Step-Down Allocation Maintenance

Use Step-Down Allocation Maintenance to maintain the specifications that define how to disburse the balance from an Allocation Account (the collector account) to multiple Step Accounts. This is convenient for automatically spreading out accumulated amounts among other accounts. For example, you can allocate indirect expenses, such as telephone expenses, to accounts for each department. The allocation can be disbursed to the Step Accounts by a dollar amount or by various percentage methods.

Tips:

This program only defines the allocations. To create the journal entries for the allocations run Create Step-Down Allocations.
You can see a listing of the Step-Down Allocations by selecting the Print Step-Down Allocations option on the Chart of Accounts Report.
For more information about allocations, see Understanding Step-Down Allocations.

Directions:

To open click File Maintenance from the menu. Then click Step Down Allocations.
Tip: Or, use the keyboard shortcut: [ALT] [m] [s].

Step-Down Allocation Maintenance Window Example:

Step-Down Allocation Maintenance Window Prompts
Allocation Account	Enter an Account Number to collect the transaction amounts throughout the Period and press [Enter] or click Retrieve . The amount for this account will be disbursed to the Step Accounts when you run the Create Step-Down Allocations routine. (format varies) To Search for an Account Number to use for a new allocation right-click and click G/L Master Search. To Search for an existing Step-Down Allocation, click Search . Keyboard shortcut: [CTRL + f] Tips: If you are building a new Step-Down Allocation specification, New displays near the Allocation Account. Default entries display and the first field is highlighted. The Allocation Account is also called the Control Account Number. If the Account Status is I(nvalid), you will see the following message: Selected Account is not active. Search for another account.
Header Description	The Step-Down Header Description defaults to the Description for the Account Number entered as the Allocation Account or you can enter a different description. (up to 30 characters) Tip: The Header Description becomes the Transaction Description when the journal entries for the Allocation Account and Step Accounts are generated by the Create Step-Down Allocations function in Journal Processing.
Allocation Type	To specify how the amount is disbursed from the Allocation Account to the Step Accounts, click one of the following options: Fixed Percent: Enter a fixed percentage now for each Step Account. Variable Percent: Enter the percentage to disburse later. When you run the Create Step-Down Allocations routine you can enter a percentage to use to create the step-down journal entries. Variable Amount: Enter a dollar amount later for each Step Account. The Create Step-Down Allocations program allows you to enter the dollar amount to disburse, when it creates the step-down journal entries. Based on Another Acct: The Create step-down allocations program calculates the percentages for disbursement based on another account. Notes: You can not change the Allocation Type. Instead, you must delete and recreate the specification for the Allocation Account Number. For more information, refer to Understanding Step-Down Allocations.
Journal Code	Displays AL as the Journal Code, which is used for the journal entries generated by the Create Step-Down Allocations.
Step-down Allocation Details
Base Account #	If you selected Allocation Type Based on Another Acct enter the Base Account Number, which is the account used as the basis for calculating a disbursement percentage. The individual Base Account percent is calculated using the total balance of all the Base Accounts associated with this Allocation Number. (format varies) Notes: To Search for an Account Number, click Search or use the Keyboard shortcut: [CTRL + f] For more information, refer to Understanding Step-Down Allocations.
Step Account #	Enter the Step Account Number that is to receive a disbursement from the Allocation Account. (format varies) Tip: To Search for an Account Number, click Search . Keyboard shortcut: [CTRL + f]
Percent Total Percent	If you selected Allocation Type Fixed Percent, enter the percentage of the Allocation Account balance to disburse to the highlighted Step Account. (3.2 numeric) Example: To disburse 60% of the balance in the Allocation Account to the Step Account, enter 60.00. Total Percent displays the total percent for all Step-Down Accounts associated with this Allocation Number. When the percent equals 100, the press [Enter] to complete the entries. Note:If you enter a percent that would cause the Total Percent to exceed 100.00%, you will see the following message:
	To save the changes, press [Enter] or click Save.
Editing a Step-down Allocation	CAUTION: To avoid losing data, you must save new or changed information. 1. Enter the Allocation Account Number and press [ENTER] or click Retrieve . Keyboard shortcut: [ALT + t] Tip: If you do not know the Allocation Account Number, you can click Search to see a list of allocations. 2. To enter changes for a detail line: a. In the Step Account List, click to highlight the row for the Step Account to be changed. b. Enter the changes. 3. To complete the edit process, click Save .
Deleting a Step-down Allocation	To delete a Step Account line click to highlight the row and then press Delete. To delete the entire specification for this Allocation Account: 1. Enter the Allocation Account Number and press [ENTER] or click Retrieve . Keyboard shortcut: [ALT + t] Tip: If you do not know the Allocation Account Number, you can click Search to see a list of allocations. 2. Click File from the menu, and THEN click Delete. Keyboard shortcut: [ALT] [f] [d] 3. At the prompt click OK, or click Cancel to escape from the delete routine. Example: Note: After you click OK, you will see the following message on the Status Bar: