Rounding in FastTrack360

To support a high-level of accuracy when managing financial transactions, FastTrack360 supports the ability to calculate and store monetary values with a maximum rounding precision of six decimal places. However, to achieve pay and bill totals with a rounding precision of two decimal places, rounding can be applied in various ways in the system.

Depending on how rounding is configured, rounding discrepancies can arise. For example, consider a scenario where two invoice line items on an invoice have a value of $10.0045 each, which totals to $20.009. However, if the invoice document format is configured to show invoice items to two decimal places, then the invoice will display $10.00 for each invoice item but the invoice total will be $20.01 (i.e. $20.009 rounded to two decimal places) resulting in a $0.01 discrepancy.

Additionally, when it comes to invoices, FastTrack360 will add grouped items together, and then apply the rounding to the sum of those items.

The following is a guide that explains how rounding is applied in FastTrack360, the various places in the system where rounding can be applied and what that rounding affects. Recommendations are also given as to how rounding should be configured at each point in the system to achieve the best results and to reduce rounding discrepancies.

Rounding Types and Values

Wherever rounding can be configured in FastTrack360, the following settings must be defined:

Rounding Type

This identifies if values are to be rounded or truncated to a certain number of decimal places.

For example, 7.3467 rounded to two decimal places is 7.35 while the same value truncated to two decimal values is 7.34.

Rounding Value

This identifies the number of decimal places to which values are to be rounded or truncated. This can be a value from 0 to 6 decimal places.

Rates and Rules Maintenance

When creating pay agreements and bill agreements in the Rates and Rules > Pay Agreements and Rates and Rules > Bill Agreements, you have the ability to set rounding on Pay Rate Rules and Bill Rate Rules, whereby the rounding on each rule can be different. That rounding is applied to the total of the Pay Rate Rule or Bill Rate Rule, as calculated by the Interpreter.

For example, Figure 1 below shows the pay rate and bill rate results in the Interpreter, where the applicable Pay Rate Rule and Bill Rate Rule are configured to round to two decimal places.

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Figure 1: Pay rate/bill rate - rounded to two decimal places

Figure 2 below shows the same pay and bill results where the Pay Rate Rules and Bill Rate Rule rounding has been set to four decimal places instead.

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Figure 2: Pay rate/bill rate - rounded to four decimal places

Billing Maintenance

Billing company rounding settings, which are defined under Billing > Maintenance > Billing Company > Billing Company Entry > Rounding, define how six different billing item types are to be rounded whereby each item type can have a different rounding type and rounding value.

The table below lists and describes the billing item types.

It is important to note that this rounding will take the previously rounded totals from the Interpreter before applying the billing company rounding.  

Further the rounding set at the billing company does not define what is displayed on the invoice but it does define the actual or stored values.  The rounded figures you see displayed on an invoice are defined in document formats (see below) and are for display purposes only.

Document Formats

When creating an invoice or payslip formats in Maintenance > Document Designer > Document Formats there are several fields that allow for rounding.  This rounding is for display purposes only. 

Invoices

You are able to set rounding on your invoices to make them easier to read.  The main fields where you will need to think about rounding are the following at the invoice item level:

• Quantity

• Rate

• Tax

• Total exc Tax

• Total inc Tax

These fields are Item totals and appear in the Invoice Item Component.  To set the rounding you need to;

1. Click on the Invoice Item Component

2. Click on Component Settings

3. Click on edit on Rows/Columns

4. Click on edit Columns

5. Click on the field you wish to set rounding on

6. Click on the Item drop down

7. Click on Database Field

8. Enter your rounding into number format

• to round to 2 decimal places enter 0.00

• to round to 4 decimal places enter 0.0000

• to round to 6 decimal places enter 0.000000

For example, in Figure 3 below the Rate field is configured to show four decimal places.

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Figure 3: Number format configured for 4 decimal places

That would result in the rate amount being displayed to four decimal places on an invoice, as shown in Figure 4 below.

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Figure 4: Invoice item rate displayed to 4 decimal places on invoice

If you leave the Number Format field blank the system will default to 2 decimal places.

It is important to understand that the system has been hard coded to display 2 decimal places on invoice totals. This will apply to all fields in the Invoice Totals component box and can include:

• Invoice Sub Total

• Invoice Fee

• Tax Total

• Invoice Total

 It is important to remember that these fields are for display purposes only and the stored values in the system will be driven by the rounding on the billing company.

Invoice Rounding Lines

Invoice formats can be configured to display a rounding line, which can be used to show the rounding difference between the sum of tax (VAT/GST) item totals at the invoice item level and the corresponding invoice item totals. That can be used to help debtors reconcile invoice item totals to the overall invoice totals. An example of this is shown in Figure 5 below.

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Figure 5: Invoice Rounding Line

The rounding line can be enabled within an invoice document format by selecting the Invoice Items layout component by selecting the Display Rounding Line option under Rounding Settings in the component properties, as shown in Figure 6 below.

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Figure 6: Invoice Items Component Settings

Pay Slips

You are able to set rounding on your pay slip to make them easier to read.  The main fields where you will need to think about rounding are;

• Quantity

• Rate

• Item Total

• Deduction Total

• All items in Pay Totals and YTD Totals

• All Figures in Super component box

To set rounding on these items follow the above steps for setting rounding on invoices on the relevant component box.

These setting will change the look of your payslip however are for display purposes only.  The actual or stored figures are driven by your settings on Pay Agreement Pay Rate Rule for pay items and from country settings for other entitlements.

Recommendations

To achieve the least amount of rounding in the system and reduce the chance of any apparent error the following settings are recommended.