The PeopleSoft delivered method of loading location amounts uses the CONUS/OCONUS files. Where do you get the files? The GSA website only provides an excel format for domestic rates. For alaska and hawaii, there is a link on the GSA’s website to the department of defense for a file that is in a different format than the domestic rates provided by the GSA. For foreign rates, there is yet another link from the GSA’s website to The Office of Allowances’ foreign per diem rates.
I noticed that if I just download everything through the department of defense, the rate for the domestic locations are not the same as what is provided for through the GSA’s website.
Furthermore, how do you handle the changing formats for rate information through the various sources for that information?The per diem information seems to exist in very dynamic formats, and it makes coding for importing the information very difficult.
You should be able to save the Excel files that are produced from the GSA website (CONUS and OCONUS) using the file formats (columns) as depicted on the following website:
http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/pdc-archive/PD-RATES/Ascii-Delimited/fstruct.html
Save the Excel file as a semi-colon delimited text file. To do this, you’ll need to change your current default delimiter by following these steps (assuming you’re using Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Excel):
1. In Microsoft Windows, click the Start button, and then click Control Panel.
2. Open the Regional and Language Options dialog box.
3. Do one of the following:
* In Windows Vista, click the Formats tab, and then click Customize this format.
* In Windows XP, click the Regional Options tab, and then click Customize.
4. Type a new separator in the List separator box.
5. Click OK twice.
Then you just need to get the files with the correct column order and save it as a CSV. Change the file extension to TXT and you’ll be all set.
