Cost Allocations

Purpose of this document

Cost Allocations allow for complex cost allocations to be set up once based on percentages across G/L Accounts, Funds, and Dimensions without having to re-enter or split out the amounts in Journals, Agency documents, or Purchase documents.

This document describes how to set up and utilize Cost Allocations.

Ceres Object release 6.00.00 is required for the functionality described in this document.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Setting Up and Activating Cost Allocations
• Using Cost Allocations with Journals
• Using Cost Allocations with Agency Documents
• Using Cost Allocations with Purchase Documents

Setting Up and Activating Cost Allocations

1. Cost Allocations can be accessed by selecting “Search” from the Dynamics 365 Business Central Banner and entering “Cost Allocations” in “Tell me what you want to do” then selecting “Cost Allocations” from the results in the Go to Pages and Tasks section OR by selecting the “Cost Allocations” menu action (if present) from your Role Center home page.

2. The Cost Allocations Task Page is displayed. From here you may select to edit an existing Cost Allocation or create a new Cost Allocation. 

3. To create a new Cost Allocation, click New. Enter a Code and Description to identify the allocation.

4. To define the allocation details, click Related à Allocation à Allocation Detail.

5. From the Cost Allocation Detail Page, input the details to define how you want to allocate amounts. The following fields are available:

Allocation Code – Code to identify the allocation that is being created or updated.

Account Number - Input the G/L Accounts you want to allocate by.

Account Name - G/L Account Name which will automatically flow once an Account Number is selected.

Fund No. - Input the Funds you want to allocate by.

Dimensions – Input the Dimensions you want to allocation by. The value that displays is dependent upon how your Dimensions are defined. Up to 8 Dimensions can be defined for each allocation line.

Allocation % - Input the % you want to allocate each line by.

6. Once the allocation details are defined, use the back arrow to leave. This will take you back to the Cost Allocations Page where you can view the Total Allocation % and whether the allocation is Active. Please note that you will not be able to Activate or use the allocation until the Total Allocation % equals 100.

7. To edit an allocation, click Related à Allocation à  Allocation Detail.

8. Once the Total Allocation % equals 100, you can activate the allocation by selecting Related à  Functions à  Activate/Deactivate per Line or Activate/Deactivate per Batch. Select Activate/Deactivate per Line to activate or deactivate a single allocation and Activate/Deactivate per Batch to activate or deactivate a batch or more than one allocation at once. The Active field will be toggled once the allocation has been activated.

9. A warning message will pop up if un-posted transactions are associated with an allocation you are deactivating. If you select Yes to proceed with deactivating the allocation, this will also clear out or cancel the allocation that is associated with the un-posted transaction. 

Using Cost Allocations with Journals

1. Cost Allocations can be used with General Journals, Agency Journals, Fixed Asset Journals, and Purchase Journals.

2. The Journals are entered like they normally would be. The only difference is an Allocation Code can be selected on the Journal Line. Only Cost Allocations that are Active will be displayed and can be selected from the Allocation Code field.

3. The amount entered will be allocated based on the Allocation Code that is associated with the Journal Line with the following exceptions:

1. If a Fund No is not defined in the Cost Allocation, the entry will be posted based on the Fund No that is entered on the Journal Line.
2. If Dimensions are not defined in the Cost Allocation, the entry will post based on the Dimensions that are entered on the Journal Line (i.e., If Dimension 1 is not defined on the Cost Allocation, then all allocated journal lines will contain the Dimension 1 value from the journal line).

4. Once the Journal is posted, the amounts will be split out based on the allocation that is associated with the line. During posting, the Allocation Code associated with the transaction flows to the G/L Entries for ease of reference. The below example shows how the $1,500 Phone Charge is split out across nine different Departments based on the percentages defined in the PHONE ALLOC Cost Allocation. Note that Fund UR posted based on the Cost Allocation because a Fund was not entered on the Journal Line.

Using Cost Allocations with Agency Documents

1. Cost Allocations can be used with Agency Orders, Agency Invoices, Agency Return Orders, and Agency Credit Memos.

2. The Agency Documents are entered as they normally would be. The only difference is an Allocation Code can be selected on the Agency Document Line. Only Cost Allocations that are Active will be displayed and can be selected from the Allocation Code field.

3. The amount entered will be allocated based on the Allocation Code that is associated with the Agency Document Line with the following exceptions:

1. If a Fund No is not defined in the Cost Allocation, the entry will be posted based on the Fund No that is entered on the Agency Document Line.
2.  If Dimensions are not defined in the Cost Allocation, the entry will post based on the Dimensions that are entered on the Agency Document Line (i.e., If Dimension 1 is not defined on the Cost Allocation, then all allocated journal lines will contain the Dimension 1 value from the journal line).

4. Once the Agency Document is posted, the amounts will be split out based on the allocation that is associated with the line. During posting, the Allocation Code associated with the transactions flow to the G/L Entries for ease of reference. The below example shows how the $1,500 Storage Revenue Fee is split out across five different Projects based on the percentages defined in the ALLOC3-GL,DIM,FUND Cost Allocation.

5. If an Agency Document is created using the Copy Document function, the Allocation Code that is associated with the original Document will be copied along with the amount and other parameters.

Using Cost Allocations with Purchase Documents

1. Cost Allocations can be used with Purchase Orders, Purchase Invoices, Purchase Return Orders, and Purchase Credit Memos. 

2. The Purchase Documents are entered as they normally would be. The only difference is an Allocation Code can be selected on the Purchase Document Line. Please note that only Cost Allocations that are Active will be displayed and can be selected from the Allocation Code field.

3. The amount entered will be allocated based on the Allocation Code that is associated with the Purchase Document Line with the following exceptions:

1. If a Fund No is not defined in the Cost Allocation, the entry will be posted based on the Fund No that is entered on the Purchase Document Line.
2. If Dimensions are not defined in the Cost Allocation, the entry will post based on the Dimensions that are entered on the Purchase Document Line (i.e., If Dimension 1 is not defined on the Cost Allocation, then all allocated journal lines will contain the Dimension 1 value from the journal line).

4. Once the Purchase Document is posted, the amounts will be split out based on the allocation that is associated with the line. During posting, the Allocation Code associated with the transactions flow to the G/L Entries for ease of reference. The below example shows how the $2,000 Phone Expense is split out across five different Departments based on the percentages defined in the PHONE ALLOC Cost Allocation. Note that Fund UR posted based on what was not defined in the allocation vs. Fund TR that was entered on the line.

5. If a Purchase Document is created using the Copy Document function, the Allocation Code that is associated with the original Document will be copied along with the amount and other parameters.