A plan element is part of a compensation plan. It specifies the conditions a resource must meet to be eligible for compensation, and it determines how the compensation is calculated. You can assign multiple plan elements to a compensation plan and you can assign a plan element to multiple compensation plans.
Creating a plan element is made simpler by the plan element creation task list. As you proceed through this list, you must perform one procedure at a time before the next one is accessible. The screenshot below shows the task list when it first appears. After the General Information step is completed, the Go to Task icon is activated for Earnings Rules setup.
The Earnings Rule subtab lists the high-level configurations for the Plan Element. This includes:
• Formula Name
• Interval Types
• Process Transactions (Individually or Grouped)
• Split Options
• Payment Options (Group Code, Credit Type)
• Integration with A/P (Expense and Liability Accounts)
These items are grouped under Earnings Rule because they affect the frequency and nature (whether or not to aggregate) of transaction collection, and consequently how earnings are defined and calculated.
The Plan Element Creation Task List
When building a compensation plan, you can use any formula, rate tables, and eligible products that you have already created. Or, at each stage of building the plan, you have the option of creating a new component.
Formulas are based on the Commission incentive type of a compensation plan. Bonus incentives, which are based on the Bonus incentive type, are additional compensation based on aggregated transactions. Note: When you are defining the earnings rules, the Formula list of values displays only formulas that match the incentive type value selected in the Incentive Type drop-down list.
Warning: If you want to change the setup of plan elements for new periods, for example, at the beginning of a new year, end date the existing plan elements--do not delete them. When you delete a plan element by replacing it with a new one, you lose the resource setup data.
Warning: Do not open a new window during a browser session and navigate to the same page in the two windows simultaneously while you are creating a plan element.
Navigation
Plan Administrator > Maintain Component Library > Plan Element General Information
• The Element Group Code offers three choices. If you select:
• None: The plan element name does not display in the Year to Date Summary.
• Bonus: The plan element displays in the Bonus category of the Year to Date Summary.
• Quota: The plan element name displays in the Quota category of the Year to Date Summary.
• The Create Plan Element: General Information page supports an optional descriptive flexfield, which you can configure to your requirements. For more information on flexfields, see the Flexfields appendix or the Oracle Applications Flexfields Guide.
• The commonly used intervals are Period (month), Quarter, and Year. However, you can define a custom interval using the Configuration Workbench. After a
compensation plan has been assigned to a sales role, in order to change the interval, you must remove the plan assignment, change the plan element's interval, then reassign the compensation plan.
• Formula types can be Formula or PL/SQL Package. Each formula type requires a different action:
• Formula: Select a formula from the list of values.
• External: Enter a PL/SQL package name in the Package Name field. This enables the application to find the external formula.
• If you choose an external formula type, you must enter the name of the PL/SQL package in the Package Name field.
• To create a formula, go to Define Formulas, page 3-27
• The Payment Group Code setting is used to set how you want payments from a resource's payment plan to be allocated between plan elements. The payment group codes are customizable using a lookup; the default setting is Standard. If all plan elements are set to Standard, the payment plan amounts are allocated equally.
• The credit type is normally the preset functional currency, but it can be any type that you define in the application. Changing the credit type of a plan element after it has been used in a compensation plan to pay compensation is not recommended.
This can affect payment amounts. Payment can be made only in the functional currency credit type.
• Click the Paid Through Third Party Yes button if you want to assign the payment to someone other than the resource receiving the sales credit. For example, this feature may be used if the credit receiver leaves the company and a new resource takes over an account. It can also be used to assign credit to a resource's company instead of to the resource directly. See Setting Up Payees, page 8-2.
• Optionally, you can identify a liability or expense account (if the application is integrated with Oracle Payable). Liability and expense accounts can be identified at the plan element level. Earnings for the plan element are assigned to the specified liability or expense account.
• Select Yes for Use Eligible Products Worksheets to combine the amounts from all products assigned to the plan element to meet a target or goal.
• Target is the specific amount set for resources as their attainment amount. The most common way that a target is used in an expression is for evaluating transactions as a percentage of quota. Goal is the amount that management sets as the actual goal expected of the resources. This amount is typically used for reporting purposes and is not exposed to the resources. Fixed Amount is a constant amount that is used for calculation purposes.
• Target, Goal, and Fixed Amount are indicated here in the application, but are used when building calculation expressions.
Copying Plan Elements
You can create a copy of a plan element, that already exists in the operating unit. This way you need not create a new plan element, whose parameters are similar to an existing plan element. Oracle incentive compensation will create a copy, and then you change the parameters.
When you create copy of a plan element, the application does not make copies of rate tables and expressions within the original plan element, but references the original rate tables and expressions. If you want to make a new expression, then use the
corresponding Inline Copy feature for Expressions and change the copied plan element to reference the newly created expressions.
Steps:
1. Navigate: Plan Administrator > Maintain Component Library > Plan Element 2. Search for the plan element.
3. Click "Duplicate" icon.
Note: For more information on copying objects, see: Maintaining Compensation Plans, page 3-7 (Copying Compensation Plan).