Modules of Planning Maestro

Planning Maestro enables companies to budget, plan, forecast, and analyze their data. Planning Maestro has five modules (areas in the system):

• Dashboard
• Data Modeler
• Financial Intelligence Setup
• Planning
• Reports

You can perform certain tasks in each module: for example, reviewing your company’s revenues. All modules contain vocabulary that may be unfamiliar to new Planning Maestro users, such as Base Structure or Cube.

This document gives you, a Planning Maestro user, an overview of Planning Maestro vocabulary to help you become a successful Maestro in intelligent planning and analytics, including:

• The basic or general definition of each word or phrase.
• The module (area) of Planning Maestro where you can find the feature or tool described.

Planning Maestro Glossary

Accounts Payable

Definition

A company’s unpaid bills (money owed, usually within 30 days).

In Planning Maestro

You can record bills as expenses in the Operating Expenses application, which is in the Planning module. Planning Maestro automatically sets up the double-entry accounting and creates the accounts payable transaction for you. 

Accounts Receivable

Definition

Amounts owed to a company, often from sales.

In Planning Maestro

You can record payments to your company as revenue in the Revenue application, which is in the Planning module. Planning Maestro automatically sets up the double-entry accounting and creates the accounts receivable transaction for you.

Account Type

Definition

The type or category of a General Ledger Account. Account Type defines the function of an account, whether it appears on the balance sheet or income statement, and how it relates to cash flow. The five basic account types are Assets, Liabilities, Owners’ Equity, Revenues, and Expenses.

In Planning Maestro

Planning Maestro helps you sort your accounts by Account Type. Planning Maestro Account Types include the five basic types as well as Memorandum or Statistical accounts (non-financial or statistical accounts) or Undesignated accounts (which become the default if a transaction is not linked to a GL Account already).

Actuals

Definition

A company’s real, historical financial data (as opposed to budgeted amounts).

In Planning Maestro

The Centage Team sets up a data integration (see CDI and ODI) to upload and automatically update your Actuals for you into the Data Modeler module. You can use your Actuals to create budgets and forecasts through the Financial Intelligence Setup and Planning modules.

Adjustments

Definition

An accounting entry that corrects (adds, edits, or rearranges) journal entries from a previous accounting period.

In Planning Maestro

You can enter adjustments in the Adjustments application, which is in the Planning module.

Example: A company buys some office fondue fountains for $200 at the end of an accounting period. After the purchase, they find that some of the fountains were damaged before shipping. The vendor gives the company a 20% discount. The company enters an adjustment or adjusting entry in their General Ledger to show that the $200 was reduced to $160.

Allocations

Definition

Costs that a company assigns to certain cost objects. Allocations can help spread the cost or use of an item across departments or help balance a company’s budget.

In Planning Maestro

In Planning Maestro, you can create your allocation methods in the Allocation Methods application, which is in the Financial Intelligence Setup Module. Then, you can assign those allocation methods to line items in the Planning module.

Example: When a company’s Finance department receives the bill for office rent, they pay it and then allocate the rent cost by department. Each department receives a portion of the rent cost based on the square footage of their area of the office.

Amortization

Definition

Depreciation (the loss of value over time) of an Intangible Asset.

In Planning Maestro

You can record amortization for Capital Assets in the Adjustments application, which is in  the Planning module. Planning Maestro allows you to record total amortization or amortization per asset.

Application

Definition

A software program or group of programs designed for end users.

In Planning Maestro

The Planning module contains the Operating Expenses, Revenue, Personnel, Drivers, and Adjustments applications to enable you to build your budget.

Asset

Definition

A resource or piece of property owned by a company.

In Planning Maestro

You can record your company’s assets (including Capital Assets and Depreciation) in the Adjustments application, which is in the Planning module.

See Capital Assets, Intangible Asset, and Depreciation.

Example: cash, buildings, land, equipment, vehicles, investments

Backlog

Definition

Orders that have been received but not delivered.

In Planning Maestro

Planning Maestro automatically calculates Backlog based on the schedule selected for booking (see Booking). You can view backlog and booking amounts in the Revenues application, which is in the Planning module. See Booking and Deferred Revenues.

Example: A birdhouse factory received an order and payment for 100 condominium-sized birdhouses. They work on this order for three months. During those three months, any birdhouses out of the 100 ordered that are not finished and delivered are considered part of the backlog.

Balance Sheet

Definition
A Balance Sheet report displays a company’s financial position at a given date. This document shows the status of a company’s Balance Sheet accounts: the company’s Assets, Liabilities, and Equity.

In Planning Maestro

Planning Maestro automatically creates entries for Balance Sheet accounts in each application within the Planning module except Drivers (Operating Expenses, Revenue, Personnel, and Adjustments). You can review your company’s Balance Sheet report through the Reports module.

Base Structures

Definition

The building blocks of company.

In Planning Maestro

When you first begin using Planning Maestro, your Base Structures usually come from the Actuals or historical financial information uploaded from your company’s ERP system. You can add and edit Base Structures in the Data Modeler module.

Please Note: Each item included in a Base Structure is called a Member (see Member).

When creating new Base Structures, you can:

• Merge existing Base Structures.

Example: You can have a Base Structure called Department-Office that contains all your company’s offices and departments.

• Split existing Base Structures.

Example: You can create a Base Structure called Abbreviated Account Number that contains only the first 10 characters of each of your account numbers. This setup is useful if you only need to use part of each member of a Base Structure.

Example: Companies (in a corporation or holding company), departments, cost centers, regions, currencies, products, ingredients, programs, classes, grants, offices, General Ledger Accounts, and versions (see Versions below).

Booking

Definition

A contract agreed upon between a buyer and a seller, but not yet delivered, completed, or paid for.

In Planning Maestro

You can record Booking amounts in the Revenues application, which is in the Planning module.

Budget

Definition

A financial plan for a set time period. Budgets usually have specific amounts planned for revenue and expenses.

In Planning Maestro

You can use your company’s Actuals (historical financial data) to build budgets in Planning Maestro.

You can use the Financial Intelligence Setup module to set up planned expenses and revenue and the Planning module to review budgets.

Capital Assets

Definition

Significant, long-term pieces of property or Assets expected to generate value over time. Companies need to budget for these purchases and account for their Depreciation (loss of value) over time.

In Planning Maestro

Record your Capital Assets as adjustments in the Adjustments application, which is in the Planning module.

Examples: buildings, equipment, machinery

Cash Flow

Definition

The movement of cash into and out of an organization over an accounting period.

• A positive cash flow means more money is coming into the company than is going out.
• A negative cash flow means more money is going out of an organization than coming in.

In Planning Maestro

Planning Maestro helps you keep track of your cash flows by automatically tracking the balance of your cash accounts.

 

Chart of Accounts

Definition

Companies group transactions into “accounts” (separate categories or types of transactions, such as Operating Expenses, Sales Revenues, or Owner’s Equity). A Chart of Accounts is the list of all accounts a company has.

In Planning Maestro

The Centage Team takes your company’s Chart of Accounts and helps you upload it to Planning Maestro. There, you can use the data to create a budget and run reports.

CDI (Centage Data Integration)

Definition in Planning Maestro

One of the ways to upload your company’s data to your Planning Maestro account. CDI extracts data from your company’s General Ledger if your General Ledger is based “on-premise” (a system that is installed and used in your office and cannot be accessed remotely).

CDI automatically creates CIF Files (see CIF Files below) for you and integrates with your ERP system to update the data in your Planning Maestro account. CDI can also upload already-created CIF files from your General Ledger. The Centage Support Team sets up CDI for you.

CIF (Centage Integration Format) Files

Definition in Planning Maestro

CIF Files are the required file format to upload data from your ERP system to Planning Maestro. These files are .csv files with a specific format for your data: your General Ledger accounts, fiscal calendar, account summary, account transactions, and Base Structures. At first, the Centage Team helps you create and upload your CIF Files.

Copy Data/What If?

Definition in Planning Maestro

This tool enables you to take an existing Plan (view of your data), copy it, and make changes to create “what if” situations and plan for different scenarios. You can copy data within one Version (Actuals, budget for this year, etc.) or copy data between Versions. This tool is a Data Tool available in the Financial Intelligence Setup and Planning modules.

Example: You can take a Plan that projects data for the next five years and run scenarios in which your company buys a new office building, hires 25 new employees, uses a less expensive vendor for materials, rents a circus once a quarter, etc.

Cost of Goods Sold (CoGS)

Definition

The cost of manufactured product sold – usually includes the cost of raw materials, utilities, labor, and overhead.

In Planning Maestro

You can track the cost of every line item in the Revenue application, which is in the Planning module.

Cost of Sales (CoS)

Definition

 The cost of the goods or services sold plus the cost of selling and delivering those goods or services. In the case of goods, the CoS also can include follow-up service or maintenance.

In Planning Maestro

You can track the Cost of Sales for every line item in the Revenue application, which is in the Planning module.

Clear Data

Definition in Planning Maestro

This tool enables you to clear (delete) the data from any Dimension (building block of your budget), Dimension Member (part of a Dimension) or Version (Actuals, budget for this year, etc.). This tool is a Data Tool available in the Financial Intelligence Setup and Planning modules.

Cube

Definition

• A symmetrical three-dimensional shape.
• A multi-dimensional array of data.

In Planning Maestro

See Plans. Cubes are read-only views or displays of data you can examine in Excel using through Analytics Maestro (a plug-in to Excel). Cubes enable you to examine the smallest details of data and study it from different perspectives: by year, by quarter, by period, or by transaction.

Please Note: A Centage Cube is like a Rubik’s cube: it enables you to study your data from multiple angles, from the smallest details to the broadest overviews.

You can deploy (publish) Cubes through the Data Modeler module or through the Financial Intelligence Setup module.

Cubes deployed through the Data Modeler contain only your Actuals and data from your ERP system. Cubes deployed through Financial Intelligence Setup contain source data and any information you added to your Plan in Planning Maestro.

Dashboard

The Dashboard is one of the five main modules of Planning Maestro. You can review your progress in building and following a budget using the components of the Planning Maestro Dashboard.

Data Link

Definition

An electronic connection for basing the value or amount of one piece of information on another piece of information.

In Planning Maestro

Data Links enable you to connect line items to other line items in the same application or another application in Planning (Operating Expenses, Revenue, Personnel, Drivers, or Adjustments application).

You can establish basic connections to simply “pull in” a line item from another application or build formulas, such as a formula to make one line item a percentage or proportion of another line item.

Example: You can use a Data Link to make employee holiday bonuses a percentage of the year’s profit.

Data Mart

Definition in Planning Maestro

The database to which Centage uploads customers’ data.

Data Modeler

In Planning Maestro

In Planning Maestro, the Data Modeler is the module (area in your account) where you set up your company’s data for budgeting and forecasting. This step includes uploading your company’s data, creating Dimensions, and setting up Hierarchies (organized views of data).

Data Projection

Definition

A line item within a budget.

In Planning Maestro

You can view your budgets and the Data Projections they contain in the Operating Expenses, Revenue, Personnel, Drivers, and Adjustments application, which are in the Planning module.

Default Settings

Definition
A system’s automatic or usual settings.

In Planning Maestro

You can use Default Settings to create templates for new line items in Operating Expenses, Revenue, Personnel, Drivers, and Adjustments. You can set your default settings through the Default Settings application, which is in the Financial Intelligence Setup module.

Please Note: You can change your Default Settings at any time.

Example: You can create a Default Setting which makes all new line items in Operating Expenses have a set start date and end date.

Deferred Revenues

Definition

Money a company has received, but not yet earned for goods delivered or services performed. Deferred Revenue is recognized as a liability until it is received, and then it is converted to revenue.

In Planning Maestro

You can classify any line item as Deferred Revenue and set up a schedule for recognizing it in the Revenue application, which is in the Planning module.

Example: A publishing company offers monthly subscriptions to a magazine. A customer pays for a year’s subscription. Each month, the company recognizes 1/12 of the payment as revenue, but records the rest as a liability until it has delivered all 12 magazines for the year and earned the full payment.

Deploy

Definition

To send out, arrange, or publish.

In Planning Maestro

See Plan and Cube. In Planning Maestro, to deploy a Plan or Cube in the Data Modeler module is to publish or display the information you uploaded and set up.  You must deploy a Plan or Cube before you or other users can use it.

• After you deploy a Plan, you can manipulate the data in the Financial Intelligence and Planning modules and review it in the Reports module.
• After you deploy a Cube from the Data Modeler or Financial Intelligence Setup module, you can review it in Excel using Analytics Maestro (an Excel plug-in).

Depreciation

Definition

The loss of value to an Asset over time, usually due to wear and tear.

In Planning Maestro

You can also add Depreciation for Capital Assets to your budget using the Adjustments application, which is in the Planning module.

Drill-Down

Definition

A method of examining information in detail: for example, looking at an account by individual transactions instead of the account summary.

In Planning Maestro

After you deploy a Cube, you can drill down and examine the small details of your company’s data. See Cube.

Dimension

Definition

• A physical measurement such as length, breadth, width, and mass.
• A feature or aspect of something.

In Planning Maestro

A Dimension is a building block of a company’s budget. Dimensions enable you to arrange and examine your company’s data from multiple perspectives as you review and build your budget.

A user can create Dimensions in the Data Modeler module using the company’s Base Structures (which are the building blocks of the company itself, such as its departments and currencies). Users can also create new Dimensions which do not come directly from Base Structures.

Dimensions are very flexible. They can simply be copies of Base Structures, merged Base Structures, split Base Structures, or completely new and unrelated to existing Base Structures. You can also create new Members (parts) of a Dimension in Planning Maestro that do not come from a Base Structure.

Dimension Attribute

Definition

A characteristic, feature, or quality of something.

In Planning Maestro

See Dimension and Members. Attributes of Dimensions are categories or types for the Members of each dimension. Use Attributes to organize the Members of a Dimension and filter them when running reports in the Reports module.

Example: A company has a Dimension called Project. This Dimension has hundreds of project names as its members. To help organize the members of this dimension, the Administrator creates ten Attributes and uses those Attributes to classify the members. Now, the Administrator and other users can search for specific projects by filtering by Attribute.

Drivers

Definition

Conditions, values, or activities that affect the success of a business.

In Planning Maestro

You can use Drivers to represent non-financial factors or variables that affect your company’s Operating Expenses, Revenue, and Personnel, and Adjustments. A Driver can be an input (constant value), a percentage, or monetary.

There are five types of Drivers: Input, HRE (Hourly Related Expenses), PRE (Period Related Expenses), Record Set, and Related Cost (see the definition for each in this glossary).

You can add, edit, and delete Drivers in the Drivers application, which is in the Planning module.

Example: Units of production, manufacturing processes, number of stores, price of equipment, fuel mileage (which can vary by season and terrain), sales commissions, payroll taxes, percent value for benefits, headcount, square footage

ERP System

Definition

An ERP (Enterprise Resource Management) system is a software system that manages a company’s business processes. A company may use several ERP systems to automate their accounting records, expenses, payroll, inventory, customer relations, and other business processes.

In Planning Maestro

You upload data from your business’s ERP system(s) to your Planning Maestro account. Then, you can use that data to build budgets and reports. See CDI, ODI, and CIF Files.

Examples: QuickBooks, NetSuite, Intacct, Great Plains

Equity

Definition

The book value of an organization, or the difference between the value of assets and value of liabilities (debts) of something owned. Equity may belong to an owner for a private company or be shareholders’ interest in a public company. Also called the net asset value and net worth.

In Planning Maestro

Planning Maestro automatically tracks debits and credits to equity accounts for every line item in the Planning applications (Operating Expense, Revenue, Personnel, Drivers, and Adjustments).

FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act)

Definition

The federal law which requires employers to withhold a portion of employee wages and pay them to the government trust fund which provides retirement benefits.

In Planning Maestro

You can record amounts paid for FICA as Personnel Related Expense (PRE) Drivers (factors or variables related to personnel expenses) in the Drivers application, which is in the Planning module.

Financial Statements

Definition

Balance Sheets, Income Statement, cash flow reports, and other documents which formally present financial information about a company. Financial Statements are subject to audit.

In Planning Maestro

You can build Balance Sheets, Income Statements, Cash Flow Reports, and other Financial Statements in the Reports module.

Financing

Definition

Providing funds for business, often through loans, bonds, or stocks.

In Planning Maestro

Record your business loans, lines of credit, and other financing as adjustments in the Adjustments application, which is in the Planning module.

Fiscal Year (FY)

Definition

A 12-period/52-week year for accounting records. Companies can use the calendar year (January 1-December 31) or other structures such a 4-4-5 year (two 4-week months and one 5-week month).

In Planning Maestro

Every time you create a Plan, you can set the start and end of your fiscal years for that Plan using a Time Dimension (the building block of your budget containing your calendar). You can set up this Dimension in the Dimensions application, which is in the Data Modeler module.

Forecast

Definition

An estimate or prediction of future financial events. In business, companies can use their historical data to build these predictions. Forecasts are usually more long-term, more flexible, and more scenario-based than budgets.

In Planning Maestro

You can create forecast versions using the Forecast tool in the Financial Intelligence Setup Planning modules.

FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax Act)

Definition

A tax imposed by federal law in which an employer pays a federal tax used to help fund state programs for individuals who are unemployed or disabled.

In Planning Maestro

You can track FUTA fees or payments using the Drivers application, which is in the Planning module.

General Ledger

Definition

A company’s accounting record of its transaction history.

In Planning Maestro

In Planning Maestro, you upload data from your company’s General Ledger into the Data Modeler module.

General Ledger Account (GL Accounts)

Definition

A category or record for a specific type of transaction in a company’s accounting record. Common General Ledger Accounts include Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Revenue, and Expenses. See Chart of Accounts.

In Planning Maestro

You can upload all your General Ledger Accounts into the Data Modeler module. Then, you can examine the data from and create a budget for each Account.

GL (General Ledger) Source

In Planning Maestro

See General Ledger and ERP system. The GL Source is the name of the source of the General Ledger information imported into Planning Maestro (including Account Summery, Base Structures, etc.). The GL Source may be named after the name of the company, sub-company, or business unit the data comes from.

Hierarchy

Definition

A system or organization in which items are ordered by size, status, or authority.

In Planning Maestro

Hierarchies act as organized views of data. You can create Hierarchies within each Dimension in the Data Modeler module. Each Hierarchy is a different view of the Members in that Dimension. You can also set up Hierarchies for your reports.

Example: A company creates a Dimension named “Department” that contains all its departments and sub-departments. The Administrator creates a hierarchy to place each sub-department within its main department.

HRE (Hourly Related Expenses)

Definition

Expenses related to hourly employees, such as overtime or different rates for different shifts.

In Planning Maestro

An HRE is a type of Driver (non-financial factor or variable). The Drivers application is located inside the Planning module.

Income Statement

Definition

Shows a company’s financial performance over a specific time period. This document shows a company’s revenues and expenses. It may also be called a P&L (Profit and Loss) statement.

In Planning Maestro

You can review your company’s Income Statement in the Reports module. The Planning application (Operating Expenses, Revenue, Personnel, and Adjustments) also have a Details pane that tracks how every line item affects your Income Statement.

Increase/Decrease Methods

Definition

A pattern of increases or decreases in an account record over a certain time period. Increase/decrease methods can be values or percentages.

In Planning Maestro

You can create and review automatic increase/decrease methods in the Increase/Decrease Methods application, which is in the Planning Automation section of the Financial Intelligence Setup module.

Example: A recurring 2% raise for employees each year.

Input

Definition

A value or amount entered into a system.

In Planning Maestro

Each of the Planning applications (Operating Expenses, Revenue, Personnel, Drivers, and Adjustments) has at least one Input field into which you can enter the amount for a line item.

Inputs are also a type of Driver (a non-financial factor or variable). You can create Drivers in the Drivers application, which is in the Planning module.

Example: Your company rents a barn, a warehouse, a theater, and a ballroom for various company events. To examine the cost of each location per square foot, you can add the square footage of each space as a unit Input Driver and the cost of renting each space as a monetary Input Driver.

Intangible Assets

Definition

Assets that are not physical in nature.

In Planning Maestro

You can record Intangible Assets as adjustments in the Adjustments application, which is in the Planning module.

Example: Copyrights, patents, trademarks, software, intellectual property

Liability

Definition

A legal debt or obligation.

In Planning Maestro

You can record Liabilities (including Accounts Payable and accrued expenses) as adjustments in the Adjustments application. Planning Maestro also automatically sets up the accounts payable entry for liabilities in the Details pane in the Operating Expense and Personnel application.

Example: Loans, mortgages, accounts payable

Line Item

Definition

• A unit of information in a document or record listed on a line of its own.
• An entry displayed on a separate line in a ledger or budget.

In Planning Maestro

You can examine individual line items in Plans and in Cubes. Line items in budgets (as opposed to in your Actuals or historical data) are called Data Projections.

Example: A company could have a line item in the Operating Expenses application named “Summer Cruise” which budgets $2,000 for the employee summer cruise.

Maestro Equivalent Account Type (MEAT)

Definition in Planning Maestro

The Maestro Equivalent Account Type (MEAT) is another name for Account Type (see Account Type). In the Data Modeler or Planning modules, you may see the heading MEATGROUPS over your account numbers.  This heading shows that your account numbers are categorized as Asset, Liability, Equity, Revenue, Expense, Memorandum, or Undesignated accounts.

Members

Definition

The parts, components, or pieces that make up a group.

In Planning Maestro

The parts, components, or “pieces” of each Base Structure or Dimension.

Examples:

• A Base Structure named “Department” may have Administration, Human Resources, Accounting, Development, Product, etc. as its members.
• A Dimension named “Currency” may have US dollars, Euros, pounds, and other currencies as its members.

Module

Definition

Separate areas, parts, or units of a software system.

In Planning Maestro

There are five modules in Planning Maestro: Dashboard, Data Modeler, Financial Intelligence Setup, Planning, and Reports. Each module provides users the ability to edit and view data as established by security settings indicated by Administrator users.

Node

Definition

A level in a Hierarchy. Each node may have “children” (individual items beneath it) or child nodes (other levels beneath it).

In Planning Maestro

See Hierarchy. You can create Hierarchies in each Dimension (building block of your budget) to organize the Members (the parts and pieces of each Dimension). Nodes create the levels of each Hierarchy.

Example: An Account Number Dimension can have several hierarchies to represent various account groups. The Assets Hierarchy has several Nodes: Cash, Accounts Receivable, Merchandise Inventory, Supplies, Prepaid Insurance, Land, and Buildings. The Buildings Node has three items beneath it, one for each building the company owns.

ODI (Oracle Data Integrator)

Definition in Planning Maestro

One of the ways to upload your company’s data to your Planning Maestro account. ODI extracts data from your company’s General Ledger if your General Ledger is based on the cloud (on a host or server you can access remotely, without needing to be in the office).

ODI automatically creates CIF Files (see CIF Files above) for you and integrates with your ERP system to update the data in your Planning Maestro account. The Centage Support Team sets up ODI for you.

Operating Expenses

Definition

Expenses related to the main operation of a company, such as rent, salaries, and insurance.

In Planning Maestro

You can view your company’s Operating Expenses through the Planning module.

Payment Schedule

Definition

A company’s policy for paying their vendors.

In Planning Maestro

You can set up payment schedules in the Payment Schedules application, which is in the Financial Intelligence Setup module. Then, you can assign Payment Schedules to line items in the Operating Expenses application, which is in the Planning module.

Example: Companies may pay their vendors immediately or within 30 or 60 days.

Personnel

Definition

People employed in an organization, or an organization’s human capital.

In Planning Maestro

You can review your personnel and their related expenses in the Personnel application, which is in the Planning module.

Plan

Definition

A written account of an intended course of action with specific goals.

In Planning Maestro

See Cubes. Plans are editable views or displays of data you can create in the Data Modeler module, modify in the Financial Intelligence Setup and Planning modules, and review it in the Reports module.

Plans enable you to examine a general overview of your data and study it from different perspectives: operating expenses, revenue, and personnel. You can also add Drivers (extra factors or variables such as taxes) and Adjustments.

Please Note: In Planning Maestro, both Plans and Cubes are views or displays of data. Plans are available in Planning Maestro itself and are easier for other users (such as budget contributors) to edit.

PRE (Period Related Expense)

Definition

An expense related to employees and paid by period, including social security, health insurance, bonuses, and 401K contributions.

In Planning Maestro

A PRE (also known as a Personnel Related Driver) is a type of Driver (non-financial factor or variable). The Drivers application is located inside the Planning module.

Price

Definition

The amount an organization charges for a product or service.

In Planning Maestro

You can track the price of every line item in the Revenue application, which is in the Planning module.

Profile

Definition

• An outline, summary, or brief description.
• A container for a company’s data.

In Planning Maestro

Profiles are the bridge between your General Ledger and Planning Maestro, the first area of Planning Maestro to which you upload data. A Profile serves as a container from which you can create and deploy (publish) Plans and Cubes.

Profiles contain the building blocks of your budgets (Base Structures and Dimensions) and act as collections of data from which you can build budgets and forecasts.

Each Profile can contain data from one GL Source (a company or ERP system) or multiple companies and GL Sources, depending on how each company wants to separate or combine their data.

You can create Profiles in the Data Modeler module.

Please Note: Most companies only need one Profile. A corporation or holding company can create a separate Profile for each individual brand or company.

Profit

Definition

Sales minus expenses; an organization’s earnings.

In Planning Maestro

Planning Maestro automatically tracks profit by debiting and crediting revenue and expense accounts for each line item you enter. You can also track profit by viewing your Income Statement through the Reports module.

Receivable Schedule

Definition

A company’s collection method for receiving payments from customers.

In Planning Maestro

You can set up your receivable schedule(s) in the Receivable Schedules application, which is in the Financial Intelligence Setup module. Then, you can assign Receivable Schedules to line items in the Revenue application, which is in the Planning module.

Example: A company may receive payments from customers immediately or within 30 or 60 days.

Recognition Schedule

Definition

The method a company uses to decide when to record expenses or revenue.

In Planning Maestro

You can record your company’s recognition schedule(s) in the Recognition Schedule application, which is in the Financial Intelligence Setup module.

Example: Some companies recognize their expenses and revenue immediately. Other companies may wait 30 days. 

Record

Definition

(In software) A group of related data held within a similar structure.

In Planning Maestro

You can upload your accounting records (including your Chart of Accounts and the data for your transactions) to Planning Maestro for review, planning, and analysis.

Please Note: Records are also called Data Projections. See Data Projection.

Example: A customer’s record may include their first and last name, phone number, email address, and mailing address.

Record Set

Definition in Planning Maestro

A line item or record based on a group of other records. A Record Set is a type of Driver (a non-financial factor or variable). You can create Record Sets through the Drivers application, which is in the Planning module.

Example: A company determines sales commissions based on the number of sales each salesperson has closed. They create a Record Set to base each sales commission on the number of sales a salesperson makes.

Related Cost

Definition

A cost related to another cost.

In Planning Maestro

A Related Cost is a type of Driver. This type of Driver enables you to link a revenue line item directly to its cost. You can create Drivers (factors or variables) in the Drivers application of the Planning module.

After creating a Related Cost Driver, you can connect it to a Revenue line item in the Revenues application (which is also in the Planning module). See Data Link.

Example: Shipping and handling are related costs for purchases mailed to the buyer.

Revenue

Definition

A company’s raw, unprocessed income before expenses are taken out.

In Planning Maestro

You can review and enter revenues in the Revenue application, which is in the Planning module.

Separator

Definition

Something that keeps two or more things apart. In data entry, a person may organize data using commas ( , ), hyphens ( - ), semicolons ( ; ) or spaces ( ) as separators. These separators may also be called delimiters.

In Planning Maestro

You can use Base Structures (the building blocks of your company, such as your departments and fiscal calendar) as separators if needed. If you need to merge several Base Structures into a Dimension (a building block of your budget), you can create a Base Structure with a constant value such as a comma or a hyphen and then use it to separate other Base Structures.

Spread Method

Definition

A schedule for spreading an amount over a designated period.

In Planning Maestro

You can set up spread methods in the Spread Methods application, which is in the Financial Intelligence Setup module. You can use a Spread Method for any line item in the Planning application (Operating Expenses, Revenue, Personnel, Drivers, and Adjustments).

Example: An even spread method spreads an amount evenly over 12 months: $12,000 total creates a budget of $1,000 per month.

Subset

Definition

A set that is part of a larger set.

In Planning Maestro

Planning Maestro subsets are sets of Planning Maestro Members that you can display in the Planning modules or in Reports. You can select subsets using your Dimension Hierarchies.

Example: To set your calendar view in Planning or Reports, click on the Time Dimension and click Manage Subsets. Then, you can customize a subset of periods, quarters, and years that you want to display on the page.

Tiered Rates

Definition

Rates which increase or decrease when the unit being measured reaches a certain amount. Tiered rates can have many “thresholds,” or amounts which trigger the change in the rate.

In Planning Maestro

You can set up tiered rates in the Tiered Rates application, which is in the Financial Intelligence Setup module.

Example: Some companies reimburse employees for mileage through tiered mileage rates. For example, an employee may be reimbursed 60 cents per gallon until she has driven 1,000 miles, then 50 cents per gallon until she has driven 2,000 miles, then 40 cents per gallon, and so on. Electricity bills and FICA payments may also have tiered rates.

Unit Cost

Definition

The cost of a single item that is either produced or acquired by an organization.

In Planning Maestro

You can track the cost of a line item per unit in the Revenues application, which is in the Planning module.

Quick Assign

Definition in Planning Maestro

Quick Assign enables you to assign amounts in bulk. Quick Assign is one of the Data Tools in the Financial Intelligence Setup and Planning modules. You can use this Data Tool within the Operating Expense and Personnel modules.

Example: You can use Quick Assign to assign expenses such as health insurance or taxes to employees in bulk.

Quick Start

Definition in Planning Maestro

Quick Start enables you to choose a Version and create a Plan quickly and easily from the Financial Intelligence Setup module, instead of having to set up a deployment from the Data Modeler module. This tool enables you to choose your Version (Actuals or budgets) and General Ledger Accounts, and then use the other Planning application (Operating Expenses, Revenue, etc.) to fill in the budgeted amount for each account.

Administrators can use this tool to set up budgets for budget contributors who are unfamiliar with Planning Maestro to enter their budgetary amounts easily, without having to work with Base Structures, Dimensions, or deployments.

 Quick Start is one of the Data Tools in the Financial Intelligence Setup module.

Example: The Head of Marketing needs to enter her budget for expenses for the year. In Planning Maestro, she has permission to view the Financial Intelligence Setup and Planning modules. She can enter the Financial Intelligence Setup module, choose a Version and account numbers in the Quick Start tool, and create a blank budget to begin. Then, she can go to the Planning module and fill in her budget amounts for each account.

Version

Definition

A form of something that differs from other, similar forms or from the original.

In Planning Maestro

In Planning Maestro, Versions are different sets of data. There are several different version type assignments used to define the attributes of the version. Within each version type you may have several different versions to represent data from different sources, time periods, or based on different scenarios.

Planning Maestro Version Types

• Actuals – Actuals versions are any versions that are imported to Planning Maestro using the Data Modeler. Most often these versions originate from your General Ledger software. Data for these versions is imported without properties and is typically used for reporting and reference purposes.
• Budget – Budget versions are versions that are created using the Financial Intelligence Setup and Planning modules. Users can edit these versions as desired using the Planning applications. You may create several different versions based on different presumptions as you are planning for future periods.
• Forecast – Forecast versions are created using the Planning Maestro Data Tool. These are static data that consist of a combination of an actuals version and budget version. These versions can be refreshed to show the most recent data from the source versions, but the records within the version cannot be edited using the Planning applications.
• Plan Basis – This version is also called Default. This is used for your initial setup to create your budget version. Once a budget version has been created, we recommend that you only use this version as a Sandbox to test how different setups impact data projections in Planning Maestro.

Work/Pay Schedule

Definition

A work schedule is the set of hours an employee works (for example, Monday through Friday, 9 am-5 pm).

A pay schedule is the pattern or recurring time period that determines when employees are paid. Common pay schedules (also called pay cycles, or pay periods) are weekly, biweekly, and monthly.

In Planning Maestro

Planning Maestro combines work schedules and pay schedules to enable you to assign them to Personnel line items. Planning Maestro calculates these schedules based on the days an employee works in a month multiplied by the hours worked per day. Recording your work/pay schedule(s) enables you to factor in this payment schedule into your budget with other revenue, receivable, and recognition schedules. 

You can create Work/Pay Schedules in the Work/Pay Schedules application, which is in the Financial Intelligence Setup module.