Working with Snapshots in Planning Control Panel

Snapshot

The Snapshot feature allows finance teams to take a backup of a template for the selected budget entity. Using this feature, finance teams can easily take a backup and restore the version of the template if needed.

Let's understand this with an example:

John from the finance team takes a Snapshot of the "Operating Expense" template and shares this template with a budget manager named Michel and wants him to update "T&E Accounts". Michel updates "T&E Accounts" but accidentally deletes some existing data. John gets a notification about the status of the template and verifies it. John observes some data discrepancies.

Now, with the Snapshot feature, John can use the backup of the template he created before sharing it with Michel and easily restore the backup version as the main version of the template and completely avoid using the template that came back from Michel.

How to Create a Snapshot?

Perform the below steps to create a snapshot:

1. Navigate to Structured Planning to open the Planning Control Panel
2. Select a Scenario,Budget Entity, and a template.
   
   
3. Click the Snapshot icon. You will see a dialog box on the screen.
   
   
4. In the Create New tab, provide a name for the backup version of the template and click Save.
   
   
5. Click the Saved tab to view the backup version. The latest backup version is saved at the top.
   
   
6. Click the Export to Excel icon if you want to download the backup version of the template.
   
   

How to Restore a Snapshot?

Perform the below steps to restore a snapshot:

1. Navigate to Structured Planning to open the Planning Control Panel. 
2. Select a Scenario, Budget Entity, and a template with at least one snapshot.
   
   
3. Click the Snapshot icon. You will see a dialog box on the screen.
4. Click the Saved tab to view the list of backup versions.
   Click the Restore button associated with the snapshot you want to restore. A confirmation message will appear asking for your permission.
   
5. Click Yes to restore this version of the template.
   
   Notes:

• You can take a snapshot of the entire template, but the application can restore only L-type lines when you restore a template.
• You can only restore the latest backup for the Template, however you can download the older template versions with the Export to Excel icon.
• In the Template Input screen, you can see the modified date and time for the template in the history window.
• You cannot restore the backup version if the template is open in the input mode. You have to close all template instances before restoring its backup version.
  
  
• If you have made structural changes to the template in the Template Setup mode, such as adding a new line type or updating a calculation formula, the latest backup version of the template will become invalid. Click here to learn more about structural changes.
  
  
• The audit logs record all the activities performed related to the Snapshot feature.

Snapshot Restore Guidelines

The snapshot feature allows finance teams to take a backup of a GTSC template for the selected budget entity. Using this feature, finance teams can easily take a backup and restore the version of the template if needed. You need to have access to the GTSC template in Input mode to be able to restore a snapshot. Following are the cases when a snapshot can be restored:

1. The latest Snapshot of the template or the restorable version of the template can be restored and has the delete option disabled.
2. When you click on restore, the Planful system automatically generates a backup version of the snapshot which can be restored. 
3. Only L-type lines are restored from the snapshot, while RA lines (Single & Multiple), RC lines, C-type Lines, and History account lines are not restored since these lines consist of data from a different template.
4. Once a snapshot is restored, it can not be reverted and it can be downloaded in Excel format.
5. In case a template is open in the setup or input mode, the scenario will be locked and you will not be able to restore a snapshot of the same template.
6. Only data from the template is restored from the snapshot while the format changes from the template are retained.

How to Schedule a Template Snapshot in Cloud Scheduler?

The Template Snapshot feature allows you to create a recurring schedule for the template snapshot creation. Once scheduled, the Cloud Scheduler will automatically create snapshots. This ensures the template is consistently backed up at the roll-up level without continuous user intervention. It also maintains the history of template versions, providing easy comparison, analysis, and recovery.

To schedule a template snapshot in the cloud scheduler, do the following:

1. Cloud Scheduler can be accessed either from Maintenance > Administration > Cloud Scheduler.
   
   Or when you take a snapshot from the leaf level in the Planning Control Panel.
2. Click Cloud Scheduler to be directed to the Cloud Scheduler page.
   
   Note:

   Access to Cloud Scheduler is restricted to users with the appropriate permissions. If you do not have access, please contact your administrator for assistance in getting access to Cloud Scheduler.
3. Click Add from the Process Flow page.
   
   Three tabs are displayed on the Add Process Flow page: General Information, Tasks, and Scheduler.
4. Fill in all the details in the General Information.
   
5. Now, go to Tasks > Add Task, and on the New Task popup, select Template Snapshot from the Task Type.
   
6. Enter the Task Name, Scenario, Entity, Template, and Dependencies (this is an optional field) and click Save.
   
7. Use the Scheduler tab to run the process flow at a scheduled date, time, or a selected frequency.
   
8. Click Save or Save & Schedule to save the task. Click Run if you want to run the scheduler immediately.
9. Go to the Job Manager to view the completed process and the status of each run.