Cost Hierarchy
The cost hierarchy represents the priority of the different levels you can enter cost information.
Cost Hierarchy Levels
The level you enter costs is a key determinant in how the application builds the cost account number. The application starts with the lowest level (element entry) and ends with the highest level (payroll), checking for a value at each level until it finds a value. If it finds an invalid cost combination, it places the costing result in a suspense account.
At the person level, costing details at the payroll relationship level apply to all the person's elements unless overrides are specified for the person at the assignment level. For person element, the level checked depends on the level specified in the element definition. For example, most deduction elements are defined at the payroll relationship level and earnings elements at the assignment level.
Levels Checked for Different Accounts
The costing process considers the type of account and the costing type of the element to determine which levels to use for processing.
This table summarizes the levels checked for different types of accounts.
Accounts |
Costing Type Option |
Levels of Cost Hierarchy Checked |
---|---|---|
Cost |
Costed, Distributed |
All |
Cost |
Fixed |
Payroll, Element Eligibility, Element Entry |
Suspense, Default |
Not applicable |
Payroll, Department |
Offset, Priority |
Not applicable |
Element Eligibility |
Levels Checked When Calculating Run Results
The Calculate Payroll process builds the account number for the payroll run results as of the current payroll period. The Recalculate Payroll for Retroactive Changes process checks for costing details for account segments in the current payroll period before using the segment values from the original payroll period.
For example, when calculating the costing for a retroactive pay earnings element, the application checks first for a segment value for the retroactive pay element in the current payroll period. It checks the element entry level and then the element eligibility level. If it doesn't find any value for the segment there, it uses the costing of the original payroll period, beginning with the element entry level. If it doesn't find costing details there, it continues checking each level of the original payroll period until it finds a value for the segment.
You can use this table to understand how costing details for elements are derived, such as which levels the application checks for costing details, based on the type of account and costing type, and where you set up the values for the account segments for that level.
Hierarchy Level | Accounts Checked | Costing Types | Costing Setup Pages |
---|---|---|---|
Element Entry | Cost | Fixed Costed, Costed, Distributed | Element Entries |
Person Element - Assignment | Cost | Costed, Distributed | Costing for Persons |
Person Element - Payroll Relationship | Cost | Costed, Distributed | Costing for Persons |
Person - Assignment | Cost | Costed, Distributed | Costing for Persons |
Person - Payroll Relationship | Cost | Costed, Distributed | Costing of Persons |
Position - Assignment | Cost | Costed, Distributed | Costing of Positions |
Job - Assignment | Cost | Costed, Distributed | Costing of Jobs |
Location-Assignment | Cost | Costed, Distributed | Costing of Locations |
Department - Assignment | Cost, Default, Suspense | Costed, Distributed | Costing of Departments |
Element Eligibility | Cost, Offset, Priority | Fixed Costed, Costed, Distributed | Costing of Elements |
Payroll | Cost, Default, Suspense | Fixed Costed, Costed, Distributed | Costing of Payrolls |
Hierarchy Level | Sequence for Checking Details | Payroll Period Checked | Accounts Checked | Costing Types | Costing Setup Pages |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retroactive Pay Element Entry |
First level checked for costing details when building each account segment for retroactive pay elements only. If costing details aren't found for that segment, the application proceeds to the next level, the Retroactive Pay Element Eligibility level. | Current | Cost | Fixed Costed, Costed, Distributed | Element Entries |
Retroactive Pay Element Eligibility | Next level checked for retroactive pay elements only. If costing details aren't found for that segment, the application proceeds to the Element Entry level of the original payroll period. | Current | Cost | Fixed Costed, Costed, Distributed | Costing of Elements |
Element Entry | Next level checked. | Original | Cost | Fixed Costed, Costed, Distributed | Element Entries |
Person Element - Assignment | Next level checked. | Original | Cost | Costed, Distributed | Costing for Persons |
Person Element - Payroll Relationship | Next level checked. | Original | Cost | Costed, Distributed | Costing for Persons |
Person - Assignment | Next level checked. | Original | Cost | Costed, Distributed | Costing for Persons |
Person - Payroll Relationship | Next level checked. | Original | Cost | Costed, Distributed | Costing for Persons |
Position - Assignment | Next level checked. | Original | Cost | Costed, Distributed | Costing of Positions |
Location - Assignment | Next level checked. | Original | Cost | Costed, Distributed | Costing of Locations |
Job - Assignment | Next level checked. | Original | Cost | Costed, Distributed | Costing of Jobs |
Department - Assignment | Next level checked. | Original | Cost, Default, Suspense | Costed, Distributed | Costing of Departments |
Element Eligibility | Next level checked. | Original | Cost, Offset, Priority | Fixed Costed, Costed, Distributed | Costing of Elements |
You can use this table to understand how costing details for retroactive pay elements with distributed costing distributed over retro element entries and with at least one segment populated in distributed element eligibility level process in the payroll run:
Hierarchy Level | Sequence for Checking Details | Payroll Period Checked | Accounts Checked | Costing Types | Costing Setup Page |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retroactive Pay Element Entry | First level checked for costing details when building each account segment for retroactive pay elements only. If costing details aren't found for that segment, the application proceeds to the next level. | Current | Cost | Distributed | Element Entries |
Retro Distributed Element Eligibility | Next level checked for retroactive pay elements with distributed costing only. If costing details aren't found for that segment, the application proceeds to the Element Entry level of the original payroll period. | Current | Cost | Distributed | Costing of Elements |
Element Entry | Next level checked. | Original | Cost | Distributed | Element Entries |
Person Element - Assignment | Next level checked. | Original | Cost | Distributed | Costing of Persons |
Person Element - Payroll Relationship | Next level checked. | Original | Cost | Distributed | Costing of Persons |
Person - Assignment | Next level checked. | Original | Cost | Distributed | Costing of Persons |
Person - Payroll Relationship | Next level checked. | Original | Cost | Distributed | Costing of Persons |
Position - Assignment | Next level checked. | Original | Cost | Distributed | Costing of Positions |
Job - Assignment | Next level checked. | Original | Cost | Distributed | Costing of Jobs |
Location - Assignment | Next level checked. | Original | Cost | Distributed | Costing of locations |
Department - Assignment | Next level checked. | Original | Cost, Default, Suspense | Distributed | Costing of Departments |
Distributed Element Eligibility | Next level checked. | Original | Cost, Offset, Priority | Distributed | Costing of Elements |
Payroll | Last level checked for costing information. If the resulting account combination is invalid, the result is placed in a Suspense account, or if unallocated the result is placed in a Default account. | Original | Cost, Default, Suspense | Distributed | Costing of Payrolls |