Capital Planning

The Define Capital Budgeting Criteria task must be completed before anything else. Navigate to the Configuration Task List page by selecting Maintenance > Admin > Configuration Tasks and clicking the Define Capital Budgeting Criteria task.

Here, you will define attributes used when adding Capital templates. The attributes set up here will determine the input for the attribute columns on the Add Capital Template page.

The table below provides information on each of the fields on this page.

Time Sets allow budget input at a selected time period frequency in a Capital template. By default, the Planful system assumes a one fiscal year (12 period) configuration, which is equal to months. But, you can create Custom Time Sets with varying frequencies. You'll associate the time set when you set up the finance mode.

Configuration of time sets starts with the Configuration Task called Define Budget Parameters. Access the Configuration Task List page by navigating to Maintenance > 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. You could then select to have a time set defined to budget at the month level, which leaves you with 60 periods for budget input in all templates with the All Months time set selection. Or, perhaps 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).

Adding Time Sets

Once the configuration is complete, you can add time sets by following the steps below.

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Templates > Template Setup.

2. Under the More list box, select Define Time Sets.

3. On the Define Time Sets page, click the Add button.

4. On the Add Time Sets page, enter a code and name to identify the time set.

5. Select the number of years in which the time set will apply.

6. Then select Month, Quarter, or Year for period frequency, which determines the finance mode template column structure for allowed budget input periods.

For example, let’s say you have 6 Budget input years. The template is defined with the following time set definition:

Year 1 - Month = 12 periods

Year 2 - Year = 1 period

Year 3 - Quarter = 4 periods

Year 4 - Quarter = 4 period

Year 5 - Year = 1 period

Year 6 - Year = 1 period

The template will have 23 Budget input periods (assuming 12-month periods in a fiscal year). Or you can have the template defined for any number of years such as 1, 2 or 4, and up to 6 fiscal years with any granularity (Month/Quarter/Year) for budget data input.

Before you create assets, you'll need to create asset categories, which you'll add assets to for tracking and accounting purposes.

To add asset categories:

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Capital > Asset Setup and click the Asset Categories tab.

2. Click the Add button on the Asset Categories page.

3. For Asset Category Code, enter a code for the asset category that correlates with your company's current practices.

4. For Asset Category Name, enter a name for the asset category that is descriptive and easy to identify.

5. For Asset Life (in Months), enter the average life of the asset category. For example, if you have a category called Office Furniture and, in general, office furniture lasts for 5 years, then you'll enter 60.

To add assets:

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Capital > Asset Setup. Click the Asset tab.

2. Click the Add button on the Asset page.

3. Enter an asset code for the asset that correlates with your company's current practices.

4. Enter a name for the asset that is descriptive and easy to identify. This field is required.

5. Select a category from the drop-down list. The list of available categories is populated from the asset categories you set up using the Asset Categories page.

6. Asset Life (in Months) is defaulted based on the category the asset is assigned to.

7. For Status, select whether the asset is Active or Inactive.

8. For Allow Life overriding by end-user, select this checkbox to allow a budget user to override the useful life of the asset during budget input via the Planning Control Panel.

Perform the initial setup for asset purchases on various finance options like credit, cash or loan purchases. Set up finance modes for asset categories. For each asset category, set up capital costing items. Each finance mode you create can be used to budget various assets under a chosen category.

To add a finance mode:

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Capital > Asset Setup. Click the Finance Mode tab.

2. Click the Add button on the Finance Mode page.

3. For Finance Mode Code, enter a code that correlates with your company's current practices.

4. For Finance Mode Name, enter a name that is descriptive and easy to identify.

5. The Default option is selected by default. Deselect this option and select Custom Time Set to allow additional time set fields to create time sets with varying frequencies.

Fields available when Custom Time Set is selected:

• Time Set - Select the time set you want associated with the template. The Time Set options available are those you defined on the Define Time Sets page.

• Year Total Columns - This selection determines the position of the Year Total(s) columns on the template with respect to the Budget Periods.

  • Before Budget Periods – Places the Year Total(s) column before all budget periods.

  • After Budget Periods - Places the Year Total(s) column after all budget periods.

  • By Budget Periods (Before) – Places the Year Total(s) column before the budget periods per time set structure (year, quarter, month).

  • By Budget Periods (After) - Places the Year Total(s) column after the budget periods per time set structure (year, quarter, month).

• Year Totals For - Select whether year totals will apply to budget periods or all periods.

6. Select asset categories to map to the finance mode. Select the asset category and click the forward arrow to map the asset category. You can also unmap asset categories by selecting one in the Mapped Asset Category pane and clicking the back arrow.

7. Click Save.

Once you've completed adding finance modes, perform template setup to design the template. Select the finance mode on the Finance Mode page and click the Setup button as shown below.

On the Setup page, the template lists all attributes defined during configuration on the Configuration Tasks > Define Capital Budgeting Criteria page as shown below.

When you first open the template, the Line Code column is blank. You'll need to provide destination account mappings as this is how you identify accounts in your general ledger where capital budget data is entered (or calculated) and saved.

1. Select the line, select the Mappings list box, and then select Destination Account.

2. On the Destination Account Mapping page, select segment information and click Save.

3. The Line Code column in the template is updated once Destination Account Mapping is complete for the line.

4. Repeat for each line.

Continue to design the template as needed; add borders, font color, background shading and so on.

Now that your Finance Mode templates are set up, create Capital Templates, which act as place holders to load assets, categories, and defined finance modes to in the Planning Control Panel. End-users will open Capital Templates for input in the Planning Control Panel, then load assets and associated finance mode lines to the template for budgeting purposes.

To add a Capital Template:

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Templates > Template Setup.

2. Select the Default scenario. All templates must created on the Default scenario and then mapped to your scenarios of choice.

3. Click the Add button.

4. For Template Type, select Capital Template.

5. Enter a Template Code (enter any code that correlates with your company's current identification practices).

6. Enter a Template Name (enter a descriptive and identifiable name).

7. Select the Entity Type for the template. This information is populated from the Entity Types set up in Hierarchy Management. Entity types are associated with the lowest-level members of the budget hierarchy.

8. For Data Transfer select Apply Sign Reversal or No Sign Reversal. This selection works with the Debit/Credit field in the Natural Account segment. Debit accounts typically display data in the same sign as stored in the database. Credit-type accounts typically store data in the opposite sign of that stored in the database. Therefore, a credit becomes a debit (or negative) in the database but is displayed as a positive in reports and during input.

   • Apply Sign Reversal - Select this option so that credit-type accounts are displayed and entered opposite the sign they are stored.

   • No Sign Reversal - Select this option to display and enter balances as they should be stored in the database.

9. For Display Line Code, select the checkbox to display a separate column in the template for the line codes.

10. Click the Template Columns tab. This is where you will configure template column structures such as Time Set and Template Attribute Columns.

    • Default Time Set/Custom Time Set - Time Sets allow budget input at a selected time period frequency in a budget template for each budget input year. By default, the Planful system assumes a one fiscal year (12 period) configuration, which is equal to months. This option is selected by default. Deselect this option and select Custom Time Set to allow additional time set fields to create time sets with varying frequencies. Once created, they are mapped to templates.

      Fields available when Custom Time Set is selected:

      • Time Set - Select the time set you want associated with the template. The Time Set options available are those you defined on the Define Time Sets page.

      • Year Total Columns - This selection determines the position of the Year Total(s) columns on the template with respect to the Budget Periods. Before Budget Periods – Places the Year Total(s) column before all budget periods.

        After Budget Periods - Places the Year Total(s) column after all budget periods.

        By Budget Periods (Before) – Places the Year Total(s) column before the budget periods per time set structure (year, quarter, month).

        By Budget Periods (After) - Places the Year Total(s) column after the budget periods per time set structure (year, quarter, month).

      • Year Totals For - Determines the way the Year Total column is produced on the template. Year Totals For - Determines the way the Year Total column is produced on the template.

        All Periods - Creates the Year Total column which contains data for all years.

11. Attribute Columns - Attribute selections are not available and are pre-populated based on your configuration on the Define Capital Budgeting Criteria page shown below.

    
    

12. Click the Segment Members tab.

    • All Members - Indicates that the mapping for the respective definition is performed from the Template Input page along with the segment identified as a ‘Load’ segment. Note that a Load-type segment is also a template segment.

    • Allow Destination Account Setup - Allows administrators to override the control panel setting.

13. Click Save and click the Back button to return to the Template List page. There is NO Template Setup for Capital templates. Template setup is completed when assets, finance modes, and asset categories set up is complete.