Once Auto Assignment Steps are created, the Objects in the Actuals pane present an Account and can be attached in a bulk action, by simply selecting an Active Budget and then pressing "Attach Actuals".
To configure Auto Assignment Steps, click on the fourth icon at the top left of the Budget window, and select Edit Global Budget Settings. Or in the Server Setup > Financial tab > Budget Settings.
There is a green plus icon under the label Auto Assignment Steps. Click on it to add a new one.
The Auto Assignment Step window presents the following combinations:
- Object Class: You can select one or more Object Classes that will be affected by the rule.
- Activity Name: You can select one or more Activities that will be affected by the rule.
- Object Name: Click on "Add Objects" to add one or more Objects that will be affected by the rule; use the "Remove Objects" to remove selected ones.
- Binder and Sub Binder Name: You can select to which Binder and/or Sub Binder, the Booking containing the Object / Object Class should belong to, for the rule to apply.
- Next at the bottom of the window, select to which Account the items from the combination above are to be attached.
Here some example rules:
All Objects belonging to a specific Object Class are to be attached to a specific Account, regardless the Activity.
In this example, all Sound Studios belonging to this Object Class are always to be attached to Account '304 Sound'.
Auto Assign Step for all Sound Studios
Only certain Objects belonging to a specific Object Class are to be attached to a specific Account, depending on the Activity.
In these examples, two rules were needed: one for all Offline Suites (Object Class) with Activity Offline to be attached to Account '301 Offline'; and another one for Offline (Object Class) with Activity 'Online' to be attached to Account '301 Online'.
In this case, what decides the appropriate Account is the Activity that the Editor is booked with.
Auto Assign Step for Offline when doing Offline jobs
Some Objects are to be attached to a specific Account, regardless their Object Class or Activity, if any.
Here is an example of a rule applying on many Objects, in this case a combination of Services and Media Orders that are to be attached to Account '306 Deliverables - Files'.
Auto Assign Step for all Services and Media Orders related to file deliverables
Some Object Classes are to be attached to a specific Account, if the Booking they belong to is part of a specific Binder.
In these examples, two rules were needed: one for all Producers included in Binder "Pre Production" to be attached to Account "101 Producer", in Category "1 Pre Production"; and another one for all Producers included in Binder "Production" to be attached to Account "201 Producer", in Category "2 Production".
In this case, what decides the appropriate Account is the Binder where the Producer is booked in.
Auto Assign Step for Producers when booked on Pre Production phase
Auto Assign Step for Producers when booked on Production phase
After creating some steps, the Budget Settings window looks like this:
Auto Assignment Steps in Budget Settings window
The order of the Auto Assignment Steps is important, which is why there is a green plus between every Auto Assignment Step. For example, consider the difference between these two examples:
0.) Assign To Account 401 (Administration) If Object Class Is Any Of: “Producer” And Activity Name Is Any Of: “Administration”.
1.) Assign To Account 201 (Producer) If Object Class Is Any Of: “Producer”.
In this example, the Producer is only attached to Account 401 (Administration) if she is doing Administration. In all other cases, she goes into 201 (Producer). However, if the order is reversed, the behavior is different:
0.) Assign To Account 201 (Producer) If Object Class Is Any Of: “Producer”.
1.) Assign To Account 401 (Administration) If Object Class Is Any Of: “Producer” And Activity Name Is Any Of: “Administration”.
In the second example, the Producer is always attached to Account 201 (Producer), even if doing Administration.
After creating some more Auto Assignment Steps, more of the Actuals in the Budget window have an auto-populated Account number and can be attached to the budget/ s.