+PROFIT: Data Requirements for ERP Integration

The Question

Given the CSVs and HTMLs we already have, would it be possible to define the INFORMATION/DATA we would need to receive from supermarket ERP vendors to populate the CSVs?

Short answer: yes, entirely feasible — and in fact it is the most natural next step from what we already have.

Why It Is Feasible

Each CSV the system uses is essentially a "data contract": the corresponding HTML page expects specific columns, in a specific order, with a specific format. Since the parsers for all pages are already mapped, it is possible to work backwards — starting from what each screen consumes and deriving exactly which fields the ERP needs to deliver.

This becomes a data dictionary (an integration specification) that can be delivered to any ERP vendor.

The Most Important Point (which GREATLY reduces the ERP request)

Most columns in the CSVs are calculated, not raw. In arquivao.csv, for example, fields such as MARGIN, M_PERC, GMP, CO_VE, PART_VEN, PART_GMP, PEC all derive from just a few raw numbers (quantity, selling price, cost price, total sold, total purchased).

In other words: we should not ask the ERP for the derived columns — we would only request the source fields, and +PROFIT itself (or a conversion step) computes the rest. This has two major advantages:

○ the "request" to the vendor remains small and focused;

○ it prevents each ERP from calculating margin/GMP its own way, causing numbers to diverge.

What We Would Essentially Need to Request (≈ 5 base extracts)

Block	Feeds the screens	Essential raw data
1. Product/period movement	ABC, GMP, PEC, PURIX, CostVar, Shrinkage	Store, hierarchy (dept/group/category), product code + description, period, qty sold, qty purchased, selling price, cost price, total sold, total purchased
2. Daily sales	Purchases (projection), ADS	Date/day of week, daily sales (projected and actual) — and for ADS, two comparable periods
3. Cash expenses	Monthly/annual expenses	Payment date, expense amount
4. Cash balances	Monthly/annual balance	Date, end-of-day balance (currently entered manually — would come from ERP/bank)
5. P&L result	P&L	Statement lines (revenues, costs, expenses by category, period)

Note that almost everything originates from a single powerful query (block 1, by product and period). The other blocks are small and well-defined.

The "Format Details" That Must Be Explicit in the Specification

These are the points where integrations typically fail, so it would be worth specifying them clearly for vendors:

○ Separator (current files use ;)

○ Decimal separator (32.45 with period for English locale)

○ Encoding (UTF-8 — some ERPs export ISO-8859-1)

○ Date format (mm/dd/yy)

○ Day-of-week names in English (the Purchases parser uses "thursday", "friday"…)

○ Header layout (title line + actual header line)

Conclusion

Not only is it possible, it is recommended: what already exists can be turned into a technical specification document ("Data Requirements for ERP Integration → +PROFIT"), with a field-by-field dictionary, data types, formats, and a sample CSV template for each extract.

This professionalizes the product and makes it easier to engage with any vendor.

Possible next step: build this specification document — in Markdown or in a well-formatted Word/PDF ready to send to vendors.