Protecting History Data

Periodic processing has two modes:

• Normal mode.

  In Normal mode, the system adds new history to the existing rows.

• Delete and Rebuild mode.

  In Delete and Rebuild mode, the system deletes all existing history and recalculates data throughout the employee's entire career. This can be useful in certain situations. For example, if you discover a problem with your calculation rules, you can correct the rules and recalculate everything at once.

  However, Delete and Rebuild mode is risky. If you load history data as part of your data conversion, the system does not have the source data to replace those rows. For example, if you load consolidated earnings but not the raw payroll data that was the source for the consolidated data, the system removes the consolidated data and cannot recreate it because of the missing source data.

WARNING:

If you load history for a function, take security measures to ensure that people do not have access to the Delete and Rebuild mode during periodic processing.

The service function always runs in Delete and Rebuild mode. This is necessary because ongoing events affect past service accruals. For example, previously accrued service can be forfeited after a break in service. Never load history for service. Always use startup values or load the job history that is the source data for the service calculation. If you load service history instead of the actual job history (hires and terminations, leaves and returns, and other relevant events), the entire history disappears the first time that you run the service function during periodic processing. The lack of a complete job history compromises the system's ability to produce accurate service information.