Lesson 7.5: Reviewing Allocation Reports and Posting
In the previous lessons, you set up the Chart of Accounts, defined allocation bases, and built your allocation worksheets. Now it is time to execute the allocation. Because Indirect Cost Allocations can generate complex journal entries affecting many accounts, FastFund provides a two-step verification process: first, you run reports to validate the math, and second, you generate a Journal Entry that goes to a “holding” batch for final review before impacting your General Ledger.
Part 1: Generating Allocation Reports
Before posting any financial data, you should always run the Allocation Worksheet Reports. These reports allow you to verify that your “From” and “To” relationships are working as expected and that the percentages are calculated correctly.
FastFund produces two types of reports for this purpose:
1. Allocation From Worksheet Report: This details the source cost centers. It shows the total pool being allocated, the method used, and a breakdown of how much is leaving the source and where it is going.
2. Allocation To Worksheet Report: This details the benefiting cost centers. It shows the direct costs already in that cost center plus the specific lines of indirect costs being allocated in from other pools.
To Print the Reports:
1. Navigate to Cost Allocations > Allocation Types > Indirect Cost Setup.
2. Click the Allocation Name you want to run.
3. Period: Enter the Period From and Period To dates. This determines which transactions are included in the calculation.
4. Generate: Click the Report dropdown button and select your preferred format (HTML, PDF, Excel, or CSV).
◦ Tip: Use PDF for a clean, printable view to sign off on. Use Excel if you want to double-check the calculations manually.
Part 2: Posting the Allocation
Once you have verified the reports and confirmed the calculations are fair and accurate, you can proceed to post the allocation.
What happens when you Post? The system calculates the total revenue or expense to be moved based on your parameters. It generates a single General Journal Entry that:
• Credits the expenses (or debits revenue) in the Allocated From cost center (clearing or reducing the pool).
• Debits the expenses (or credits revenue) in the Allocated To cost centers (distributing the cost).
To Post the Allocation:
1. In the same Indirect Cost Setup window where you ran the report, confirm the Period dates are correct.
2. Click the POST button.
3. A confirmation window will appear. Click OK.
4. The system will generate a Journal Entry and place it in Batch Processing.
Important Constraints:
• Cross-Fiscal Years: You cannot post an allocation if the date range crosses your fiscal year-end. If you attempt this, the system will generate the reports for analysis but will not create a Journal Entry, as this would violate accounting period rules.
• Closed Periods: You cannot post into a permanently closed accounting period.
Part 3: Reviewing and Finalizing the Batch
FastFund does not post the allocation directly to the General Ledger immediately. Instead, it sends the entry to Batch Processing as an unposted batch. This is a safety feature that allows you to review the specific debits and credits one last time.
1. Navigate to Transactions > Activities > Batch Processing.
2. Locate the batch. The description will read “Created from Allocation: [Name] (period date range)”.
3. Review: Click the Magnifying Glass icon or the batch transaction type (GJ) to open the entry.
4. Error Checking:
◦ If the batch appears in Red, it contains invalid data. Usually, this means one of the accounts involved has been marked Inactive in the Chart of Accounts since the allocation was set up.
◦ Hover your mouse over the error indicator to see the reason. You must reactivate the account or modify the entry before posting.
5. Final Post: If the entry looks correct, select the batch checkbox and click Post Selected (or select Post Selected from the Action dropdown).
Once posted, the transaction appears in the General Journal Register and your General Ledger is updated.
