Step-Down Allocation Maintenance

Use Step-Down Allocation Maintenance to maintain the specifications that define how to disburse the balance from an Allocation Account (the collector account) to multiple Step Accounts.  This is convenient for automatically spreading out accumulated amounts among other accounts.  For example, you can allocate indirect expenses, such as telephone expenses, to accounts for each department.  The allocation can be disbursed to the Step Accounts by a dollar amount or by various percentage methods.

For additional information, click More.

Directions:

To see directions for...

• Opening Step-Down Allocation Maintenance, click More.

   

  1.  Click File Maintenance from the Menu Bar.

  2.  Click Step Down Allocations.
  
  Tip:  Or, use the keyboard shortcut:  [ALT] [m] [s].
  
  
  Note:  You may also be able to access the General Ledger menu while in another INVISION module.  To activate the General Ledger menu in another module, the G/L Application Control must be set up for the module during installation.

   

  Step-Down Allocation Maintenance Window Example:

  Tip:  To see examples of the window for different Allocation Types, refer to Understanding Step-Down Allocations.

  

   

• Creating a new Step-Down Allocation Specification, click More.

   

  To create a new record choose one of these methods:

  • Enter an Allocation Account Number and click Retrieve , or press [ENTER].
    Keyboard shortcut:  [ALT + t]

  • Or, enter an Allocation Account Number and click File from the Menu Bar; next click New.
    Keyboard shortcut:  [ALT] [f] [n]

   

  Tip:  To indicate that you are building a new Step-Down Allocation specification, New  displays near the Allocation Account.  Default entries display and the first field is highlighted to let you know you can begin entering information.

   

  Step-Down Allocation Maintenance Window Prompts Tip:  To see more information about a field, click the hyperlink for the field name.
  Allocation Account	Enter an existing Account Number to collect the transaction amounts throughout the Period.  The amount for this account will be disbursed to the Step Accounts when you run the Create Step-Down Allocations routine.  (format varies) Tips: The Allocation Account is also called the Control Account Number. To Search for an existing Account Number to use for a new allocation: 1.  Right-click to display the shortcut menu. 2.  Click G/L Master Search. To Search for an existing Step-Down Allocation specification, click Search . Keyboard shortcut:  [CTRL + f] If the Account Status is I(nvalid), you will see the following message: To accept the account, click OK.  Or, to enter a different account, click Cancel.
  	To display an existing Step-Down Allocation specification, enter the Allocation Account Number and click Retrieve, or press [ENTER]. Keyboard shortcut:  [ALT + t]
  Header Description	The Step-Down Header Description defaults to the Description for the Account Number entered as the Allocation Account.  Press [TAB] to accept the default, or you can enter a different description.  (up to 30 characters) Tip:  The Header Description becomes the Transaction Description when the journal entries for the Allocation Account and Step Accounts are generated by the Create Step-Down Allocations routine.
  Allocation Type	The Allocation Type specifies how the amount is disbursed from the Allocation Account to the Step Accounts.  Click one of the following options in the drop-down list: 1 - Fixed Percent:  Enter a fixed percentage now for each Step Account. 2 - Variable Percent:  Enter the percentage later for each Step Account.  The Create Step-Down Allocations routine allows you to enter a percentage to disburse, when it creates the Step-Down journal entries. 3 - Variable Amount:  Enter a dollar amount later for each Step Account.  The Create Step-Down Allocations program allows you to enter the dollar amount to disburse, when it creates the Step-Down journal entries. 4 - Based on Another Acct:  The Create Step-Down Allocations program calculates the percentages for disbursement based on another account. Tips: You can not change the Allocation Type.  Instead, you must delete and recreate the specification for the Allocation Account Number. For more information, refer to Understanding Step-Down Allocations.
  Journal Code	Displays AL as the Journal Code, which is used for the journal entries generated by the Create Step-Down Allocations.  (predefined)
  Base Account	Displays the Account Description for the Base Account.
  Step-To Account	Displays the Account Description for the highlighted Step Account.
  Base Account #	Enter the Base Account Number, which is the account used as the basis for calculating a disbursement percentage.  The individual Base Account percent is calculated using the total balance of all the Base Accounts associated with this Allocation Number.  (format varies) Notes: This field is enabled only with Account Type 4 - Based on Another Acct. To Search for an Account Number, click Search . Keyboard shortcut:  [CTRL + f] For more information, refer to Understanding Step-Down Allocations.
  Step Account #	Enter the Step Account Number that is to receive a disbursement from the Allocation Account.  (format varies) Tip:  To Search for an Account Number, click Search . Keyboard shortcut:  [CTRL + f]
  Percent	Enter the percentage of the Allocation Account balance to disburse to the highlighted Step Account.  (3.2 numeric) Example:  To disburse 60% of the balance in the Allocation Account to the Step Account, enter 60.00. Notes: This field is enabled only with Account Type 1 - Fixed Percent.  If you enter a percent for any other Account Type, it is automatically changed back to 0.00 (zero). If you enter a percent that would cause the Total Percent to exceed 100.00%, you will see the following message:
  Total Percent	Displays the total percent for all Step-Down Accounts associated with this Allocation Number.
  Step Account List	Each row displays the following fields: G/L Base Account:  Base Account Number  (Type 4 only) Description:  Account Description (Type 4 only) G/L Account - Step Account Number Description - Account Description Percent - Allocation Percent (Type 1 only) Tip:  To change a Step Account Number or the fixed Allocation Percent: 1.  Click to highlight the row in the Step Account List. 2.  Enter the changes. 3.  Click Save.
  	To create a new Step Account specification for this Allocation Account, click New. Note:  If the Total Percent is already 100.00% when you click New, you will see the following message:
  	To delete a Step Account from this allocation specification: 1.  Click to highlight the row in the Step Account List. 2.  Click Delete. Tip:  To delete the entire specification for this Allocation Account, follow the directions for Deleting an existing Step-Down Allocation Specification later in this topic.
  	To save the changes to the new or highlighted Step Account, click Save.
  	To complete the entries, click Completed. Note:  If the Total Percent for Allocation Type 1 does not equal 100.00 when you click Completed, you will see the following message: To correct the percentages, click Cancel.  To accept the percentage imbalance, click OK.

   

• Editing an existing Step-Down Allocation Specification, click More.

   

  CAUTION:  To avoid losing data, you must save new or changed records.

  1.  To display the record to be changed, enter the Allocation Account Number and click Retrieve , or press [ENTER].
  Keyboard shortcut:  [ALT + t]
  
  Tip:  If you do not know the Allocation Account Number, you can click Search  to see a list of allocations.

  2.  To position the pointer to the information that you want to change, press [TAB] or click the field using the mouse.

  3.  To enter data changes for a detail line:

  a.  In the Step Account List, click to highlight the row for the Step Account to be changed.

  b.  Enter the changes.

  c.  Click Save .

  4.  To complete the edit process, click Completed .

   

• Deleting an existing Step-Down Allocation Specification, click More.

   

  1.  To display the record to be deleted, enter the Allocation Account Number and click Retrieve , or press [ENTER].
  Keyboard shortcut:  [ALT + t]
  
  Tip:  If you do not know the Allocation Account Number, you can click Search  to see a list of allocations.

  2.  Click File from the Menu Bar, and next click Delete.
  Keyboard shortcut:  [ALT] [f] [d]

  3.  At the Delete prompt click OK to delete the record, or click Cancel to escape from the delete routine.
  
  Example:
  
  
  
  Note:  After you click OK, you will see the following message on the Status Bar.