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Allocation Results

After running an allocation step, the output is a result table you can inspect, verify, and feed into downstream steps.

What the Result Table Contains

Section titled “What the Result Table Contains”

A typical allocation result row includes:

  • Source identifier — the row in the source table this allocation came from
  • Target identifier — the row in the target dimension or table that received the spread
  • Allocated amount — the share of the source amount assigned to this target
  • Driver value — the driver number that justified the spread (e.g., the headcount, the revenue, the hours)
  • Allocation rate — driver share as a proportion of the total
  • Source amount — the original total being spread (carried for auditability)
  • Pool / tag / rule reference — if rule-based tagging was used, which rule produced this row

The exact columns depend on the allocation step type and your configuration.

Verification Checklist

Section titled “Verification Checklist”

Before relying on the results:

  1. Reconciliation — sum of allocated amounts equals sum of source amounts (within floating-point tolerance). If not, something didn’t spread.
  2. No orphaned source rows — every source row produced at least one allocation row. Orphans usually mean no driver data matched the source’s tag or dimension member.
  3. No orphaned targets — if you expected every target to receive something, check that every target dimension member appears in the results.
  4. Reasonable rates — allocation rates should sum to 1.0 (100%) per source pool. Rates significantly off-target indicate driver data issues.
  5. Spot-check totals — pick a high-value source row and verify its allocation matches what you’d compute by hand.

Common Patterns to Look For

Section titled “Common Patterns to Look For”
  • Zero allocations — a target that received nothing usually means the driver row was missing or had a zero value
  • Mass concentration — most of the spread landing on one target usually means the driver column has one very large value (often a data quality issue upstream)
  • Negative drivers — depending on the allocation step, negative driver values may produce inverted spreads. Verify intent.

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”