Creating an Allocation Schedule

You can create a schedule to allocate costs automatically at specified intervals.

You must have at least one allocation template before you can create an allocation schedule. See About Allocations for more information on allocation templates.

Note:
If you select a template that generates journals with a zero decimal place currency and the following conditions are met, the scheduled process may fail. If so, you have to amend the journals and post them manually. The conditions are:
  • The Flexible Decimal Places feature is enabled.
  • The journal period is FY01 or in a following financial year.
  • The journal contains decimal values other than .00.

The Schedule Summary panel displays the details of the current allocation schedule. This information is dynamic and updates as you make choices. Any dates and times are shown using the time zone specified on your user record in the org. The information in this panel includes:

  • The number of templates selected.
  • The next schedule run date and time.
  • The date and time the schedule will expire, if relevant.
  • The range of dates over which transactions will be retrieved.
  • The date and time of posting, and the accounting period to which transactions will be posted.

To hide the Schedule Summary panel, click the right arrow on the panel title bar. To redisplay the panel, click the left arrow on the collapsed Schedule Summary bar.

Before you start, ensure that all periods exist from when you run the schedule to when it ends.

To create an allocation schedule:

  1. Click the Allocation Scheduler tab.
  2. On the List View page, click Create Schedule.
  3. Enter a schedule name and description.
  4. [Optional] Select the Active checkbox. A schedule only runs if it is active.
  5. On the Select Templates tab, select one or more allocation templates to add to the schedule. The templates are run in the sequence they are added to the chain but you can reorder them. An allocation transaction is created for every template included in the schedule.

    See Allocation Scheduler Fields for much more detail on these tabs and how to use them.

    When the schedule contains more than one template, it is called a chain. It is important to understand that the transactions created by running the first template are available for retrieval by the second template, those created by the second template are available to the third and so on. It is worth bearing this cascading behavior in mind when deciding on the order of the templates in the list. Use the Sort column to reorder the sequence of templates.

  6. On the Set Schedule Frequency tab, set the frequency at which you want the schedule to run. For example, hourly, daily, weekly, or on a specific date. You can also specify when the schedule ends.

    If you intend to run the schedule immediately, this tab is optional. In this case, any values that you enter here are ignored.

  7. On the Retrieve Transactions tab, set the range of dates, months or periods you want to retrieve transactions for.

    Remember to see Allocation Scheduler Fields for much more detail on these tabs and how to use them.

  8. On the Set Posting Details tab, set the posting date and allocation period, and enter a description. This information is used on the resulting allocation transactions.
  9. Click Save Schedule to save the schedule and return to the list view, or click Run Now to save the schedule and run it immediately. See About the Allocation Scheduler for rules that apply when running allocation schedules.

If a schedule frequency is defined, the schedule runs at the next scheduled date and time. You are notified of the success or failure of this operation.

Click the View Logs link on the Schedule List for more information. This displays the Allocation Schedule Detail page which you can also navigate to by clicking the link in a successful notification email.

To view the transactions created by the scheduled job, click the Allocation Schedule Log Name link, then the Allocation Schedule Run link. This displays the Allocation Schedule Run Detail page where you can view a list of the transactions or journals created; click the transaction or journal link to view the corresponding record.

Warning:

An error will be reported if the scheduled job exceeds the following line limits set in the Document Line Volume Settings custom setting:

  • Manual Journal Line Limit (if generating journals), or
  • Allocation Transaction Batch Lines Limit (if generating transactions)

Run the allocation manually to avoid this issue.