Once the best option for importing the data into the TB cube has been identified and set up the full data load chain can be configured. Apliqo FPM comes with pre-defined data load configurations that can usually be leveraged as a starting point and only require amendments in the first step - the load of the data into the TB cube as described above. Access the data load configurations from the Apliqo settings -> Data Load -> Data load configurations.

Step Orchestration

You will find multiple pre-defined configurations under the tab "Step Orchestration". The most relevant ones for importing and processing actual data are:

• 1 - Source data load (actuals only)

• 2 - Source data load (actuals and derived versions)

You can start with configuration 1 for the first data loads, this configuration will load and fully process the version ACT (actual). Once moving on to a productive state of the system configuration 2 is the usual choice, which will also process derived / blended versions such as PYACT (prior year actuals), ACTPYACT (available actuals, rest of year filled with prior year actuals) etc., which are commonly used for analytical purposes. Click on a configuration to see the steps it consists of on the right-hand side.

Let's look at the pre-defined steps of configuration 2 to understand the processing flow:

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In a nutshell this configuration will:

• Load data from the source into the TB cube (as described in the previous section)

• Check that the trial balance adds up to zero, i.e. debit equals credit for all imported periods

• Calculate the measure OPV (operational value) by multiplying the TB (trial balance) measure with the trial balance multiplicator (this has been explained in the CoA setup chapter). This step happens still within the TB cube and will result in all balance sheet accounts being reported as positive numbers, and as far as the profit and loss statement is concerned revenue will have a positive signage while expenses will naturally be expressed as negative values.

• Copy the previously calculated OPV measure from the TB cube into the GL cube. For all calculated versions there is a live calculated version equivalent in the GL cube (e.g. ACT_RULE is the live calculated equivalent for the ACT version). For reconciliation purposes in the implementation phase it can be helpful to stop the process here and look at ACT_RULE in the GL cube rather than ACT. The following calculations are rule-based:

  • opening balances (measure OB) within a year, the CB measure from the previous period will be the OB of the current month

  • foreign currency conversion

• The rule-calculated values will then be copied back to the TB cube (the calculation results of ACT_RULE will be copied to ACT etc.)

• And finally copied from the TB cube to the GL cube again. The last two steps are performed in order to increase the performance of the system when analysing data since hardcoded values are faster to consume than rule calculated numbers - especially on large datasets with thousands of accounts and business segments.

• After this, when processing to the end of financial years the CB of M13 will be rolled forward into the OB of M00 of the next year. This step can be skipped if opening balances are loaded from the source system for every year.

• There are three more steps that will process reference data into the planning cubes. Anything related to this will be subject to planning setup chapter. In early stages of the implementation it is recommended to deactivate the steps to avoid errors due to the planning setup being incomplete.

In most cases the only additional configuration that needs to be done is to replace the process used in the first step (ACT-1 Load source system data into TB cube) with the custom process. When using a pre-built data connector typically no additional configuration is required because the connector comes with readily configured data load configurations. Please refer to the connector documentation for more information.

Managing steps of a configuration

• Steps can be deactivated to run a configuration only partially (useful for debugging / during development) by turning the switch icon for the step on or off.

• Add a new step by clicking "Add New" at the bottom of the list. A new step will be added at the end of the list and can be configured after expanding it.

• The execution order of the steps can be changed using drag-and-drop. The resulting order obviously needs to make sense in terms of the data flow. Normally this feature would be used to bring newly created steps into the desired position.

• To change the configuration of a step, expand it by to reveal all available parameters. If parameters are left blank the default set for the step will be used (cp. section "Step setup"

Managing list of configurations

• Add configuration: If necessary you can create a new configuration using the "+" button from the widget with the list of existing configurations. If a new configuration is required at all it will be very similar to an existing one. Hence creating a new configuration by duplicating an existing one is usually your best option.

• Copy configuration: Select the configuration you intend to copy and then use the copy icon on the right-hand side. In the popup define an ID for the new configuration and confirm with "Copy", the new configuration should appear immediately and contain the same steps like the configuration you copied.

• Delete configuration: Select the configuration you intended to delete and use the delete icon to bring up a popup dialogue to confirm the deletion. While technically possible it is usually not recommended to delete pre-defined configurations.

Executing a configuration

Select the configuration you want to execute and use the execute (play) button from the widget header. In the popup dialogue all parameters will be populated with a sensible default. If necessary you can change:

• Period From/To: Defaults to the first and last period of the year selected in the background. You can also run the data load for multiple years by selecting a start and end period accordingly.

• Company: You can limit the processing to one or multiple companies, by default this field is blank and will process data for all companies in the system.

• BSEGs: You can limit the processing to business segments. This option is not needed in most cases and making a selection could even be harmful in a sense that you might only include parts of a complete trial balance, resulting in an error.

• Full Load: Turned on by default. Turning this option off can save some processing runtime due to already processed data not being processed again but normally it is recommended to leave this option turned on.

• Force run: The system keeps track of whether a configuration is currently running. If the execution has been aborted unexpectedly you need to turn this option on to start the execution regardless.

Executing data load processes from the data load configuration is normally done during development / implementation. In a productive system it will either be run in a separate app for BAU tasks or could be scheduled to run automatically (for instance over night).

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Global Settings

There are a few global settings that impact the execution and handling of data load configurations. You can review those by opening the "Global Settings" dialogue from the toolbar. Normally these options can safely be left to use the default values. Some settings can be tweaked by a developer to optimize performance, these will be further explained in the Apliqo FPM developer guide.

One setting that can be useful is the "Default tolerated TB discrepancy" (default is 0.1). This parameter defines by what amount the imported values may be "off". It can still be overwritten manually for individual companies and processes (cp. below) but sometimes it is useful to tolerate a generally higher discrepancy during development. Some account mapping etc. might not (yet) be finished and by increasing the tolerance the processes will still run through.

To change any parameter, you might have to un-check the "UseDefault" property in order to allow change the parameter value.

Subsets

There are a few standard subsets of valid data load configurations for certain tasks. The here defined lists determine what options will be available to other users when manually initiating a data load process. For the import of actual data the subset "Load Trial Balance" is the default one being used in the standard import app. You can change the list by editing and saving the subset.

Step Setup

In the step setup the steps that are available for use in a data load configuration can be amended. This is normally only necessary when developing a custom integration etc. Please refer to the Apliqo FPM developer guide for further information. For module administrators this menu item might still be helpful to get more information about a certain step. Use the edit button to see the default parameters and (if available) further explanation of what a particular step does.