Accumulator Elements

Accumulators are elements that store the cumulative values of defined items as they're processed. For example, they can store accrued entitlement balances and other cumulative values.

Accumulators can be defined:

• Automatically

  When you create an entitlement element, the system can automatically generate a set of accumulators to track the value of the element over time. Automatically generated accumulators typically accumulate values for a single element. You specify the periods of time that the accumulators are to track.

• Manually

  You can create accumulators to track several elements, such as all accrued entitlement. You select the elements that the accumulator is to track and define the period of time that the accumulator is to cover. You can accumulate a single value or multiple values over time.

There are two types of accumulators, some that pertain to a single segment, and others that span several calculation periods:

• Segment accumulators accumulate values during a single segment.

• Balance accumulators accumulate values over a period of time, such as a month or a year.