Defining activity templates

Currency

Select a currency code to identify the activity's base currency. For posting activities, you may use any currency code. For summary activities and contract activities, the currency code must match the base currency code assigned to the activity group. The activity group's base currency defaults.

Default Account

Select the default General Ledger company, and accounting unit to use for transactions for this activity. As an option, you can also select the account and subaccount.

Note: These defaults are used for transactions that originate in Project Accounting, or in transactions that are interfaced from non-Lawson systems. The defaults are not used for activity-related transactions that originate in other Lawson applications.

Status

Select the status code for the activity. Use Status (AC02.1) to define a new status code, if necessary.

Note: If you will bill or recognize revenue with this activity, ensure that those tasks are included in the status you assign to this activity.

Note: If you plan to recognize revenue using the completed contract method, then do not include Revenue in the activity status until the contract is complete.

Account Category

Select a default account category to use in transactions that originate in Project Accounting, or in transactions that are interfaced from non-Lawson systems. Account categories are defined using Account Category (AC05.1).

Date Range

Specify the activity's start and end dates. The date range entered here must fall within the activity group's date range.

Note: This date range controls the dates you can use when creating activity budgets and activity transactions. The dates for activity budgets must fall within the specified date range. When you post transactions to activities, the transaction's posting or transaction date must fall within the date range, depending on how the Date Edit option is set on Activity Group (AC00.1).

You can override this date range by system code on Period of Performance (AC10.6).

Billable, Contract

Select Y (Yes) to indicate the activity is billable. You can recognize revenue against a billable or contract activity only.

Invoice Group

Select an invoice group. Invoice groups are defined on Invoice Groups (BR06.1). Use invoice groups to create and print one invoice for each contract within an invoice group or create and print one invoice across contracts for a single customer.

User Analysis

Select default user analysis values to use in activity transactions that originate in Project Accounting. You can specify the values or use the Define (F6) feature to open the User Analysis Entry subform. See the Strategic Ledger User Guide.

Award

Select Yes (Y) for any activity that is an award or award-related. Select Yes for posting activities that exist below an award activity in the activity structure.

Sponsored Effort

Select Yes (Y) if the activity should be included on the Certified Effort report in the sponsored award section. If the activity is cost share or non-sponsored, then select No (N).

Salary Cap

Select Yes if the activity is subject to a salary cap and the activity is a posting activity. Sponsored and cost share activities is subject to salary cap.

Select No for summary or contract activities, even if they are award activities. Also, select No for any posting activity to which earnings in excess of the salary cap will be charged.

Salary Cap Schedule

If the activity is subject to salary cap, select the applicable salary cap schedule.

Only posting activities can be associated with a salary cap schedule. Salary cap schedules are used in labor distribution templates to automatically cap salary distribution percentages when an activity is subject to salary cap.

If an employee's salary exceeds the salary cap, then the percentage charged to the activity is reduced and a new distribution line for the overage is created automatically.

Salary cap schedules are also used to produce the Salary Cap Alert Report (GM412). Salary cap schedules are defined using Salary Cap Schedule (GM05.1).

Use Current Cap

Salary cap schedules store annual salary cap amounts for multiple effective dates. Use this field to indicate which salary cap amount is used to determine whether an employee's salary exceeds cap.

Select N or blank (the default) to use the salary cap amount in effect on the activity's start date.

Select Y to use the newest, active salary cap amount in the salary cap schedule.

Overage Activity

When salary cap rules are applied in a labor distribution template, the system reduces the salary percentage in the distribution line for the activity subject to salary cap and creates a new template line containing the GL account and activity to which the excess salary, or overage, should be charged.

You can select an activity to which overage will be charged on the labor distribution template. If you leave this field blank, then the salary cap overages are not charged to any activity or account category.

Note: You cannot select a mandatory or committed cost share activity as an overage activity.

If an overage activity is selected, then you can select an overage account category to which excess salary will be charged on the labor distribution template.

If you leave the account category field blank, then the overage distribution will use the overage activity, but the account category will come from the labor distribution line that initiated the overage.

Overage GL Account

When salary cap rules are applied in a labor distribution template, the system reduces the salary percentage in the distribution line for the activity subject to salary cap and creates a new template line containing the GL account and activity to which the excess salary, or overage, should be charged.

You can select a GL company, accounting unit, account or subaccount to which overage will be charged on the labor distribution template. If you leave this field blank, then the overage is charged to the GL company in the labor distribution template line from which the overage is initiated.

Overage User Analysis

When salary cap rules are applied in a labor distribution template, the system reduces the salary percentage in the distribution line for the activity subject to salary cap and creates a new template line containing the GL account and activity to which the excess salary, or overage, should be charged. If your organization uses Strategic Ledger, then the system can also charge the overage to a user analysis.

You can select a Strategic Ledger user analysis to which overage will be charged on the labor distribution template.

If you leave this field blank, then the overage is charged to the user analysis (if any) on the labor distribution template line from which the overage is initiated.

Location

Select an asset location. This location will default when you create asset information on Activity Asset (AC10.3).

Locations are established in Asset Management on Location (AM07).

Division

Select an asset division. This division will default when you create asset information on Activity Asset (AC10.3).

Divisions are established in Asset Management on Division (AM08).

See the Project Accounting User Guide for detailed procedures.

Use these guidelines to specify the field values:

Budget Checking

Select one of these options to determine the budget time frame to use for budget edits:

• Use Period Edit (2) to perform the edit using the active period-to-date budget.

• Use Annual Edit (3) to perform the edit using the active year-to-date budget.

• Use Total Edit (4) to perform the edit using the active life-to-date budget.

• Use No Edit (1) (the default) if you do not want to enable budget edits.

If budget amounts are validated, then the system validates whether actuals plus commitments are less than or equal to the budget plus the budget tolerance. The edits are performed in the applications you select on System Codes (GL01.4).

Note: Period Edit and Annual Edit options are not valid with a Life Only budget.

Level

Select one of these options to determine the budget level to use for budget edits:

• Use Activity-Acct Cat (1) to perform the edit using the budget for the activity and account category specified in the transaction.

• Use Activity Group (2) to perform the edit using the activity group budget. The system uses the budget for the activity group associated with the activity in the transaction.

• Use Activity (3) to perform the edit using the total budgets for all account categories in the activity specified in the transaction.

• Use Activity—Summary Account Cat (4) to perform the edit using the budget for the summary account category in the activity specified in the transaction.

• Use Contract Funding (5) for Grant Billing Activity Groups. The contract funding budget edit compares project costs to the contract budget amount stored on the Multi-Funded Contract (GM20.1). This edit allows you to define a budget at the Project/contract level. Other budget edits require the entry of budgets at the posting activity account category level and are maintained in Activity Budget (AC20). If the contract funding budget edit is selected at the Activity Group (AC00) level, then it can not be overridden a the posting level activity (AC10).

Tolerance

Specify the percentage by which the budget can be exceeded. For example, to allow budgets to be exceeded by 5 percent, specify 5.00.