Overview

EZLease allows you to upload ARO items, both new and changed, using an Excel file (See: Bulk import templates). The upload file may contain blank or header lines before the actual data starts: Any line with nothing in the first column (column A) is ignored. Then the import routine expects a line of column titles; the titles are not actually checked, so you must put the information in the columns expected. After the header, the first line with nothing in column A is considered the end of the upload.

Bulk importing AROs

The following is the defined order for the information in the ARO bulk import file:

Column	Data
A	Lease Number for associated lease
B	Credit-adjusted risk-free rate (4.5% is 4.5, not .045)
C	Inflation Rate
D	ARO name
E	Layer name
F	Addition (is ARO or layer treated as an addition or revision? Default: Yes)
G	Required? (Default: Yes; enter N, No or False to turn off)
H	Change (if this is Y, Yes, or True, the transaction is a change, rather than a new ARO)
I	ARO Begin Date
J	ARO Booking Date
K	ARO End Date (or if a termination type is entered in Column L, this is the termination date)
L	Termination Type (used only with a Change transaction to terminate an existing ARO; if used, the termination date should be put in Column K)
M	Useful Life (in months)
N	Current cost to satisfy retirement obligation
O	Probability (default: 100)
P	Asset adjustment
Q	Depreciation method (Default: Straight Line)
R	Transfer add (date if addition, optional receiving lease number for transfer add if this is a transfer termination)
S	Lease description
T	Asset class
U	Financial group
V	Account number group
W-AP	User-defined field #1-20
AQ, AR	User-defined date field #1, #2
AS	Memo

Note: Columns S-AS refer to fields on the general lease record, not the ARO record.

Follow the below steps to upload the ARO file:

Step	Action
1	Once the import template is filled out and ready to be imported, upload the file to My Files.
2	Click the File menu at the top and select ARO Upload. A pop-up window appears:
3	Click the Select File button to choose the upload file, which may be an Excel spreadsheet in either .xls or .xlsx format. If the data is on the first tab of the spreadsheet, you may leave the Spreadsheet Tab Name box blank; otherwise, enter the tab name (case not significant).
4	Update any necessary import settings, and then choose Load.

If Existing Lease Record

For columns S-AR, this option decides whether any non-blank entries should change that field on an existing lease, or these columns should only be used if the lease is new.

If No Existing Lease Record

If new AROs are being added and the lease number specified does not exist, EZLease can create a new record if requested. If a new lease record is created, it has classification type ARO Only, the begin date is the earliest begin date of an ARO, and the end date is the last end date of an ARO attached to it.

If Economic Penalty Compels Renewal

This option is only available if you have enabled economic penalty testing in

System Options. You can choose whether renewals due to the economic penalty methodology should happen automatically, or if you should be asked each time to confirm the renewal. Testing is only done with ARO records that specify their end with a useful life; if a specific end date is given, an error is reported if the end date is beyond the end of the lease. This is not relevant for AROs associated with an ARO Only (non- lease) record.

If Lease is Extended, Treat Change As

This option, like the previous, is only available if you have enabled economic penalty testing in System Options. If you choose Revision, then an extension of the lease due to the economic penalty test results in creating a new revision for the lease, with a revision booking date of the ARO’s booking date. If you choose Replacement, the current revision of the lease is simply updated. (This is most appropriate when a lease with ARO is first being set up.)

Report Warning if Value of ARO is More Than

You can provide some protection against typos by specifying a maximum expected value for an ARO. If a higher value is found, it is still processed, but a warning message is reported in the log of the upload.

EZLease loads the upload file and processes it in order of the lease number. For a new ARO, the following columns must be filled in: A, B (unless the rate table is being used), C, D, I, K or M, and N. If not filled in, the default booking date (column J) is he begin date, Required? is Yes, and Probability is 100 (meaning 100%).

If both the end date and the useful life are filled in, the end date takes priority and the useful life is ignored.

If you are making a change to an existing ARO, you need to enter only the lease number (A) and ARO name (D), plus whatever item(s) you are changing. Enter “*” in the layer name (E) to make a change to all layers, such as a revision of the end date, or enter the layer name to change a specific layer. You may not use the upload to change the begin date or risk-free rate; if these are incorrect, the ARO must be recalculated from inception, which requires a Reversal termination of the existing ARO and entry of a new ARO.

If a new layer is created to reflect a change to an existing layer (for instance, an increase in the cost), the new layer has the same name as the original, with a “+” added to the end. If a new cost is entered in column N, the type of comparison depends on whether the begin date is entered. If the begin date is entered and is the same as the original layer’s begin date, the new cost is compared to the original cost and the difference is entered as a new layer, with the original begin date but booked on the revision booking date. If no begin date is entered, the cost is compared to the inflation-adjusted cost as of the revision booking date, and a new layer is entered beginning on that date for the difference. This is not adjusted for any payments made; to revise the estimated cost with payments applied, please use Revise ARO Estimate.

At the end of the conversion process, a report summarizing the activity on the upload is displayed. Any AROs that had errors preventing them from being loaded into the database are listed, with details of the cause of the error. There may also be warnings, whose descriptions are prefaced with “Warning:” These do not prevent an ARO from being entered into the database, but the results may not be what you want or expect, so please review for accuracy, and if needed rerun the upload.

If there are any errors or warnings, you have the option to save or cancel the upload. If you choose to Cancel, all changes associated with the upload are eliminated, including changes to underlying lease records; you can make changes to the spreadsheet and repeat the upload. If there are no errors or warnings, the upload is automatically saved to the database.