Specifying Enterprise Journals Workflow Parameters

In an Enterprise Journals template, you use the Journals tab to specify the journal workflow parameters, including the Start and End dates, and workflow users.

Based on the Template "Schedule From" setting, you set the Start Day Offset according to when you would like the journal to be available. The journal remains in Pending status until that date is met. For example, you could set the journal Start Day Offset as -25 to allow the journals related to that template and period to be available 25 days before the Period End date. The End Date uses the Start Date and adds the Duration you assigned on the Template for the Preparer and Approver roles.

Note that an Ad-Hoc journal can be created any time, however the Start and End dates are still assigned according to the Template settings. The day on which you create the Ad-Hoc journal has no relation to the Start and End dates.

The Late notification for a journal starts once the End Date has passed.

Administrators can predefine the approval workflow paths for ad-hoc journals to allow preparers to easily select an approval path when creating or editing ad hoc journals. Individual users, teams, or groups can be defined as approvers and the approval path can be assigned to preparers of ad-hoc journals.

Note:

Optionally, the administrator can set the Ad Hoc Approver Level Overrides option in System Settings to enable or disable the preparer from selecting an approver level when creating ad-hoc journals.

To assign the journal workflow:

1. On the Home page, click Application, and then click Enterprise Journals.
2. Click the Journal Templates tab on the left.
3. Click a journal row and click the Edit icon to open the journal in edit mode.
4. Click the Journals tab.
5. In When to Start, select values from the drop-down lists:

   • Schedule from:

     • Start Date - The start date of the period.
     • End Date - The end date of the period.
     • Close Date - The closing date specified for the period.

   • Start day Offset - Number of days before or after the Start Date, End Date, or Close Date that the data collection date is authorized to begin. It can be a positive or negative number. For example, you can prepare data a few days before the start day, and set -3 for the collection to start 3 days from then.

6. In Workflow, select values for the following:

   • Workflow option - Select an option:

     • Prepare
     • Prepare and then Approve

   • Level of Approval - Select up to 10 levels of Approvers.

   • Approver View Access - Select an option:

     • Always - Allows approvers to view journal data even before it is submitted by the Preparer

     • Workflow - Allows Approvers to view journal data only when they are responsible based on the workflow. This is the default option.

       If the data is not available for the Approver to view based on the workflow, the system displays an error message that they cannot view the journal content as it has not been promoted to their level within the workflow.

   • Lock Data on Post - When the status of the journal posting changes to Post In Progress or Posted, the Lock Data feature will be set for that journal instance, restricting the redeploy and undeploy functionalities. If the journal posting fails (at ERP), the journal will be reopened, and Lock Data will be set to false, allowing the preparer to re-enter the data.

   • Duration for - The maximum number of days allowed for a specific action per user.

     This data determines the scheduled completion date for submission, approval, and posting depending on the workflow option.

   • Post after Preparation - If this option is selected, then the journals created based on this template can be posted as soon as the preparation is done. This option is only available when you select Prepare and then Approve as the Workflow option.
7. In the Users section, the following options are available: Journals and Ad-Hoc. You can define Workflow and Viewer user assignments for Journals or to Ad-Hoc. You can add users in the enabled fields.

   • Click New.

   • To add user:

     • For Journals, select a Workflow, then select users, or groups for the Preparer and Approver. The Workflow member selector is dynamic based on the workflow dimension selected.
     • For Ad-Hoc, define the approver paths, as well as preparers and approvers for each path. Click New to add additional approver paths. An individual user, team, or group can be defined as a preparer or approver.
     • Click on Search to display the Search Results. You can use this option to Add or Remove users.

   • To import users from a CSV file, click Import:

     • Click Browse to select the file.
     • For File Delimiter, select Comma, Tab, or select Other, then enter a delimiter.
     • Click Import.

     Note:

     The Export/Import file format allows to include the Allow ad-hoc option on a transaction.

   • To reset all parameter overrides to the default settings, click Reset.

   • To remove a user, select the user, then from the menu bar, click Delete (X).