Finance teams are under constant pressure to do more with less. To close faster, improve reporting accuracy and provide deeper insights to the business. Yet many organisations still rely on manual spreadsheets to distribute shared costs across departments, projects or locations.
With Dynamic Allocations in Sage Intacct, you can automate this process, eliminate manual work, and ensure your allocations always reflect the latest operational data.
What Are Dynamic Allocations?
Dynamic allocations automatically distribute costs across multiple entities, departments, projects, or dimensions based on predefined drivers. Instead of manually calculating allocation percentages each period, Sage Intacct uses real-time data, such as headcount, revenue or square footage to determine how costs should be allocated.
This means your allocations stay accurate and aligned with how your organisation actually operates.
Why Automate Allocations?
Manual allocations often require multiple spreadsheets, complex formulas, and time-consuming reconciliations. They also increase the risk of errors and inconsistencies.
Dynamic allocations automate these calculations directly within Sage Intacct, enabling finance teams to:
· Eliminate manual spreadsheets
· Reduce the risk of allocation errors
· Save significant time during month-end close
· Maintain consistent allocation logic across the organisation
By automating this process, finance teams can shift their focus from data preparation to higher value analysis and strategic decision-making.
Key Benefits of Dynamic Allocations
1. Automate Complex Cost Distribution
Dynamic allocations allow you to distribute shared costs such as, IT, facilities, HR, or marketing, across multiple business units automatically.
Allocation rules can be based on drivers like:
· Revenue
· Headcount
· Square footage
· Custom statistical accounts
Once configured, Sage Intacct calculates and posts the allocations automatically each period.
2. Use Real-Time Business Drivers
Unlike static allocations that rely on fixed percentages, dynamic allocations respond to current operational data.
For example:
· Allocate HR costs based on current employee headcount
· Distribute marketing spend based on revenue by department
· Allocate office expenses based on space utilisation
This ensures costs are distributed fairly and accurately as your organisation evolves.
3. Accelerate the Month-End Close
Allocations are often one of the most time-consuming tasks during the close process. With dynamic allocations, rules can run automatically at scheduled intervals or as part of your close workflow.
4. Improve Transparency and Auditability
As allocations are configured within Sage Intacct, finance teams benefit from:
· Clear allocation rules and drivers
· Full audit trails
· Consistent logic across periods
5. Scale as Your Organisation Grows
As organisations expand by adding new departments, entities, or projects the manual allocation models quickly become unmanageable.
Dynamic allocations scale with your business by automatically incorporating new data and dimensions without requiring complex spreadsheet updates.
For organisations looking to streamline finance operations and accelerate the close, dynamic allocations provide a scalable path toward greater automation and control.
If you’re not yet using dynamic allocations in Sage Intacct, now is the perfect time to explore how they can transform your allocation processes and free your team to focus on strategic insights. You can take a look at our previous Dynamic Allocations session or contact your customer success coach for more information.
