Configuring planning

Use the Configuration utility to do the following:

  • Set the current fiscal period for planning
  • Set plan file visibility options
  • Set workday period options

These drivers are usually set during the initial system setup or annually, but the administrator may need to make changes.

NOTE: The Rolling Forecast Global Driver Management role is required for changing these settings.

To configure planning drivers:

  1. In the RF Admin task pane under Setup, double-click Configuration Utility.

  2. Complete the following sections:

    IMPORTANT: Be aware that if you make changes to the Workday Periods or the RF Period after processing plan files, the plan files will need to be reprocessed for the changes to appear in reports.

    General tab

    This tab calculates the workdays, days, and hours in period. Data from the General and Visibility Options tabs flows into this tab.

    NOTE: The data displayed changes based on the current settings for the year and forecast period. If you change the period, the previously saved data shifts to match the new period.

    To set the current fiscal period for forecasting:

    1. In the Date Selections column, select the desired fiscal period from the drop-down list. When you select a period, the corresponding month displays in parentheses at the end of the sentence on the right.

    2. (Optional) To view planning and system information, click the View System Info link. The page expands to display date information, the selected planning type, and system settings. To collapse this information, click Hide System Info.

    Visibility Options tab

    Use this tab to control which parts of the plan file display to users.

    Select from the following options:

    Option Description/Action
    Plan File Tab Visibility

    To set which plan file worksheets are visible to users, click the toggle to Visible or Hidden for the following:

    • Forecast History
    • Forecast Initiatives
    • Forecast Plan
    Plan File Tab Summary Section Options

    To set whether EBIDA and Adjusted EBIDA rows are visible on the plan file Summary sheet, click the toggle for each to Visible or Hidden for the following:

    • Show Adjusted EBIDA
    • Show EBIDA
    Labeling Options

    If your organization uses different terminology than the displayed defaults, type new labels for:

    • Margin (EBIDA)
    • Net Margin
    • Adjusted EBIDA (operating EBIDA margin before restructuring)

    These values are used on the plan file Summary tab.
    Plan File Column Visibility Select the range of columns to be visible in the plan file based on the selected Start Period and End Period. The default Start Period is the Current Year Begin date from the setting in the General tab. The default End Period is 60 periods from the Start year. You can set a shorter time period if desired.
    Reports - Grouping Columns for Refresh Variables

    Control which RFGroup table columns are available for selection in the Refresh Variable dialog for the Consolidated Summary and EBIDA Summary reports:

    1. Click the drop-down.

    2. In the list of RFGroups, select the check boxes for the RFGroups to include, and then clear the check boxes for those RFGroups to exclude.

    3. Click OK and then click Save.

      NOTE: You must click Save for your selections to be available in the Refresh Variable dialog in reports.

    4. Click OK in the confirmation dialog.

    Workday Periods tab

    Use this tab to set the number of workdays in each month.

    NOTE: If the forecast type is set to Quarterly, then quarterly totals will display in the days and hours in period.

    1. To select the default standard work hours for your organization, in the Hours Settings section, from the Annual FTE Hours drop-down, select one of the following:
      • 2080

      • 2086 (default)

        NOTE: The Hours in Period are set for a 2086 FTE by default and must be changed if using 2080.

    2. In the Workday Settings section, do the following:
      • (Optional) To view tables of historical actuals (Days in Period, Hours in Period), beside the Workdays table, click the View Additional Date Detail link. To hide historical actuals, click Hide additional Date Detail.
      • For each column in the Workdays table, in the blue cells, type the number of workdays in that period if different from the displayed default.
  3. Click Save, and then in the confirmation dialog, click OK.