Where can I use attributes?
An object type identifies where an attribute can be used. Each attribute must be associated with at least one object type. Object types are Lawson-defined. The following table lists the object types that can be associated with attributes in Purchase Order:
| Object type | For attributes assigned to |
|---|---|
| ITEM | Items |
| ACCNT | Accounts |
| ACCTU | Accounting units |
| VENDR | Vendors |
| BUYER | Buyers |
The following additional object types are available to be associated with attributes in other Lawson applications:
| Object type | For attributes assigned to | In this application |
|---|---|---|
| ASSET | Assets | Asset Management |
| ACCNT | Accounts | Accounts Payable, General Ledger, Inventory Control, Purchase Order |
| ACCTU | Accounting units | Accounts Payable, General Ledger, Inventory Control, Purchase Order |
| CSHCD | Cash Code | Accounts Payable and Cash Management |
| CUST | Customer | Accounts Receivable, Order Entry, Billing, Warehouse |
| GLTRN | General Ledger transactions | General Ledger |
| ITEM | Item | Inventory Control, Purchase Order, Order Entry, Warehouse, Production Order, Requisitions |
| LEASE | Leases | Lease Management |
| ANLYS | User analyses | Strategic Ledger |
| SLTRN | Strategic Ledger transactions | Strategic Ledger |
| VENDR | Vendor | Accounts Payable, Invoice Matching, Purchase Order |
Using attributes with items
When you use attributes with items, you have the flexibility to store additional information and select specific items for reports, inquiries and processing. The previous example shows how you can run reports and sales analysis based on items from a specific sales region.
Using attributes with accounting units
When you use attributes with accounting units, you have the flexibility to view your organization from different perspectives without actually changing your company structure. The previous example shows how ABC Company used attributes to view their profitability based on the region in which a store was located. They could associate additional attributes with each accounting unit that would let them view profitability by store size, by person responsible, and more.
Once attributes are assigned to accounting units, the attributes can be used with the Financials Data Mart for analysis purposes. For more information about using Lawson Business Intelligence to define data marts, see the General Ledger User Guide.
An alternative to using attributes with accounting units for grouping is to use level groups. Level groups let you combine sequential or nonsequential level ranges into a group for reporting and inquiries. For example, to define a report to show the consolidated totals for accounting units with a level addresses of 01-101, 01-103, and 01-109, you can define a level group to include just the three ranges representing each accounting unit. If you would select the sequential range 01-101 to 01-109, the range includes values from other accounting units.
When creating level groups, you can only select accounting units by level address. In contrast, using attributes you can group accounting by a wide range of characteristics for selection.
Using attributes with vendors
When you use attributes with vendors, you have the flexibility to store additional information and select specific vendors for reports, inquiries and processing. The previous example shows how you can run reports based on vendors who sell a specific product type.