Default Hierarchies

A business unit is the highest level in the hierarchy and you must set default values for business units. All other entities fall beneath them in the hierarchy. Some of the attributes set at the business unit level may be set at lower levels in the hierarchy, such as the customer or item level, but are not required.

Default hierarchies exist throughout the system. Any time that a default hierarchy exists, you can:

• Leave information blank at lower levels, because defaults are inherited from the next higher level.

• Override information set at higher levels by entering different information at the lower levels.

Example

To understand default hierarchies, consider the example of payment terms. When you enter a pending item, you can specify payment terms on the Pending Item 1 page. If you do not specify payment terms there, the system checks the customer level to see if payment terms are defined for the customer. If payment terms do not appear at the customer level, the system uses the payment terms that you defined at the business unit level on the Receivables Options - Payment Options page.