Reporting Groups - Management and Use on SPWs (Video)

This feature is part of the Standard Plus, Plus, and Premium subscription levels. NOTE: Only Martus Admins can create and update Reporting Groups.

Reporting Groups are used to define combinations of accounts and dimensions. Reporting groups can be used within a global or worksheet SPW to calculate budget amounts based on the amounts currently budgeted for those combinations of accounts and dimensions. Like an account category is a group of accounts, a reporting group is a group of lines (dimensions and accounts) that can be referenced in SPWs and in ReportBuilder as well.

Here are three examples of situations in which you would want to use reporting groups.

1. A fee based on the total of specific income accounts is paid by some satellite locations to a central location. You want to be able to automatically compute an expense for the fee in the satellite location, along with income for the fee in the central location. Define a reporting group for each location and the specific income accounts on which the fee is to be based, then use that reporting group (which identifies the budgeted totals for those accounts) as the basis for calculations within a global SPW in order to budget the fee as an expense to the satellite locations and as income to the central location.
   
   
2. Rent and utilities costs are budgeted to the Facilities department but are to be allocated to other departments within the organization, using an “allocations” account to reduce the total expenses for the Facilities department and increase the expenses for the other departments within the organization. Define a reporting group for the Facilities department and the rent and utilities accounts. Use that reporting group as the basis for calculations with a global SPW to budget an expense for this allocation to each other department and budget the credit for the total allocation to the Facilities department.
   
   
3. The HR department expenses are budgeted to that department within one entity but are to be shared by a separate entity (a school), using an “allocations” account to reduce the total expenses for the HR department in the first entity and increase the expenses for the other entity. To set this up, define a reporting group for the HR department expenses to be allocated, then use that reporting group as the basis for calculations with a global SPW to budget an expense for this allocation to the second entity and credit the amount of that allocation to the original entity.

Reporting Groups Page Actions

Go to Setup > Reporting Groups to add and edit reporting groups. NOTE: Only Martus Admins can create and update Reporting Groups.
 

• Add Reporting Group - Click Add Reporting Group to create a new reporting group. The name must be unique.
• Edit - Click Edit to modify an existing reporting group.

Setting Up Reporting Groups

Edit Reporting Group Section Actions:

• Name - Enter a unique name for the reporting group.
• Is Stats - Select if the reporting group only contains statistical worksheet lines.
• Cancel - Return to the list of reporting groups.
• Save - Save the reporting group with any changes made to the items.
• Delete - Delete the reporting group. Note: You cannot delete a reporting group that is in use in an SPW.
• Select Worksheet Lines - Select worksheet lines for the reporting group. See Method 2 below for more details.

Manage Reporting Group Items Section Actions:

• Dimensions (sheet) - Select from dimensions like Location, Department, Class.
• Account Category - Choose from account categories to include in the reporting group.
• Account - Select the accounts to include in the reporting group.
• Dimensions (line) - Select from dimensions like Project or Employee.
• Trash - Click the Trash icon to delete the line.
• Add - Click Add to add the line to the reporting group.

Matching Budget Lines Section Actions:

• Year - Select the year to match from the dropdown.
• Budget - Select the budget to match from the dropdown.
• Show Matches - Show matching lines based on the selections made above for this reporting group.
• Hide Matches - Hide the matches.

There are two methods for assigning combinations of dimensions and accounts to a reporting group.  You can use either method, or both, to set up each reporting group.

Method 1. This is the flexible method. Use the filters in the Manage Reporting Group Items section of the screen to add combinations individually and make use of the “All” wildcard selection. Use this method if you anticipate making changes to the referenced budget worksheets that you will want to automatically include in the reporting group.  

Method 2. The second method is to select each worksheet line. This is the best method to use if you know exactly which budget lines are to be included in the reporting group, and you do not anticipate that this will change frequently. 

Start by clicking Select Worksheet Lines to get a list of all dimension/account combinations on all your budget worksheets. 

• Use the filters to limit this list by dimension, account number, and/or account category. 
• Use the checkboxes on the left to pick the lines to add to the reporting group.
• Click Add Selected Worksheet Lines to Reporting Group at the bottom of the list.

Verify the Reporting Group

The Show Matches feature is useful to see what budget lines are in play for your reporting group. Select the Year and Budget, and click Show Matches. Click Hide Matches to hide them.

Setting Up Global or Worksheet SPWs to Use Reporting Groups

Reporting groups can be used in global and worksheet SPWs.

Add a Reporting Group Line to a SPW 

1. Open the appropriate SPW.
2. Click Add Line.
3. Fill out the Section and Description.
4. Do not use the option to Post to Budget Worksheet.
5. Go to the Values tab.
6. Choose the Source option Reporting Group.
   
   
   
   
7. Select the appropriate reporting group from the dropdown.
   
   
   
   
8. Click Preview.
9. Click Save.

Managing Reporting Group Lines in an SPW

• Click Update Reporting Group Values to update the values for all the reporting groups on this SPW. This also performs all the calculations on the SPW and updates the totals in the Summary section. This button does not post anything to the worksheets identified on the SPW.
• Click Post to Worksheets to post the summary lines to the worksheets as needed. When an SPW is posted, any reporting group values on the SPW are updated and all calculations are recalculated before the SPW is posted.
  
  

Below is an example Reporting Group and how it is used in the SPW.

Notes

• Reporting Group totals are shown in the SPW as positive amounts, unless the reporting group contains both income and expense accounts, and the budgeted expenses exceed the budgeted income; in that case, the amount shown in the SPW will be negative. 
• It is important to be sure that you are not allocating to the same account and dimension combination on more than one SPW. If you do, the “last one wins” and only the most-recently-posted SPW will be reflected on that account and dimension combination. 
• A reporting group cannot be used to update an account that is referenced within the reporting group. If this is attempted, you’ll get a "Circularity" error when the SPW is posted. This error must be corrected before the SPW can be posted.
• Reporting group values are always updated and any related calculations are recomputed whenever an SPW is posted. Remember, all SPWs are always posted whenever a budget is copied. 
• When defining a reporting group, picking a parent dimension value does not include any of its child dimensions. If you want to include the child dimensions in the reporting group, you must add them specifically to that reporting group.