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Investment Target, with annual and quarterly breakdown. These are the amounts that tie out to the board approved plan. Once the board has approved the plan from the CMO, we will lock down these targets which represent the envelope of money available to each department to plan and forecast.Plans into a hierarchy grid much like you've done in the past within non-head count spreadsheets. Each budget holder can use categories and subcategories as needed to organize their budget, so it makes the most sense for them. This establishes the list of line item expenses they expect to use during the year. If the total planned doesn't equal the investment target envelope, the department does not lose the funds. Once plans are set, we can lock them for the quarter. More in Allocadia docs.Forecasts into these same line items, adding more details and more accuracy as we learn about the specifics of the events/campaigns/expenses.Similar to prior year, if we do not use the full envelope provided to Marketing by the end of the quarter, we will lose those dollars.
Allocadia integrates with multiple systems described further below. However, this presentation gives a high level view.
This section houses the main grid. This section is more for the Allocadia admin, although all budget holders will make use of it for mapping expenses to their line items as the Netsuite uploads are done monthly.
Also in this section, you can see where teams are from a forecast to plan standpoint by clicking into the view-roll up button. Video walk through in GitLab Unfiltered.
Home is also where targets are entered annually by quarter for each of the teams. To do so, find the icon next to the team in the Panel column called Panel (rollup panel when you hover over) and click to open. Scroll down to enter the top down targets/budget into the Qx Approved Target fields for each. This can only be done by an admin.
The activity planning section is where you add the tactics of your quarterly/annual plan and where can you see quick high level metrics to help you understand your Investment Target and your Plan vs. Forecast. Depending on what view you are in will depend on if you see this data based on the quarter or based on the FY.
In the top right hand section of the screen, you will see a drop down of different Views. When making changes to your actual activity prior to the Allocadia plan being locked, be sure you are in a plan view. Once the plan has been locked, you must be in the Forecast view to make any changes. We are locking plans quarterly in line with Finance calendars.
Within the view drop down you have the option to look at your targets by quarter or annually. Use whichever view best helps you run your business.
You will notice that there are metrics at the top left of each View that provide you with totals and comparisons between targets, plans and forecast depending on the View chosen.
In the grid below, these are the items that show up in the Hierarchy column. You may organize these however is best for you to run your business.
The same categories (and line items) show up in this grid regardless of whether you are entering your bottoms up Plan for the quarter/year or if you are entering your Forecast as your expenses solidify throughout the quarter.
There needs to be one line item for every contract that will be paid. That being said, if you have multiple charges that relate to the same vendor/ will get billed together, those can all show up on the same line item.
Organizing your line items? It's tricky, but if you hold the little three line hamburger to the left of the line item once you add it, you can move it so it falls under the correct category or subcategory. You will need to see the arrow to show that it is rolling up. There is no sorting other than manual. The nice thing is that once you move them to where you want them, they will remain there.
The idea for the placeholder is if you know that there will be an expense but you have very little information about vendor, etc. It allows you to fully Plan your entire Investment Target dollars so that you know what is left to allocate of your tops down budget. Currently, the FM team would prefer not to use the placeholders. Any placeholders will need to be updated as more information is determined.
This button allows users to delete a line item or category that was mistakenly added. The Delete button is only able to be used by Marketing Finance and Marketing Ops admins. If you need a line item, category, or sub-category deleted please reach out to Marketing Finance or Marketing Ops and they can delete it for you. If a line item has previous months expense or invoice data, it cannot be deleted.
This button can be used to request funds from another department. Specific approvers have been set up in Allocadia to be notified by email and can approve or deny the transfer. See more details in the Budget Reallocation link above. Note that on the Home page, the transfer will show in red until it has been resolved.
As we move to Coupa, that integration will allow us to use their list of standardized vendor names for ones that already exist in the system which should make this easier.
We have just moved the Vendor to the Details panel - for now it shows up in both and can be updated in either place - but we are considering taking it off the main grid if there are no objections.
View, there are columns for your bottoms up Plan and your ongoing 'Forecast'. And then monthly as we load in Actuals from Netsuite, those amounts will show in those columns.You access the Details Panel from the book like icon to the right of the line item name in the hierarchy column. If the book is red, it means that there are missing required details. It turns black once these are completed. The workflow that we've set up in the system once you add a line item should help us capture all the required fields.
Any line items within a category or subcategory default inherit the details from the parent (category/subcategory) AND can also be overwritten at any child line item as needed. Therefore, it makes the most sense to fill out the details panel at the highest category level and then adjust any individual line items that differ.
Details tab
Spend Type is as follows, then you will be asked a Y/N on if the event is In person.
ISO date_event name structure (example - 20220520_TheBestEventEver)Certain groups within GitLab have the ability to create a calendar invite directly from the details panel within Allocadia.
line item level. Meaning you CANNOT create a calendar invite at the Category OR Sub-category level.Is this an in person event?
in person events and sponsorships calendar - regardless of spend type, if it’s an in person event it WILL show up on this calendar.Spend Type (Campaign Type)
Self-Service Virtual Event use the GitLab Hosted Self-Service Virtual Events calendarVendor Arranged MeetingsExecutive RoundtableSponsored WebcastVirtual Sponsorship
External Virtual Events calendarCannot create calendar invite for this Spend Type.While Workshops & Webcasts DO require a calendar invite, we intentionally left the auto create calendar invite out of the plug in. We did this because the GitLab Hosted Zoom Webcasts calendar requires Zoom integration work and is a locked calendar, given the technical work required to run the campaign types. For more information on booking a GitLab-hosted Workshop or Webcast, please visit this handbook page.
The calendar invite is set for the entire day. If you would like the event to be on the calendar for a specific time, then you may go in and manually change the time.
Here is a quick video walk through to show you how the calendar invite gets created, if you're more of a visual learner!
Today our Field Marketing team is the only team using this function. If you are interested in having this added to your view please open this issue for Marketing Ops.
We have loaded the previous fiscal years worth of influenced conversion data from campaigns run by field marketing for both the MQL>SAO conversion rates as well as SAO>Closed Won data.
If a region did not have a conversion rate for the campaign type (likely because the region did not run that campaign), then the global conversion rate was used. Also, because our MQLs can "skip" MQL status (meaning an SDR can work a lead BEFORE its actually hit our MQL scoring threshold), we used the MQL Inferred Date field to assume MQLs. We took a snap shot in time data, but the below widgets can be referenced
Live MQL>SAO regional data can be found here and live SAO>Won data can be found here.
The average deal size by campaign by region can be found here (you'll have to refer back to dashboard to change the region if you want to see a specific regions data) are also loaded for calculation purposes. If there were less than 3 closed deals then we did NOT use that deal size information, but relied on the ASP from the TOPO model to fulfill that deal size.
A calculation is then done by then taking into account the MQLs, region, segment data and campaign type (specifically the GitLab Issue type) that has been given at the line item level in the details panel.
Video walk through (and yes, you know you need to be logged into Unfiltered to see! ;))
Beacuse we've loaded historical conversion rates into the impact modeller, a marketer should feel empowered to build a business case justifying why an investment should be made even though the impact modeller is showing a lower ROI. The business case could include specific accounts who you will connect with, LAM (landed addresible market) of account, how the pre/post campaign follow-up will be different than in investments past, nuanced facts about the proposed investment vs. historical program, etc. We want to still test out programs, and at times we may fail, and that's ok! Review your overall plan. Do you have a strong ROI built into a few campaigns that can afford a risk in a program you believe in?
Most reporting is done within the Insights tab within Allocadia. Reports are built at the highest level and then use a drill down feature so each team does not have to recreate reports.
The reports in Allocadia make use of GoodData. The first time you attempt to access reports, you will be prompted to sign in to GoodData. Also, if you are using Safari as your browser, take note of the following:
Safari for OS X – Disable Blocking of Third Party Cookies Safari has moved away from their "Block Cookies" section. In order to make it work with the current version of Safari, you must have both "Prevent cross-site tracking" and "Block all cookies" checkboxes unchecked.
This section is where you can see the highest level of detail.
The reports are broken out in folder format and once you click into the folders, more reports open up.
Insights>Dashboards>1.Investment Planning Summary To understand your regions budget (referred to in Allocadia as Current Target)
Insights>Dashboards>1.Investment Tracking SummaryTo understand how much you're on track to invest - Watch this video walk throughInsights>Dashboards>2. Pipeline>Quarterly Drill in Details All>Pipeline Plan by Campaign Type - This report allows you to see the ROI data (MQL, SAO, expected pipeline), based on the impact modeller -
Insights>Dashboards>2. Pipeline>Quarterly Drill in Details All>Pipeline Plan by Motion - This report allows you to see how your plans are aligned to the Marketing GTM motions. Please be sure you are filtering by Activity plan, NOT by Region.
view roll-up button. Video walk through & select which view you're looking for - i.e. Q1, Q2 etc.view roll-up button. Video walk through & select which view you're looking for - i.e. Q1, Q2 etc.We do have a few fields within Allocadia which have a different name on the frontend (i.e. what you see on the screen) vs. what is used in reporting, for various, perhaps unknown reasons. Fields are as follows:
| Front end field name | Field name used for reporting |
|---|---|
| Start Date | Date (Line Item Start Date) |
| End Date | Date (Line Item End Date) |
| MQL | Estimated Outcome (First Funnel Level Total) |
| SAO | Estimated Outcome (Middle Funnel Level Total) |
| Closed Won | Estimated Outcome (Last Funnel Level Total) |
| Â | Â |
| Â | Â |
Allocadia comes with a lot of standard fields & definitions associated with those fields. At times our definitions may vary and we may have to create a new custom field. Unfortunately, we cannot delete out the Allocadia fields and only have our current fields available. This causes us to have many similar fields and a creates a need for us to document which field should be used when building reports. The list below should serve as the SSOT for fields when building reports.
An efficiency we are able to gain by using Allocaida is that we create a GitLab issue and can push information gathered in the details panel directly to that issue. This saves the Field Marketer time in not having to reenter information which has already been entered.
Go back up to the sub-category details panel and scroll all the way down to the Actions section where you will see a button called GitLab issue - click that - and đź’Ą - your issue is created
By creating the FMM issue at the sub category level, this still allows the marketer flexibility in terms of how they want to strucure their activity plan. Another way to think about this is that everything under the sub category should align to the same campaign name to be created.
Please be mindful of where you are creating a sub-category. The system will allow you to create a sub-category within a sub-category, and you will realize this because upon creation of the what you believe to be a new sub category, you will notice the details panel is already filled in. Do NOT go through and start changing out the data in the details panel, as you are only allowed to create one FMM issue within the sub-category. What you’ll need to do is delete the newly already filled in sub-category and then ensure youre in the category level and create a new sub-category.
Should a date on a campaign need to change and the issue has already been created, you can systematically change the date & name. In order to do so, all changes must be made in Allocadia and then overnight will push the change to the GitLab FMM issue. Should you want to manually change both the issue AND Allocadia, you should feel empowered to do so. The automation is there to help you.
If you find yourself needing to update a procurement issue template for any of the issues above - please submit an issue for the Marketing Operations team, as this must be done through our Allocadia CSM.
If you've hit the GitLab issue template button and the wrong issue template has been created, not to fear! Someone with owner or admin rights to your folder can assist you. To determine who has owner or admin rights to your folder from the home screen you would find your folder, click in the Users column that person icon with (number), from there, you see a list of people who have access + their rights. Search until you find Owner or Administrator and then slack that person in the #mktg-budget-holders slack room. Video walk through (must be logged into GitLab Unfiltered!).
As mentioned above, there is a listing of available FY23 SFDC campaigns to choose from in the detail panel. Once the initial connection has been made between Allocadia and SFDC on a given campaign (which is done by either manually connecting them via choosing a campaign from the drop down or by using your Allocadia sub-category ID to create your SFDC campaign, instructions in pt.2 & 5 here), Allocadia will push over all the fields that have been completed in the details panel.
In addition, we will be sending over planned amounts into the SFDC Campaign Budget field and actuals will synch nightly. This ONLY happens if the connection is there by having a campaign selected in the Existing SFDC Campaign field. If there are multiple line items for a given SFDC campaign, they will be combined for the updated SFDC Campaign Budget, since we use the Allocadia sub-category ID to sync Allocadia to the SFDC campaign.
Full detailed instructions on how to set this synch up, which does have to be done campaign by campaign, can be found here.
If entereed in, the MQLs entered used in the impact modeller will be pushed to the SFDC campaign to a field called Total Planned MQL in the planning section of the campaign. That data can then be pushed from SFDC into the company's BI tool and displayed on the SFDC attribtuion reporting so we can understand how good we are at forecasting MQL impact.
If you need to add a new value to the drop down selector options, in order for the new options to properly pulled through to SFDC correctly, you need to be sure the new drop down value has been added to Allocadia and SFDC. Once that's been done, test the systems and you should be good to go!
Please login using SSO, so that all marketing budget holders can sign in easily without worrying about yet another login password. Note that we are on Allocadia's eu1 server.
We will be using CSV transfer files to upload plans from Allocadia to Adaptive. Our finance business partner will be the DRI for this.
There is no integration with Marketo. However, through the Marketo program/SFDC campaign creation process, Marketo will update the SFDC campaign description with an ID. Allocadia ingests this ID and in return, updates SFDC campaign fields to match.
We will eventually be able to use an FTP data integration to download actual expenses from Netsuite. In the meantime, we will be using CSV transfer files. Instructions for Allocadia Admin to upload were prepared by Allocadia. Actual expenses will not be available though until after month end close for Accounting, so generally mid-month of the following month. These expenses will automatically map to the line items and show in the Actuals column if there was an Allocadia ID set up initially. However, until we have all set up, we will have to work through a manual process to map expenses to the line items. Allocadia will do its best guess but without the Allocadia ID, we will need to confirm or correct.
Via an integration of Allocadia and Coupa, Marketers are able to create a Coupa Request from within Allocadia. This is a one way push of data from Allocadia into Coupa, so if you make any changes within the Coupa request, please note it will not be updated automatically within Allocadia. Video walk through of how to create a Coupa requisition directly from Allocadia can be found here.
Create PR in Coupa and your request form will appear. If it does not, the error message will inform you that you are missing required information. Go back to your panel and line item and make sure all required fields have been filled in.Created By can be left under your name, unless you would like the requisition to be submitted under someone else’s name, in which case, you can pull the person’s name in the drop down options in the On Behalf Of fieldSupplier should pull over automatically based on the supplier you have provided in the Allocadia line item. Note: You must have the name of the supplier in your line item listed exactly as Coupa has the supplier listed. If not, the supplier will not pull through automatically, in which case, you can search the drop down for the supplier listing.Description of Purchase should provide details of your purchase - Example - Contract for ABC EventVendor has access to red or orange data is a required field, see linked handbook page in the form for more informationList data and system involved is only a field that should be filled in if you select YES to the above data questionVendor’s Contact Email is a required field and is generally utilized for contract countersignature requestsVendor’s Security Contact Email is a field to be filled in if vendor has access to red or orange dataAttachment is required and this where you would attach the appropriate contractNextAMT or QTY based on the type of purchase (generally, you will be submitting a Coupa req based on AMT)Item will pull from the line item name you have listedUnit Price will pull from your total line item costNeed by Date is the due date for the Coupa reqService Start, End Date, Chart of Accounts, Subsidiary, Department, and GL Account will all pull from your line itemSubmitSubmitAdd AnotherAdd ItemSubmitSubmitThe huge advantage of having an Allocadia ID tagged throughout the systems is that it can then be used to easily match line item plans/forecasts with actuals. Allocadia has set up the following (hardcoded!) mapping for our instance:
If Class: Name is not “- No Class -“, map to a Line Item by a match on the Existing Salesforce Campaign field If Class: Name is not “- No Class -“, map to a Line Item by a match on the Campaign Name to be Created field If Class: Name is not “- No Class -“, map to a Line Item by a match on the Comments field.
If Department: Name field = [name], map to the activity plan with a matching Department: Name rollup panel field value NOTE: This means that if we change the name of the activity plan department, we need to let Allocadia know!
If Department: Name = Field Marketing + Subsidiary: Name = Gitlab XXX, map to the Y REGION folder
To find expenses that need to be mapped after the Netsuite actual upload, go to the home page. In the Actuals column, see if your Map column has a Map (#) in red. If so, click on that link, and it will open a new screen to show you what needs to be mapped. Scroll over to see descriptions, invoice numbers, etc from Netsuite. All you do is select the hierarchy category and then the line item to match each one to. Then hit map. You can also bulk map by shifting /clicking several lines and then hit bulk map for a smaller screen with its own “map” button.
If you accidentally map something incorrectly, it can be corrected. You'll need to go to the Activities grid for the line item where you accidentally mapped it, right click and select Go to Actuals. A new screen will appear where hopefully you see your error line and you can delete by scrolling to the far right.
We strive to have all monthly expenses mapped within 3 business days of actuals being loaded by Finance.