Configuring and Using Time Sets

Time Sets allow input at a selected time period frequency in a template for each input year. This flexibility allows you to create templates with accurate operational plans and provides a means for long-term strategic planning.

Within templates, you have the option to select the Default Time Set or define a Custom Time Set. Selecting Default Time Set will have all the columns in the template based on months. However, you can customize the way you want your template to record data by using the Custom Time Set option.
So, it is important to define custom time sets before adding templates.

Time period frequencies include Year, Quarter, and Month. Let’s say you have a 5-year Budget input plan. The template is defined with the following time set definition:

• Year 1 - Month: 12 periods (to allow detailed monthly planning for the immediate year)
• Year 2 - Quarter: 4 periods (to shift to quarterly planning as you move further out)
• Year 3 - Quarter: 4 periods (continuing quarterly planning to track key milestones)
• Year 4 - Year: 1 period (simplifying to annual planning for longer-term strategic goals)
• Year 5 - Year: 1 period (focusing on overall yearly targets and strategic direction)

The template will have columns based on the selected time set.

How to Configure Budget Parameters?

Configuration of time sets starts within the Configuration Tasks. Access the Configuration Task List page by navigating to Maintenance > Administration > Configuration Tasks. Then, select the Define Budget Parameters task.

The number of years selected for Budget Input Years determines the number of applicable years for the time set definition.

Let’s say you select 5 Budget Input Years. The default time set is to plan at the monthly level, which in this case would provide 60 periods for input in all templates. If you wanted to have a different number of periods, you could instead create a custom time set. This would be useful in a case where you want to have the first 2 years at the month level and the remaining years at the quarter, which leaves you with 36 periods (24 input periods for the first 2 years and 12 input periods for the remaining 3 years at the quarterly time set).

The time sets you create may have varying frequencies. Once created, you can map the desired time set to a template.

How to Define Time Sets?

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Planning Templates > Template Setup.
2. Click the More list box.
3. Select Define Time Sets.
   
   
4. Click the Add button on the Define Time Sets page.
   
   
5. Enter a name and code to identify the time set.
6. Select the number of years and the time period frequency for each year.
7. Click Save.
   

How to Set the Default Time Set?

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Planning Templates > Template Setup.
2. Click the More list box.
3. Select Define Time Sets. By default, All Months(Default) is the pre-selected time set value unless a different option is selected on this page.
   
   
4. On the Define Time Set page, select the time set that you want to be the default. This means that when you add a template and select the Default Time Set option (shown below), it is applied unless you select Custom Time Set.
   
   
5. Click Set Default. It is displayed in a red color.