Structured Planning Configuration Tasks

Configuration Checklist

This checklist is a comprehensive guide to completing all necessary configurations for Structured Planning. Navigate to Maintenance > Administration > Configuration Tasks and complete the following tasks:

Under Configuration Tasks

• General Financial Configuration: This section includes tasks related to defining the foundational financial structure of Planful application. It covers defining financial segments (dimensions), budget entities, fiscal year parameters, budget parameters, currency parameters, and workforce planning criteria. Learn more about General Financial Configuration here. 
• Ivy: Ivy is Planful’s proprietary framework for unified, smarter, and faster data handling across data integrations, planning, consolidation, and close processes in the Planful Structured Planning application. Learn more about Ivy configuration here.
• Data Integration Configuration: This section focuses on how data is loaded into the Planful structure. It covers various options for data integration, including Web Service Access and Cloud Services. Security access and data loading options for data integration can be configured. Learn more about Data Integration Configuration here.
• DLR Data Calculations Configurations: This task defines exceptions to default calculations when loading data into Planful. It details how data calculations work and how to set up and use data calculation exceptions. Learn more about DLR Data Calculations Configurations here.
• Define Reporting Areas: This task is associated with configuring reporting cubes. Reporting cubes are multi-dimensional structures used for data analysis and reporting. The configuration of reporting areas is automatic when associated configuration tasks are complete. Learn more about reporting areas here.
• Workflow Setup: Enable Enhanced Workflow for scenarios from this page. The automated tasks and multiple authorization functionalities are activated once workflow is enabled and the process has started. Learn more about Workflow Setup here.

Under Maintenance > Administration > Security Administration

• Set application access security on the Security Administration page. For example, enable IP Logging to track user logins by recording IP addresses.

Under Maintenance

• Currency: Currency is assigned at the budget entity level within planning. In a multi-currency environment, this assigned currency applies to the entire budget entity. For information on currencies and related functionality across all modules, refer to the Currency Guide.
• Hierarchies and Entities: Entities are a combination of dimensions. This combination of dimensions forms entities that make up the Budget Entity Hierarchy. The Budget Entity hierarchy is essential for budget management. Users need to create templates for each entity in the hierarchy, budget data cannot be entered without these templates. Additionally, both entities and templates are linked to specific scenarios. Understanding this hierarchy helps in organizing and managing budget effectively. Learn more about hierarchies and entities here.
• Attributes and Attribute Hierarchies: Attribute hierarchies are created for reporting purposes and provide a way to summarize members. An Attribute Hierarchy can be used as an alternative common chart of accounts hierarchy. Learn more about Attributes and Attribute Hierarchies here. 
• Load Data to Planful: Once the Configuration Tasks are completed, users define the application’s structure, including the chart of accounts, fiscal year, and other parameters. The next step is to load data into this framework. Learn more about how to load data here. 
• Scenario Setup: Create different types of scenarios, which represent predetermined length of time of a budget or forecast for a fiscal year. For Planning, create an entity hierarchy in addition to finance hierarchy. Templates are created and mapped to entities so budget users can input data against the entity. Learn more about the scenario setup here.
• Process Reporting Area: The Process Reporting Area page allows the processing reports or templates when new data is added or existing data has been updated. This functionality helps to reflect the latest data in reports or templates. Learn more about the process reporting area here.
• Dimension Security: Security for dimensions must be activated, and users must be granted security to specific dimensions for reporting purposes. Dimension Security is applicable for attributes, attribute hierarchies, point-of-view reporting, reports, and report sets. Learn more about Dimension Security here.
• Standard Reports: Planful delivers presentation-quality financial reports, budget workflow, and administrative reports. Deploy Standard reports to make them active and available to users. Users can only generate standard reports for entities/data to which they have access by their assigned Budget Approval Role or within Dimension Security. Learn more about Standard Reports here.

After all of the configurations above, complete the template setup. 

• Planning Templates: This is the section where users can define, customize, and manage the crucial components for Structured Planning. Learn more about Planning Templates here.

Key References

The following are additional Structured Planning articles for reference:

• Simulation Engine: This is an automated way of saving templates. This process re-computes and saves template data based on changes to the reference data or other global drivers. For example, salary is often referenced from the Workforce template in the department operating expense template. Learn more about simulation engine here.
• User Management:  This allows adding and maintaining Planful users and providing access to application pages and data security for those users. Learn more about user management here.
• Cloud Scheduler: This is used to automatically run data load rules, report collections, the Consolidation process, Financial Package reports, scenarios, Simulation Engine, translations export at a scheduled date and time. Learn more about Cloud Scheduler here.