How Marketing Development Fund (MDF) Objects Work Together

To understand Marketing Development Funds (MDF), you must understand how each of the MDF objects fit together in the MDF life cycle. The MDF objects are as follows:

• MDF Budgets, enable brand owners to create and manage MDF budgets that eligible partners can use.

• MDF Requests, enable partner users to request funds to implement strategic marketing activities.

• MDF Claims, enable partner users to submit claims seeking reimbursement for the marketing expense incurred.

• MDF Claim Settlements, enable partner users to track their claim payment progress and enables channel users to capture claim payment information.

MDF Budgets

Channel operations managers can use the Budgets tab to view all MDF budgets they have permission to see and to create MDF budgets that a specific partner or a group of partners in one or more countries can use.

Note: By default, partner users can't access MDF budgets. To provide access, assign the MKT_VIEW_MARKETING_BUDGET_PRIV privilege to the desired partner roles.

Each MDF budget has the following features:

• It has a start and an end date.

• It has a request deadline, which is the last day partners have to submit requests against the budget.

• It has a claims deadline, which is the last day to submit claims against the approved requests on the budget.

• It enables channel managers to specify the type of marketing activities for which partners can use the budget, such as advertising or events.

Channel managers can do the following with MDF budgets:

• Control which internal channel users have view or edit access to the budget.

• Activate and inactivate the budget.

• View and manage approved requests associated with the budget.

• View and manage approved or rejected claims associated with the budget.

• Track the funds available in the budget.

• Add notes about the budget.

Note: Any team member of the budget team with the appropriate access can inactivate an active budget.

The following table lists the attributes that are calculated or recalculated in an MDF budget, and what triggers their calculation:

Attribute Display Name	Calculation Trigger
Available Budget	This attribute is calculated whenever the following happens: The MDF budget is activated. An MDF request associated with the budget is approved. An MDF request associated with the budget is terminated. More funds are added to the budget.
Total Budget	This attribute is calculated whenever the following happens: The MDF budget is activated. More funds are added to the budget.
Total Requests	This attribute is calculated when an MDF request associated with a budget is approved or rejected.
Approved MDF Requests	This attribute is calculated when an MDF request associated with a budget is approved or rejected.
Rejected Fund Requests	This attribute is calculated when an MDF request associated with a budget is approved or rejected.
Total Unclaimed Requests	This attribute is calculated when an MDF request associated with a budget is approved or rejected.
Submitted Claims	This attribute is calculated when an MDF claim associated with a budget is approved or rejected.
Approved MDF Claims	This attribute is calculated when an MDF claim associated with a budget is approved or rejected.
Rejected MDF Claims	This attribute is calculated when an MDF claim associated with a budget is approved or rejected.
Pending MDF Claim Amount	This attribute is calculated when an MDF claim associated with a budget is approved or rejected.

Note: MDF claims are associated with MDF budgets through MDF requests.

MDF Requests

Partners can create and submit MDF requests to get approval for marketing funds. Partner sales managers can save a request in draft status, which enables them to make updates before submitting the request for approval.

When the request is submitted for approval, the partner owner is notified of the submission. The partner owner has the option to return, withdraw, reject or approve the request. If a request is returned, rejected, or withdrawn, then the submitter of the request is notified by email and system notifications. Partner users on the request team with edit or full access can resubmit returned or withdrawn requests.

If the partner owner approves the request, email and system notifications are sent to all users with the channel operations manager role for final approval. A channel operations manager can also withdraw, return, reject, or approve the request. The submitter is also notified in these instances. If the request is withdrawn or returned, then partner users with the right access can resubmit the request. (Rejected requests can't be resubmitted.) A request must have an associated MDF budget for the approval to be successful. Anyone designated as an approver can associate a budget with the MDF request.

Note: To update budget details on a request in Draft, Returned or Withdrawn status, approvers must first have the Update Marketing Fund Request Budget Details privilege (MKT_UPDATE_MARKETING_FUND_REQUEST_BUDGET_DETAILS_PRIV). The Channel Account Manager role automatically has this privilege. If you're not using this standard role, then add this privilege to the custom roles that you're using for approvers.

When the channel operations manager approves the request, the request status changes to Approved and the partner can begin the marketing activity. Anyone designated as an approver can also add approval details to the request (Approved Percent, Reject Reason, Return Reason, and Approver Comments).

Note: To update approval details on a request, approvers must first have the Update Marketing Fund Request Approval Details privilege (MKT_UPDATE_MARKETING_FUND_REQUEST_APPROVAL_DETAILS_PRIV). The Sales Administrator, Channel Operations Manager, Channel Sales Manager, and Channel Account Manager roles automatically have this privilege. If you're not using these standard roles, then add this privilege to the custom roles that you're using for approvers.

Channel users can do the following with MDF requests:

• View all requests they have permission to see.

• Create and submit requests on behalf of the partners.

• Add activities and notes to the request.

• Permit other partner and channel users to view or manage the request.

• View MDF claims on the request if they're on the claim team.

Partner sales managers and partner administrators can do the following with MDF requests:

• View all requests they have permission to see from their partner company.

• Create and submit requests.

• Add activities, appointments, tasks, and notes to the request.

• Permit other members of the partner company to view or edit the request.

• View MDF claims on approved requests.

The following table lists the attributes that are calculated or recalculated in an MDF request, and what triggers their calculation:

Attribute Display Name	Calculation Trigger
Approved Amount	This attribute is calculated when the MDF request is approved.
Approved Claim Amount	This attribute is calculated when an MDF claim associated with a request is approved.
Available Amount	This attribute is calculated whenever the following happens: The MDF request is approved. An MDF claim associated with the MDF request is terminated.

MDF Claims

To be reimbursed for the marketing expenses incurred, partners can submit one or more MDF claims against an approved MDF request.

Partner sales managers or partner administrators can track the progress of their claims from submission to payment. They can view either all claims submitted by their partner company or just claims associated to a specific request. Partner administrators can see all requests and claims for the enterprise. Channel users can track the progress of their partners' claims from submission to payment. They can see a list of all the MDF claims submitted by partners. Channel users can also access MDF claims from a specific MDF request. On behalf of a partner, a channel user can create and submit MDF claims against any approved MDF request.

When submitted, the claim goes through a two-level approval process. The partner owner is the first approver and a channel operations manager is the final approver. Approvers can return, withdraw, reject, or approve a claim. The submitter of the claim is notified by email and system notifications. Partners can resubmit returned or withdrawn claims but not rejected claims. When the channel operations manager approves the claim, its status becomes Approved and the approved amount on the claim is expected to be paid in the form of one or more MDF claim settlements.

MDF Claim Settlements

The approved amount on the MDF claim is paid in one or more installments, called MDF claim settlements. MDF claim settlements capture the information about each payment, and they're managed by channel users.

Partner users can view all claim settlements associated with an approved MDF claim on the Claim Settlements tab.

The following table lists the attributes that are calculated or recalculated in an MDF claim, and what triggers their calculation:

Attribute Display Name	Calculation Trigger
Approved Amount	This attribute is calculated when the MDF claim is approved.
ClaimSettledAmount	This attribute is calculated when a settlement associated with an MDF claim is complete.
Liability Amount	This attribute is calculated whenever the following happens: The MDF claim is approved. A settlement associated with an MDF claim is complete.