When running a Process that uses an External Service, such as a Credit Enquiry or a document with Electronic Signatures, with multiple Cost Centres in finPOWER Connect, there is a hierarchical system followed to determine which Cost Centre is used.
It is important to understand this logic when setting up your Cost Centres to ensure the correct Cost Centre is recorded against the Enquiry/Process.
First and foremost, for the Credentials saved for an External Service, i.e. Centrix, on a Cost Centre to be accessed by the requested Process, the following must be set:
- Valid Credentials for the External Service, (click here for more information).
- "Use Service" is ticked.
- The Cost Centre is defined for use on a Branch or Entity.
The Basic Logic
(A more in-depth explanation is included further down this page)
Step 1: Find a Branch to use (refer to the Flow Chart for more information).
Step 2: Check if the Branch defines a Cost Centre.
Step 3: Check if "Use Service" is ticked on that Cost Centre - if not, move up the Hierarchy until a valid combination is found.
Understanding Cost Centre Hierarchy Tier Levels
Cost Centres can be defined on a Branch and on an Entity. If you are licenced for Cost Centres you may have many to choose from.
The Requested Process/Service will look first for the lowest tier; Branch and continue up the hierarchy until a valid combination is found.
If no Branch is found, it will look for the Entity, and then Global.
How is it determined which Branch to check first for the Cost Centre Settings?
A Client based enquiry will look for a Branch defined on the Client. If no branch is defined, it will default to the Branch defined in User Preferences, Clients, General page.
Once it has a Branch it runs the following checks:
- Does the Branch have a Cost Centre defined?
- Does that Cost Centre define the Service, i.e. is Use Service ticked?
A flowchart is included below for the Client based Service Enquiry, such as a Credit Check. For an Account based Service Enquiry, the User Preferences Default Branch is not used/checked because the Branch is a mandatory field on an Account; therefore a Branch will always be found and will move up the tiers from there until a valid combination is found.
Credit Enquiry Cost Centre use Decision Example
Below you will find an example of how the eventual Cost Centre used could be located; this is based on a Credit Enquiry using an Existing Client, and where the Branch has not been overridden at the inception of the Enquiry.
By 'overridden' we are referring to the User selecting a different Branch from the drop-down list to the default Branch populated in a wizard based on the logic. This will be the Branch set on the Account, Client, or Security record - or the default Branch set in User Preferences depending on the type of enquiry as previously mentioned.
