NetSuite Planning and Budgeting Glossary
Action Menu
A user interface element in NetSuite Planning and Budgeting. Administrators can create right-click action menus and link them to forms. The action menu has a list of ancillary actions that you can take on the form. The options in the action menu vary depending on the form. For more information, see Creating and Updating Action Menus in the Oracle Help Center.
Attribute Dimension
A type of dimension that is associated with another standard dimension. The attribute dimension has members that describe a leaf node member of the associated dimension. For example, the “Item SubType” attribute might describe the member of an "Item" dimension.
A member can have only one member from an attribute dimension associated with it. For example, an "Item" can't have two "Item Subtypes" (like "For Sale" and "For Resale").
Cube
A way to store data for Oracle EPM applications. Another term for a cube is "application database".
Dashboard
A dynamic visual summary of data. Dashboards let users chart, evaluate, highlight, comment on, and change key business data.
Data
Values for each record type that are pulled from NetSuite by using saved searches (these searches have "Data" in the search title). The values are then imported to the application by using NetSuite Data Load Jobs (other import methods are available).
Examples of data include:
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Dimension values
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Beginning balance for the Balance Sheet
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Transaction data for expenses
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Employee values (salary, bonus, payroll transactions, etc.)
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Consolidated exchange rate
Form
A grid for entering data. You can create simple forms to meet your needs, and then use the simple forms and other artifacts to create dashboards to summarize the data.
When you create a form, you link it to a cube, which sets the form's valid members. For example, if you assign a form to the Revenue cube, you can only add accounts that are valid for the Revenue cube. Any data you enter is saved to the selected cube's database.
Infolet
A self-contained, interactive box-shaped container used to display information with text and charts. Infolets let users view and interact with high-level, essential information from different sources. Administrators can create, redesign, delete, and assign permissions to infolets.
KPIs
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) turn your raw data into critical business metric (financial, operational, or otherwise).
Member
Each line in a hierarchy under a dimension is called a member. For example, a Year dimension usually includes members for each time period, such as quarters and months.
There are two types of members:
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Parent member – A member in a hierarchy that has children. Those children can be either parents themselves or leaf nodes.
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Level 0 member (also called leaf node) – A member in a hierarchy that has no children.
All databases use member names and aliases. The member name is usually short (for example, 40100). The alias is a longer, descriptive name that often incorporates some part of the member name (for example, “40100 – Revenue”). Refer to your organization's Chart of Accounts.
Metadata
Record types in NetSuite that define specific data values. Metadata is pulled from NetSuite by using saved searches (these searches have "Metadata" in the search title). The record types are then imported to the application by using NetSuite Data Load Jobs (other import methods are available).
Examples of metadata include:
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Currencies
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Subsidiaries
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Accounts
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Classes
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Departments
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Locations
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Items
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Relationships
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Customers
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Vendors
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Employee names (part of NSPB-SuitePeople Sync SuiteApp)
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Employee location (part of NSPB-SuitePeople Sync SuiteApp)
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Employee job codes (part of NSPB-SuitePeople Sync SuiteApp)
POV
Point of view. The point of view (POV) is a set of dimension members that you define to set the context for pages, rows, and columns. For example, if you set Scenario to Forecast, all data shown and entered in pages, rows, and columns goes into the Forecast scenario.
The POV is set to one member for each POV dimension, and users cannot change, it. To simplify the form, you can specify only relevant members or include user variables in the POV.
Root
The top member in a branch.
Scenario
Scenarios typically separate Actuals, Forecast, and Budget data.
Smart list
A custom dropdown list that users access from cells in forms. Smart Lists appear as down arrows in cells that expand when users click the cells. Users can't type in cells with Smart Lists.
Standard Dimension
Standard dimensions (also called dimensions) are data categories used to organize business data for storing and retreiving values. Common dimensions include Period, Fiscal Year, Entity, Scenario, Version, and more.
Substitution Variables
Global placeholders for information that changes regularly. Application designers or administrators set up and manage substitution variables and their values. You can use substitution variables in data forms, business rules, members formulas, reports, and Smart View.
For example, “CurrMo” might be a substitution variable representing the current month. If “CurrMo” is set to August and you change it to September, all artifacts using that variable update globally.
UDA
User Defined Attribute. A word or phrase that describes a member. You can attach a UDA to many members.
User Preferences
User Preferences can be set to control many aspects of function and display, including how reports and forms print. Administrators set defaults for the application. However, you can override application defaults by setting your own preferences, like how numbers appear.
User Variables
User variables act as filters in forms so you can focus on certain members, such as a Department. Before you can open a form, you need to set your preferences for the user variables that your administrator set up.
Version
A version usually represent different copies of Actuals, Forecast, and Budget data.