Switching to Vantagepoint from Vision

Overview

Switching from Vision to Vantagepoint affects two Argos connections.

1. Adjust your project import (Deltek → Argos). This comes first and is the critical one. Argos needs your live projects so users can assign print jobs to them; without it, new work can't be billed.
2. Map Vantagepoint to your existing Argos export file (Argos → Deltek). Argos keeps producing the same CSV file; you configure Vantagepoint's Data Import utility to read it the way Vision did.

Not everyone uses Step 2. If you don't export print charges from Argos into Deltek, you only need Step 1.

In both cases you are converting an existing setup, not starting over. If anything is being set up for the first time, contact Sepialine Support and we'll help.

Step 1: Adjusting your project import

Do this on or before the day you start working in Vantagepoint, so projects never go stale in Argos. Most firms connect Argos directly to the Vantagepoint API (Argos 8.0.5 or later). If you're on-premise and use a local SQL query instead, contact Sepialine Support and we'll help you convert it.

Gather from Vantagepoint

• Login URL: copy it from your browser's address bar on the Vantagepoint sign-in page.
• Database name, Client ID, and Client Secret: in Vantagepoint, go to Utilities → Integrations → API Authorization. Deltek also calls these the Database Name, Consumer Key, and Secret. If there's no secret yet, click Generate Secret. If other software already uses the API, reuse the existing secret: generating a new one disconnects them.
• A Vantagepoint username and password for Argos to sign in with. This account needs read access to all project fields through the API, and two-factor authentication must be turned off for it, since Argos signs in on its own with no one there to enter a code.

Set it up in Argos Manager

1. Go to Projects, click Add Project, and choose Import Projects.
2. Pick Deltek Vantagepoint as the data source and click Configure.
3. For the web service URL, use your login URL with the final app changed to api. Enter the Client ID, Client Secret, database name, username, and password.
4. Test the connection.
5. Under Import Settings, click Configure and map your Argos charge types to Vantagepoint charge types.
6. Click Test Import. If nothing comes back, sign in to Vantagepoint with that user to check for a pending password change, and confirm two-factor authentication is off and the account can read all project fields.
7. Click OK, then Save and Run Now. Use Schedule to keep projects updated automatically.

Argos imports projects from one source at a time, so choosing Deltek Vantagepoint replaces your Vision project import. Full details: Importing Projects from Deltek Vantagepoint.

Step 2: Mapping Vantagepoint to your existing Argos export file

This step is only for firms that bring Argos charges into Deltek with an export file; if that's not you, you're done. With projects in place, convert the import that brings those charges into Deltek. Argos keeps producing the same CSV file, so nothing changes on the Argos side; the work is all in Vantagepoint.

Where things moved

The biggest change: the full Data Import utility now runs in the Vantagepoint desktop application, not the browser. The browser's Imports & Exports page is a different, more limited tool.

Converting the Deltek import

With your Vision screenshots beside you, set each Vantagepoint setting to match.

1. Open the import tool in the Vantagepoint desktop application: Utilities → Utilities → Data Import.
2. Main tab: choose the same Table Description you use in Vision (Unit Data Entry or Prints and Reproductions Data Entry) and set From to Text. Copy the delimiter, text qualifier, decimal symbol, and date settings from Vision.
3. Text File Fields Mapping tab: check the same fields Vision has checked and arrange them in the same order. Save the mapping so you can reuse it each period.
4. Import and post as you do today: Validate, browse to the Argos file (a local copy works best), Import, then review and post the batch in Transaction Entry.

What to compare

Below are examples from one Units setup and one Prints and Reproductions setup in Deltek. Your settings will vary; these are simply the screens to capture and match.

Main tab. File type, delimiter, text qualifier, and date handling. Vantagepoint's Main tab has the same fields.

Units example:

Prints and Reproductions example:

Text File Fields Mapping tab. Which fields are included and their order. In the Units example the charge is Unit plus Quantity; in the Prints and Reproductions example it's Amount, with Originals, Copies, WBS2, and WBS3 left unchecked.

Units example:

Prints and Reproductions example:

Testing and common snags

Run one small Argos export through Vantagepoint before your first real billing period, and have accounting review the test batch.

Stuck? Send Sepialine Support your Vision screenshots and the error, and we'll help you match them.

Reference: Units vs. Prints & Reproductions

Your Argos export file was built to spec for one of these two transaction types. Keep the one you use today: switching types means changing the export file, so talk to Sepialine Support before considering it. For reference, the difference is how the charge is expressed. The field layouts for both are the same in Vision and Vantagepoint.

Sources

• Sepialine: Importing Projects from Deltek Vantagepoint
• Deltek: Import Text Files (Vantagepoint 2025.2)
• Deltek: Text File Fields Mapping Tab of Import Utility (Vantagepoint 2025.2)
• Deltek: Main Tab of Import Utility Form (Vantagepoint 3.5)
• Deltek: Desktop Imports Utility (Vantagepoint 5.5)
• Deltek: Utilities (Desktop) (Vantagepoint 6.5)
• Deltek: Data Import Utility, browser (Vantagepoint 7.1)
• Deltek: Unit Data Entry Table Formats (DEUnit) and Vision 7.6 equivalent
• Deltek: Prints and Reproductions Data Entry Table Formats (DEPrints)
• Deltek: Contents of the Unit Tables Form (Vantagepoint 3.5)
• Deltek: Units overview, Transaction Center (Vantagepoint 4.0)