Using ChartField Inheritance

To use and setup ChartField inheritance, use the ChartField Inheritance component (CF_INHERIT) and the Detail Ledger Group component (DETAIL_LEDGER_GROU).

This topic provides an overview of ChartField Inheritance and discusses how to:

Specify inheritance options.
Deal with ChartField inheritance groups requiring special validation with balanced ChartFields.

Pages Used to Set Up ChartField Inheritance

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
ChartField Inheritance	CF_INHERIT	Set Up Financials/Supply Chain, Common Definitions, Design ChartFields, ChartField Inheritance, ChartField Inheritance	Use to maintain the Inheritance Options for an Inheritance Group.
Ledger Groups - Balancing	LEDGER_GROUP3	General Ledger, Ledgers, Detail Ledgers, Ledger Groups, Balancing	Elect to use IntraUnit Balancing Entries, and select Balancing ChartFields and Affiliates for a Ledger Group.

Understanding ChartField Inheritance

ChartField inheritance, in and of itself, does not generate additional entries to complete a transaction. Instead it drives how the ChartFields are determined for the system-generated entries that are normally created for the transaction. In many cases this is an offset, such as AP (accounts payable) Vouchers, where the user enters the distribution lines and the system generates the customer liability. Inheritance also applies to other system generated entries that are not offsets, like the VAT entries generated for a GL (general ledger) journal.

Note: Even if you do not want to inherit any ChartField values, you must access the ChartField inheritance page to setup Inheritance Groups for each setID, setting all Inheritance Options to Do Not Inherit.

ChartField Inheritance uses the ChartField Offset Balancing Method to complete transactions by inheriting ChartField values from partial entries, accounting lines or voucher lines to generate complete accounting entries. It is used extensively in education and governmental accounting, and to a lesser extent in commercial accounting.

It enables you to select automatically the source for certain ChartField values to complete partial entries for a given number of system generated accounting entries that are predefined by Inheritance Groups.

Inheritance functionality does not necessarily relate to centralized inter and intraunit processing. This is because it may or may not involve inter or intraunit transactions, and inheritance processing is performed by the individual general ledger feeder systems, such as Receivables and Payables to arrive at offset accounts before any inter and intraunit processing is required.

For example, when posting accounts payable vouchers, you can choose to have the Fund Code on the Vendor Liability entry derived from the Voucher Distribution Line, the GL Business Unit Definition ChartField Defaults, or the Accounting Entry Template.

When you balance on ChartFields other than business unit, and inherit ChartField values onto the system generated offset entries, the transaction often self-balances, making additional intraunit balancing entries unnecessary. For this reason, applications use inheritance functionality before calling the inter and intraunit processor.

The following terms and concepts are important to an understanding of ChartField Inheritance and the examples provided:

Fund

A fund is a fiscal and accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts recording cash and other financial resources, together with all related liabilities and residual equity or balances. Inheritance is often used with this ChartField, but can also be used for any ChartField.

Pooled Bank Account

Pooled is a term used in education and governmental accounting to describe a single bank account that is used for multiple funds. When defining a pooled bank account, you do not associate it with any specific fund or funds. Instead, the fund from the item and or voucher being paid is carried forward (inherited) to the cash entry.

The PeopleSoft equivalent of a Pooled bank account is one in which the Inheritance Option for the Fund ChartField is set to Always Inherit or Inherit Within Unit.

Non-pooled Bank Account

Non-pooled is a term used in education and governmental accounting to describe a bank account that is for a single fund, which is identified on the bank account definition. If a non-pooled bank account is used for payments of items or vouchers belonging to other funds, then InterFund entries must be generated to balance the transaction.

The PeopleSoft equivalent of a Non-pooled bank account is one in which the Inheritance Option for the Fund ChartField is set to Do Not Inherit.

Offset Inheritance Balancing

For transactions that include system-generated entries (often as offset entries), the system generated entries can be defined to inherit ChartField values from the other entries in the transaction (such as the distribution lines you entered) to balance the transaction and distribute the offset as needed.

For example, you enter a voucher that records expenses to two different funds. Using Offset Inheritance, the offsetting entries are properly distributed by the system to the appropriate accounts payable accounts for the two funds.

ChartField Inheritance Page

Use the ChartField Inheritance page (CF_INHERIT) to maintain the Inheritance Options for an Inheritance Group.

Navigation

select Set Up Financials/Supply Chain, then select Common Definitions, then select Design ChartFields, then select ChartField Inheritance, then select ChartField Inheritance

Image: ChartField Inheritance page

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the ChartField Inheritance page. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

Inheritance Group

Along with setID, this it is a key field for the table. PeopleSoft delivers the following predefined Inheritance Groups for its various products:

Expense Control Accounts
Expenses Payroll Offset
Expenses VAT Non-Recoverable
GL Journal VAT Input Other
GL Journal VAT Non-Recoverable
GL Journal VAT Output
Payables Header-Level Entries
Payables Distrib-Level Entries (payables distribution - level entries)
Payables VAT Non-Recoverable
Promotions Mgmt (management) Accounts
Purchasing Control Accounts
Purchasing Expense Accounts
Purchasing VAT Non-Recoverable
Receivables Revaluation
Receivables and Billing
Treasury VAT Input Other
Treasury VAT Non-Recoverable
Treasury VAT Output

ChartField

The page is pre-populated with the fully and partially configurable ChartFields other than Account, Alternate Account and the Affiliates.

Account and Alternate Account are not available for inheritance and Affiliate values are automatically supplied by the system.

Inheritance Option

The following ChartField Inheritance options apply to all Inheritance Groups:

Do Not Inherit– When this option is selected, you can specify a value for the ChartField on the product specific Accounting Entry Template or you can leave the value blank. This option would usually not be selected for a balanced ChartField, unless you select the Intra Unit Balancing Entries check box on the Detail Ledger Group - Balancing page.
Use Unit Default– When this option is selected, the ChartField value is the default value that you enter in the Inheritance Defaults for the business unit on the General Ledger Definition − Inter/IntraUnit page. With this option, you do not enter a value for this ChartField on a product specific Accounting Entry Template.
Inherit within Unit– If this option is selected, the ChartField value is inherited from one of the other entries on the transaction, but only if the other entry is in the same business unit. Otherwise, the business unit Default is used. You may want to select this option if the ChartField values are not shared across all business nits. With this option you do not enter a value for this ChartField on the product specific Accounting Entry Template page.
Always Inherit– If you select this option, the ChartField value is always inherited from one of the other entries that make up the transaction, regardless of whether it is in the same business unit. This option should only be selected if all business units share the same ChartField values; otherwise, the inherited value might be invalid. With this option, you do not enter a value for the ChartField on the product specific Accounting Entry Template or setup page.

Some Inheritance Groups have edits that restrict which inheritance options are valid for each ChartField, often based on whether or not the ChartField is balanced. Refer to the next section for details.

Refer to the documentation for ChartField Inheritance for each product for variations in functionality or information specific to that product.

Dealing with ChartField Inheritance Groups Requiring Special Validation with Balanced ChartFields

For some Inheritance Groups, the Inheritance Options are restricted based on whether or not ChartFields are balanced ChartFields. For this reason, the Inheritance Options table shares the same Record Group control as the Ledger Group definition. There may be multiple Ledger Groups defined for a given setID. If any one of these Ledger Groups, having a Ledger Group Type of Standard or Translation, defines a ChartField as balanced, the ChartField is considered balanced for Inheritance Option validation.

This cross-validation occurs when you save the ChartField Inheritance page or the Detail Ledger Group page. If you change a ChartField from balancing to non-balancing or vice versa for a Ledger Group, the system checks whether the change has invalidated any existing ChartField inheritance groups. When you select Inheritance Options for an Inheritance Group, the system checks for balancing ChartFields that make the selected Option invalid.

The specific validation requirements for the individual product Inheritance Groups depends not only on whether balanced or non-balanced ChartFields are involved but in the case of accounts payable on whether the posting method is Summary Control or Detail Offset.

If you receive an error message when saving either the ChartField Inheritance page or the Detail Ledger Group - Inter/IntraUnit page, refer to the following table for correct settings:

Inheritance Group	Valid Options for a Balanced ChartField	Valid Options for a Non-Balanced ChartField
Payables (When the Post Method is Summary Control)
APCA - Control	Use Unit Default	Use Unit Default, Do Not Inherit
APEA - Expense	Always Inherit	Any of the 4 options
APVN - Non-Recoverable VAT	Always Inherit, Inherit Within Unit	Any of the 4 options
Payables (When the Post Method is Detail Offset
APCA - Control	Always Inherit, Inherit Within Unit	Any of the 4 options
APEA - Expense	Always Inherit	Any of the 4 options
APVN - Non-Recoverable VAT	Always Inherit, Inherit Within Unit	Any of the 4 options
Purchasing
POCA - Control	Always Inherit	Any of the 4 options
POEA - Expense	Always Inherit	Any of the 4 options
POVN - Non-Recoverable VAT	Always Inherit	Any of the 4 options
Receivables
ARRE - Revaluation Gain/Loss	Always Inherit	Any of the 4 options
Translate Gain/Loss	Always Inherit	Any of the 4 options
Promotions Management
TDAC - Promotions Mgt Accounts	Always Inherit	Any of the 4 options