Introduction
Oracle Projects stamps Project Accounting Date (PA DATE) and General Ledger Accounting Date (GL Date) on all project-related transactions. The system derives accounting dates based on how PA and GL periods are defined during implementation.
Oracle Projects enables you to account for transactions more frequently in PA as compared to Oracle General Ledger (GL). For example - an enterprise may choose to define weekly PA periods with monthly GL periods so that one GL period is mapped to multiple PA periods; however, should there be a need to account for transactions in Oracle Projects and GL at the same frequency then PA and GL periods must have a one-to-one relationship.
The PA and GL accounting dates for transactions are generated during cost distribution or when transactions are created, which implies that for reporting a transaction by GL period there is no need to wait for transactions to be interfaced to General Ledger.
Oracle Projects enables you to account for transactions more frequently in PA as compare to Oracle General Ledger (GL).
Oracle Projects allows three Transaction Accounting Methods based on which one may derive accounting dates for project-related transaction -
Period End Date Accounting
Expenditure Item Date Accounting
Expenditure Item Date Accounting with Common Accounting Periods
Period Processing Algorithm in each of the aforementioned transaction accounting methods will be based on whether a transaction is –
Undergoes Cost Distribution in Oracle Projects - Timecard, Usage, Miscellaneous, Supplier Cost Adjustments, and Expense Report Adjustments
Imported as Distributed Cost to Oracle Projects - Supplier Costs Interfaced from Oracle Purchasing and Supplier Costs and Expense Reports Interfaced from Oracle Payables
1. Period End Date Accounting
With Period End Date Accounting enabled, you maintain Project Accounting Periods in Oracle Projects and General Ledger Accounting Periods in General Ledger.
The system derives GL Dates from PA Dates and sets each accounting date to the end date of the corresponding accounting period.
Sample Case
Table below illustrates the sample data to explain how accounting dates are derived in Period End Date Accounting.
How Accounting Dates are derived?
Accounting Date Derivation logic for each transaction type is explained in the text to follow. For all transactions, which are generated in Oracle Projects, there is no change in process for deriving accounting dates.
Implementation Steps
In order to implement Period End Date Accounting, ensure that profile option PA: Enable Enhanced Period Processing is set to NO.
2. Expenditure Item Date Accounting
With Expenditure End Date Accounting enabled, both Project Accounting Periods and General Ledger Periods are maintained in Oracle Projects.
System derives both GL Date and PA Dates independently and does not set them to Period End Date as it happens in Period End Date Accounting.
Sample Case
Table below illustrates the sample data to explain how accounting dates are derived in Period End Date Accounting.
Unlike Period End Date Accounting, in Expenditure item date accounting both PA Date Derivation and GL Date Derivation processes are independent of each other
How Accounting Dates are derived?
Accounting Date Derivation logic for each transaction type is explained in the text to follow. For all transactions, which are generated in Oracle Projects, there is no change in process for deriving accounting dates.
Implementation Steps
In order to implement Period End Date Accounting, ensure that profile option PA: Enable Enhanced Period Processing is set to YES.
3. Expenditure Item Date Accounting with Common Accounting Periods
With Expenditure End Date Accounting enabled, General Ledger Periods are maintained in Oracle Projects and the system automatically maintains PA Periods.
The system derives GL Date for each transaction and copies the value to PA Date.
Sample Case
The table below illustrates the sample data to explain how accounting dates are derived in Period End Date Accounting.
How Accounting Dates are derived?
Accounting Date Derivation logic for each transaction type is explained in the text to follow.
Implementation Steps
In order to implement Period End Date Accounting, ensure
Enable Enhanced Period Processing is set to YES.
Under Implementation Options, Check option Maintain Common PA and GL Periods.
Conclusion
With the help of aforementioned transactional accounting methods, Oracle Projects Suite provides lot of flexibility to an enterprise to account for transactions as per its accounting requirement; however, before choosing any of the available methodologies, implementation team should take into consideration all the pros and cons of each of the said approach.
For further details on the said methods, it is strongly recommended to go through Oracle Projects Implementation Guide.
Should this be of any help to you, please drop in a feedback note
About the Author
Yugwan is the founder and managing partner of Projects Expert. With his eclectic experience of designing and implementing some of the most complex project-driven solutions, Yugwan has acquired greater insight into the functional capabilities and limitations of the project management solutions offered by Oracle within Cloud and EBS applications.
Whether you are a Construction business struggling to do Project Planning and cost value reconciliation or an Energy company looking for better ways to manage your AFE(s) and Joint Ventures or a Professional Services company trying to manage agile projects or a Public Organization struggling to manage grants, Yugwan has experience with all and can certainly be instrumental in providing a scalable and robust solution to optimize your project operations.
Yugwan is also a part of the board of directors in OATUG Projects SIG and actively participates in various global forums to share his experience around oracle Projects and related technologies.
