Running Auto-Allocation
Shared costs that recur — monthly insurance, IT subscriptions, head-office rent — shouldn’t need a human to reallocate them every month. The auto-allocation batch watches for posted invoice lines that carry an allocation list and allocates them automatically, on your schedule.
Access you'll need. Scheduling the batch is an administrator's job (the Operations console). The allocation lists it applies are maintained by the Accounts Payable v2 permission set (AP clerks & managers) or Accounting Admin v2 (system administrators); the Accounting Controller v2, Accounts Receivable v2, and Read Only v2 sets can review but not change them.
How the batch decides
On each run, it selects invoice lines that meet all three conditions:
- the invoice is flagged for Auto Allocate Expenses with an Expense Allocation List assigned (see Configuring Allocation Rules),
- the invoice is Posted, and
- the line hasn’t been auto-allocated before — each processed line is stamped with its completion time, permanently, so nothing is ever double-allocated.
For each hit it builds an allocation batch from the list’s entities and percentages, posts it (creating the intercompany journal entry exactly as a manual allocation would), and moves on. Failures are logged and skipped — one bad line never blocks the run.
The eligibility checklist, as a table
When a line you expected to be allocated wasn't, walk these in order — the batch needs all of them true:
| Condition | Where to check | If it fails |
|---|---|---|
| The invoice line carries an Expense Allocation List | The line's details on the invoice | Attach the list — ideally on the recurring template so every future invoice inherits it |
| The invoice is Posted | The invoice's status | Post it; the batch will pick the line up on its next run |
| The line has no completion stamp yet | Whether a previous run already processed it | Already allocated — deliberately, once, forever; further changes are manual |
Setting it up
Attach lists where they belong
The one-time setup: put the right allocation list on the recurring cost. The elegant spot is the recurring template line — every generated invoice inherits the list, posts, and gets auto-allocated. Fully hands-free from bill to intercompany entry.
Schedule the batch
In the Admin app’s Operations console, find the expense-allocation card: pick a daily run time and save — or hit Run Now for an immediate pass. The card shows the next scheduled run, the last run’s time and outcome.
Review by exception
The generated batches and journal entries are ordinary records — the invoice’s Allocations tab lists them, and the run’s outcome (with any failures and reasons) is logged for the Operations card. Review what failed, not what worked.
What each run leaves behind
Nothing the batch creates is a special, hidden object — every run produces the same records a person clicking Allocate Expenses would:
- An allocation batch per processed invoice, posted, built from the list's entities and percentages — on the invoice's Allocations tab, like any manual batch.
- One system journal entry per batch (typed Expense Allocation): each receiving entity debited its share, the origin accounts credited, and the intercompany receivable/payable pair recorded (see Understanding Expense Allocation for the anatomy).
- The completion stamp on each processed line — the batch's "done" mark.
- A logged outcome for the run — processed counts and any failures with reasons, visible from the Operations card.
Common mistakes to avoid
| Mistake | Why it hurts | Do this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Attaching lists to invoices by hand, every month | Someone forgets one line in month three, and that cost quietly stays un-shared | Attach the list on the recurring template line — every generated invoice inherits it |
| Assuming the batch re-runs corrections | The completion stamp is permanent — corrected invoices are not re-allocated automatically | After reopening and re-posting an invoice, re-allocate manually via Allocate Expenses |
| Never reading the run's outcome | Failures are skipped by design — silently, until someone looks | Make the Operations card's last-run outcome part of the month-end checklist; review what failed, not what worked |
| Editing list percentages mid-month expecting restatement | Runs read the list as it stands that day — history never restates | Change ratios effective-forward, deliberately; document when and why |
- Configuring Allocation Rules — the lists that drive the batch.
- Understanding Expense Allocation — what each generated batch does.
- Expense Allocation Batch — the Operations card reference.
Where to go next
- Understanding Expense Allocation — the mechanics and accounting.
- Configuring Allocation Rules — the lists the batch runs on.
- Recurring PI & PO Templates — pair recurring bills with allocation.
- Cross-Entity AP Settlement — settling the shares across entities.
Frequently asked questions
Reopening the invoice unwinds its allocations along with everything else. After you re-post it, note that its lines still carry their completion stamp — re-allocate manually (Allocate Expenses), which respects remaining capacity.
Effectively yes: any posted invoice line with a list attached and no completion stamp is in scope. A list view on invoice lines filtered that way is your preview.
Each run reads the list as it stands that day — new ratios apply from the next allocation onward. History is never restated automatically (and shouldn’t be).
No. Failures are logged and skipped; the run continues through every other eligible line. Fix the cause (an inactive account, say) and the line is picked up on the next pass — it never got its completion stamp.
Yes — it's an ordinary allocation batch. Reopen it to Draft (its journal entry is removed automatically), adjust, and repost; or void it with a reason. The original invoice is untouched either way.
Scheduling lives in the Admin app's Operations console, so it's an administrator's job; the allocation lists themselves are maintained by the Accounts Payable or Accounting Admin permission sets (see Configuring Allocation Rules).
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