The primary purpose of the calculation engine is to support the calculation of an obligation’s charges. One of the most common rules for calculating a charge is to apply a rate to a fixed or assessed value. While it is possible to specify the rate directly on the rule, it is more flexible to have the rule reference a factor whose values can be maintained independently.
A factor defines a centrally stored set of values for use in calculations and other processes. A factor can have different values depending upon some definable attribute of a system object, such as a district associated with an address.
You can use factors to define any of the following types of values:
A monetary amount. This would typically be used to define fixed charges such as fees.
A number. This would typically be used to define charges per unit, such as five cents per square foot.
A percentage. This would typically be used for tax rates and exemption percentages.
As a general guideline, you would use a factor when any of the following situations exist:
The amount being charged is dependent on some characteristic of a related attribute. For example, if charges levied for distribution to schools differ from one district to another, you would use a factor to define variable charges for each district.
The same charge exists in many calculations. For example, if there are several calculation controls that all include a fixed handling charge, it would make sense to use a factor to levy this charge rather than specify the same value on multiple calculation rules.
The amount being charged is dictated by some external organization and therefore can change independently from the calculation rule.
The following sections provide a description of how factors are structured and details on how to configure and maintain factors.
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