Reporting on actual transactions

When you approve a timesheet or expense, or invoice a contract in PSA, the business transaction is captured in the Actual entity. This entity can serve as the basis for almost all finance-related reports in PSA. The Actual entity captures the cost and sales transactions for the business event. It also captures many relevant attributes.

When you’re working with the Actual entity, it’s important that you understand what transaction or transactions are recorded in the entity, and when the transactions are recorded. Here is the typical flow when you work with time entries (the flow for expense entries is similar):

1. When the time entry is saved, no records are created in the Actual entity.
2. When the time entry is submitted, no records are created in the Actual entity.
3. When the time entry is approved, one record is be created in the Actual entity, and a second record can also be created. The first record stores the cost of the time entry. The second record stores the unbilled sales amount of the time entry. The second record is dependent on the project either having a customer, a quote, or a contract line assigned to it.Document dateTransaction typeTransaction classCustomerContractResourceResource roleBilling typeQuantityUnit priceAmount2/3/18CostTimeAlpine ski houseAlpine CRMAshley ChinnProject MgrChargeable8.050.00400.002/3/18Unbilled salesTimeAlpine ski houseAlpine CRMAshley ChinnProject MgrChargeable8.0100.00800.00These two records are separate but related records. They are neither debits nor credits.
4. If a contract is associated with the project, when the time entry is invoiced, two more records are created in the Actual entity. First, a negative amount for the unbilled sales record is created. This record essentially reverses the unbilled sale. Second, a transaction for the billed sale is created. Once again, these records are separate but related records, not debits and credits.Document dateTransaction typeTransaction classCustomerContractResourceResource roleBilling typeQuantityUnit priceAmount2/4/18Unbilled salesTimeAlpine ski houseAlpine CRMAshley ChinnProject MgrChargeable- 8.0100.00- 800.002/4/18Billed salesTimeAlpine ski houseAlpine CRMAshley ChinnProject MgrChargeable8.0100.00800.00

The Transaction Origin entity records the origin of the Actual record, and the Transaction Connection entity records the related records for the Actual record. Additionally, the Actual record contains references the project, project contract (order), bookable resource, and customer.