Combined Analysis Code Budget Checking

When you define a budget check you can select up to five analysis dimensions for budget checking. This means you can set a budget at an extremely detailed level, by entering it for a large number of analysis code combinations, for a particular account.

For example, you can set a budget for marketing expenses, analyzed by cost centre, department and product.

When you enter a ledger transaction to the account, the analysis codes entered on the transaction are compared with the budget check account/analysis code combinations. The budget checking process looks for a budget check definition with the same account/analysis code combination. If no match is found, the budget is assumed to be zero and all transactions are treated as over expenditure.

Note: If a budget check definition has not been defined for an account, budget checking does not take place.

If you have set Combined Budget Check for the analysis codes in Analysis Codes (ANC), the budget checking process searches for a budget that references only some of the analysis codes referenced on the transaction.

In this situation, the order you define the analysis codes in the budget check definition is important because it determines the search sequence.

The Budget Check Analysis Code Search Sequence

If combined budgets are allowed for analysis codes, budget checking uses the following search logic to find the most suitable budget check definition to apply.

The budget check search sequence is as follows:

  1. A search is made for a budget check set up for all of the referenced analysis dimension codes, for the budget account.
  2. A search is made for a budget check set up with the least significant, fifth, analysis dimension code blank.
  3. A search is made for a budget check set up with the fourth analysis dimension code blank, and the fifth code present.
  4. And so on according to the chart below, until ...
  5. A search is made for a budget check set up with all of the analysis dimensions blank, that is against the budget at the account level.
Note: Searching stops if the Budget Checking option, in Analysis Codes (ANC), for the least significant analysis code being searched, is set to Budget Checking not Required. The least significant analysis code is the final code to contain a value. For example, if the Budget Checking not Required option was set for Analysis Code 3 in the example below, the search will stop at step 4.
Search Step Analysis Code 1 Analysis Code 2 Analysis Code 3 Analysis Code 4 Analysis Code 5
1 X X X X X
2 X X X X  
3 X X X   X
4 X X X    
5 X X   X X
6 X X   X  
7 X X     X 
8 X X       
9 X   X X  X
10 X   X  X  
11 X   X   X
12 X   X    
13 X     X X
14 X     X  
15 X       X
16 X        
17   X X X X
18   X X X  
19   X X   X
20   X X    
21   X   X X
22   X   X  
23   X     X
24   X      
25     X X X
26     X X  
27     X   X
28     X    
29       X X
30       X  
31         X
32