Validating Planning Units

The planning unit moves from one reviewer to another until the budget process is complete. Each reviewer must validate the planning unit before sending the budget to the next reviewer. The validation runs all data validation rules defined for the planning unit with which the reviewer is working, and reports data errors or changes in the planning unit promotional path.

The selected Approvals template determines the first user to review the budget. The first user completes the assigned tasks, and then promotes (Bottom Up template) or submits (Distribute template) the budget. If approvals notifications are set in preferences, the next owner is alerted that the budget requires attention. Other users may also be notified when the budget passes from one user to another.

The review process follows the promotional path unless an event triggers a change. Events that affect the promotional path include:

Exceeding or not reaching expense boundaries for budget items such as salaries, new hires or capital equipment
The current owner returning the budget to the previous owner for additional information
The current owner requesting help from an authorized user who is not necessarily on the promotional path

To validate planning units:

Select Tools, and then Manage Approvals.
For Scenario, select a scenario.
For Version, select a version.
Click Go to display the planning units associated with the selected scenario and version combination.

The planning units listed are enabled for approvals. You can display planning unit members as a tree or a flat list, expand the hierarchy, and click a column header to sort the list.
Order the planning unit list by its contents by right-clicking the column heading in any column containing . Filter the list by double-clicking in a column heading to open the Filter dialog box, and then selecting options.

For detailed information on ordering and filtering planning units, see steps 5 and 6 in Using the Approvals Dashboard to View Planning Unit Status.
Select Process View, then the planning unit, and then click Validate to run all data validation rules associated with the planning unit.

If the conditions in all associated data validation rules are met, the message No Additional Approval Needed is displayed in Sub-Status. This indicates that the planning unit can be promoted.
If any other message is displayed, review the data validation report, and then take any necessary actions. See Viewing and Resolving Planning Unit Validation Problems.

Note:

You cannot validate a planning unit that has not been started.

Note:

Selecting Promote also runs the validation rules defined for the planning unit. If the conditions in all associated data validation rules are met, the planning unit is promoted to the next owner defined in the planning unit promotional path.