The rule setup screen is organized into expandable/collapsible sections, as outlined below. This setup screen opens automatically when you create a rule. To open this setup screen later, on the project page > Rebates tab, click the blue rule name.
Active
Rules are active by default, as indicated by the selected Active checkbox at the bottom of the screen. You can only calculate rebates for active rules. In addition to this setting, two other conditions must be met for a rule to be active:
A rule type must be selected (Receivable or Payable).
The corresponding project must be active.
Name & Scope
Rule name: The rule’s name. This is the name that displays in the rule list when you open the project. This name must be unique.
This rule is: The type of rules that were enabled for this particular project:
Receivable: Typically based on a Purchasing database; these are rebates that you receive from a supplier.
Payable: Typically based on a Sales database; these are rebates that you pay, such as to your customer base, buying group and so on.
Child: Allows you to create a parent/child relationship where the result of a calculation for one rebate is applied to other rebates but with additional conditions. See Create child rebates for more information.
That occur from (validation period): The timeframe that determines which source database transactions count towards the rebate calculation. They are typically the dates in the contract or agreement with the third party to whom the rule relates. Note this is not the same as the Calculation Period (discussed later).
The start date is mandatory. It defines the first date from the nominated source database stream for which transactions will count towards the calculation, which is usually the start date for the agreement.
The Indefinitely/Until option allows you to clearly specify if the rule is applicable indefinitely or valid until a particular end date. This makes it explicit that the rule does or does not have an end date, removing any doubt. If you select the Until option, the end date setting becomes available so you can define the last date for which transactions will be included in the calculations.
Based On: Who or what the rule applies to, and on what basis it applies. You must specify:
The dimension containing the entities on which the rule is based.
The entity within that dimension on which the rule is based. You can select the checkboxes of the entities one at a time, click and drag to select multiple entities at the same time, or click the checkbox above the list to select all of the entities.
You can further refine the rule by including or excluding entities, such as specific customers or products and so on.
Include: The dimension containing items you want to limit inclusions in the calculation. For example, you could set a restriction to include entities such as customers, product lines, brands and so on. No limits apply if this setting is left blank.
Exclude: The dimension containing items you want to exclude in the calculation. For example, you could set a restriction to exclude entities such as customers, product lines, brands and so on. No exclusions apply if this setting is left blank.
Brackets
This section contains several settings that determine the brack conditions and a grid that sets out the bracket parameters.
Calculation Method: Select the method used to calculate the rebate:
Percentage: A percentage rebate is applied if a certain amount is spent.
Fixed Amount: A fixed rebate per item is applied if a certain volume or quantity is purchased or sold.
Fixed Amount per Qty and Percentage: The rebate is based on both a percentage of spend (or sales) plus a fixed amount per item.
Fixed Value: A fixed rebate is applied based on spending (or purchasing) a certain amount (the 'target' amount).
Calculation Type: Select the type of calculation:
Absolute (default) is based on the absolute value of the transaction amounts for the period (current year).
Growth is based on the growth of the value of transactions based on a reference period (often the equivalent period in the previous year). For example, you pay a 2% rebate to a customer if they grow between 5% and 10% year on year, and you pay a 3% rebate if they grow by more than 10%.
Amounts Per: This setting becomes available when the Calculation Type is set to Absolute. Select how you want to calculate the total:
For the calculation period: Calculate the total for the current period (number of months). For example, if you calculate for two months, you will get different results from calculating the two months separately because if you calculate the months separately, things in the second month start from a total of 0 and get put into a lower bracket. This option is suitable for calculating a promotion or for use in a shorter calculation period.
Year: Calculate the total since the start of the year, so the calculation starts in the correct bracket. Transactions in the calculation period are then added to this total, and rebates are paid in the right bracket. Calculating the months individually and the whole year in one calculation should give the same rebate amounts.
Previous Year based on: This setting becomes available when the Calculation Type is set to Growth. Select the variance period in the previous year:
Validation Date
Transaction Start/End
Custom. Select the variance start and end month.
Pro Rata: This setting becomes available when the Calculation Type is set to Absolute, the bracket Amounts Per is set to Year and Retrospective is set to Yes. Select Off, Linear, or Seasonal.
Retrospective: Select whether the bracket application is retrospective (yes) or not (no).
Yes: The calculation method is retrospective; the higher bracket percentage/value is applied to all the transactions in the calculation period. In other words, the highest relevant bracket is applied to the entire transaction amount. The retrospective amount appears as an additional row when you run a calculation for this rule.
No: The calculation method is NOT retrospective; the bracket percentage/value is only applied to the component of the transactions in that bracket. This method works like income tax brackets.
For example, if brackets were set up so that $0: $5,000 resulted in 2% and $5,000: $10,000 in 3%, and the customer spent $7,000, the rebate amount would be:
Retrospective Yes: $210 (the entire $7000 x 3%).
Retrospective No: $160 ($100 + $60).
Bracket Basis: Select the measure that forms the basis of the given brackets. Brackets are typically based on cost, quantity or value measures. For example, select Qty (quantity) if you want the bracket based on selling a number of something, such as 1000 to 10001 units.
Brackets: Set the bracket parameters (tiers or levels) that apply to the rebate rule. The available settings depend on the selected bracket conditions. It is common to have a tiered schedule of rates for a rule. For example, in the image at the start of this section, the overall range is $0 to $15,000 and there are 4 brackets, each assigned a different rebate amount.
Enter the From (starting) value and an Up to and including value. This value corresponds to the Bracket Basis. For example, if you select a bracket basis such as Value or Cost, enter the monetary amounts, and if you select the Quantity bracket basis, enter the quantity amounts (a count of something).
Enter the rebate you receive (receivable rebate) or pay (payable rebate) into the We receive (pay) for this tier box. The rebate format depends on the calculation method, so this might be a percentage, fixed amount (quantity), or fixed value.
Click the Add button to add another row to the grid and repeat the above steps to configure the additional brackets, as required.
How individual transactions can affect brackets
If a transaction spans two brackets, the transaction is effectively split and the lower rate is applied to the portion within the first bracket, and the higher rate to the portion that crossed into the higher bracket. For example, looking at the image above, if total transactions were approaching the amount to of 10,000 (i.e., the running total stood at $9500) and a new transaction for $700 was processed, taking the total to $10,200, the lower rate is applied to the amount within the first bracket ($500), and the higher rate to the amount that crossed into the higher bracket ($200).
Results
See the View calculation results page.
Categorization
Although this section doesn't affect the calculation of the rebate, the extra information can be useful. For example, you might want to display who a rebate is paid to (or received from) and how often. You can update this information without making any difference to the rebate results.
Payment Details
Description: Optional, additional information about the rule. Brief descriptions are automatically generated, based on selections you make in the Based on, Include and Exclude sections. You can edit the description to provide users with more descriptive text, for example, Vendor ABC rebate for summer campaign 2023.
Groups: The group(s) the rule belongs to. You can attach labels to rules for grouping purposes.
Frequency: Select from monthly, quarterly, half yearly, yearly or other). Your selections here do not affect the bracket period selection in the Brackets section.
Dimension and Entity: Select the dimension and entity within that dimension. Your selections here do not affect the Based On selections in the rule Name and Scope section.
Audit
This information is read:only. It displays who created and last modified the rule and when.
Attachments
See Add an attachment or comment to a rebate.