Table of Contents
Adding Increase/Decrease Methods
Editing Increase/Decrease Methods
Deleting Increase/Decrease Methods
Increase/Decrease Methods are patterns by which a line item’s amount grows or shrinks over a certain time period. Increase/Decrease Methods can be values or percentages.
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You can create and review automatic increase/decrease methods in the Increase/Decrease Methods application, which is in the Automation module. Then, you can apply those Increase/Decrease Methods to line items in Operating Expenses, Revenue, Personnel, Drivers, and Adjustments.
This document shows you, a Planning Maestro user, how to add, edit, and delete Increase/Decrease Methods.
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Locating Increase/Decrease Methods
To manage Increase/Decrease Methods, open the Automation module and select Increase/Decrease Methods.
The Increase/Decrease Methods page opens. Use this page to add, edit, and delete Increase/Decrease Methods.
Adding Increase/Decrease Methods
Step 1: On the Increase/Decrease Methods page, click +New Inc/Dec Method.
A New Increase/Decrease Method pane opens on the right.
Step 2: Enter the following information in the fields provided:
Name – Enter a name for the Increase/Decrease Method you and other users can easily understand.
Description (Optional) – Enter a description for the Increase/Decrease Method in this field.
Amount (% or Value) – Enter the percentage or value for the increase or decrease in this field. For percentages, use the Percent sign (%).
Use Input Spread – Turn this toggle switch to the OFF position. This setting determines what Spread Method this Increase/Decrease Method uses.
Each line item uses a Spread Method, or pattern of spreading its amount across a time period (such as 25% per quarter). You can apply the increase or decrease so that it uses the same Spread Method as the line item or choose a different spread.
Please Note: A best practice is to always use a different Spread Method than the one used by the line item (that is, leave the Use Input Spread toggle switch OFF). Using the input spread can cause a simple yearly increase, such as 2% per year, to accidentally apply to every single period in a year or cause other setup issues.
When you turn the Use Input Spread toggle switch OFF, a Spread Method dropdown menu appears below. Click on this dropdown menu and select a Spread Method for this increase or decrease.
Example: This Spread Method assigns the increase or decrease to certain periods of the year. For example, if you select an Even Spread Method for a 2% increase, you apply 2% divided by 12 (0.167%) of the increase to every period in a year.
Please Note: You can add new Spread Methods using the Spread Methods application, which is in the Automation module.
Compound – To compound this Increase/Decrease Method, or to make the amount of the increase or decrease continue to build up over time, turn this toggle switch to the ON position.
Example: An Increase/Decrease Method using an Even Spread Method increases a line item by 2% each year.
- If you compound this method, the 2% is applied to each year’s amount: a compound 2% increase of $50,000 = $51,000 after the first year, $52,020 after second year, $53,040.40 after the third year, and so on.
- If you choose to not compound this method, the 2% remains as 2% of the original amount: $51,000 after the first year, $52,000 after the second year, $53,000 after the third year, and so on.
Compound Frequency – If you turned the Compound toggle switch ON, a Compound Frequency field appears below. Enter the number of times you want this amount to be compounded based on its Spread Method.
Example:
- If you are using an Even Spread Method, and you want to compound this amount every year, enter 1 in the Compound Frequency field. Use this setup for increases or decreases that occur each year.
- If you are using a Quarter Start Spread Method, and you want to compound this amount each year, enter 4 in this field. Then, the amount compounds every 4 quarters.
Start Date – Enter a Start Date for this Increase/Decrease Method.
End Date – Enter an End Date for this Increase/Decrease Method.
Step 2: To save this Increase/Decrease Method, click Save and Exit.
- The Increase/Decrease Method is saved.
- A confirmation message appears.
You and other users can use this Increase/Decrease Method in Operating Expenses, Revenue, Personnel, Drivers, and Adjustments.
Editing Increase/Decrease Methods
Step 1: To edit an Increase/Decrease Method, open the Increase/Decrease Methods application, see above.
Step 2: Select the name of the Increase/Decrease Method you want to edit.
Step 3: The Increase/Decrease Method’s information opens on the right. Edit as needed and click Save and Exit.
- Your changes are saved.
- A confirmation message appears.
Deleting Increase/Decrease Methods
Step 1: To delete an Increase/Decrease Method, open the Increase/Decrease Methods application, see above.
Step 2: Click the Delete icon ( ) under the Increase/Decrease Method you want to delete.
Step 3: Click Confirm.
- The Increase/Decrease Method is deleted.
- A confirmation message appears.
Please Note: If you try to delete an Increase/Decrease Method that a line item from Operating Expenses, Revenue, Personnel, Drivers, or Adjustments currently uses, you receive this error message:
To delete this Increase/Decrease Method, remove it from any line items that use it, and then repeat steps 1-3.
Comments
If I use increase/decrease for annual performance reviews do I turn on compound? There is no spread method for personnel as far as I know.
Also it would be helpful if a best practice for using increase/decrease in performance reviews. I had set up increase %s for my 2022 plan. Then for 2023, I changed the dates to 2023 for the % increases. Now when I re-open my final 2022 plan the increases are not included (because they are in 2023). My expectation is that once saved my 2022 plan should never change! Your documentation should address this common case. Maybe it is better to create a new increase/decrease method for each year and then assign it all employees despite the extra data entry.
How can your test to see if the increase was allocated?
Susan - To see the increase, go to the Personnel plan. Make sure your columns (select at the top) reflect the year in question. Select one of the affected employees and open their details at the lower right to see if the salary increases applies as you expect. I ended up creating a new increase/decrease method for each year with a new effective date after saving the prior year initial plan as its own version for reference. Hope this help!
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