Creating Fields for the Financial Summary

Overview

When you create a summary field you:

• assign default values for general properties
• apply data source constraints
• configure the data stream source for leaf fields (fields that have no child items)
• apply filters to leaf fields that derive values from a data source (not manually entered), as needed

Other things you can do on this Fields tab is view references to fields (references exist when the field is in use in one or more financial summary structures), and delete fields. 

You can select/de-select the available data streams on the General tab at any time.

Creating a Summary Field

The following are the basic steps for creating a field. 

1. Navigate to the Organization/Finances/Financial Summary Components/Fields tab and make sure the Fields tab is displayed.
2. Click the New button. The New Field dialog appears.
3. Fill out the properties as described in the table below and click Save. These properties provide the default values for the field when it is placed on a summary. After you place the field on the summary structure, the end user (with the appropriate permissions) can edit several properties (excluding Title and Show on Reports) if they need to be adjusted for the current project.
4. Configure data source constraints - these apply to all data sources.
5. Configure data source for leaf fields - this applies to fields that have no children.
6. Save.

Configuring Data Source Constraints (Filters)

Constraints define the type of financial data that feed the data streams for a field and its children. After you create a field, you further specify the boundaries of the streams by configuring the following constraints (constraints automatically apply to all data streams): Cash Flow, Capitalized, Labor. You can think of a constraint as a kind of filter that applies to the whole data stream. For example, you can choose to include Labor costs only, non-Labor costs only, or both. Note that when setting constraints, you'll need take into account what you will want, if anything, for sources when a field has no child items (see below). If you use anything other than "Manually Entered", you'll need to make sure the constraints suit your needs. 

Note: When adding fields to a summary structure, remember that all the fields in a "branch" (child items) must have the same constraints, because the values roll up to the parent. For example, if you have a parent field called Capitalized Expenses that is Cash Outflow, Capitalized, and Both Labor and Non-Labor, then all its children must meet the same constraints. For example, all children of the Capitalized Expenses field must be Cash Outflow and Capitalized, but can be either Labor or Non-Labor. In fact, when a user adds a child item, the user interface automatically filters the available fields to present only fields whose constraints conform to the parent. Keep this in mind when defining your fields.

The end-user cannot edit the constraints, sources, or filters on the summary structure, but can view them by selecting the field and choosing Actions > Edit Details or Actions > View Details, depending on permissions. Either way, those values cannot be edited.

To configure field constraints:

After creating the field, show the Constraints for All Sources section by toggling the Expand/Collapse control (if you don't already see the section). Select the appropriate options, as described below:

Configure the following constraints by selecting the value you want to use for each constraint: Cash Flow - Inflow, Outflow (a data stream cannot be both inflow/outflow) Capitalized - Capitalized, non-Capitalized, Both Capitalized and Non-Capitalized Labor - Labor, Non-Labor, Both Labor and Non-Labor

When setting constraints, you'll need take into account what you will want, if anything, for the source when no child items (see below).

Configure Source for Leaf Fields (Fields With No Child Items)

The value of a financial summary field is the sum of its direct children. When there are no direct children (either a single leaf with no children, or the last leaf in a branch), you must specify from where the data source is fed. For example, a Budget data stream could be informed by staffing role/resource allocations while a Forecast data stream could be fed by financial entry forecasts. Or, you can choose to manually enter a value to feed any data stream. Each stream (Budget, Forecast, Actuals) has a set of sources, plus the option of manual entry. "Manually Entered" will always be the default value for leaf fields.

The options are shown below. Choose a source, or use the default: Manually Entered. If you choose a source other than Manually Entered, additional filters will display - see Filtering Data Sources.

Comments: Task level budgets - Note that budgets are top down - a child cannot exceed its parent's budget. So only summary task budgets will be rolled up as part of the data stream. Streams based on roles/resources (allocations, estimated hours, scheduled hours): Revenue (inflow) for resources/roles comes from billing rates, not internal rates. The project billing rate table is used for calculating revenue. Note that after allocating a resource, the resource's billing rate populates the rate table for the project, but can then be changed. Costs (outflow) for resources/roles come from internal rates.	Comments: Streams based on roles/resources (allocations, estimated hours, scheduled hours): Revenue (inflow) for resources/roles comes from billing rates, not internal rates. The project billing rate table is used for calculating revenue. Note that after allocating a resource, the resource's billing rate populates the rate table for the project, but can then be changed. Costs (outflow) for resources/roles come from internal rates.	Comments: Timesheet actuals - Calculates revenue and cost based on the timesheet entry rates. Note that these rates may differ from the project or resource rates. For example, the rates can be updated directly on the timesheet by a Time Manager, or as a result of cost normalization of timesheets.

Editing Existing Summary Fields

Summary fields that are in use can only be partially edited. General settings can be edited, everything else (sources and filters) cannot be edited. Should you need to edit a field that is in use, use the View References feature to see where the fields are in use, remove them and make your edits, and then put them back on the project summary.

Filtering data sources

When you choose various data stream sources you will be provided appropriate filter fields, depending on the option you choose. For example, if you chose Task Estimated Hours to feed the Forecast data stream, then a Task filter and a Task Role filter are provided. Similarly, if you chose Timesheet Actuals to feed the Actuals data stream, then a Timesheet Entry filter is provided. Note that no filters are shown if you choose Manually Enter. The example Filters shown in the screenshot below limit results to active tasks with role estimates greater than 50 hours:

Viewing Field References

The Fields grid includes a Reference column. When the reference image  is present it means that the corresponding field is in use in at least one project's financial summary. Hover your cursor over the image to see a message in the hover text stating how many project summaries use the field. Click the image to display the list of project titles and owners. The screenshot below shows the Fields grid and the hover text for the References column:

And here is the dialog that displays when you click the reference image:

What's Next?

Check out Working with the Financial Summary (Beta) for information about building and using the summary structure.