Location Tools - Best Practices

Updated

Enhancing Location Files

Users can upload up to 50 different location attributes. All attributes can be queried for both data management and mapping purposes.

Here are some best practices for enhancing location files:

  • Always include a location name
  • Address details or latitude/longitude coordinates are required for geocoding
  • Include location attributes that are important across your organization; for example
    • Main Intersection
    • Territory ID (e.g. 7865)
    • Territory name (e.g. York East Region)
    • Size of location (e.g. gross leasable area, small-medium-large)
    • Location sales (e.g. 570000 or categories of sales)
    • Number of employees (e.g. 234 or categories of employees)
    • Number of parking spaces (e.g. 34 or categories of parking spaces)
    • Location type (e.g. superstore)
    • Location format (e.g. mall, stand-alone)
    • URL to location streetview
    • URL to website
    • URL to information
    • Open date (e.g. 1969-09-30*)
    • Closed date (e.g. 2006-02-14*)
    • Hours of operation (e.g. M-F 9-4)
    • Miscellaneous location flags (e.g. drive-thru, departments, full/limited service)
    • Trade Area Sizes (e.g. 5)
    • Manager (e.g. John Smith)
    • Phone Number (e.g. 647-878-9876)
    • Last Reno Date (e.g. 1999-09-30*)
    • Main Anchor
    • Lease Renewal Date (e.g. 2020-09-26*)
    • Density Code

*[YYYY-MM-DD format]

Importing Location Files

Here are some best practices for location upload:

  • The file is less than 100mbs
  • The file contains column header (field) names, which are free of symbols, accents, punctuation (!@#$%^,&*) and leading or trailing spaces
    • Note: to improve file and header name readability, we recommend using: 
      • Single spaces
      • Single hyphens
      • Single dashes
      • Single underscores
  • Field names are unique and descriptive
  • File name and field name can not exceed 50 characters
  • Regular text, i.e. no formatting or accounting symbols on dollar values
  • No blank row after your header row, i.e. the first row of data should always be populated with data in each column
  • Always include a single hyphen for addresses with unit/suite numbers, do not use any other symbol, e.g. 770‐340 12 Ave SW
  • The file must be in a format appropriate for geocoding in ENVISION:
    • *.YXDB format is ideal due to its small size
    • *.CSV and .XLSX are also good options, but be sure to remove formatting from .XLSX files 
  • Consider if the file contains a unique identifier (always double-check IDs for uniqueness) and if not, what combination of fields (i.e. id, name, address) makes each record unique.
  • Sort and filter the file to remove any null/erroneous records
  • Field types for additional fields include: Text, Numeric, Email, URL, Date (YYYY-MM-DD), Categorical
  • Proper Case is ideal
  • Always spell check