Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

 

Centage

 

Modeler

What is the difference between a Plan and Cube deployment in Planning Maestro? 
How do I check the last time my Planning Maestro was updated with data from my GL (General Ledger)?
What do I need to do in Planning Maestro if I add accounts?
How do I change Account Descriptions through Base Structures in Planning Maestro?
How do I build Hierarchies in Planning Maestro?
How do I add an Account as a Dimension Member just for budgeting purposes in Planning Maestro? Can I delete a Dimension Member?

 

 Automation

How do I change the Default Properties Settings in Planning Maestro?
How do I create Allocation Methods in Planning Maestro?

 

 Worksheets and Tools

Why can’t I see the data I expected to see in Planning Maestro? (e.g. filtering and subsets)
What do I need to do to create my budget for next year in Planning Maestro?

 

 Reports

How do I add new GL (General Ledger) accounts in customized reports in Planning Maestro?
How do I check that my numbers in Planning Maestro match my GL (General Ledger)?

 

 Analytics Maestro

How do I install Analytics Maestro for Excel?
How do I connect to the Cube in Analytics Maestro?
How do I add new Account Numbers/Base Structures into my Planning Maestro Plan?
How do I build a basic Analytics Maestro report?
What do I do if my Analytics Maestro is not appearing in my Excel?

 

Integration

How do I make sure that I have the latest version of Centage Data Integrator (CDI)?
Do we need to configure each one of our Companies individually in the Centage Data Integrator (CDI)?

Answers to FAQ

What is the difference between a Plan and Cube deployment in Planning Maestro? 

Plan	Cube
“Publishes” your data or sends it out to the rest of Planning Maestro from the Modeler, where you can: Budget Forecast Run what-if scenarios Run Planning Maestro reports	“Publishes” or exports your data to Analytics Maestro, our plug-in to Microsoft Excel, where you can: Analyze your data Run Analytics Maestro or Excel reports
Deploy a Plan to budget, forecast, analyze, run scenarios, and create PM reports.	Deploy a Cube from Tools to export and analyze data from the Modeler Plan and any data you created in Planning Maestro.

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How do I check the last time my Planning Maestro was updated with data from my GL (General Ledger)?

Open the Modeler > Profiles > Click Connect. Once the button displays as Connected in green, click on your Profile. The date and time of the last data upload is on the righthand pane under Source Database Synopsis, below Available Data.

 Please Note: If data has not uploaded within the last 24 hours, you will not see this information. Please reach out to Centage Customer Support if you have any questions about your data integration timing.

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What do I need to do in Planning Maestro if I add accounts?

New accounts are typically introduced into Planning Maestro through CIF Files (Centage Integration Format files).

• If your company uploads data via our CDI or ODI (data integration tools), any accounts added to your GL/ERP will be automatically integrated into your CIF files.
• If your company uses custom created CIF files, add the account to your Base Structure Members CIF File.

Following an upload of data, Planning Maestro flags the account number base structure for any new members and you are notified to address these the next time you login.

Open Modeler > Base Structures  > Account Number Base Structure >Accept new members (indicated by the green plus icon ).  Following this, check the account group and hierarchy assignments in the account number dimension and then deploy your plan.

For more information, see "Reviewing Base Structure Members."

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How do I change Account Descriptions through Base Structures in Planning Maestro?

You can change Account Descriptions using one of the following methods:

• If your company uploads data to Planning Maestro using CIF Files (Centage Integration Format files), change the Account Description in your Base Structure Members CIF File.
• If your company uploads data through CDI or ODI (data integration tools), make the change in your accounting or ERP system first and let the changes flow through.

If you would like the Name or Description to be different in Planning Maestro than what is uploaded from your GL/ERP, you can use the New Name and New Description fields.

Step 1: Open Modeler > Base Structures  > Account Number Base Structure

Step 2: Select the member row

Step 3:  Type desired text for Names in Descriptions in New Names and New Description field >

Step 4:  Click Save & Exit.

For more information, see the “Editing Base Structures” section in “Managing Base Structures.”

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How do I build Hierarchies in Planning Maestro?

To build a Hierarchy (an organized view of a Dimension’s Members), open the Modeler > Managing Dimensions > open the Dimension in which you want to build a Hierarchy > Hierarchies tab > Create a new Hierarchy or copy a Master Hierarchy and edit it. For more information, see “Managing Dimension Hierarchies.”

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How do I add an Account as a Dimension Member just for budgeting purposes in Planning Maestro?

You can add new Members to your Account Number Dimension by opening Modeler > Manage Dimensions > Account Number Dimension > New Member. 

 Please Note: Make sure the chosen Account Name matches with the Account that you will create in your accounting system to make sure it aligns in future.

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Can I delete a Dimension Member?

You cannot delete Dimension Members if data has been deployed to your plan related to the member.

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How do I change the Default Properties Settings in Planning Maestro?

To change the Default Settings for line item properties in Planning Maestro, open Automation > Default Settings. You can change the default settings for each of the Worksheets applications (Operating Expenses, Revenue, Personnel, Drivers, and Adjustments).

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How do I create Allocation Methods in Planning Maestro?

Step 1: Create Allocation Methods by opening Automation > Selecting Allocation Methods > Clicking + Allocation Method. See “Managing Allocation Methods.”

Step 2: Select the record on which you would like to attach the Allocation Method to (in the Operating Expenses, Revenue, Personnel, or Adjustment modules) > open the Properties pane on the right of the page > scroll down to the bottom and select None (Edit) next to Allocation Methods. See the “Adding an Expense” section in “Managing Operating Expenses” for an example.

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Why can’t I see the data I expected to see in Planning Maestro?

To make sure you see the data you expect to see in Planning Maestro, check the following settings.

• Check your filters to make sure they are set to display the data you want to see.
• Click and drag Dimensions from Filters to Rows. When a dimension is in Rows, you will see all records for all Members of that Dimension.
• Check the Transaction Row selection for the type currently displayed.
• In Worksheets, you can also check the Allocation section to see how the line items are being allocated.

• In Worksheets, you can also view Properties and Details panes for additional record information.
• In Reports, check your filters and the Dimension Hierarch(ies) (organized view of data) you are using. See the “Managing Hierarchies” section in “Running an Income Statement Report” for an example. Also see "Formatting Planning Maestro Reports".

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What do I need to do to create my budget for next year in Planning Maestro?

You need to make sure your plan is set up with a version and populated with the time periods that are to be included in the new version.

• Create a new budget version member.
• You ma y need to add another year to your Time Dimension.

Following these actions, deploy your plan.

You may decide to use the Copy Data/What If? tool to copy from an existing version into the newly created budget version member.

When you are ready to edit this version, you may want to change your View settings in the Planning applications for Version and Time.

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How do I add new GL (General Ledger) accounts in customized reports in Planning Maestro?

Step 1: If your company uploads data through CIF Files (Centage Integration Format files), you can add Account Names and Descriptions through your Base Structure Members CIF File.

Step 2: After adding a new GL Account in Planning Maestro, assign it an Account Group through opening the Modeler > Managing Dimensions > Account Number Dimension > Highlight Account Number row and selecting Account Group in the Account Group column.

Step 3: Add the new GL Accounts to your customized reports by adding them to a Dimension Hierarchy, and then using that Hierarchy in customized reports. See the “Using Hierarchies” section in “Running an Income Statement Report” for an example.

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How do I check that my numbers in Planning Maestro match my GL (General Ledger)?

To match your Planning Maestro numbers with those from your GL, you can either:

• Preview your Planning Maestro Plan in the Modeler, or
• Run a report in the Reports module
• Deploy a Cube from your Plan to examine your numbers in Excel using Analytics Maestro

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 Analytics Maestro

How do I install Analytics Maestro for Excel?

Please see Connecting to Your Cube in Analytics Maestro for detailed instructions. 

FAQ – Installing Analytics Maestro can also answer some frequently asked questions.

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How do I connect to the Cube in Analytics Maestro?

Please see Connecting to Your Cube in Analytics Maestro for detailed instructions.

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How do I add new Account Numbers/Base Structures into my Planning Maestro Plan?

Through CIF Files

• If your company uploads data through CIF Files (Centage Integration Format files), add the new Account Numbers to your Account Summary or Account Transactions file (whichever type you use) and Base Structures to your Base Structure and Base Structure Members files.
• Then, accept the changes to your Base Structures in Planning Maestro.

Through CDI or ODI

• If your company uses CDI or ODI (data integration tools), you can add new Account Numbers and Base Structures in Planning Maestro. The new Base Structures will automatically flow through the integration connection, but they need to be accepted into Planning Maestro before you redeploy your Plan.

Please Note: You can easily add a New Member to a Dimension that does not have a matching Base Structure (for example, a Job Title Dimension).

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How do I build a basic Analytics Maestro report?

Step 1: Set up your Dimension Hierarchies in Planning Maestro.

Step 2: Redeploy your Plan from the Data Modeler.

Step 3: Deploy a Cube from Financial Intelligence Setup to export data from your accounting system and Planning Maestro.

Step 4: Connect to your Cube in Analytics Maestro. As you do so, the Report Designer will allow you to use your Dimension Hierarchies from Planning Maestro and organize them into Rows, Columns, and Headers. See Setting up Reports in Analytics Maestro for more information.

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Can I install Analytics Maestro on more than one computer?

Yes, if you are an Analytics Maestro license holder, you can install Analytics Maestro on multiple computers as needed. Your installation and connection information will be the same for each computer.

If you are not an Analytics Maestro license holder, please reach out to your Centage Account Manager to discuss licensing options.

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What do I do if my Analytics Maestro is not appearing in my Excel?

Ensure that the download and installation process has been completed. 

Make sure that the Analytics Maestro version downloaded matches the version of Excel that you have installed on your computer.  You would either have the 32-bit or 64-bit version. To determine what version you have open Excel > Account > About Excel.

If you have installed the correct version successfully and the add-in does not show, there may be a conflict between Analytics Maestro and other additional Excel add-ins that you may have installed. Please reach out to Centage Customer Support to discuss this scenario.

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Integration

How do I make sure that I have the latest version of Centage Data Integrator (CDI)?

This is determined by opening CDI > Help > About Centage Data Integrator. The Build number is the version that you currently have installed. Our current version is 10.0.1.60.

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Do we need to configure each one of our Companies individually in the Centage Data Integrator (CDI)?

Yes, you will need to create a separate .xml file for each Company and repeat the configuration steps each time. You will also need to create a Task to run for each Company at separate times to prevent the run from overlapping in your Windows Task Scheduler.

Creating a separate .xml file:

Creating a Task for each Company:

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