Cost Categories dimension

The Cost Categories dimension defines the cost category and represents a grouping of accounts in the general ledger used to perform the costing process. The cost category is the lowest level of detail at which costs are calculated for unit costs. They are stored for the calculated variable and fixed amounts.

TIP: You can manage your dimension tables by downloading them in spreadsheet form so that you can make larger changes more easily. You can then upload the spreadsheet with the changes back into the system. For more information, see Editing a dimension using a spreadsheet.

Accessing the Cost Categories dimension

From the Enterprise Decision Support home page, in the Data Control section, click Data Management > Core Dimensions > Cost Categories.

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Filtering records

To filter records:

  1. Click the funnel icon in the upper left corner of the page.

  2. In the Filter box, you can narrow down the records to display by selecting or creating a filter using the Filter Wizard. To access the Filter Wizard, click Edit. If you are familiar with writing filter statements, you can type the statement syntax directly in the Filter box.
  3. Click Apply.

Adding or editing a cost category

Due to the large number of records that this table may contain, the page can only display a maximum of 10,000 records.

To edit a cost category:

  1. In the table, do any of the following:

    • To add a cost category, click Add Row. The new row displays at the bottom of the table. Enter information in each column. After you save, the table will display the new row in order by the COSTCAT column.

      IMPORTANT: If you add a new record that already exists in the table, the system will overwrite the original column values with your new entries when you save your changes. We recommend that you review your entries before saving any changes.

    • To edit a cost category, click in the cell(s) to make your changes.

      NOTE: Columns that are grayed out cannot be edited.

    • To undo your changes, click the left arrow icon .
    • To redo your changes, click the right arrow icon .
  2. When you finish making changes, click Save.

Deleting a cost category

Due to the large number of records that this table may contain, you need to use the Filter panel to identify the records to display.

To delete a cost category:

  1. In the table, select the row to highlight it, and then click Delete Row.

  2. At the Continue? prompt, click OK.
  3. When you finish making changes, click Save.

Column descriptions

This section provides descriptions for each column in the Cost Categories dimension table:

NOTE: The table may display some columns that are related to other Syntellis products or have been created specifically for your organization. Contact your Syntellis Implementation Consultant or Syntellis Support if you need help with these columns.

TIP: In this dimension, you can add custom "grouping" columns to customize the data you want to query into reports. For more information, see Creating or modifying custom columns in dimensions.

Keys

Every table in the database must have at least one key column. Key columns define unique records of data in the table. If a table has one key column, then each value in that key column must be unique and defines a unique record in the table. If a table has multiple key columns, then each combination of values in those key columns defines a unique record in the table.

COSTCAT - An abbreviated definition of the cost category description. Keeping this short, yet intuitive, is best.

The system will not allow you to save the table if an entry includes one or more of the following:

  • More than the maximum allowed characters
  • Contains one of these characters: \\ / < > : ? | * ' \"
  • Begins with + - =.

Description - A full description of the cost category.

Cost

These columns are specific to the set up and maintenance of Axiom Enterprise Decision Support.

ShortDescription - A shortened description to use for reporting purposes to save space.

DisplayOrder - Determines the order in which cost category data displays in the workbook utilities and can be used to order them in reports.

COSTPOOL - A key attribute of a cost category and determines the cost method to use in calculating the cost category cost information. In some instances, a one to one relationship may need to exist between a cost category and a cost pool. For example: Supplies, where the reverse markup is used as calculating the cost using such a method applies to only one cost and would not be applicable to more than on cost category.

DirectFlag - Determines the definition of costs contained and calculated for each cost category as a direct cost or an indirect cost. Used primarily for reporting cost results and is separate from the Direct Flag at the department level used to drive other costing processes.

AccountNum - The base account number to use for cost method account numbers in the CGL table.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT CHANGE after the accounts are created and used in the Accounts dimension.

ReportGroup - The grouping of cost categories for Axiom Enterprise Decision Support reporting purposes.

ReportDetail - The detail expense assignment for Axiom Enterprise Decision Support reporting. This should either be at the FSDetail level or highly correlated. Some FSDetail accounts can be grouped for costing purposes and may not have a corresponding cost category, e.g., EX_Utilities may be grouped into OtherExpenses.

ReportDetailOrder - The order of the report detail definitions used in reporting.

RCUDEF1-5 - RCU definitions #1-5 or Relative Cost Unit definition. One of five fields that provides the ability to define the cost category as part of a RVU cost calculation. Valid options are include the following: Variable, Fixed, or Total, which defines which measures to use for this cost category within the definition. See related information in the Cost Pools dimension.