The creation and management of calculation scenarios is the route by which all service charges are derived for each accounting period, and can be applied in a variety of ways to suit local requirements. At the discretion of the housing organisation, any number of service charge calculations can be run in each period. For instance, one calculation may cover all cost centres, or separate calculations can be defined for each individual cost centre; it is also possible to create calculations that transcend different cost centres but within the same management (or functional) area. Within each calculation scenario there is a choice of three alternative calculation types:
- Estimate – This option would be used to calculate a forecast of how much the landlord thinks it will cost them to provide the services during the year, based on analysis of spending in previous years, estimating the increase due to inflation and then adding in any further increases or decreases in spending that are known. The forecast can be achieved by uplifting actual values from a previous period, importing the charges from an external data source or inputting the figures manually.
- Adjustment – This option is another form of estimate calculation, and can be used in the instance where there is a change to an original estimate that has already been accepted. Typically this would be employed in the instance where an adjustment of costs needs to be applied to the rent account immediately, as opposed to being smoothed out at the next scheduled rent review.
- Actual – This calculation scenario returns the actual charges incurred for each asset and will be conducted at the end of a period, once all factors are known. For variable service charges, any deviation between the actual values and the original estimates would be carried forward as a surplus or deficit balancing charge.
The method by which baseline figures are entered into the system, ready for analysis, manipulation and final checking is threefold:
- Manual – This option is available for those end users who wish to type in their figures manually for each calculation scenario, against the individual cost elements. Once the baseline figures have been recorded, data export and import routines are available to allow further detailed analysis and manipulation of the proposed service charges using Microsoft Excel, or similar.
- Import – The Data Import Framework available within Civica Cx Housing enables an end user to directly transfer service charge figures obtained from an external data source into a blank calculation scenario. Once imported, these figures can be further adjusted until the desired outcome is obtained.
- Model – This option can be employed for an estimate calculation type only, allowing the end user to estimate the service charge increase based on a previous period's actual or estimate calculation, referred to as ‘calculation modelling’.
Separate help articles have been created for each key aspect of service charge calculation management, including:
