The Client Information Workbook (CIW)

Please remember that while not all fields are required to operate LeaseAccelerator with minimal functionality, the use of other fields will drive the full set of features and functions, thereby gaining the FULL VALUE of the system.

To populate any of the following tabs of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

Download a PDF version of the Configuration guide.

Companies

The Companies tab defines those companies who are part of your leasing program. Each company performs a different role or function. Examples include:

Lessee — The legal party to the agreement leasing the equipment or real estate.
Funders — Also referred to as Lessors; they provide the cash to finance the equipment purchase through a lease agreement. In the case of Real Estate, Funder would refer to the Landlord.
Entity — Organization you consider to be the Lessee (may be different than actual Lessee).
BU — An internal reporting group referred to as Business Unit or BU in the PIW and UI.
Vendors — Various other parties such as the equipment manufacturer or supplier, an assignee, or an organization to whom you pay an initial direct cost to or receive a lease incentive from.

To populate the Companies tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

Addresses

Addresses are specific locations in your organization where people work and/or where equipment may be physically located or shipped. This would also include the physical location of any leased Real Estate. They are typically associated with a Lessee, Entity, or Business Unit. (There may be a 1:n relationship because companies may have multiple teams “sitting” at a single location.)

To populate the Addresses tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

People

Many people participate in your leasing program and have different roles. These people may or may not be users of the system. LeaseAccelerator captures these people so that they can receive notifications or other information important to their function. Examples of the roles that people may play and therefore need to be configured in the system are:

Asset Owners — Employees who have fiduciary responsibility for the existence and use of the assets. These employees are typically management level and are financially responsible for the equipment.
Asset Users — Employees who have custodial responsibility for the leased assets. These employees may be management or staff level. These employees’ work locations are typically at the equipment’s physical location or in the same local/regional area.
Order Administrators — Employees who have “procurement” responsibility for the leased assets and shepherd the administrative process used in your organization to finance the acquisition of equipment and secure its delivery to the asset user.
Analysts — The employees responsible for generating the lease versus buy analysis.
Treasury Approvers — Employees typically responsible for approving the lease transaction and may be the responsible party signing the lease documents. These employees typically are management or executive level and are an escalation step for notifications regarding End-of-Term.
Sourcing contacts — Employees responsible for initiating and creating an RFP, reviewing the Proposals, and awarding to a Funder/Lessor.

To populate the People tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

Geos

Geo is the country that determines the accounting and tax rules that apply to a transaction. This is typically the same country as the physical location of the equipment or real estate. However, when various participants and assets are in different countries, this field may not be obvious.

Data is collected using the Geo tab. However, to import the data, please use the Companies tab input where:

Company Role Type = Geo
Company Name = Geo Name
Ledger Code = Ledger Code

To populate the Geos tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

Reporting Areas

The Reporting Area is used to drive internal management reporting to aggregate or group Geos together. Reporting Areas may have a hierarchical relationship where one Reporting Area rolls into another. It is suggested that data be input into the tab in a top-down order. In other words, the higher the Reporting Area is in the hierarchy, the earlier it should be entered into the import table. Each Reporting Area used as a rollup must also have a unique row on the table with the Reporting Area Rollup field blank.

For example: You have 3 regions (North and South America and Americas) and a hierarchy that pulls North America and South America into Americas, the following rows would be required on the Reporting Area tab:

Reporting Area	Reporting Area Rollup	Ledger Code
Americas		####
North America	Americas	####
South America	Americas	####

Data is collected using the Reporting Area tab. However, to import the data, please use the Companies Tab input where:

Company Role Type = Reporting Area
Company Name = Reporting Area Name
Parent Company Name = Reporting Area Rollup
Ledger Code = Ledger Code

To populate the Reporting Area tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

Cost Centers

Cost Centers (CC) are departments within your organization which typically have a budget. Employees, Revenue, Expenses, Assets, Liabilities, and other financial information is recorded to the CC in the General Ledger.

To populate the Cost Center tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

FX Rates

FX Rates (or Currency Translation Factors) are published indices used to convert financial data from one currency to another. These factors are critical to accounting, reporting, and marketplace functions so that accurate comparisons can be made between Geos (countries).

As part of the implementation, it is suggested that you import all historical currency translation factors that impact all your leases throughout their lives — otherwise, we can only use the current factor to convert information for periods prior to your use of LeaseAccelerator.

You may update currency translation factors as often as you like using either the bulk import mechanism or the Configuration Settings feature within the User Interface. Since factors may change daily, we suggest that you determine the best frequency for updates in conjunction with your Accounting and Finance teams.

LeaseAccelerator does not distinguish between Period End, Period Average, and Daily rates. Every rate is entered with an Effective Date and superseded by the next update. Average monthly rate will be calculated as follows: Sum of all (Rate*# of days it is effective in the month) divided by the total # of days in the month.

To populate the FX Rates tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

LeaseAccelerator Users

This section identifies the employees who will be users of LeaseAccelerator, the access level granted, the role that they perform, and the entities to which they will have access.

Access Level – Regulates the screens which will be visible to a user and where a user can go, as well as a user’s ability to view and perform various To-Dos.
Lessee Roles (Can Act As) – Determines what To-Dos a user can perform, or be assigned, in the context of a deal.
Scope of Access – Defines the data visible to a user within searches and reporting. For example, this can be limited to certain Lessees, Business Units, and/or GEOs. Scope of Access also limits importing ability.
Scope of Ledgers – Determines what users can see in the Configuration Settings, Reporting, Transition, Contact Management, and Book Deal drop-down menus and screens. Scope of Ledgers also limits importing ability.

To populate the LA Users tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

Notifications

The Notifications tab identifies the criteria for each lease schedule and EOT Template, to drive the automated email notifications for an entire portfolio.

Clients can:

Attach documents that exist within LeaseAccelerator to a notification.
Specify whether the attachment is sent on ONLY the first notification or ALL subsequent notifications.
Specify which User Roles will receive the attachment on the notification.

Note: Any Notification configured will only apply to leases entered or imported AFTER the Notification has been configured. It will NOT apply to existing leases.

Economic Life

The Economic Life is a critical attribute for each Product Category. This tab defines the key configuration elements associated with each Product Category; therefore, you will see that the tab is pre-populated with the list.

For each Product Category (or for those that your company anticipates leasing activity) you will need to insert the corresponding factor. The primary factor is the economic life which is the value assigned to a Product Category that signifies the useful life of the leased equipment. This value is used in lease classification testing as well as other valuations regarding the leased asset portfolio.

Note: LeaseAccelerator may sometimes refer to Product Category by Asset Class or Asset Type in various documents.

To populate the Economic Life tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

Depreciation

The Depreciation configuration data defines the methodology and useful lives for each type of asset which you may lease. Depreciation drives critical calculations in your lease versus buy analysis AND sets the method to be used in determining the depreciation expense of your leased assets for your book and tax accounting schedules.

To populate the Depreciation tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

Lessee Rates

Lessee Rates include 3 types of rates used for different purposes in LeaseAccelerator.

The IBR (Incremental Borrowing Rate) represents the interest rate which your company could borrow additional funds to purchase the leased equipment under the same terms and conditions. It is typically defined by your Treasury and Accounting teams. The IBR is critical in the lease classification process and the detail accounting calculations to value the leased asset and the associated lease liability in accordance with the standards.
Debt Rate represents the rate at which you could borrow funds through a loan. It may or may not equate to the IBR (as defined by the accounting standard). LeaseAccelerator uses this rate in the lease versus buy analysis.
Equity Rate represents the return on investment which could be earned by investing the funds. LeaseAccelerator uses this rate in the lease versus buy analysis.

To populate the Lessee Rates tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

LvB Settings

The LvB Net Present Value Settings are used when running a lease versus buy analysis.

To populate the LvB Settings tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

Salvage Values

Salvage Value is associated with a Product Category. This information is required for the Lease vs. Buy Analysis. To properly configure the Salvage Value, LeaseAccelerator will need to know the associated Lessee, Geo, Term, Percentage, and Effective Date. Salvage Value is used in determining the Depreciable period for the Buy side of the Lease vs Buy. It has no bearing on the Lease side of the analysis. This tab is not importable and is not needed unless you want default values in the Lease vs Buy Analysis to auto-populate.

To populate the Salvage Values tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

Policy Thresholds

The Policy Thresholds are used in the Lease Classification engine as parameters for specific tests as outlined in the accounting standards. These thresholds are important in that they allow clients to define quantitative metrics to use where the accounting standards allow for judgement but also require consistency in the actual application of the thresholds throughout the organization.

The key judgements in the Lease Classification process are:

What lease term constitutes the majority of economic life? (ASC840 prescribes 75%)
What % of the PV of Lease Payments versus FMV constitutes substantially all of the Fair Market Value? (ASC840 prescribes 90%)
How do you define what is a Bargain Purchase Option? (ASC840)
How do you define when you are reasonably certain (or likely) to exercise a Purchase Option? (ASC842)

To populate the Policy Thresholds tab of the CIW. please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

Lessee Info

The Lessee Info describes information about your company which will be included in your Marketplace RFPs and other key information required to calculate the lease versus buy analysis. The Fiscal Year End and Fiscal Year Model data is critical to establishing your accounting functions and must be provided even if you are not using the Marketplace or LvB functionality.

To populate the Lessee Info tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

Tax Rates

The Lessee Tax Rate table provides the detail tax information for income tax rates at the federal and state level. These rates are important factors in accurately calculating your lease versus buy analysis. The system, however, is currently limited to using only one State rate per LvB request.

To populate the Tax Rates tab of the CIW please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

Lessee Financials

The Lessee Financial summary provides information about your company that you may want to include in your Marketplace RFPs You may choose to input as many or as few of these attributes as you like.

To populate the Lessee Financials tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

Templates

This tab identifies the types of EOT Notifications to be received by asset owners and users based on criteria established by your company. The template includes the specific text of the email notification. These messages are standardized by Template and will be automatically sent for all lease schedules.

To populate the Templates tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

Approved Funders

Approved Funders are those companies who your company specifically wishes to participate in the Sourcing process. If an Approved Funder list is provided ONLY those companies will receive RFPs and you will not send requests to the Global Leasing Network (GLN) funders that you are unaware of.

To populate the Approved Funders tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).

Restricted Funders

Restricted Funders are those companies from which your company does not wish to receive RFPs responses. You may be precluded from doing business with these organizations due to company policy, practice, or other internal reasons. For example, a competitor of yours may have a subsidiary that provides funding to lessees, and you do not want to provide them additional revenue; therefore, you would list them on this sheet as a Restricted Funder.

To populate the Restricted Funders tab of the CIW, please see specific details in the Client Implementation Guide (CIG).