Contents

Adding Spread Methods

Editing Spread Methods

Deleting Spread Methods

In Centage, Spread Methods are patterns for spreading amounts over certain time periods. For example, a Quarterly Start Spread Method spreads an amount evenly over the beginning of four quarters: $12,000 is divided into $3,000 at the beginning of each quarter.

Centage includes some default Spread Methods, you can also add new Spread Methods. After you create a Spread Method, you can use that Spread Method in line items in Operating Expenses, Revenue, Personnel, Drivers, and Adjustments.

Example: Your company receives grants for research. Several grants pay 50% of the amount at the beginning of your fiscal year, and then the other 50% at the end of the second quarter. You can create a Spread Method that spreads amounts according to this pattern and reuse it for every grant your company is awarded this way.

This document shows you, a Centage user, how to add, edit, and delete Spread Methods in the Centage application.

Please Note: Centage enables you to use a fiscal calendar with 12 periods or 13 periods. You can create Spread Methods that spread amounts over whichever type of fiscal calendar you use.

If you use a 13-period fiscal calendar and want to create a Spread Method that spreads amounts over quarters, see the Adding Quarterly Spread Methods with 13 Periods section of this document.

Locating Spread Methods

To manage Spread Methods, open the Automation module and select Spread Methods.

The Spread Methods page opens. Review the default Spread Methods provided for you.

 

• Even – Assigns 1/12 of the amount to each period.

Example: $12,000 is separated into $1,000/month if your fiscal calendar has 12 periods or $923/month if your fiscal calendar has 13 periods.

• Period Amount – Assigns an amount to each period.

Example: $100 is assigned as $100/month.

• Quarter End – Assigns ¼ of the amount to the last period of each quarter.

Example: $12,000 is divided by 4. The last month of every quarter is assigned $3,000.

• Quarter Start – Assigns ¼ of the amount to the first period of each quarter.

Example: $12,000 is divided by 4. The first month of every quarter is assigned $3,000.

• Year End – Assigns an entire amount to the last period of the fiscal year.
• Year Start – Assigns an entire amount to the first period of the fiscal year.

Adding Spread Methods

Step 1: To add a new Spread Method, on the Spread Methods page, click + Add new from the menu icon in the top-right of the page, or right-click anywhere on the page.

 

In addition to utilizing the Spread Method form, you can create a Spread Method using the Spread Method Wizard for more guidance and context throughout the process.

 

Step 2: The New Spread Method page will open. This new method starts with a default spread you can adjust as needed. 

 

Enter the following information in the fields provided:

New Spread Method fields:

 

Name – Enter a clear name for this Spread Method that you and other users can easily recognize and remember.

 

Description (optional) – Enter a description or purpose for this Spread Method.

 

When creating a Spread Method via the Wizard.  Name and Description will be fields on the first page.

 

Spread Over – Click on this dropdown menu and select one of the following options to set the time period in which this amount is spread:

• Year – Select this option to spread the amount over the 12 periods of the year.

Please Note: The number of periods available for this spread are set by the Time Dimension in this Plan. Some companies use 12-period years; others use 13-period years.

• Quarter of Year – Select this option to spread the amount within a quarter.

Please Note: If you select this option and your company uses a 13-period fiscal calendar, see the following section for more specific instructions.

• Period of Year – Select this option to spread the amount over a single period (month).

Spread Over Length – Enter the number of years, quarters, or months to spread this amount over, depending on the Spread Over length you chose above.

Example: If you chose to spread the amount over Quarter of Year, enter 3 to spread the amount over 3 quarters.

 

Spread By – Click on this dropdown menu and select one of the following options:

• Year – Select this option to spread the amount evenly over a year.
• Quarter of year – Select this option to spread the amount evenly over a quarter.
• Period of year – Select this option to spread the amount evenly over a period.

Please Note: The Spread By method you can choose is limited by the Spread Over option you chose above. For example, if you chose to Spread Over one period, you can only select Period as the Spread By method.

When creating a Spread Method via the Wizard.  Spread Over, Spread Over Length and Spread By will be fields on the second page.

 

Spread Type – Click on this dropdown menu and select one of the following options:

• Even – Select this option to spread the amount evenly over the Spread Hierarchy, Spread Over Length, Spread By, and Start Type methods you chose above.
• Custom – Select this option to set up a custom Spread and spread an amount unevenly.

Example: Select this option to assign 30% of a cost to Quarter 1, 20% to Quarter 2, 20% to Quarter 3, and 30% to Quarter 4.

When creating a Spread Method via the Wizard.  Spread Type will be a field on the third page.  *If Even is selected, the Wizard will then navigate to the Start Type Selection.

 

Start Type – Click on this dropdown menu and select one of the following options:

• Data Projection – Select this option to start this spread in the month of the related Data Projection (the line item you’re spreading using this method) starts.
• Hierarchy – Select this option to start this spread in Period 1 of the fiscal year for this Plan (not the calendar year – for example, if your Plan’s Time Dimension has the fiscal year start in July, this Spread Method begins the spread in July).

 

Prorate – To prorate the amount for the line item with this Spread Method (to adjust the amount assigned to the starting or ending period for this line item just to the part of the period the line item covers) click this toggle switch to turn it to the ON position.

To give the line item the full period amount even if it begins or ends in the middle of a period, leave this toggle in the OFF position.

Example: If a line item beginning on November 15 uses a Spread Method that assigns $100/month, and the Spread Method is prorated, the line item receives $50 for the month of November.

 

Choose whether to use Weights for this Spread Method.

• Weights are the visual display of how much of the amount is assigned to a quarter, period, or year. Centage calculates the percentage based on these Weights.

To use Weights, select the radio button next to weights.

 

To switch to Percentage, click on the radio button next to percentage.

• The Weight column disappears from the table.
• You can assign percentages directly to each period.

Use the table to assign a Weight or Percent to each year, quarter, or period (depending on how you designed the Spread Method using the options above).

Weight (if you selected Weights) – The actual number you enter in this field does not matter; only the comparative values of the amounts matter.

Example: If you are using weights, you could assign Period 6 and Period 12 half of the amount each by enter the weights 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1.

 

or

Percent (if you selected Percentage) – Enter the percentage of the amount to assign to each year, quarter, or period (again, depending on how you designed the Spread Method).

 

When creating a Spread Method via the Wizard.  Selecting weights or percentage and defining values will be on the fourth page.

 

Using Weights to Represent Hours

You can also use Weights to set up custom Spread Methods for Hourly Related Expenses (HREs) or other line items that represent a number of hours.

Example: You could create a Holiday Spread Method for line items representing paid time off for holidays or a higher pay per hour for working on holidays. To create this Spread Method, you could enter the number of holiday hours for each period into the Weight column.

Depending on your company’s holiday policy, January could have 8 hours for New Year’s Day, February could have 8 hours for President’s Day, March might have no holidays, and so on.

 

Step 5: When you finish setting up the Spread Method, click Save & Exit.

 

The new Spread Method appears in the list. You and other users can use this Spread Method for any line item in the Operating Expenses, Revenue, Personnel, Drivers, or Adjustments applications in the Worksheets module.

 

 

 

The last page of the Spread Method Wizard displays a summary view of all entered fields.  You can select the edit icon to reenter any section and modify it.

 

Editing Spread Methods

You can edit custom Spread Methods you added.

Step 1: To edit a Spread Method, open the Spread Methods page. Open the Automation module and select Spread Methods.

Step 2: On the Spread Methods page, select the name of the Spread Method you want to edit.

Please Note: You cannot edit or delete the default Spread Methods.

Step 3: The Spread Method opens in a new page. You can edit the period, allocation, weights, or percentages of the Spread Method.

 

Step 4: Click Save & Exit.

 

Your changes are saved. Line items using this Spread Method in the Operating Expenses, Revenue, Personnel, Drivers, and Adjustments modules now reflect your changes.

 

Deleting Spread Methods

 You can delete any custom Spread Methods you added to Centage. To delete a Spread Method, open the Spread Methods page. Open the Automation module and select Spread Methods.

Please Note: You cannot delete any of the default Spread Methods or custom Spread Methods that are being used by any line item in the Worksheets applications. To delete a Spread Method that is already being used, delete the line item(s) using the Spread Method, or assign those line items to another Spread Method.

Step 1: On the Spread Methods page, select the Delete icon (  ) under the name of the Spread Method you want to delete.

 

Step 2: A popup warning appears. Click Confirm.

• The Spread Method disappears from the list.
• A confirmation message appears.

Please Note: If this Spread Method is in use by any line item in the Planning applications, a warning message appears: “Cannot delete “[Spread Method]” because it is in use. To delete this Spread Method, remove this Spread Method from the line item(s) using it and then try deleting it again.