General Tab of Planning Configuration

Use the General tab to specify the tabs and options available to Planning users, and to establish default settings for your plans.

Contents

If your firm does not have a Resource Planning license, see the alternative field and option descriptions provided in the topic General Tab of Planning Configuration without Resource Planning.

Enable Planning Tabs

Field	Description
Expenses	Select this option to enable the Expenses tab in Project Planning. When you select this option, fields related to the Expenses tab also display in Summary Grid Configuration. This option does not apply to iAccess for Vision plans.
Consultants	Select this option to enable the Consultants tab in Project Planning. When you select this option, fields related to the Consultants tab also display in Summary Grid Configuration. If using iAccess for Vision, select this option for Consultants to be planned for a project in iAccess for Vision.
Units	Select this option to enable the Units tab in Project Planning. When you select this option, fields related to the Units tab also display on the following forms: Summary Grid Configuration Rates tab of Project Planning Summary tab of Project Planning Analysis tab of Project Planning If you do not select this option, the Units tab and related fields do not display in Project Planning, and Job to Date unit numbers display under the Expense or Consultant tabs. This option does not apply to iAccess for Vision plans.

Decimal Digits

Field	Description
Hour	Select the number of decimal digits for hours in plans.
Quantity	Select the number of decimal digits for quantities in plans. By default, Vision sets all percentages and multipliers to 2 Digits.
Amount	Select the number of decimal digits for amounts in plans. When the amount is set to Currency, all amounts will follow the decimal digit setting of the currency unit of that amount. By default, Vision sets all Labor Rates and Unit Rates to Currency.
Create Plan from Project	Select the amount of detail to copy when using the New > Copy Current Plan or New > Select Plan to Copy menu items on the Project Planning toolbar. Options are to copy down to: Project — Select this option to include project information when you copy an existing plan. Phase — Select this option to include project and phase information when you copy an existing plan. Task — Select this option to include project, phase, and task information when you copy an existing plan. Labor Code — Select this option to include project, phase, task, and labor code information when you copy an existing plan.
Plan Compensation Values By Row & Period	When you select this option, the following areas are affected in Project Planning. Users can enter compensation values by period and by row on the Labor tab in Project Planning. The Summary tab of Project Planning displays the sum of all compensation columns from data on the Labor tab of Project Planning. The Actions menu on the Project Planning toolbar displays the Refresh Analysis Compensation option. If the Project Fee Entering Method option on the General tab of Configuration > Accounting > System Settings is set to At all levels of work breakdown structure, all WBS level fees in the project are updated with the plan's corresponding fees. If the Project Fee Entering Method option on the General tab of Configuration > Accounting > System Settings is set to At lowest level only, all compensation will be summed to update the project's fees. When the Plan Compensation Values by Row & Period, Synchronize fees from Plan to Project, and Include in Utilization and Project Reports options are all selected, Vision synchronizes fees only for those of the project's WBS levels that match. When the Plan Compensation Values by Row & Period and Limit plan fees to contract totals options are selected, you can enter compensation amounts on the Labor tab. This option does not apply to iAccess for Vision plans.
Synchronize Fees from Plan to Project	Select this option to synchronize all of a plan's compensation to its project when saving the plan. If you select the Synchronize fees from Plan to Project option, you cannot select the Synchronize fees from contract to project option on the General tab of Accounting System Settings. This option does not apply to iAccess for Vision plans.
Limit Plan Fees to Contract Totals	Select this option to limit the plan compensation amounts at the WBS1 level by the amounts entered in the Contract Management tab of the Project Info Center. This includes the Compensation, Direct Consultant, and Reimbursable amounts in Project Planning. If you also select the Exact decimal limits option, Vision verifies that the planned amount does not exceed the contract amount by more than 0.5 (applicable currency). If the planned amount exceeds the contract amount by more than the applicable currency, Vision limits the amount to exactly the contract amount, down to the decimal amount. When the Plan Compensation Values by Row & Period and Limit Plan Fees to Contract Totals options are selected, you can enter compensation amounts on the Labor tab. When the Plan Compensation Values by Row & Period option is not selected, but the Limit Plan Fees to Contract Totals option is selected, you can enter compensation amounts on the Analysis tab, but Vision disables the compensation fields on the Labor tab. This option does not apply to iAccess for Vision plans.
Exact Decimal Limits	Select this option to verify that the planned amount doesn’t exceed the contract amount by more than 0.5 (applicable currency). If the planned amount exceeds the contract amount by more than the applicable currency, Vision limits the amount to exactly the contract amount, down to the decimal amount. This option does not apply to iAccess for Vision plans.
Auto Insert Resources into Plan	Select this option to set the default to automatically insert a project's resources and actuals into a plan. Resources may include employees, expenses, consultants, and/or units. Before you select this option, it is necessary to consider your plan's WBS structure and whether or not the project has a mapped plan. Automatically inserting resources and actuals may result in unexpected changes to your plan. For this reason, it is important to decide if you want to insert in the plan's existing structure or at the lowest matching WBS level. When you select to auto insert resources into the plan, you can then specify how the resources are handled: Insert Missing WBS Levels, Resources, and Actuals — Select this option to insert the required WBS levels, map them, and then insert the resource. For consultant, expenses, and units resources, this also inserts the General Ledger account number and vendor. Insert Resources and Actuals at Lowest Matching WBS Level — Select this option to insert the resource and actuals at the lowest matching mapped level. For consultant, expenses, and units resources, this also inserts the General Ledger account number and vendor.
Default Settings for Creating a New Plan	Use these options to specify the default settings that display on the General tab of Project Planning. Even though you establish the initial default settings, users may modify and override those settings. For example, when you select the Include in Utilization and Project Reports option, that same option displays on the General tab of Project Planning. The user may remove the selection on that option. When the user saves the plan, Vision saves the option specified by the user.
Starting Day of the Week	Select the day of the week on which business starts. This option does not apply to iAccess for Vision plans.
Planned Revenue	Use these fields to calculate revenue based on planned labor, expense, and consultant information. This option does not apply to iAccess for Vision plans.
Labor Multiplier Type	The options for this field depend on the Budget Type entry on the Rates tab. If the Budget Type is set to Cost and Billing, the Labor Multiplier Type defaults to User Entered (Cost) and the options list displays: User Entered (Cost) Planned Multiplier User Entered (Billing) Planned Ratio If the Budget Type is set to Cost: The Labor Multiplier Type defaults to User Entered (Cost), which is the planned labor cost amount, and the options list displays User Entered (Cost) and Planned Multiplier. The Planned Multiplier that displays on the Analysis tab is calculated as follows: Planned Total Compensation (Compensation + Consultant Fee + Reimbursable Allowance) - Direct and Reimbursable Expenses/Planned Labor Cost If the Budget Type is set to Billing: The Planned Multiplier defaults to User Entered (Billing), which is the planned labor amount at billing value, and the options list displays User Entered (Billing) and Planned Ratio. The Planned Ratio that displays on the Analysis tab is calculated as follows: Planned Total Compensation (Compensation + Consultant Fee + Reimbursable Allowance) - Direct and Reimbursable Expenses/Planned Labor Billing If you are using iAccess for Vision, all iAccess for Vision plans are set to Planned Ratio.
Multiplier	If the Labor Multiplier Type is set to User Entered (Cost) or User Entered (Billing), you can enter a value in this field to specify the Multiplier. If the Labor Multiplier Type is set to Planned Ratio or Planned Multiplier, this field displays the Planned Ratio or Planned Multiplier, as calculated on the Analysis tab. This option does not apply to iAccess for Vision plans.
Reimbursable Method	Select the Reimbursable Method that you want to use to display project revenue from reimbursable expenses and consultants. If using iAccess for Vision, all iAccess for Vision plans are set to Billing.
% Complete Formula	Select the percent complete formula to be used as the default for plans. This option is available only with the proper configuration settings on the Planning tab of Role Security. If you are using iAccess for Vision, all iAccess for Vision plans are set to JTD/(JTD + ETC).
Overhead %	Enter the overhead percent applied to the project.
Include in Utilization and Project Reports	Select this option if you want the Include in Utilization and Project Reports option to display on the General tab of Project Planning. When users select the Include in Utilization and Project Reports option, Vision includes the current plan when running Planning reports and Resource Management searches. If you are using iAccess for Vision, all iAccess for Vision plans are included in utilization.

Default WBS Mapping Grid

Use these fields to determine how data summarizes in the default work breakdown structure. The system defaults are:

Project	1
Phase	2
Task	3
Labor Code	4

You can specify more than three levels in the WBS. However, you can only map the first three levels to the WBS levels in Vision Accounting.

If users want to customize their WBS Mapping structure, they must use the Configuration > Default WBS Mapping option that displays the Default WBS Mapping dialog box.

This option does not apply to iAccess for Vision plans.

Field	Description
Default WBS Mapping Drop-down	Click the drop-down arrow on a grid header to complete any of the following actions: To print grid data, click Print. When the Print Preview form displays, click File > Print to send the grid data to your default printer. To export grid data to an Excel spreadsheet, click Export to Excel. When Microsoft Excel opens, use its features to modify, print, or email the data, or to save the spreadsheet file locally. To turn on grouping for a grid, click Enable Grouping. When a field displays with the instruction: "Drag a column header here to group by that column," drag and drop column headers into this field, in the sequence that you want them to display. Not all options are available on all grids.
WBS Element	This column displays the defined WBS elements. This option does not apply to iAccess for Vision plans.
Plan Level	Use this column to specify the level of each WBS element. You may specify more than three levels in the WBS. However, you can only map the first three levels to the WBS levels in Vision Accounting. A WBS element at a higher level summarizes data from the level below it. Thus, using the default project-phase-task levels would mean that task data rolls up to the phase level and that phase data, in turn, summarizes at the project level. If any of the levels are set to 0, they will not be available on the Planning Grid Configuration dialog box or on the Default WBS Mapping dialog box. This option does not apply to iAccess for Vision plans.
Match JTD	Use the Match Job to Date option to specify the level of matching between Job to Date information and each WBS level. When you select a level, all subsequent levels are automatically selected. When you do not select a level, Job to Date is calculated by summing numbers from lower levels. This option does not apply to iAccess for Vision plans.

iAccess for Vision Plans Only

These options are used to create iAccess for Vision plans.

Field	Description
Calendar Scale	Select the calendar scale for iAccess for Vision plans. The default is Weekly. If you use the Multicompany feature, you set this option for each company in your enterprise.
Expenses Planning Level	This option is only available when Expenses is selected in Enable Planning Tabs group box. Use this drop-down list to specify the default WBS level that will be used to plan expenses for the project: Project — Select this option to plan expenses at the project level. Phase — Select this option to plan expenses at the phase level, if the project has phases. Otherwise, expenses are planned at the project level. Lowest Level — Select this option to plan expenses at the lowest level of the branch (typically the task level). The options in this list are based on the WBS settings that are defined in Vision Utilities Key Formats. For example, if the phase length is set to zero, then project is the only option that displays in the Expenses Planning Level list.
Consultants Planning Level	This option is only available when Consultants is selected in Enable Planning Tabs group box. Use this drop-down list to specify the default WBS level that will be used to plan consultants for the project: Project — Select this option to plan consultants at the project level. Phase — Select this option to plan consultants at the phase level, if the project has phases. Otherwise, consultants are planned at the project level. Lowest Level — Select this option to plan consultants at the lowest level of the branch (typically the task level). The options in this list are based on the WBS settings that are defined in Vision Utilities Key Formats. For example, if the phase length is set to zero, then project is the only option that displays in the Consultants Planning Level list.