Easy Data Entry from Excel Using GLSU and Budget Loader

transcript

Charlotte Janzen, RailAmericaJim Halepaska, Z Option

What We’ll Cover …

• RailAmerica background – What drives the need for uploading data?

• GLSU: Overview and Examples• Budget Loader: Overview and Examples• Question and Answer• Wrap-up

RailAmerica Operations

Eastern Corridor

North EastSDIY

CSCDOTVR

AGRDGNO TNER

KRREARY

MSRMMRR

GR SOR

Hawaii

Western Corridor

Lone Star

Sunset

Atlantic

HeartlandPCN

Alcoa Railroads

8,900 miles2,000 employees500 Locomotives9,100 Railcars

North American Operations Has Five Regions Divided Into Two Corridors

RailAmerica Operations (cont.)

• 44 railroads located in 26 states/3 Canadian provinces

• > 8,900 miles of track (per road 13 to 692 miles)• > 2000 total employees (per road 3 to 148)• 1.2 million total carloads (per road 5,000 to 114,000)• 2005 revenue budget of $425M (per road $1.5M

to $26M)• Operated as individual profit centers• Employees are entrepreneurs• Bottom-up planning/zero-based planning

RailAmerica Operations (cont.)

• SAP Version 4.6C • Single SAP instance (i.e., all companies in one box)• Each railroad is a separate legal entity and is

defined as a separate company code• All company codes are assigned to a single

controlling area (USD currency, calendar fiscal year, same chart of accounts)

• Cost centers record both revenue and expense • Cost center planning for both revenue and expense• Report Painter/Writer

Upload Process Before GLSU and Budget Loader

Hard to change content/format of the spreadsheet Doesn’t check for errors, creates BDC session errors Three-step process Uses “macros” which require maintenance and resources

Upload Process After GLSU and Budget Loader

Z Option cuts out the middleman by posting directly to SAP from Excel

GLSU Features:

• GLSU = General Ledger Spreadsheet Uploader• Post directly to SAP without leaving Excel• Validate your SAP data before posting• Lookup SAP master data values in the spreadsheet• Post more than 999 lines at a time• Post, Park, Accrue, and Foreign Currency Adj.• Supports multiple worksheets in a workbook and

multiple documents in a single worksheet• Optional off-line validations• Easy Implementation / 30 Free Trial

How Rail America uses GLSU

• Everyday GL Entries• Month-end Accruals• Specialty Postings

Posting History from Budget Loader Extract Complex Spreadsheets with GLSU Expense Report (from Z Option)

GLSU Examples: Everyday FI Documents

• Currencies• Cross company posting• Document number returned to the spreadsheet• Posting Messages returned• Post Non-PO vendor invoices

Everyday FI Documents

Document balanced?

Doc Num returned to the spreadsheetCurrencies

See Posting messages without leaving Excel

Cross company posting

GLSU Examples: Specialty Posting

(Eliminating history using Budget Loader Extract)• Downloading historical data using Budget Loader

Using a report writer group for selection criteria

• Feeding the data into GLSU for posting Using standard excel filters to sort data to “SKIP” $0

lines etc

• Used to be much more of a manual process

GLSU Examples: Specialty Posting

(Eliminating history using Budget Loader Extract)

GLSUBudget Loader

GLSU Examples: Specialty Posting (Cont.)

Using a Reporting Group to get

Actuals history

Using a Reporting Group to get

Actuals history

Use standard Excel filters to sort

Skip $0 rows and subtotals

GLSU Examples: Complex Example

• Old Process required 12 people working an entire day• New Process takes 1 person 4 hours

Get Vendor data from 3rd party

Interim calculations in Excel

GLSU Workbook (40 – 50) worksheets / Entries

GLSU Workbook (40 – 50) worksheets / Entries SAPSAP

• Vendor Data arrives in a flat file from 3rd party vendor

• Do some additional calculations in Excel

Imported values Calculated values

• Sheet 1 is an input area for the common header data on all 50 sheets.

Use standard Excel features like password

protection

You can use Excel formulas in GLSU templates just line

any other Excel worksheet

Use formulas to calculate “Skip”

rows and anything else

Use standard formatting options for easy to use GLSU templates

GLSU Examples: Expense Report (Z Option)

Never re-key another Excel based Expense

Report

How Budget Loader Works

• Post directly from the spreadsheet to SAP• Flexible layouts• Import plan and actual history into Excel• Use Master Data Hierarchies/Groups/Sets to quickly

build templates• Master Data Lookups• Easy installation / 30 day free trial

How Rail America uses Budget Loader

Annual Budgets Quarterly Forecast (Operations) Monthly Forecast (Corporate) Extract historical information for planning and

eliminations

RailAmerica Budget Loader Example

Report Writer Report Example

Report Writer Report Example (cont.)

We’re using different Report Writer sets to create

the columns we need

Checklist Before Loading Budgets

• Unit of Measure has been added to Cost Element • Exchange rates have been updated • Correct currency is specified • Planning versions have been created for:

Cost centers Profit center Special ledger

• Integrated Planning is active (to allow the plan to flow to Profit Centers and Special Ledger)

Quantities and Units of Measures

• Quantities must be configured prior to any postings in the new year

• Posting multiple Units of Measure may prevent reports from totaling correctly

• Correcting Unit of Measure problems requires the deletion and reloading of all postings

Currencies

• Each forecast has an associated exchange rate

• Confirm that all the appropriate exchange rates are updated before loading plan data (regardless of the method)

Version Description Rate1 January Forecast O2 February Forecast O3 March Forecast O4 April Forecast O5 May Forecast O6 June Forecast O7 July Forecast O8 August Forecast O9 September Forecast O10 October Forecast O11 November Forecast O12 December Forecast O98 Upload Forecast P99 Upload Budget PB1 Board Plan PB2 Board Plan + EL07 PD1 B1 - Discontinued Ops PQ1 Operations Forecast Q1 QQ2 Operations Forecast Q2 QQ3 Operations Forecast Q3 QQ4 Operations Forecast Q4 QR1 NA Railroad Budget V1 PR2 NA Railroad Budget V2 PR3 NA Railroad Budget V3 P

WM Weekly Meeting ForecastsWM

• Cost Center KP06: Cost/Activity Inputs KP26: Activity Output/Prices KP46: Statistical Key Figures

• Profit Center Acct. (PCA) 7KE1: Costs/Revenues 7KE3: Balance Sheet 7KE5: Statistical Key Figures

• Public Sector FMBBC: Budget Control System

Supported Planning Transactions

Supported Planning Transactions (cont.)

• Internal Orders KPF6: Cost/Activity Inputs KPD6: Statistical Key Figures

• Project Systems CJR2: Cost Element/Activity Input CJS2: Statistical Key Figures

• Profitability Analysis KEPM: CO-PA Planning

• Activity-Based Costing CP06: Cost/Activity/Process Inputs CP26: Process Quant./Prices CP46: Statistical Key Figures

Supported Planning Transactions (cont.)

Resources

• charlotte.janzen@railamerica.com – To contact Charlotte Janzen at RailAmerica

• http://www.zoption.com – Z Option Web site• Jim@zoption.com – To contact Jim Halepaska• 877.653.7215 – Z Option toll-free from the U.S. and

Canada• +1.972.315.8800 – Z Option (outside the U.S.)