Enter pre-approved expenditures, such as timecards or usage logs, in batches. If you enter expenditures in a batch, Oracle Projects processes them as a group. In addition, when you release the batch for cost distribution, Oracle Projects releases all expenditures in the batch simultaneously.
Batch entry promotes accuracy and efficiency. You can use batches to:
Reduce data entry. You can create a new timecard batch by copying any previously created batch.
Verify accuracy by tracking variances between actual and entered totals.
Easily locate a group of expenditures to correct, submit for review, or release for cost distribution.
When you enter pre-approved expenditures, you first create a new batch, then enter the expenditures in the batch and their associated expenditure items. When you have entered all expenditures and expenditure items, you can submit the contents of the batch. Typically, your supervisor reviews your submitted batches and releases them for cost distribution.
Note: Your implementation team can decide to allow the same person or job responsibility to enter, submit, and release pre-approved expenditures. For more information, see: Security in Oracle Projects, and Project and Organization Security, Oracle Projects Implementation Guide.
Pre-approved expenditure batches can have one of the following statuses:
| Working | The expenditure batch is not ready for review. You can enter timecards, usages, miscellaneous transactions, burden transactions, inventory transactions, or work-in-process transactions and modify their expenditures and expenditure items. |
| Submitted | The batch is awaiting review. You can still retrieve the batch if you need to make corrections. |
| Released | The expenditure batch has been released for cost distribution. You can reverse incorrectly entered expenditure items within the batch. See: Correcting Expenditures Batches. |
Note: You can choose Unreleased from the Status poplist in the Find Expenditure Batches window to retrieve both Working and Submitted expenditure batches.
You cannot enter actual project transactions for future-dated employees until they become active employees. An employee is considered active when his or her start date is equal to or earlier than the current date.
However, if an expenditure batch is dated in the future, you can enter transactions for future-dated employees who are active as of the transaction dates.
You can create automatically reversing expenditure batches to record cost accruals in Oracle Projects. Frequently, items and services are received in one accounting period and invoiced in another. You can use automatically reversing expenditure batches to accrue cost in the period in which it is incurred.
To enter an automatically reversing batch, you must use a miscellaneous class. When the batch is released, Oracle Projects creates reversing entries that are accounted in the next General Ledger period.
When an automatically reversing expenditure batch is cost distributed, the accounting dates for the original and reversing expenditure items are determined as follows:
GL Date
The GL Date for the cost distribution lines is the accrual date determined for each expenditure item. If Enhanced Period Processing is enabled, the GL dates can fall in a General Ledger period with a closed status in Oracle Projects. However, the period must have an open status in Oracle General Ledger.
PA Date
The PA dates for expenditure items included in a reversing batch can fall in a closed PA period.
The PA Date for the original expenditure items is determined as follows:
If Enhanced Period Processing is enabled, the PA Date is the expenditure item date.
If Enhanced Period Processing is not enabled, the PA Date is the period ending date of the PA period that includes the expenditure item date.
The PA Date for the reversing expenditure items is determined as follows:
If Enhanced Period Processing is enabled, the PA Date is the first day of the first PA period that is associated with the GL period that includes the reversing item accrual date.
If Enhanced Period Processing is not enabled, the PA Date is the last day of the first PA period that is associated with the GL period that includes the reversing item accrual date.
When you use automatically reversing expenditure batches to enter cost accruals in Projects, you can apply unique accounting rules to the accrual transactions by following these steps:
Define a new expenditure category for accruals.
Define a new expenditure type for each type of accrual you plan to enter. For example, to accrue labor and supplier costs, define two expenditure types called Labor Accrual and Supplier Cost Accrual.
Assign the new expenditure types to the Miscellaneous Transaction expenditure type class.
Modify the AutoAccounting rules to generate accrual accounts for transactions charged to the accrual expenditure types.
For more information on defining AutoAccounting rules, see: Defining AutoAccounting Rules, Oracle Projects Implementation Guide.
Sort paper expenditure reports into batches containing the same Expenditure Ending date and Expenditure Type Class (Straight Time, Overtime, Usages, Supplier Invoices, Miscellaneous Transactions, or Burden Transactions).
Suggestion: If you integrate with Oracle Manufacturing or Oracle Inventory, use function security to prevent users from entering pre-approved batch items with an expenditure type class of Inventory or Work in Process.
Navigate to the Expenditure Batches window.
Operating Unit. Enter the operating unit to which the expenditure batch belongs.
Batch. Enter a unique Batch name to identify this set of expenditures.
Suggestion: Choose a unique, identifiable, and memorable batch name. For example, a timecard batch name might include your organization code, the letter T to indicate Timecards, and the week ending date.
Ending Date. Enter the expenditure Ending Date for the batch. If you enter a date that is not the last day of an expenditure week, the system automatically updates the date to the next valid week ending date.
Description. Optionally enter a Description of the batch, or leave the field blank to use the name of the expenditure type class.
Class. Choose the expenditure type class for this batch.
Reverse Expenditures In a Future Period. Optionally, check this check box to automatically reverse the batch. This functionality depends on the Enable Negative Accruals Transactions check box that you select or deselect in the Expenditures or Costing tab of the Implementation Options window.
Amounts. Optionally enter Control Totals and Control Count in the Amounts region. Use the Running Totals and Counts and the Difference column to verify actual versus entered totals.
Choose Expenditures to enter the batch. The status of a new batch is always Working.
Enter the expenditures and expenditure items in the batch. See: Entering Expenditures.
Save your work.