2
Click on Site Maintenance in the CAR Company Administration folder. 3
On the right screen, at the bottom, is a list of all of your CAR sites. Click on the one you want. The tabs across the top of the screen will now be available.
Since many of your business rules are maintained in CAR in one or more sites, it is important for you to know exactly how to locate your sites in CAR.
To locate your site, log-in to CAR – System Administration
Open the CAR Company Administration folder by clicking on the “+” sign
Scroll down the list until you see Site Maintenance. Click on Site Maintenance
On the right side of the screen you will see the Sites\definition tabs, but the tab will be empty until you click on your CAR site name at the bottom of the screen
After you click on your site name, the other tabs across the top of the screen will be activated

6. Lesson 1: The Basics – Account Field Maintenance
We are going to first focus on the second and third tabs: Acct Fields and Mapping.
The Acct Flds tab contains 3 sub-tabs: Definition, Links, and Validation.
During the first part of the session we will focus on the Acct Fields and the Mapping tabs.
Let’s start with the Acct Fields tab. It contains three sub-tabs:
Definition
Links, and
Validation.

7. Lesson 1: The Basics – Account Field Maintenance
The Definition sub-tab defines each of the accounting fields that make up your accounting string.
The Definition sub-tab defines each of the accounting fields that make up your accounting string. We reviewed this screen while we were configuring CAR.
For each accounting field we defined:
the field label,
the formatting of the field (numeric, alpha, alphanumeric, and the length of the field),
the type of validation needed,
whether the field should be protected or not,
whether it was required or not,
if values were to be entered from a dropdown list or entered manually, and
what the site default value should be.
Each of these field questions can be formatted on this screen.
While a System Administrator can make changes to this screen, we recommend you discuss any changes with your gTEC before you make them.

8. Lesson 1: The Basics – Account Field Maintenance
The Links sub-tab will be set-up by your gTEC and will most likely not require additional maintenance from you. It serves two purposes:
By creating a link between your accounting field and an American Express defined field, the field will be available for the Accounting Manager role. In the screen displayed, your accounting field “Company” is mapped to the American Express field “Company Code”. By creating this link, someone could be assigned the Accounting Manager role so that they could view all transactions for a specific Company.
Another use of the Links tab is that it assigns your accounting field names to field names used by American Express Work Customized Reporting.
The Links sub-tab assigns your accounting fields to Link Types maintained by American Express. This serves two purposes:
1. It enables the field to be available for the Accounting Manager role
2. It defines in which field the data can be found Work Customized Reporting

9. Lesson 1: The Basics – Account Field Maintenance – Data Validation
Maintenance: Click on this sub-tab to view the validation values that have been loaded into CAR for each accounting field. You can manually update the validation values here.
Combinations: Click this tab to view the combination validation values that have been loaded into CAR, if your company is doing combo validation.
Groups: Click this tab to view and maintain “Group” validation options, if used by your company.
Advanced Accounting: Click this tab to view the advanced validation rules, if used by your company.
Tasks: Click this tab to run validation tasks, such as loading validation files, creating export files, or re-validating all transactions before creating your output file.
Files: Click this tab to import, export, or delete validation files.
Scheduler: Click this tab to schedule the running of the Re-Validate task.
The Validation sub-tab contains 7 sub-tabs, some of which will be very useful to you, and others that you will most likely never use. We will review the most commonly used tabs in this lesson.

10. Lesson 1: The Basics – Account Field Maintenance – Data Validation – Maintenance
Step
Action 1
Select an accounting field from the dropdown list and click on the Search button.
All the validation values for that field will be displayed. 2
Scroll to the bottom of the list and click on New Entry to add additional values. 3
Be sure to click on Save to save your changes.
The Maintenance sub-tab allows you to view a list of values that have been loaded into CAR to validate each accounting field that was assigned “Single Validation.”
Additionally, you can manually maintain the validation values for each individual field in this tab.

11. Lesson 1: The Basics – Account Field Maintenance – Data Validation - Combinations
If your company is doing combination validation, this tab will display all the valid combinations available during reallocation.
Step
Action 1
Select a combination name from the dropdown list and click on the Search button.
All the combination validation values for that field will be displayed. 2
Scroll to the bottom of the list and click on New Entry to add additional values. 3
Be sure to click on Save to save your changes.
The Combinations tab allows you to view combo validation records that have been loaded into your site for validating a combination of accounting fields. Just like the single validation values on the Maintenance tab, combinations can also be added, updated, or deleted in this tab.

12. Lesson 1: The Basics – Account Field Maintenance – Data Validation – Tasks & Files
The Tasks and Files sub-tab are used together. In order to run most of the tasks, you will first need to import data files into CAR. Additionally, if you run an Export task, you will need to go to the Files sub-tab to locate and export the file that you just created.
This slide lists the available tasks that appear on the tasks sub-tab. The most commonly used tasks are:
the two Combo tasks (Export and Load) if your company is doing Combo validation
the two Validation tasks (Export and Load) if your company is doing single element validation
CAR Revalidate Cycle which helps ensure that the accounting values assigned to transactions in CAR at the end of the billing cycle are still valid before you create your CAR output file.
Let’s review how to import a validation file into CAR, then we will return to the Task tab to load the file into the validation table.

13. Lesson 1: The Basics – Account Field Maintenance – Data Validation – Files
The Files sub-tab is where you can import files into CAR, or export files from CAR.
Click on the “+” sign to open the folders.
You will most frequently use the Validation Files folder when you want to import new validation files (both combo and single) to load into CAR by running the Load tasks on the Tasks sub-tab (see prior screens).
You may also use the Validation Export folder to look for the files created when you run the Export tasks on the Tasks sub-tab (see prior screens).

14. Lesson 1: The Basics – Account Field Maintenance – Data Validation – Files
Use the buttons on the right side of the screen to import files into CAR, export files from CAR, or to delete files.
We recommend that files be deleted from CAR if they are no longer needed.

15. Lesson 1: The Basics – Account Field Maintenance – Data Validation – Tasks
Step
Action 1
The steps for running each task are similar.
First, highlight the task you wish to run and click the Start button. 2
A small window will open for you to select the appropriate values from each dropdown list. 3
Click OK and the task will run. 4
IMPORTANT: Click the Refresh button to update the status of your task. When completed, the status will change from “Running” to “Stopped.”
After you have imported a validation file into the folder for your site – from the Files sub-tab, you will need to load the file that you just imported into the validation tables.
This slide shows the steps for running the CAR Global Validation Load task – loading a single validation file. You can see that the accounting field is GL Account, for all groups (which is the default value). The Directory field shows in which folder the validation file can be found, and the file name.
After clicking OK to start the task, remember to click the REFRESH button update the status of the task. You will want to see the task status change from “Running” to “Stopped” to know that the task ended successfully.
If you have problems running any of the tasks, call the CAR Help Desk for assistance ( , menu options 2, 3).

16. Lesson 1: The Basics – Data Mapping
The Mapping tab, similar to the Acct Fields tab also contains many sub-tabs, many of which you may not be using. CAR Data Mapping can be simple or complex depending on your company's requirements. This screen describes the various sub-tabs, and when each is used.
We are going to focus on the most commonly used data mapping options: Card Types, and Merchants and SIC Tables. If your company is using the more advanced mapping options, the other screens will be discussed.

17. Lesson 1: The Basics – Data Mapping – Card Types
CAR allows you to define how or where to derive each of your accounting field values. Different groups of users may follow different rules. For example, for most of your cards, the Company Code value will be derived from a default assigned to the card. For supplier cards, however, you may wish to not derive any value for the Company Code field. Different user groups may have different data mapping rules. CAR allows for this by letting you group your users into Card Types. Each Card Type can have a unique set of data mapping rules.
In this screen, you can see two Card Types: “G” or General cards, and “L” or Lookup Cards. Each card type has a unique set of data mapping rules for deriving the accounting string values.

18. Lesson 1: The Basics – Data Mapping – Card Types
No Derive: Do not derive any value for this field
3rd Party: Derive the value from a 3rd Party Data File
LID: Derive the value from Line Item Detail data
Lookup: Derive the value from a Lookup File that has been loaded into CAR
Card Ref 1: Derive the value from the data passed by the supplier in the Cardmember Reference Field
Merchant Table: Derive the GL Account from the value assigned to the merchant in the Merchant table
SIC Table: Derive the GL Account from the value assigned to the CIS Code in the SIC table
Card Default: Derive the value from defaults assigned to cards in Card Maintenance
Site Default: Assign the site default value to the field
When your CAR site(s) were built, the rules for data mapping were discussed. They are displayed on the Mapping Card Types Definition screen. To view the data mapping rules for each card type, click on the card type at the bottom of the screen.
Accounting values are derived by following the red checkmarks, left to right. For example, in the example above, the GL Account is derived by first looking at the Merchant Table, then the SIC Table, then the Card Default, and finally if all else fails, the Site Default is assigned to the transaction.
You will most likely not change this screen very frequently. If you do want to make a change, you should contact your gTEC to discuss the proposed changes.

19. Lesson 1: The Basics – Data Mapping – Merchant Table
Typically a GL Account is associated with a supplier, however your system may also require a Supplier or Vendor ID as well (these won’t be used in the mapping but in the production of the interface file).
If the card type indicates it is to obtain an accounting element from the Merchant table, CAR will check the table and use the value associated – assuming that it is present and valid.
If the value is not present or is invalid then cascading rules will cause CAR to go to the next step in the process which is usually the SIC Defaults.
When you maintain the Vendor table be aware that the value won’t be used until the next transactions arrive (usually overnight).
We also recommend that if you are using merchant mapping that you configure notifications to send you an whenever a new vendor is added to the site.
If you are using the merchant mapping table, it should be updated by site whenever a new supplier is added. New merchants will appear in red on the table.
Highlight a new (in red) or existing (in black) merchant to update. Note: Depending on the number of vendors used by your company you may need to apply a search filter.
Populate all or none of the account mapping fields (such as “GL Account”) and any other information you might need to capture such as the Merchant IDs or User Defined Fields.
If you use merchant mapping we recommend you Save each vendor record even if you don’t plan to associate a new GL Account with it, because this will turn the color from red to black and you will know you have already “worked” it.
It could be that you only plan to use this table on an exception basis – for instance do most of the mapping by SIC code and then some of the mapping by Vendor ID. That’s okay!

20. Lesson 1: The Basics – Data Mapping – Merchant Table – Exporting Data #1
The Merchant Table can be exported in a .csv file, imported into Excel, updated, then imported back into CAR.
Step
Action 1
To export the Merchant table:
Click on the Tasks sub-tab under the Merchants tab. 2
Highlight CAR Site Merchants Export task and click the Start button. 3
Enter a file name for the file you are creating and click the OK button. 4
The task will start, and the status will indicate that it is running. 5
Click the Refresh button to update the status. 6
When the status changes to Stopped, your export file has been created.
One of the easiest ways to update the values in the CAR tables is to EXPORT the existing table values, load this file into Excel, make any needed additions, updates, or deletions, and then IMPORT and LOAD the revised file back into CAR.
We are going to review these steps with the Merchant table – please note that the same process applies to nearly all CAR tables.
Step 1: On the tasks sub-tab, highlight the Export task, and click Start.
Step 2: Enter a file name, and click OK.
Step 3: Click the Refresh button until the status of the task says “Stopped.”

21. Lesson 1: The Basics – Data Mapping – Merchant Table – Exporting Data #2
To locate the file that you just created, click on the Files sub-tab under the Merchants tab.
Step
Action 1
Open the CAR folder by clicking on the “+” sign next to the CAR folder. 2
The file you created is in the SEExport folder. Open the folder by clicking on the “+” sign. 3
Now click on the “+” sign next to your CAR site name. This folder will contain the Merchant Table export that you just created. Highlight the file that you want to export. 4
Click the Export button. Another window will open for you to indicate a location on your computer where you want the export file saved. REMEMBER THIS LOCATION. 5
You can now open Excel and update the GL Account and Merchant ID fields.
Now that your EXPORT file has been created, you need to locate it and export the file from CAR to your computer so it can be updated:
Click on the “Files” sub-tab.
Click on the “+” signs next to the CAR and SEExport folders.
Click on the “+” sign next to the folder of your CAR site name. The Export file that you just created is in this folder.
Highlight the file that you just created, and click the Export button.
A window will open asking where you want to export the file to. Remember where you are exporting the file to, the file name, and that it is a .csv file.
After the file is exported, you can import the file into Excel and make any changes that are needed. Be sure to save your new file as a .csv file, NOT as an .xls file.
Note: Be sure to save your file as a comma separated values (.csv) file in Excel.

22. Lesson 1: The Basics – Data Mapping – Merchant Table – Importing Data #1
After you have completed updating the Merchant file in Excel, you need to import the file back into CAR and load it into your Car site. This is a two step process.
Importing the Merchant File:
Step
Action 1
On the Files sub-tab under the Merchants tab, open the SEImport folder by clicking the “+” sign next to the folder. 2
Highlight your CAR site name folder and click the import file. 3
Locate the file that you just modified in Excel – ensure that it is saved as a comma separated values (.csv) file. Click Open. The file will transfer from your computer to CAR. 4
Once the file transfer completes, you will be able to see your file in the folder that you highlighted above.
There are two remaining steps: You now need to IMPORT the revised file back into CAR, then LOAD the file into the CAR tables. First let’s do the import:
On the Files sub-tab, click in the “+” sign next to the SEImport folder.
Highlight the folder under SEImport for the CAR site in which you are going to update the Merchant Table.
Click on the “Import” button.
A window will open allowing you to locate the Merchant file you have just updated in Excel.
Once the import has ended, you will see your file in the site folder under SEImport.

23. Lesson 1: The Basics – Data Mapping – Merchant Table – Importing Data #2
After you have imported your file to CAR, now you need to load the updated merchant file into your site’s Merchant Table.
Step
Action 1
Click on the Tasks sub-tab under the Merchants tab. 2
Highlight the CAR Site Merchants Load task and click the Start button. 3
In the small window that opens, click on the Directory dropdown arrow and select the folder that contains the updated Merchants file. It will most likely be in the folder with your CAR site name. 4
Next, click on the Filename dropdown arrow to locate the merchant file that you just imported. Highlight the merchant file, and click OK. 5
The merchant file will start loading. Click the Refresh button to update the status. 6
When the status shows Stopped, the merchant table will be updated with your new values.
There is one more step; you are now ready to LOAD the imported file into the CAR Merchant table:
On the tasks sub-tab, highlight Car Site Merchants Load, and click the “Start” button.
In the small window that opens, click the dropdown arrow next to the Directory field. Select the CAR Site into which you just imported the updated merchant file.
Click the dropdown arrow next to the Filename field. Locate the file that you just imported.
Click the OK button. Your file will start loading. Click the “Refresh” button until the status changes to “Stopped.”
Congratulations – you have just refreshed the values in the Merchant Table. Remember that the same steps apply to nearly all the tables in CAR.

24. Lesson 1: The Basics – Data Mapping – SIC Table
Similar to the Merchant Table, many clients assign GL Accounts to the merchant SIC codes. When transactions load into CAR, if you have assigned a GL Account to the merchant’s SIC code, that GL Account will be assigned to the transaction.
You can update the SIC Table manually, or you can follow the same steps described for the Merchant Table to export the table, update the values in Excel, and import the values back into CAR.
Instead of managing each merchant record it makes sense to apply mapping logic at the Standard Industry Code level.
Instead of managing hundreds of office supply vendors you can just manage the one SIC code those hundred vendors belong to.
SIC defaults are typically only updated during implementation, unless a new commodity / industry are added to the CAR program. Typically a GL Account is associated with the SIC Code.
Changes to SIC codes are not applied retroactively to existing transactions, only to new transactions as they hit the site (effective next morning)
Modify a SIC code mapping assignment by highlighting the SIC Code, modify the value and Save.
You can sort by any of the columns
TIP: Sort by the accounting element (ascending) to see if there are any blanks
There may be additional User Defined fields which might require updating as well
The SIC Code can also be updated through a file import

25. Lesson 2: Advanced Topics – User Defined Fields
User Defined Fields can be used to capture additional information about transactions.
In addition to your company’s accounting fields, CAR also provides User Defined Fields which you can use to capture additional information about transactions. Clients are creative and have come up with many ways for using some or all of the User Defined Fields.
CAR offers: 9 UDFs to capture Additional Transaction Details, 6 Merchant UDFs, and 3 SIC UDFs. The Merchant and SIC UDFs are not displayed in CAR on-line, but are available in the CAR output file.
Transaction UDFs are displayed in the Additional Transaction Detail tab in CAR.
Remember these are not required fields, you cannot force a user to populate them.
If you are interested in using or changing your User Defined Fields, contact your gTEC or call the CAR Help Desk for assistance.

26. Lesson 2: Advanced Topics – Broadcast Messages
Broadcast Messages provide an easy way to communicate with your CAR users.
Step
Action 1
From CAR Company Administration\ Site Maintenance, highlight your site and click on the Broadcast tab. 2
Enter the Effective date and the Expiration date for your message. 3
Change Status to “Enabled” and select the appropriate language. 4
Enter the Name and Title that you would like to appear on the message. 5
Enter your message. 6
Click on the Save button. Your CAR users will see the message when they log-in during the dates entered.
Broadcast Messages are a convenient way to communicate a message to your CAR users. The messages are easy to set up and maintain. Multiple messages can be set-up – users will simply scroll through the messages after logging-in to CAR. In addition, messages can be set up in advanced and made visible when desired by using the Effective and Expiration dates.
Important Note: A user has to log-in to CAR to see the Broadcast Messages.

27. Lesson 2: Advanced Topics – End User Tab
The End User tab allows the System Administrator to control many aspects of CAR including:
Approvals
Mass Updates
Clearing Exceptions
Locking the data fields in the Card Data and LID tabs
Locking the data fields in the Export file
Allowing users to use the Export/Import feature for reallocating transactions
This tab allows System Administrators to turn the features on or off by CAR role.
If you have questions about any of these features, or think you may want to change the settings on this tab, contact your gTEC or the CAR Help Desk.
The End User tab allows you to set up additional CAR features for your site, if needed. Each role (Requestor, Cardmember, CM Manager, BCA Manager and Accounting Manager) can be configured independently of each other.
For example, if your company is using CAR Approvals, several approval functions can be set for each role: a) whether approvals are active for the role, b) whether a full cycle approval can be performed by the role) and c) the text which appears on the “approvals” button. In addition the system administrator can determine whether the role can perform a mass update approval.
In addition to approvals, the system administrator can enable or disable the user’s ability to reallocate more than one transaction at a time. This is the Mass Update setting. Most clients set this setting to “Yes” as it reduces the time spent reallocating if it is turned on.
Most clients however do not use the “Locking” features. When set to yes, the users lose the ability to customize the Card data and LID tabs in CAR, and the fields that appear in the Car Export files.
When the Import/Export/Apply Accounting option is set to “Yes”, users are able to export a single transaction out from CAR in a .csv data file. The file can be brought into Excel and reallocated as required, saved as a .csv file, and then imported and loaded back into CAR. It is another time-saver feature. Most client keep set this feature to “Yes.”
If you are interested in knowing more about any of these features, please contact a gTEC or call the Help Desk.

28. Post Training Expectations / Actions
Program Administrator should review and confirm the key elements of their CAR Site including:
Accounting Fields
Validation Values
User Defined Fields
Program Administrator should determine if they should create and activate Broadcast Messages.

29. Review / Preview Recap of Key Points:
CAR Site Maintenance allows you to configure CAR according to your company’s business requirements. While many features are seldom updated, some areas need frequent attention:
Maintaining Validation tables
Maintaining the GL Accounts on the Merchant Table
Creating Broadcast messages

30. Help For Questions with the CAR Tool
CAR end users should contact site/system administrator or internal help desk
Site/System administrators should contact American Express Front Line Consultants
then choose option 2, option 3
For Configuration Changes or Additions
System/Program administrators can contact their Account Manager or the Help Desk to initiate a request for gTEC assistance with changes to sites or to add new sites