When working with OneStream, understanding the various types of business rules is essential for customizing and automating your financial workflows. Let’s break down the 11 different business rules in OneStream and highlight their use cases.
1. Financial Rule
This is perhaps the most crucial type of rule in financial processes. Financial rules help you define how specific financial calculations or allocations are performed in your OneStream application. You can use these rules to apply financial logic during consolidations, budgeting, and reporting.
Use Case: If you want to calculate intercompany eliminations or allocate overhead costs across different departments, you would implement financial rules.
2. Parser Rule
Parser rules come into play when you need to manipulate or extract specific data from strings or files. These rules allow for data parsing before loading into the cube, ensuring that the data format is correct for further processing.
Use Case: If you’re importing a text file that contains multiple data points in a single field, you can use a parser rule to split and organize this data correctly before loading it into your system.
3. Conditional Rule
Conditional rules work based on “if-then” logic, allowing for decisions to be made within the application workflow. These rules help streamline processes by applying logic based on specific conditions, ensuring that the correct action is taken.
Use Case: In a financial reporting workflow, you might want a rule that checks if certain data thresholds are met (e.g., revenue exceeds a certain amount) and automatically triggers a different process, such as an approval stage.
4. CubeView Extender
CubeView Extender rules allow you to extend the functionality of CubeViews. They help manipulate data display or run actions when CubeViews are rendered. This adds flexibility to your CubeView reports.
Use Case: If you want to calculate additional values or dynamically alter the way data is presented in CubeViews based on user inputs, a CubeView extender rule helps you achieve that.
5. Derivative Rule
A derivative rule is designed to calculate derived data, i.e., data that is not directly loaded but is calculated based on other data points. This is useful when you want to create metrics based on already existing data without manually calculating them every time.
Use Case: For example, calculating an additional KPI like operating profit from revenue and expense data in real-time.
6. Dashboard Extender
Dashboard extender rules enhance and customize the functionality of your dashboards. They allow you to define specific logic that runs when dashboards are executed or refreshed.
Use Case: You could create a dashboard extender rule to pull real-time data from a source system every time a dashboard is loaded or to automatically refresh certain data sets when users interact with dashboard elements.
7. Dashboard Data Set
Dashboard DataSet rules are focused on creating and managing data sets that are presented on a dashboard. They provide a way to gather, manipulate, and display data for visual reports in your dashboards.
Use Case: If you want to pull data from multiple sources or cubes to display a consolidated report on your dashboard, this rule will help you compile that data effectively.
8. Dashboard XFBR String
Dashboard XFBR String rules are used for controlling the display of dynamic text or messages in a dashboard. You can set up rules that change what text or information is shown to users based on their interactions or selections in a dashboard.
Use Case: A dashboard XFBR string rule might dynamically update to show different messages based on user inputs, such as displaying a specific warning if data hasn’t been refreshed recently.
9. Extensibility Rule
Extensibility rules allow you to extend OneStream’s functionality by writing custom VB.NET code. These rules give you total control over how the system behaves, allowing you to introduce new features or workflows that aren’t available out-of-the-box.
Use Case: If you need a highly specific financial report that OneStream doesn’t natively support, you can use an extensibility rule to create it by writing custom code that interacts with your data and presents it exactly as needed.
10. Spreadsheet Rule
Spreadsheet rules integrate Excel functionality into OneStream. They allow you to create financial models, data entry forms, or reports that pull data from the OneStream database and populate it in a format that is familiar to Excel users.
Use Case: If you want to create a dynamic budget model in Excel that pulls live data from OneStream, a spreadsheet rule will allow you to do this seamlessly.
11. Connector Rule
Connector rules allow OneStream to interface with external systems or databases. These rules are crucial for integration projects, where data needs to flow between OneStream and other ERP, CRM, or financial systems.
Use Case: For example, if your company uses SAP for accounting and OneStream for financial planning, you would use a connector rule to ensure the data flows smoothly between these systems.
Wrapping it Up
Each of these business rules serves a specific purpose within OneStream, and understanding them helps you choose the right tool for the job. Whether you need to manipulate data, customize dashboards, integrate with other systems, or perform complex financial calculations, there’s a business rule tailored for the task.