Plan Level

Organizational areas can be set as plan areas for budgeting. Once enabled, sponsors will be able to select initiatives for budgeting via the portfolio request transaction for those areas.

Purpose

This guide provides administrators with step-by-step instructions to configure and maintain top-down budget allocations by Area in Stratex. Proper setup ensures Area sponsors have accurate budget targets for portfolio planning within open budget years.

Key Concepts

• Top-Down Budget Allocations: Administrators enter planned budget targets by Area, which serve as guidance—not final approved budgets.

• Budget Versions: Allocations apply only to open Budget Year versions.

• Currency Management: Budgets are entered in Local Currency but can be viewed in either Local or Group Currency.

• Investment Reason Breakdown: Budgets can optionally be detailed by Investment Reason to support portfolio selection.

• Plan Areas & Sponsor Roles: Organizational Areas can be designated as Plan Areas. Once enabled, sponsors assigned at these Areas can select initiatives for budgeting via portfolio requests.

  • If a sponsor is assigned to a higher-level Area but there are sponsors at lower-level Areas, the higher-level sponsor can view initiatives but cannot take action (Approve/Return/Reject).

  • Sponsors assigned at the target Plan Area level can include initiatives from lower levels in their portfolio requests and take full action.

• Data Import/Export: Administrators can export budget data to Excel for bulk updates and re-import to streamline maintenance.

Setup Instructions

1. Navigate to Configuration > Org Structure and Budget > Budget Tab

2. Confirm Open Budget Year Version

• Ensure the relevant Budget Year and Version are open and available for editing.

• If no open budget version exists, create one via the Budget Versions management function.

2. Define Plan Areas and Assign Sponsor Roles

• Designate which Organizational Areas will be used as Plan Areas for budgeting.

• Assign sponsors to these Plan Areas based on their budget and portfolio responsibilities.

• Understand sponsor permissions:

  • Higher-level sponsors have viewing rights but cannot approve or reject initiatives if lower-level sponsors exist.

  • Target-level sponsors can manage initiatives including those from subordinate Areas.

3. Access Budget Entry Screen

• Navigate to the Budget Entry section.

• The screen displays Organizational Areas and budget allocation fields.

4. Select Currency View

• Use the Currency toggle to switch between:

  • Local Currency for data entry and viewing in local Area currencies.

  • Group Currency for consolidated currency conversion and subtotaling.

5. Allocate Budgets by Area

• Expand/collapse Areas as needed to manage the hierarchy.

• Enter planned budget amounts in the Area Target column.

• Ensure allocations reflect organizational priorities and funding limits.

6. (Optional) Allocate Budgets by Investment Reason

• Enter budget amounts per Investment Reason if configured.

• The total Investment Reason budget cannot exceed the Area Target.

• Leaving an Investment Reason amount blank defaults it to zero but doesn’t block submissions.

7. Review Target Override Column

• The Target Override column shows read-only adjustments from Portfolio Approval.

• Use it to monitor any manual budget overrides.

8. Save Budget Allocations

• Click Save to commit your budget entries.

• Allocations are then available for initiative planning and portfolio submissions.

9. Use Export/Import for Bulk Updates

• Export the budget to Excel for offline editing.

• Update the Area Target column as needed.

• Import the updated Excel file to refresh budgets in Stratex.

10. Access Portfolio Review (Optional)

• Admins can use View > Portfolio Review for detailed budget analysis with various charting and accounting options.

Additional Information