Define Allocation Step - Pool Page

Use the Define Allocation Step - Pool page (ALLOC_POOL) to define the allocation pool: pool record, selection criteria, and selection method.

You can define the pool from ledger balances, any table, or a fixed amount.

Navigation:

Allocations, and then Define and Perform Allocations, and then Define Allocation Step, and then Pool

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Define Allocation Step - Pool page. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

Field or Control	Description
Pool Record Type	Specify one of the following: If you are specifying the pool record for General Ledger, select the Ledger Group and enter the ledger group name. If you are defining the pool record for Project Costing, select Any Table and enter the table name. Note: If you specify the value Any Table in the Pool Record Type field, add any additional fields that might be required to the delivered ALC_GL_P_TAO table. If you want to pool a specific amount, select Fixed Amount. While the pool amount is typically based on amounts from the ledger, you can choose to base it on any fixed amount, such as equipment cost of 40000.00 GBP allocated across departments. Specify the fixed amount on the Amounts Field page. Note: The allocation process does not require the currency control fields (such as FOREIGN_CURRRNCY and CURRENCY_CD) to be specified in the target and offset definitions when using a fixed pool amount. Foreign Currency: The process defaults the target and offset foreign currency from the base currency of the pool primary ledger or from the base currency of the business unit of the request. If you specify a ledger group for the pool, the process selects the base currency of the primary ledger for the pool ledger group. If the pool ledger group is blank, the process gets the base currency from the business unit of the request. Base Currency: The process defaults the base currency to the base currency of the target and offset business unit. This enables you to set up interunit allocation steps by using a fixed amount and targeting the results to different business units with different base currencies.
Pool factor	Enter a percentage to apply to the pool amount. This option provides the flexibility to allocate a percentage of the pool amount. You can also allocate more than 100 percent of the pool amount.
Time Span	Select to specify a period that is relative to the current period: the fiscal year and accounting period that are to be used to retrieve pool records. Enter a single or multiple period time span to determine the accounting periods that are used for the pool. Relative time spans, such as PER (current period activity), retrieve amounts that are relative to the as of date that you specify on the Allocation Request page. You are not required to specify a value in the Time Span field; if you do, the system retrieves only the pool amounts for the specified fiscal year and accounting periods. If you leave this field blank, the system retrieves all the pool amounts for all fiscal years and accounting periods. If you specify Any Table for the pool record, and the pool record does not have both FISCAL_YEAR and ACCOUNTING_PERIOD fields, you cannot specify a time span value here. If you specify Ledger Group for the Pool Record Type field, the system determines the fiscal year and accounting period by using the calendar that is defined for the ledger group on the Ledgers for a Unit - Definition page. If you specify Any Table for the Pool Record Type , the system determines the fiscal year and accounting period by using the calendar that is defined on the Time Spans page. If you specify a multiple period time span, the system adds together the pool amounts for all periods to get one single pool amount, regardless of the values that you enter in the Basis Time Span, Target Time Span, Basis Span Opt, and Target Span Opt fields. You cannot split pool amounts across periods to match basis or target periods. Note: The PeopleSoft Allocations process excludes period 999.
Zero Pool Amount Option	Select one of the following options to tell the system how to proceed when the amount of the pool record retrieved is zero: Calculate This Pool: Proceed to calculate the amount when the pool is zero. Select Next Pool: Skip the zero amount pool record and select the next pool record for processing. Stop Processing: Issue an error message to indicate a zero amount pool record is selected, and stop the allocation step due to this error. Calc No Rows as Zero (calculate no rows as zero): If no pool rows are selected based on the time span and selection criteria that is specified in the Pool fields, the allocations process processes these rows as zero pool amounts. For rows that exist in the database, the system processes these rows the same as Calculate This Pool. When you use this option, any selection criteria field that you use for the pool must be explicitly defined. For example, if on the Target/Offset pages one of the fields has a source defined as group by pool and basis, then this field must also be defined in the pool. Before the allocation process selects pool records, it groups them based on how the target and offset fields are specified. The process uses the zero pool amount option logic only if the total amounts of the group of pool records totals zero. If some individual pool amounts are zero but the total amount of the group of the pool records is not zero, the system process this group of pool records.
Field Name	Enter, within the Pool Fields group box, the field name that the PeopleSoft Allocations process uses in selecting only certain pool rows from the pool record. If the pool record type is a ledger group, the pool record name is the ledger record name that is defined in the ledger template for the ledger group. The Field Name prompt table lists all fields that are in the pool record. If no pool rows are selected based on the time span and selection criteria that you specify in the Pool Fields group box, the PeopleSoft Allocations process skips this step unless you specify Calc No Rows as Zero in the Zero Pool Amount Option field. You receive the message, "No record row exists for the pool," and if this is a multiple step group, the system continues processing the next step in the group. In the How Specified group box that follows, specify the appropriate option or select a combination of the three methods that are described to determine how values are to be provided for the field name that you select. If you do not explicitly specify the BUSINESS_UNIT field value, the system uses the business unit that is specified on the Allocation Request page to select pool rows. Note: Use trees whenever possible to reduce future maintenance when the ChartField values change.
Selected Detail Values	Select to activate the first Specify Values/Range of Values/Tree Nodes edit box so that you can list individual pool field values, such as specific departments or accounts.
Selected Tree Nodes	Select to activate the tree information fields for you to specify a tree from which to select nodes. The Level Name field is optional and is used to limit the prompting to the selected level. Use the Set Control Value field to select trees that are not keyed by SetID. For example, some Project Costing trees are keyed by business unit. The system uses the value to identify which trees are available in the Tree Name field.
Range of Values	Select to activate the Specify Values/Range of Values/Tree Nodes edit box for you to enter the beginning and ending pool field values. If you leave the fromValue field blank, the system selects all pool field values that are less than or equal to the To field value. You cannot leave the To field blank because the blank value is always the smallest value. You can insert multiple ranges of values.
Include/Exclude	This option is visible when selecting to enter a Range of Values. Select Exclude Specified Values to specify a range of values that you wish to exclude from the pool. Select Include Specified Values to specify a range of values that you wish to include in the pool.
Exceptions	Click the link in the Exceptions column to access the Pool Exceptions page. Define exceptions to the associated range of included or excluded values on this page. This link displays the number of exceptions that you have defined for a given range of values.

Pool Exceptions Page

The ability to define exceptions to included or excluded ranges of values provides the ability to refine selection criteria while reducing the need for multiple rows or steps.

Use the Pool Exceptions page (ALLOC_POOLX) to enter pool exceptions for ranges of values.

Navigation:

Select the Exceptions link on the Define Allocations Step - Range of Values option, provide the range values and click the link in the Exceptions column on the Define Allocation Step - Pool page).

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

Field or Control

Description

Range From and Range To

Enter the range of values that are exceptions to the associated range of either included values or excluded values. If you selected the Include Specified Values field for the Include/Exclude option on the Pool page, the exceptions that you define on this page are exceptions to the included range that you entered. If you selected the Exclude Specified Values field for the Include/Exclude option on the Pool page, the exceptions that you define on this page are exceptions to the excluded range that you entered.