About the "Time Machine”

This is important! Please read!

Before you use the Time Machine for the first time, we recommend you read this article in its entirety.

About the "Time Machine"

The Annual Report publishing tool, known as the “Time Machine,” allows authorized users to lock or “freeze” data for a defined time period. These periods are based on complete fiscal or calendar years, depending on your organization’s reporting structure, and can be frozen on a quarterly basis.

This flexibility gives you the ability to confirm that all of the eligible spend is properly captured, including data discovery that will maximize the measured impact of your diversity spend.

Who can publish (freeze) Time Machine reports?

The ability to publish (or freeze) a report is restricted to users with the appropriate permission designated by your system administrator (refer to Account Management > Manage User Accounts > Locate user & select Edit Permissions to grant this permission).

• Users with the permission will be able to see the Time Machine Manager icon in the Spend Reporting dashboard.

• Users without this permission will not see the Time Machine Manager icon and will only see the Time Machine Switch to view or not view Time Machine data.

Who can see published (Time Machine) vs live data?

All users with access to the Tier-1 spend dashboard have the ability to view Time Machine vs live data.  Switching between the two views is as simple as toggling the slide button next to the Tier-1 tools.

It is important to understand the distinction between the two views and the explanation is summarized below.

Time Machine Data vs Live Data

Time Machine data

Time Machine data reflects historical spend based on the supplier demographics as they were at the time the spend occurred.

For example, if you spent $100 with ABC Corp on March 24, 2021, and at that time ABC Corp was certified as a Woman-Owned Business (WBE), that spend would be recorded under WBE for that period and saved.

• WBE - $100
• WBE Certified - $100

What Happens if ABC Corp’s Status Changes After March 24, 2021?

Let’s say ABC Corp was acquired by a large publicly traded company on April 1, 2021, and is no longer woman-owned or WBE certified. When viewing data in Time Machine mode, the $100 spent with ABC Corp on March 24, 2021 will still be recorded as spend with a certified Woman-Owned Business.

This is because Time Machine captures and preserves supplier status as it existed at the time of the transaction, regardless of any changes that occurred afterward.

This is the key benefit of Time Machine - it reports spend based on how the supplier was categorized at the time of the transaction, not how they are classified today.

Live Data

Live data reflects spend based on your suppliers' current demographics. This is typically accurate when reviewing up-to-date information flowing into your SupplierGateway platform. However, as a fiscal or calendar year concludes, many organizations choose to "freeze" the data for that period - creating a permanent report of record to preserve how things stood at that specific point in time.

If you’re familiar with how annual or financial reports are created, this concept will be familiar. The goal is to confirm that the data being frozen accurately reflects the activities during that time period, then publish the report so the numbers remain fixed and do not change over time.

Important things to know about freezing data

There are some things to know about when to freeze your data and what options you have.

1. You can freeze data for any period that has concluded. You cannot freeze data for the future, or fiscal periods that are still underway.
2. You do not have to freeze data immediately the period ends – there’s an important reason for this, similar to why financial reports are often prepared days or months after the close of a financial period.
   • This delay allows you to ensure you have the most accurate and complete data about your suppliers as they were at the time of spend.
   • For example, if you discover new information today, such as ABC Corp also qualifying as a Veteran-Owned Business in 2021, you can update the supplier record accordingly before freezing the data.
3. You can unpublish (unfreeze) Time Machine data even after you freeze it – This is important if you discover a significant issue that requires adjustment after the report has been published. While this should be a rare occurrence - similar to amendments in annual reports, it is possible when necessary.

View a tutorial on how to use the Time Machine