Custom period

Use Custom periods to create your own tailor-made period types, e.g. a financial year that does not start in January.

Right click in the empty area in the Period management panel and choose Add -> Custom period to create a custom period.

Properties

General

Name - the name "'Custom period" is generated automatically but it may be changed
Description - an optional text describing the period

Configuration

Available - True/False, i.e. marked ("True") if the period should be available for use in the system. By default a new time period is available, i.e. "True", but you may want to set it to "False" while you create and configure your Custom period.

Audit

Modified by - the name of the last user to make changes to the object.
Last modified - the date and time when the object was last changed.
Created by - the name of the user who created the object.
Created - the date and time when the object was created.

Advanced

ID - the new period will be given the first available letter as ID but it may be changed

Access control

Read accessors - click the Edit button () and authorize one or more users and user groups to view the object on Web.
Add accessors - click the Edit button() and authorize one or more users and user groups to add new objects to the object on Web.
Write accessors - click the Edit button() and authorize one or more users and user groups to edit the object on Web.
Delete accessors - click the Edit button() and authorize one or more users and user groups to delete the object on Web.
Ownership - click the Edit button () and grant ownership of the object to one or more users and user groups.

Users and user groups who own the object have full access rights to it.
Override access profile - select for the object's access control setting to outrank the object's corresponding access settings in profiles.

Move the period up to its logical position based on the size of the periods (right click and choose Move up or click Ctrl+up) so that it is displayed in the correct position in the period list on the web. This is especially important if "Greater periods only" is used in Period selection enabled on KPIs or Scorecards.

Using Custom periods affects what is displayed in drills. When a Time drill is used with a Custom period, the normal date range functionality will be ignored and the Custom year will define the size of the time drill period. In Actual-budget drills and Custom drills YTD will be calculated for the Custom year not the calendar year.

Custom year

For each custom time period you must first create a Custom year. In this case "year" is just a name for the top level in the time period. E.g. it can be a financial year that is equal to a year in length with an alternative start date, or it can be a period that is shorter or longer that a normal year.

Right click the new period and choose Add -> Custom year.

Properties

General

Name - the name "Custom year" is generated automatically is a but it may be changed

Give the Custom year a name that describes it. E.g. if the Custom year is a financial year that starts in July 2013 and runs thru the following June you may want to call it "2013-2014" or "Financial year 2013".

Description - an optional text describing the year

Audit

Modified by - the name of the last user to make changes to the object.
Last modified - the date and time when the object was last changed.
Created by - the name of the user who created the object.
Created - the date and time when the object was created.

Advanced

ID - the Custom year will be given the first available letter as ID but it may be changed

Access control

Read accessors - click the Edit button () and authorize one or more users and user groups to view the object on Web.
Add accessors - click the Edit button() and authorize one or more users and user groups to add new objects to the object on Web.
Write accessors - click the Edit button() and authorize one or more users and user groups to edit the object on Web.
Delete accessors - click the Edit button() and authorize one or more users and user groups to delete the object on Web.
Ownership - click the Edit button () and grant ownership of the object to one or more users and user groups.

Users and user groups who own the object have full access rights to it.
Override access profile - select for the object's access control setting to outrank the object's corresponding access settings in profiles.

Custom period element

The next step is to create individual periods under the Custom year. This can also correspond to one of the default time periods in length but with a different start date, e.g. a month that starts on the 10th of each calendar month, or it can be something completely different, e.g. four-week periods.

Right click the Custom year object and choose Add -> Custom period element.

Properties

General

Name - the name "Custom period element" generated automatically but it may be changed
Description - an optional text describing the period

Configuration

Begin - enter a date into the field or open the calendar and choose a date. This is the starting date of the period element. The starting date of the next Custom period element will be the end date of this Custom period element.

The Begin date of the last Custom period element defines the end of the Custom year, so you may want to give it a name to signify that. That period element will not be included on the web.

Audit

Modified by - the name of the last user to make changes to the object.
Last modified - the date and time when the object was last changed.
Created by - the name of the user who created the object.
Created - the date and time when the object was created.

Advanced

ID - the new period will be given the first available number as ID but it may be changed

Access control

Read accessors - click the Edit button () and authorize one or more users and user groups to view the object on Web.
Add accessors - click the Edit button() and authorize one or more users and user groups to add new objects to the object on Web.
Write accessors - click the Edit button() and authorize one or more users and user groups to edit the object on Web.
Delete accessors - click the Edit button() and authorize one or more users and user groups to delete the object on Web.
Ownership - click the Edit button () and grant ownership of the object to one or more users and user groups.

Users and user groups who own the object have full access rights to it.
Override access profile - select for the object's access control setting to outrank the object's corresponding access settings in profiles.

Example

We want to create a financial year that starts in July and ends the following June.

First we must create a Custom period as described above. We can rename it "Financial year".
Next we create a Custom year that we rename "2013-2014"
Now we must create the individual periods within the Custom year. These correspond to normal months.
- We create a Custom period element that we rename "July". We set Begin to "Jul 1, 2013".
- We create another Custom period element that we rename "August". We set Begin to "Aug 1, 2013". This indicates that the previous period ends on the previous day, i.e. Jul 31, 2013.
- We continue to create Custom period elements and give them month names. We set Begin to the first of each month.
- After we have created elements for all the months through June 2014 we must create an element to indicate the end of the Custom year. We create one more Custom period element and rename it "End". We set Begin to the first of the next month, in this case "Jul 1, 2014". This indicates that the previous period and the Custom year end on Jun 30, 2014. This period will not be included in the Custom year.

To create the financial year for 2014-2015, repeat steps 2 and 3 above using the correct year. When you need to create year 2015-2016 simply repeat these steps again.

Remember that each year must have a Custom period element that indicates 'End'.

You can move or copy a Custom period element or an entire Custom year using Cut/Copy/Paste functionality. If you copy a Custom period to create a new year, remember to change the dates in all the Custom period elements.

Custom periods will be displayed on the web in the Period selector in the Top bar. If your Custom period is not visible in the Period selector, it may be because it is incorrectly configured. Check that all Custom period elements have the correct Begin date. You can also try moving the Custom period up to where it is suitable, based on the size of the periods (Right click and choose Move up or Ctrl+up in Period Management in Configuration Studio).