The options on this menu are used to define how the analysis codes generated in the spreadsheet model are interpreted by the system.
In this menu the following items are defined:
Expense code drill structure
Cost centre drill structure
Additional elements of the analysis code that can be used for other hard copy reporting.
Note: Do not set these up unless the hierarchy structure has been finalized.
Define here how the analysis field on the Cost centre and Expense code record should be sub-divided.
There are 16 bytes of analysis available for each record. These must be split depending on the number of different hierarchical drill levels that have been defined in the drill down design.
The first line on the left hand side of the screen defines the description and number of bytes that the system shall use for the drill down levels.
The description is typically named Hierarchy.
It is necessary to input the Start byte (always 1) and the Length in bytes of this sub-field.
It is advisable to always make the length one level larger than the required amount, so that the MA structure can be expanded without having to be completely started again from scratch.
Example:
If there are 3 levels of COST CENTRE analysis then HIERARCHY for the COST CENTRE would be 8 bytes long. E.g. 2*4 levels.
The number of levels for each analysis is apparent from the spreadsheet model, also the size of each level is derived from the number of different elements within each level. Thus it is possible to calculate the length of each sub-field.
Levels are typically only 2 bytes long as seldom are there more than 99 (max. Val. for 2 bytes) different elements in a drill level. (If a region had more than 99 branches then 3 bytes would be needed)
Note: The other 5 sub-fields below, are used for Hard copy reporting. The remaining bytes from the potential 16 can be split thus allowing the user to define further analysis fields.
Consultants Note: This option adds a record to file Home/MA/dicts00.MA.masub. (If error message - Error Duplicate Key when trying to create levels then ensure that XX.MA.masub has been initialized)
The second set of fields defines the detail and size of each level within the Hierarchy of the drill structure.
Most levels only need 2 bytes but if a particular level has more than 99 elements then 3 bytes need to be defined.
These hierarchy labels are used as Menu options in Miscellaneous menu - Cost centre levels & Expense code levels. The description of the hierarchy field can be entered as either "Level 1", "Level 2", "Level 3" etc. Or as "Region", "Area", "Branch" etc. However, if there is no direct correlation with these descriptions future maintenance could become confusing.
If there are 3 levels in the Cost Centre hierarchy then 6 bytes should be defined to be used by the drill structure.
Thus first line of the sub field could read as follows:
Sub-field Start Length
1. Hierarchy 1 6
And the Hierarchy levels:
Hierarchy field1 Start Length:
Level 1 1 2
Level 2 3 2
Level 3 5 2
If there are 6 levels in the Expense code hierarchy then 12 bytes could be defined to be used by the drill structure.
Thus first line of the sub field could read as follows:
Sub-field Start Length:
1. Hierarchy 1 12
And the Hierarchy levels:
Hierarchy field1 Start Length:
Level 1 1 2
Level 2 3 2
Level 3 5 2
Level 4 7 2
Level 5 9 2
Level 6 11 2
Warning: When the relevant drill files have been created using this structure the sub divisions can not be altered.
Having set the analysis sub-fields up the "Customize ccent dictionary" and "Create ccent file" option must be run (and Similarly for expen). This builds the analysis coding that has been defined, into a file structure.
When these two options have been run the master Management Accounts menu changes and the following 2 options are added.
View management accounts
Generate drill down
Also the miscellaneous menu options Cost centre levels and Expense code levels hold the hierarchy that has been defined in analysis sub-fields.
Selecting this option recreates the data dictionary ccent and expen and adds a new field ANAL1 that is equal to the value of bytes that have been allocated to each hierarchy in the sub-field analysis.
This results in the following files being recreated:
home/MA/dicts/00.MA.expen.dd
home/MA/dicts/00.MA.ccent.dd
Selecting this option creates data files for ccent and expen.
Ensure that the files are sized large enough to cope with the number of records they are expected to receive.
E.g. If there are 700 records in the Expense code spreadsheet spreadsheet then size the file expen to more than 700 records.
This results in the following files being created.
data/MA/XX/XX.MA.expen
data/MA/XX/XX.MA.ccent
Where XX is the Management Accounts company number.
Consultants Note: If for any reason the MA.masub file has had to be initialized or removed it is necessary to regenerate MA.iflds. Drilling all the way into nominal ledger could be impossible otherwise.
When this set-up procedure is complete then the "Copy NL Actuals To MA" and "Generate drill-down "options should be switched on in the EOD procedure. When these options run in EOD mode, and MA codes do not exist then the process will time out and no drill files are generated. The EOD log will identify the first code that cannot be found. This code and any others should be investigated and either opened or "deleted" (Using Kerridge Utilities). The drill can then be regenerated at any time from the menu option.
Method 1: Use the SETUP option in Add or modify MA cost centres and Expense codes, and key in the values directly.
Tip: It is possible to copy and paste from the spreadsheet.
Method 2: Use the DOS ASCII Import program and set-up an import to extract data directly from the spreadsheet and write it to the expen and ccent files. (See DOS ASCII Import on-line help)
Method 3: Use a dedicated overlay written specifically for this task. (This must be done with the help of a Kerridge consultant.)
When the Analysis fields have been completed an AD-HOC inquiry must be run down the ccent and expen files. This is to make sure that all MA expense codes and cost centres have the correct codes in their ANAL1 - analysis code field.
WARNING: Before proceeding to copy data into the MA system a final review should be taken to ensure all codes, and descriptions have been set-up.
