Exploring the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Hierarchies

To create a new company or add a new

Creating a new company is the same as adding a new member to the Company dimension in the Finance Hierarchy. On the Hierarchy Management page, select Finance Hierarchies as Type and Company as Dimension. In the Company dimension, add a new member. Click here to learn more about adding a new member to a hierarchy.

When an admin or any user with access to Hierarchy Management opens the hierarchy in edit mode (via Edit Hierarchy), the page becomes locked for all other users. Only one user can edit at a time. To unlock it, the user currently editing must exit edit mode or close the page. Once they do, others will be able to access it in edit mode.

To control which companies (or any specific dimension members) a user can access in Structured Planning, you can configure access through the Approval Role Setup for Budget Entity Hierarchies. Once your hierarchies are created, follow the steps below to manage user access:

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Administration > User & Role Management.

2. Select the user you want to configure.

3. Click the Security icon and choose Approval Role Setup.

4. On the Approval Role Setup page:

   1. Assign the appropriate Budget Entities — each representing a combination of dimension members (e.g., Company, Department). This determines which companies the user can see.

   2. Assign the Approval Role, which defines the planning templates available to the user.

5. Click Save to apply the changes.

This setup ensures the user can only access the companies (or specific dimension members) to which they are granted access in the Planning Control Panel.

If you don’t see new accounts in Hierarchy Management, check if the new accounts have been added to the source system and imported into Planful. If the accounts are not yet imported, they won't appear in Hierarchy Management for mapping. Also, ensure you're viewing the correct version and dimension where the accounts should be mapped.

If you do not see the user-defined attribute in Attribute Settings, here are the possible reasons:

1. The attribute was not saved properly after creation. Make sure the attribute creation process was completed and saved.

2. You are viewing a different dimension. Attributes are dimension-specific. Verify that you are in the Attribute Settings for the correct dimension (e.g., Account, Entity, etc.).

No, "Iif” sting" cannot be used as a name for an attribute or dimension because "Iif" is part of the disallowed strings in Planful. To learn more about the disallowed strings for Attributes and Dimensions, click here.

To update segment properties, do the following:

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Hierarchy > Hierarchy Management.

2. Select the hierarchy Type, Dimension, and Hierarchy

3. Click Apply Selection.

4. In the hierarchy tree, select the immediate parent member of the desired rollup member.

5. In the middle pane, select the rollup or leaf level member. If the properties panel is not visible, click More, and then click Show/Hide Properties.

6. Edit the segment properties as needed and click OK.

7. Click Save.

To learn more about segment properties, click here

The Dimension member cannot be edited when the Hierarchy Management page is opened in Read Mode. To edit a dimension member (e.g., Division), ensure that Hierarchy Management is opened in Edit Mode.

Not necessarily. If the reorganization affects only reporting (e.g., department roll-ups), update the Financial Hierarchy. If it impacts planning activities like template access or approvals, update the Entity Hierarchy. Update both only if the reorganization affects both reporting and planning structures.

It depends on where the change impacts:

• If the move affects only reporting, update the Financial Hierarchy.

• If the move affects planning (e.g., template access, approvals, or workflow), update the Entity Hierarchy.

• If both reporting and planning are impacted, then update both hierarchies.

So in your case — if you're only changing how the Business Unit appears in reporting roll-ups, updating just the Financial Hierarchy is enough.

To display both on the same row in a Dynamic Report, follow these steps:

1. Create a Dynamic Report.

2. Add a base dimension to the Rows (e.g., Department or Employee).

3. From the Pick List, add both the Business Unit and the desired User-Defined Attribute to the row section.

4. Run the report — both fields will appear as separate columns in the same row.

Make sure the attributes are enabled in the reporting cube to be available in the report.

Not always. It depends on how the new roll-up will be used:

• If the roll-up is for reporting purposes only, create or update it in the Financial Hierarchy.

• If the roll-up is needed for planning activities (e.g., template assignment, workflow, approvals), update the Entity Hierarchy.

• If it impacts both reporting and planning, then you should update both hierarchies.

The Financial Hierarchy supports reporting, while the Entity Hierarchy controls planning access and structure.

You cannot simply “change the functional currency of a company in your hierarchy” through hierarchy management. The functional (common) currency is a system-level configuration for consolidation and reporting. If an entity needs a different reporting currency, you usually configure it via Interim Currency or create a new entity with the desired local currency setting. For changing the existing functional currency, you would need to work with Planful Support or your Admin during configuration tasks.

• When an attribute is created in Attribute Setup, the field “Used in Reporting” defaults to No (which is a read-only field).

• Once the attribute is mapped into a cube in Report Administration → Cube Settings → Attribute Settings, the system automatically sets “Used in Reporting” to Yes in Attribute Setup.

• If the attribute is then used in designing reports:

  • You cannot unmap it in Attribute Settings.

  • You cannot change its Type (Reporting to Non-Reporting).

• If the attribute is not used in any reports, you can still change its Type or unmap it. and the system flips “Used in Reporting” to No automatically in Attribute Setup.