The Feature

How to Use Oracle Account Generator for Project-Related Transactions

April 4, 2007 on 6:06 pm | by Marian Crkon | In How To Guides | 6 Comments |  Print |  Email

They say that if you know flexfields, you know Oracle Financials. I dare to say that if you know AutoAccouting and Account Generators, you understand Oracle Projects. For the lucky ones out there who are faced with an opportunity to set up these tools, here are some insights and experiences I’d like to share…

Check out this white paper I prepared for COLLABORATE07, which explains how to use the seeded Project Account Generators. Oracle provides these generators for you to start building your own processes for project-related transactions. It explains how Oracle initiates the Account Generators, what rules to follow when customizing them, and how to assign your customized processes to your accounting transactions. It also provides a detail step-by-step example of customizing a selected project-related transaction. The paper assumes that the reader is familiar with Oracle Financials and Projects accounting concepts and terminology and a working knowledge of Oracle Workflow Builder tool. Hope you find this information useful.

Account Generators are workflows that provide selected Oracle Applications the ability and flexibility to automatically generate accounting flexfield combinations using your own business rules. Some Oracle Account Generators come pre-seeded in the applications with pre-built rules. However, all Project Account Generators for project-related transactions must be always customized. Automatic generation of account combinations based on project-related information entered by users improves the accuracy and ease of data entry. When the business requirements change and new needs arise, Project Account Generator processes will have to be modified.

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1. In response to the comment, “… if you know flexfields, you know Oracle Financials,” I received a lot of interest at Collaborate ’07 in my new flexfield-changing software — FlexFieldTM.

   Over many years, as a recognized technology expert formerly with Oracle, Deloitte & Touche and Ernst & Young, I could see the need for more flexibility with Oracle’s flexfields. With my new software, businesses can change their Charts of Accounts in Oracle Applications® as often as they change their business.
   I conducted a survey of Oracle users, with the help of the University of Central Florida. More than 80 percent said they needed to change their Chart of Accounts, a set of codes used to record financial transactions, but found the process expensive and complex. Some reported loss of history, among other problems. Companies that used internal resources to make changes said that on average they spent $1.7 million and needed 6,700 person-hours to make the changes.

   With FlexField, Oracle users will have a low-risk, low-cost way of restoring flexibility to their Oracle Applications.

   Joshua Greenbaum, industry analyst, Enterprise Applications Consulting, joined me in a webinar this week. He said, “My customers are always looking for methods and products that provide the agility to undertake new business initiatives while protecting their original investment in their enterprise systems. FlexField is such a product.”

   For more information about FlexField Express or FlexField software, go to http://www.flexfieldexpress.com, call 888-943-5363 or e-mail info@flexfieldexpress.com.

   Comment by Helene Abrams — April 18, 2007 #

2. Hi all,
   I have one question. Is it possible to create a PO against a future dated approved project?
   My system is not allowing me to do so. Could not find anything in metalink.
   Any help will be appreciated.
   Thanks,
   Ranajay

   Comment by Randas — April 20, 2007 #

3. Hi Ramajay,
   Your PO line dates must be within the project start date and completion date. That’s because PO lines will become invoice lines, which will become project expenditures.
   Marian

   Comment by Marian — April 21, 2007 #

4. Join me for two OAUG eLearning sessions on Account Generator this Tuesday, September 25 at 9:00 and 5:00 PDT. I can’t believe the time has come already. It seemed so far off when I scheduled it back in February…

   Comment by Marian — September 24, 2007 #

5. We have created a position flexfield in our Financial 11i and when we access the Positions screen we recieve a flexfield for an organization that is not ours. Can you help?

   Comment by Terry Parke — November 21, 2007 #

6. Terry,

   Look into defining security rules around the position flexfield. You assigne security rules to responsibilities to limit access to the specified values.

   Comment by Marian — November 21, 2007 #

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