Set up budget structures, dimensions, and employees
Create a budget structure, build the line hierarchy with totals and dimension allocations, and transfer employees from the salary master data in a controlled way. Alternatively, copy an existing structure as the basis for a new budget year.
Prerequisites
- Budget Setup and versions are available.
- Dimensions and employee master data in SwissSalary are up to date.
Create a Budget Structure Name
The Budget Structure Name is the parent container for all structure lines and versions in a budget period.
- Choose the Search icon, enter Budget Structure Name, and then choose the related link.
- Choose New to create a new entry.
- Fill in the fields as described in the following table.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Unique code for the budget structure (maximum 10 characters, required). |
| Description | Meaningful name for the budget structure (maximum 80 characters). |
| Allocation Group | Optional allocation group that restricts data access to employees and structure lines. When a new structure is created, the allocation group of the currently signed-in user is entered automatically. |
Hinweis
When you delete a Budget Structure Name, all related structure lines and versions—including their budget entries—are also deleted. This process can't be undone.
Edit a budget structure
On the Budget Structure Name page, select the required entry, and then choose the Edit Structure action (or press Enter). The Budget Structure worksheet opens.
Copy a budget structure
If you want to use an existing structure as a template for a new budget year, you can copy it in full.
- On the Budget Structure Name page, select the entry to copy.
- Choose Budget Structure > Copy.
- Fill in the fields in the dialog as described in the following table.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Origin Budget Structure | Name of the source structure. This field is read-only and is filled automatically from the selected record. |
| Description | Description of the source structure. Read-only. |
| Origin Budget Version | Version of the source structure whose budget entries should be included when copying. Required if Copy Budget Entries is selected. |
| New Budget Structure | New, unique name for the target structure (maximum 10 characters). The name must not already exist. |
| Copy Budget Entries | Specifies whether the budget entries from the specified source version are transferred to the new structure. If the field is selected, an Origin Budget Version must be specified. |
Tipp
At the beginning of the year, copy the structure without budget entries to start with a clean basis, and then insert the current employees again.
Build structure lines in the worksheet
The Budget Structure worksheet shows all lines in the selected budget structure in an indented list view. Lines of type Heading, Total, Begin-Total, and End-Total appear bold and indented. Lines of type Line use normal formatting.
Fill in the columns for each line type as follows:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Line No. | Unique line number within the structure (maximum 20 characters). For numeric numbers, automatic indentation calculates totaling ranges as range filters (for example, 10..90). |
| Description | Description of the line (maximum 80 characters). When you assign a Job or an Employee No., the description is copied automatically from the master data. |
| Type | Controls the role of the line in the hierarchy. Available values: Line (budget data line), Heading (group title without a calculation), Total (free-form totaling formula), Begin-Total (opens an indentation level), and End-Total (closes an indentation level and calculates a total). |
| Totaling | Filter expression for total and end-total lines, for example, 10..90 or 10|20|30. The field is editable only when Type is Total or End-Total. |
| Job | Specifies a defined budget job. Allowed only for type Line. When you assign it, dimensions from the job setup are transferred automatically to the line, and existing dimension lines are deleted. |
| Employee No. | Employee from the salary master data. When you fill in the field, Department, Place of Work, Job Type, Salary Class, Salary Step, Posting Group, Salary Code, Allocation Group, and Employment % are copied automatically from the employee master data. |
| Department | Department code for filtering in the budget matrix. |
| Place of Work | Place of work of the employee or job. |
| Job Type | Job type (function code) for the line. |
| New Page | Specifies whether a page break is inserted before this line in the printed budget analysis. |
Hinweis
The Posting Group, Salary Class, Salary Step, Salary Code, Allocation Group, and Employment % fields are hidden by default. Show them as needed through Personalize columns.
Add dimensions to a structure line
For each line of type Line that is linked to a job, you can add dimension allocations. They control how budget amounts are divided among dimension values.
- On the Budget Structure worksheet, select the required line.
- Choose the Dimension action (keyboard shortcut Shift+Ctrl+J).
- The Budget Structure Line Dimensions page opens and shows the dimension allocations for the selected line.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Dimension | Dimension used for filtering (header selection). When you open the page, the first shortcut dimension defined in General Ledger Setup is selected by default. |
| Dimension Value | Dimension value to which the share is assigned (required). When you save, the system checks whether the value is valid in Business Central. |
| Dimension Name | Description of the dimension value. Read-only and filled automatically. |
| Part | Percentage or numeric share of the dimension value. When you save, the system checks whether a Dimension Value has been entered. The total of all shares for active entries appears at the bottom of the page. |
| Valid From | Starting date of the allocation. When you change it, Valid To is validated automatically. |
| Valid To | Ending date of the allocation. It must be greater than or equal to Valid From; otherwise, the system prevents you from saving. |
| Description | Free-text description of the allocation (maximum 50 characters). When you save, the system checks whether a Dimension Value has been entered. |
Tipp
The Total field at the bottom of the page shows the total of all shares for which Valid From ≤ work date and Valid To ≥ work date or is blank. Use it to check whether the active shares add up to 100%.
Hinweis
With the Employee Dimension action, you can open the SwS Employee Dimension report directly from the dimension page and check the employees' dimension allocations.
Insert employees into the budget structure automatically
Instead of creating lines manually, you can use a report to insert active employees from the salary master data. The budget structure must be empty.
- Open the Budget Structure worksheet for an empty budget structure.
- Choose Functions > Insert Employees.
- Specify the filters and options in the dialog:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Date Range From | Starting date of the period (required). When you enter it, Date Range To is automatically set to the end of the month. Employees who haven't resigned by this date are included. |
| Date Range To | Ending date of the period. When you enter it, Date Range From is automatically corrected to the beginning of the month if the To date is earlier. |
| Grouping | Specifies how employees are organized in the structure. Available values: Employee No. (one line per employee), Cost Center (group line per cost center), Cost Object (group line per cost object), Department (group line per department), Place of Work (group line per place of work), and Posting Group (group line per posting group). |
| Insert Only Used Groups | If selected, only group lines to which at least one employee is assigned are created. Inactive or empty groups are skipped. |
On the Filter tab, you can also restrict employees by Employee No., Dimension Allocation, Place of Work, and Department.
Wichtig
When you run the report, employees whose resignation date is after Date Range From or blank are included. Employees with an allocation group that doesn't match the allocation group of the currently signed-in user are filtered out automatically.
Hinweis
If the budget structure already contains lines, the system prevents the insertion and displays the message that an empty budget structure must be used.
Indent the structure and calculate totaling fields
After you build the structure manually or insert employees, we recommend running automatic indentation. It calculates the indentation depth of all lines and fills in the totaling fields of the End-Total lines automatically.
- On the Budget Structure worksheet, choose the Indent Budget Structure action.
- Confirm the message that all indentation and totaling fields are recalculated.
The system checks:
- Whether each End-Total line has a matching Begin-Total line. If one is missing, the error message “End-Total Line No. is missing a matching Begin-Total.” appears.
- Whether the number of Begin-Total and End-Total lines matches. If not, the message “Number of "Begin-Totals" and "End-Totals" do not match.” appears.
Tipp
Use numeric line numbers (for example, 0010, 0020, and 0100) so that automatic indentation shows totaling ranges as compact range filters (for example, 0010..0090) instead of OR filters.
Good to know
- You delete a Budget Structure Name while lines or versions are still attached—lines, versions, and budget entries are permanently lost.
- You insert employees into a structure that already contains lines—the report blocks the insertion and leaves the existing structure unchanged.
- You set the report filters and allocation group too narrowly—people are silently omitted from the structure.
- You leave dimension shares below or above 100%—the cost allocation for the active period is incorrect (check Total at the bottom of the page).