IFS IDEAS Allocations User Guide

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Allocations Overview

The Allocations module facilitates the process of allocating costs to multiple accounts. The module performs calculations with multiple fixed percentages as well as derived percentage allocations. In addition, the module supports both intracompany and intercompany allocations.

Using the Allocations module, users define and maintain individual allocation specifications or rules. A ruled amounts will be distributed). In addition, the rule specifies the affected ledger, the journal to which the allocated amounts are to be written and the offset accounts (for inter-company allocations only). Allocation rules may also specify summary accounts for the Allocations structure. IFS IDEAS totals and allocates the callout amounts of the summary account according to the defined rule‑(s)..

Because the journal ID refers to a predefined journal, the type of data to be allocated (e.g., segment ID) must be defined at the time the journal is initially created. See the Segment Definition function (accessed through the Customizer drop-down menu in the General Ledger module) for details.

The Allocations module includes the following functions:

• Rule Administration

• Rules Report

• Create Journals

• Utilities

• Year End

How to Perform Allocations

To use the Allocations module, first access the Rule Administration function.  Using that function, define source accounts, target accounts, offset accounts and fixed or derived percentages.  Next, using the Rules Report function, generate and print the allocation rules you defined using Rule Administration.  Finally, using the Create Journal function, generate the allocation journal entries specified in the allocation rules. 

IFS IDEAS flags rules so that the same allocation rule cannot be executed more than once in the same period. 

You are able to run the Reset Journal Generation Flag utility, however, to reset period indicators so that a specific rule can be run again during the same period.  To reset period indicators at the end of an accounting year, you may run the Year End function.

Modules to Set Up Before Allocations

IFS IDEAS requires that the General Ledger module be set up before settings and configurations in the Allocations module can be defined.

Refer to the General Ledger manual for guidance on how the GL module should be configured.

Screen-by-Screen Instructions – Overview

The Allocations module allows users to perform multiple fixed percentage or derived percentage allocations.

IFS IDEAS logically organizes functions into menus. Below are the three menu names and the functions that fall under each:

In addition to accessing Allocations functions from the menus, there are buttons for many of the functions contained in the Allocations module. See the chart below for a brief description of each.

Please refer to screen-by-screen instructions for details on how to complete each screen.  Instructions are in the immediately following sections.

Export to Excel Feature

Some screens in this module may have an Export to Excel  button incorporated in the screen or an export to excel  icon in the toolbar.  The user can click on this button or icon to export the raw report data directly to an Excel spreadsheet, bypassing the report.  This feature is useful as it allows clients to use Excel features (for example, pivot tables, etc.) to organize the data as desired.

Allocation Rules Menu

The Allocation Rules menu contains the Allocation Rule Administration screen and the Rules Report. Use the Allocation Rule Administration screen to establish and maintain rules for allocating account balances, then use the Rules Report to review established rules.

Allocation Rule Administration

Use Allocation Rule Administration to establish and maintain rules for allocating account balances. A rule consists of a source account from which amounts are allocated, a list of receiving accounts with their corresponding allocation or derivative percentages, and a journal number on which the transaction will be recorded.

Note: The journal must be defined as a valid journal in the General Ledger module before it will be accepted by the Allocations module. 

Processing the Allocation Rule Administration Screen

Click on the  icon or select Allocation Rule Administration from the Allocation Rules menu.

Open

Rule Info Tab

The first tab in the Allocation Rule Administration is the Rule Info tab. This tab establishes base information for the rule.

• Ledger – Click on the drop-down arrow and select the ledger for which to establish a rule. 

  • Allocations may only be defined within the same ledger.  For example, allocations between ledgers such as from GL to WIP are invalid.

• Company – Click on the drop-down arrow and select the company for which to perform the allocations. For an inter-company rule, enter the source account of the company.

• Rule – Click on the drop-down arrow and select an existing rule. Or, enter up to five alphanumeric characters to create an identifying name or ID for a new rule.

• Journal – Click on the drop-down arrow and select a journal on which the allocations will be recorded. Journals reside in the GL, so they must be established in the GL module first.

• Set – A set is a sub-group of allocations associated with a rule. Click on the drop-down arrow and select an existing set. Or, enter up to five alphanumeric characters to create an identifying name or ID for a new set.

• Rule Type – Complete applicable fields:

  • Inter-Company– If the allocation will be between related companies, check the Inter-Company check box.  If there is no allocation to related companies, leave the check box blank.box blank.

  • Fixed Percent – To use a user-specified fixed percentage for the allocation, select the Fixed Percent radio button.

  • Derived Percent – To use a system-derived percentage for the allocation, select the Derived Percent radio button. 

Open

The buttons located at the bottom of the screen allow users to perform certain actions:

• Copy – Click on the copy button to copy an existing rule. The system will check to ensure that the copy action will not overwrite an existing rule.

Open

• Delete – Click on this button to delete an entire rule from the IFS IDEAS system. 

• Save – Click on this button to save changes.

• Close – Click on this button to exit the screen without saving changes.

Source Info Tab

Use the Source Info tab to designate source segment, element ID and offset account information.

• Segment – Click on the drop-down arrow and select the appropriate segment for the source account.

• Use Source Accounts as Offset – Check the checkbox to use source accounts as offset accounts (instead of designating other accounts as offset accounts using the Source Offset Account field as described below).

• Element ID – IFS IDEAS automatically displays the element names contained in the ledger ID and segment unique to the installation.

Open

• Selection – For each element ID, click on the drop-down arrow and make a selection to form the source FQA from which balances will be distributed. If planning to make use of the wildcard feature in the target FQA, use Selection values that are summary elements.

• Structure – Click on the drop-down arrow and select an appropriate structure for each element in the Selection column.

• Source Offset Account – Select elements for the source offset account using the drop-down list for each element. These fields will be disabled if the Use Source Accounts as Offset box is checked.

Target Entry Tab

Use the Target Entry tab to designate the target FQA and any user-specified percentages for allocations.

• Line Number – Click on the drop-down arrow to select an existing line number to modify. To create a new line number, click the Add New button at the bottom of the screen.

• Target Percent – Enter a percentage to allocate for the line number displaying in the Line Number text box. The total percentage for all lines should add up to 100 percent.

• Remaining Percent – An informational field that shows the remaining unallocated percentage.

• Derive Segment – This field only displays if Derived Percent is selected on the Rule Info tab. Click on the drop-down arrow and select a segment.

• Target Account – Click on the drop-down arrow for each element and select element IDs to form the target FQA. 

If one or two summary elements were chosen in the source FQA, use the wildcard capability to retain the identity of the source FQA being allocated. To do so, complete the Target Account with an * symbol for every digit of the appropriate element ID(s) in place of the summary element ID(s) defined in the source. The wildcard capability cannot be used for the first element of an FQA, but it can be used for any others.

For example, if the source FQA is 10-1111-00000-00, where 00000 and 00 are summary elements, enter into the Target Account text boxes, 10-9999-*****-**.

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Buttons located at the bottom of the screen allow users to perform certain actions:

• Add New – Click this button to add a new Line No. A new line number cannot be added by clicking on the drop down arrow for the Line No text box.

• Update – Click this button to save changes.

• Delete – Click this button to delete the Line No. currently displayed.

Target Lines Tab

The Target Lines tab allows users to easily review all entered Target lines at once. The FQA information displays, with each line in the Target account represented by a line in the grid. This tab is display-only. If corrections should be made to the lines on this tab, the user must make them in the Target Entry tab.

• Line – The line number displays.

• Rule – The rule number displays.

• Percent – The percent allocated to the target account displays.

• Element1 through ElementX – Element IDs display.  These element IDs make up the Target FAQ and may contain wildcard characters. Refer to the Target Account field instructions above for more information on using wildcards.

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Intercompany Tab

The Intercompany tab is used for intercompany allocations. This tab will only be enabled if the Inter-Company box on the Rule Info tab is checked.

• Line Number – Select an existing line number to modify. To create a new line number, click on the Add New button at the bottom of the screen.

• Target Intercompany Account – Select element IDs to form the Target FQA. Use the wildcard capability, if desired. Refer to the Target Account field instructions above for more information on using wildcards.

• Source Intercompany Account – Select element IDs to form the Source FQA. Use summary elements to enable the wildcard feature.

 Buttons located at the bottom of the screen allow users to perform certain actions:

• Update – Click on this button to save changes.

• Delete – Click on this button to delete the Line No.

Rules Report Screen  

Rules Report is used to generate and print a report showing the allocation rules previously defined in the Rules Administration screen. 

Processing the Rules Report Screen

Click on the  icon or select Rules Report from the Allocation Rules menu.

Open

• Ledger – Click on the drop-down arrow and select a ledger.  If one ledger is defined, it displays automatically.

• Company – Click on the drop-down arrow and select a company. If only one company is defined, it displays automatically.

• Set – Click on the drop-down arrow and select a set. A set is a sub-group of allocations associated with a rule.

• Rule – Click on the drop-down arrow and select a rule. 

Once all selections have been made, click the Process button to generate the report in a Crystal Report viewer. When finished, use the Close button to close the Rules Report window.

Journal Generation Menu

The Journal Generation menu can be used to create journals for the Allocations module or run the Reset Journal Generation flag process.

Create Journals

The Create Journals function allows users to generate the allocation journal entries specified in the allocation rules. The system writes the generated journals to the journal entry (JVTRAN) file for later processing via the Journal Entry Processing function of the General Ledger module. 

The Create Journals function also automatically prints the Allocation Journal Generation Audit Report.

Processing the Create Journals

Click on the   icon or select Create Journals from the Journal Generation menu.

Open

• Ledger – Click on the drop-down arrow and select a ledger.  If only one ledger is defined, it displays automatically.

• Company – Click on the drop-down arrow and select a company. If only one company is defined, it displays automatically.

• Set – Click on the drop-down arrow and select a set.

• Rule – Click on the drop-down arrow and select a rule.

• Period – Click on the drop down arrow and select a period.

• Finalize – Check the Finalize box to initiate the process to create a journal. If this box is not checked, the system will generate the Allocation Journal Generation Audit Report, but no journals will be created.

• Summarize – Check the Summarize check box to generate the Allocation Journal Generation Audit Report with summarized amounts for all accounts. If offset and source accounts are the same, this can give a quick snapshot to indicate errors in the allocation processing. By default, the system will generate the report in the detail format.

Once all selections have been made, click the Process button to submit the process and generate the audit report in a Crystal Reports viewer. When finished, use the Close button to close the Journal Generation window.

System Utilities

The System Utilities function allows users to run the Reset Journal Generation Flag utility program.  This program resets period indicators so that a specific rule can be run again during the same period. This is a separate function from Year End, which will clear all flags for the fiscal year.

Processing the System Utilities screen

Select Utilities from the Journal Generation drop-down menu.

Open

• Select Option to Run – Highlight a utility to execute.  “Reset JournalGeneration Flag” is an option that displays automatically.  Other options may be available depending on your installation.

• Ledger – Select a ledger from the drop-down list. If only one ledger is defined, it displays automatically.

• Company – Select a company from the drop-down list. If only one company is defined, it displays automatically.

Once all selections have been made, click the Execute button to run the process. When finished, click the Close button to close the System Utilities window.

Year End Screen

The Year End function allows users to reset the journal generation flags for the entire fiscal year. After executing this screen at the end of the accounting year, the system allows the previously defined rules to be used again in the current year.

Processing the Year End Screen

Click on the  icon or click the Year End menu.

Open

• Ledger – Click on the drop-down arrow and select a ledger. If only one ledger is defined, it displays automatically.

• Company – Click on the drop-down arrow and select a company. If only one company is defined, it display automatically.

• Set – Click on the drop-down arrow and select a set. A set is a sub-group of allocations associated with a rule.

• Rule – Click on the drop-down arrow and select a rule. 

• Select All Rules – Click All Rules to reset all rules.

• Print History – Select Print History to print an audit trail report of allocations history.

• Clear History – Select Clear History to clear allocation history without printing a report.

Once all selections have been made, click the Process button to run the process and generate the audit report, if selected. When finished, click the Close button to close the Year End window.