External 1C Data Processors on Demand
We write 1C data processors that take routine work off your staff: bulk imports, mass changes to documents and catalogs, checks and exports on a schedule. Connected through "Additional reports and data processors", the configuration is not touched.
- The safest way to customize 1C: the standard configuration stays on vendor support
- Importing price lists, orders and catalogs from Excel and other files
- Bulk document processing instead of a hundred manual edits
- Scheduled jobs: checks and exports on a schedule
A custom external 1C data processor starts at 150,000 tenge and takes from one week. Imports and bulk operations take one to two weeks.
What an external 1C data processor is
A program inside 1C that lives as a separate file.
An external 1C data processor is a file with the .epf extension that performs a specific job inside the database: loads data, changes documents, checks catalogs, builds an export. What sets it apart from an ordinary customization is the key point: it is not built into the configuration. It is connected through the "Additional reports and data processors" catalog and appears in the right menu section or document list as a regular command.
For the database owner this means three things. The standard configuration stays on vendor support and updates without a developer. The data processor can be switched off with one checkbox if something is wrong. A new version is loaded without stopping users and without updating the configuration.
Alongside external data processors live external reports (.erf) and external print forms. They connect the same way and bring the same benefits. Together they form a toolkit that covers most everyday requests for 1C without a single edit to the standard configuration.
So when a task can be solved with an external data processor, that is how we solve it. It is cheaper, faster and carries almost no risk for the live database. Only when a data processor is not enough do we move to a configuration extension or a deeper 1C customization.
Tasks that 1C data processors solve
Everything staff do by hand on a regular basis.
A good sign that a task suits a data processor: an employee repeats the same steps in 1C every week and spends hours on them. Typical examples from our practice:
| Task | What the data processor does |
|---|---|
| Supplier price list | Loads Excel, matches by SKU, updates prices, sets new items aside for review |
| Customer orders from a file | Creates customer orders from a spreadsheet or another system's export |
| Mass price changes | Recalculates prices by formula, group or supplier |
| Catalog cleanup | Finds duplicates, empty fields, unused cards |
| Bulk reposting | Changes a field in a hundred documents and reposts them |
| Export for a partner | Builds a stock or sales file in the partner's format |
A separate group of tasks is checks. A data processor finds unpaid orders older than a week, products with negative stock, counterparties without a BIN, documents with a zero price. Such lists are worth getting regularly rather than discovering the problem at quarter end.
Each of these tasks is either missing from the standard configuration or takes dozens of clicks. A data processor reduces them to one button and a result log. The employee is freed to work with clients instead of spreadsheets.
External data processor or configuration extension
When a data processor is enough and when you need an extension.
An external data processor performs an action: take data and do something with it. It cannot add a new field to a document, change posting logic or attach a check to document saving. For that a configuration extension is used: a .cfe file that also leaves the standard configuration unchanged but integrates more deeply.
| You need to | Best fit |
|---|---|
| Import, recalculate, check, export | External data processor |
| Print a document in your own layout | External print form |
| Get a report with the breakdowns you need | External report |
| Add a field, a button on a form, a custom check on save | Extension |
| Create a new document with its own posting | Extension |
Often a task is solved by a combination: an extension adds a field, a data processor fills it in bulk, a print form prints it. A detailed breakdown with examples is in external data processor or 1C extension (in Russian). Print forms have their own page: 1C print forms.
Bulk processing of documents and catalogs
A hundred edits with one button, with the option to roll back.
Standard configurations include a universal bulk attribute editor, and for simple cases it is enough. Problems start when the change depends on conditions: change the warehouse only in a specific manager's documents for last month, recalculate the discount on orders where the client belongs to a certain group, repost documents after a cost price correction.
Such operations are risky: an error in the condition changes the wrong documents, and rolling that back by hand is impossible. So our bulk data processors work in two steps. First they show a list of what will change, with current and new values. Only after confirmation do they apply the changes and save a log that can restore the previous values.
Speed matters for large volumes. A data processor that loops through documents one by one can run for hours and lock the database for users. We select data with a query, change it in batches and run heavy operations in the background or at night so they do not interfere with the working day.
Before running on the live database, the data processor is always tested on a copy. If the operation touches a closed period, we warn accounting in advance: reposting can change reports that have already been filed.
Data imports: Excel, price lists, partner files
The most common task for a data processor.
The standard spreadsheet import in 1C works for one-off tidy files. Real files from suppliers and partners are never tidy: merged cells, prices as text, SKUs that Excel turned into dates, column names that change from month to month. An import data processor built for a specific format accounts for all of this.
- Reads the file and finds the right columns even if their order changed.
- Normalizes data: spaces, case, units of measure, numbers.
- Matches rows to products by SKU, barcode or supplier code.
- Updates what matched and sets aside for review what did not.
- Shows a log: how many updated, how many new, how many with errors.
If the import is one-off and large, for example when moving to a new database, it becomes a 1C data migration project with reconciliation. A step-by-step guide for doing the import yourself is in how to import products from Excel into 1C (in Russian).
1C scheduled jobs
A data processor that runs on its own.
Many data processors are better run on a schedule than by hand. A 1C scheduled job does the work in the background: recalculates prices at night, loads statements in the morning, exports stock to a partner every hour, checks catalogs daily and sends a list of problems. Users get a ready result instead of having to remember to press a button.
In configurations built on the Standard Subsystems Library (BSP), additional data processors can run on a schedule without editing the configuration: the data processor is registered with a background command and the schedule is set in its card. This continues the principle of not touching the standard configuration.
The main trap with scheduled jobs is that they quietly stop working. The database moved to another server, the user the job ran under changed, and the partner export has not gone out for a week. So every job we build gets a log and a failure alert. What else is worth handing to a schedule is covered in 1C scheduled jobs (in Russian).
How we write a data processor
From a description of the routine to a button in the menu.
- Observation. We watch how the employee does the work today, on real data. The task description and the real process almost always differ.
- Estimate. We give the price and timeline before work starts. If the task can be solved with standard tools, we say so and do not charge for code.
- Development on a copy. We write the data processor and test it on a copy of the database with your data, including the awkward cases.
- Acceptance. The employee who did the work by hand checks the data processor's result.
- Connection. We load it into "Additional reports and data processors", set permissions and, if needed, a schedule.
- Handover. We hand over the source and a short guide.
We write code to 1C development standards: clear names, comments where the logic is not obvious, error handling with messages users understand. Another developer will be able to work with it without us.
For two weeks after delivery we collect feedback: fixes based on the first runs are included in the price.
Timelines and cost
We estimate from the task description and data samples.
| Task | Timeline | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Simple data processor: recalculation, export, check | from 1 week | from 150,000 ₸ |
| File import for your format | 1-2 weeks | from 150,000 ₸ |
| Bulk processing with a rollback log | 1-2 weeks | from 150,000 ₸ |
| Scheduled job with alerts | from 1 week | from 150,000 ₸ |
| Combined with a configuration extension | from 2 weeks | from 350,000 ₸ |
The price is fixed before work starts. If a new request comes up along the way, we estimate it separately rather than quietly stretching the budget.
A simple payback guide: if an employee spends several hours a week on a manual operation, a data processor pays for itself within a few months, and manual entry errors disappear immediately. If the operation happens once a year, a data processor may not be needed, and we will tell you so.
When there are many tasks, it is more convenient to run them as a queue with a 1C developer, with an estimate for each.
Typical problems with other people's data processors
What we find in audits.
- A data processor without source code. The file exists, the author does not, and nobody knows what is inside. Sometimes it contains passwords or paths to folders long gone.
- No preview before changes. The data processor changes documents immediately, with no list and no log. One error in a condition and there is no way back.
- Built into the standard configuration. It was turned into a configuration object and now gets in the way of updates.
- Slows down the database. It loops through documents one by one instead of using a query and takes an hour where a minute would do.
- Administrator rights. It only works with full rights, so every user was given them.
A separate story is data processors downloaded from the internet. A free import or cleanup data processor may work, or it may contain errors or outdated code that behaves differently on a new platform. Running such files on a live database without checking is not a good idea.
We rewrite such data processors or bring them into order. We start with an audit: we review all connected additional data processors, what each one does and how safe it is.
How we differ, and who this is for
A data processor you can maintain.
Any 1C developer can write a data processor. The difference is what happens a year later: is there source code, is it clear what it does, will it survive an update, will it damage the database on bad data. We write data processors with a preview, a log and testing on a copy, and leave you the source and a guide.
Another difference: we also build integrations. If a data processor imports data that could arrive automatically, such as orders from a website or Kaspi, we will suggest a 1C integration instead of manual file imports.
We work remotely across Kazakhstan: Almaty, Astana, Shymkent, Karaganda and other cities. Access to a copy of the database is through a secure connection, and the live database only receives agreed changes.
Data processors are ordered by trading companies with regular supplier price lists, distributors with exports for partners, manufacturers with bulk cost recalculations, and service companies importing requests from other systems. What they share: 1C has repetitive manual work that can be handed over to code.
FAQ about external 1C data processors
Safety, timelines and connection.
How much does an external 1C data processor cost?
From 150,000 ₸ for a simple data processor, from one week. Imports for your format and bulk operations with a log take one to two weeks. A combination with a configuration extension starts at 350,000 ₸.
Why is an external data processor safer than a customization?
It does not change the standard configuration: the database stays on vendor support, updates go through normally, and the data processor itself can be switched off with one checkbox without a developer.
How is a data processor connected?
Through the "Additional reports and data processors" catalog. Once connected it appears in the right menu section or document list. Permissions are set separately for user groups, so risky operations are available only to responsible staff.
Can a data processor run on a schedule?
Yes. In BSP-based configurations an additional data processor can be registered as a scheduled job without editing the configuration. We add a log and a failure alert so the job does not stop unnoticed.
What if the data processor changes the wrong documents?
Our bulk data processors first show the list of changes, and after confirmation they save a log that can restore the previous values. Everything is tested on a copy before running.
Will the data processor break after a 1C update?
Usually not. If the new release changed objects it uses, the fix is small. Under a support plan we check data processors before the live database is updated.
Can you fix a data processor written before us?
Yes, if you have the file. We work out what it does, check safety and speed, and propose fixing or rewriting it, with an estimate for both. Without the source it is still possible, just slower: we first reconstruct the logic from the data processor's behavior on a copy of the database.
Do you work with our configuration?
With most standard configurations for Kazakhstan and BSP-based industry solutions. For older configurations without BSP we choose a connection method after a review.
More 1C services
Related tasks that usually go together.
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