Understanding Template Input and View Modes

Before adding, setting up and designing a template, decide on the type of template required. Depending on the planning needs there are several template types available. Different template types can be viewed here. The template has two modes:

• Input
• View

Input Mode

Where to Enter Template Data?

Data may be input in the white cells of a template as shown below. 

Views

Different layouts of a template can be created and saved in Views. The scope of a View can depend on the different use cases to address using the template. When sharing layouts with an end-user, it will help them focus on the data they want to see, hiding any unnecessary data.

While creating a View, hiding any row(s) or column(s) or filtering of columns can be done based on the use case and saved to the View.

How to Access the View Option?
To use the view option, do the following:

1. Navigate to Structured Planning to open the Planning Control Panel 
2. Select a Budget entity from the Budget Hierarchy pane.
3. Select the required template from the Template pane.
4. From the right pane, click Input under the Template Workflow section in the Actions tab. The selected template data is displayed.
5. Access the View option from the top menu bar.

How to Create a New View?

Perform the following steps to create a new View:

1. Navigate to Structured Planning to open the Planning Control Panel.
2. Select a Budget entity from the Budget Hierarchy pane.
3. Select the required template from the Template pane.
4. From the right pane, click Input under the Template Workflow section in the Actions tab. The selected template data is displayed.
5. Click the View option on the top menu bar in a template.
6. Select the Create a New View option from the list.
7. Provide a unique name for the View in the Enter View Name field, and do the following:
   1. Filter the required column
   2. Hide the required row(s) and column(s)
8. Click Save View. The saved view is listed in the Views list.
   Note:

   Use the Reset option to undo the changes made in that view till that point.

Click the View option in the menu bar and click on the required view from the list to see previously created views.

How to Manage Views?

To edit or delete any View that was already created, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to Structured Planning to open the Planning Control Panel.
2. Select a Budget entity from the Budget Hierarchy pane.
3. Select the required template from the Template pane.
4. From the right pane, click Input under the Template Workflow section in the Actions tab. The selected template data is displayed.
5. Click the View option on the top menu bar in a template.
6. Select the Manage Views option from the list. The list of already created views is displayed.
7. To delete any view, click the delete icon adjacent to that respective view.
8. To edit any view, click the edit icon adjacent to that respective view, and do the required updates.

Subline Validation

This feature checks every main template line against associated sublines and verifies the data matches. If the data does not match, template lines are highlighted in red. The Subline Validation report is a Standard Report. Admin users can access Standard Reports by navigating to Maintenance > Report Admistration > Standard Reports. 

1. Select the Subline Validation Report, click More, and select Deploy to make the report available to users. 
2. The report can be run from this interface in addition to the Template interface. 
3. When the Subline Validation Report is run, a prompt to select a scenario, entity, template, and fiscal year will populate.
   

Validation Report

Run the Subline Validation report to view all Subline discrepancies between sublines and main lines for a template. To access the report, open a template in View or Input mode. Click the More list-box and select Validation Report.

Explanation of Line Types in Templates

In the templates below, there are several line types; H, L, C, RA. Additionally, you may have templates with RC, DA, and N line types. Each of the line types has a specific purpose.

L (Subline) Template Line

A line with an L hyperlink indicates that there are sublines associated with the line. For example, a checking account line and the Subline template lines provide a way to itemize the account.

Click the L hyperlink to open the Subline template interface where Subline details can be entered. Subline details itemize accounts on the main template input page. Perform direct entry (yellow cells) at the detail level in the cells of the Subline template as well as add and remove sublines.

Once sublines are added, the template line displays in red with a green background on the main template page as shown below.

Description of the fields on the Subline Template page is provided below.

• Remove All Lines - click to remove all the added sublines.

• Insert Lines - enter the number of rows (account strings) to insert into the grid or press Enter on your keyboard.

• Allow line total formula update - this selection prevents from changing the formula associated with the line. For example, a formula might be set up to calculate monthly totals. Select this checkbox to open or unlock the row to allow modifications. Once selected, the row will change from white to yellow indicating that data can be entered in the cells.

• Reset Formula - reset the formula to the original. For example, if a formula is defined to calculate monthly forecast and the formula is changed to calculate, quarter 1 total, then click Reset Formula to calculate monthly total once again.

• Save - Saving the Subline template also saves the main template.

C Template Line Type 

A row with a C means that it is a Calculated line. Calculated lines have calculations, such as the sum of several cells. Some examples are provided below.

Enter formulas in the formula bar for a template opened from the Planning Control Panel in Input mode. Optionally, enter the formula in the cell.

H Template Line Type 

An H row iIndicates the line is a header line. These lines are not editable.The Admin user may use this line type to enter notes for the end-user, to format the template and even to add additional spacing.

N Template Line Item 

Rows with N indicate notes are attached to the line. Notes might provide additional detail on the line or instructions to the end-user. Click the Note icon and the Line Notes page appears.

RA Template Line Item 

RA stands for Reference Account and indicates another account(s) is referenced for that template line. For example, a payroll account referenced from an HR template line.

This template has 4 RA lines. If the Bonuses RA line is clicked, the Reference Account Report opens with information on the accounts referenced for this line.

DA Template Line Item 

DA stands for Destination Account and indicates that template line is mapped to a segment combination. Destination accounts are used to save budget or forecast data entered or calculated in a selected budget template against a General Ledger account.

RC Template Line Item 

RC stands for Reference Cube and indicates the line references data from the reporting cube. For example, the line displays a total from data that was looked up. The results is total revenue for all sales departments in a legal entity.

Perform Input after Forwarding or Approval of Templates

Input data to templates in a forwarded and/or approved state. 

Perform template input against a forwarded (or approved) template.

View Cell Updates

View the history of the data changes on the source data available in the templates. Double-click on any record from the template to view the history. The history contains information like dimension intersection details, who changed the data, the timestamp of the data change, and the details about the changes.

This functionality applies only when the Ivy framework is enabled in the application. Contact Planful Support to enable Ivy in your Sandbox application.

Templates act as structures that hold budget data like scenarios, attributes, and entities. Design templates based on your business needs. Using the History feature verify the updates made to the source data in the templates. It provides information like who changed the data, the timestamp of the data change, and the details about the changes.

Select any cell in the template and the History toggle is displayed in the top right corner of the template. Enable the History toggle to view the history of the data.

Disable the history toggle to stop the history view.

How to Open a Template in View Mode

View mode does not allow you to make changes to the template. To open a template in View mode:

1. Navigate to Structured Planning to open the Planning Control Panel  
2. Select the budget entity in the budget hierarchy from the left pane.

3. Select the template in the middle pane.

4. Click the View action in the right pane.

What to do when there are Data Discrepancies in the Template

If calculations (for example, sub-totals or percentages) in the template are not accurate/updated due to recent updates to the driver/source templates (for example, Employee Compensation, Capital Planning and Initiatives), but individual budget lines are updating correctly, do the following:

1. Access the template in Input mode.

2. Next, verify all fields are updated/accurate.

3. Save the template. Doing so updates the calculations and synchronizes the driver/source templates until further changes are made requiring this process to be repeated.

If Input mode is not available as a Budget Preparer/Approver, take one of the following actions depending on the use case situation: