Overview
Activity Budget Rules define when an activity becomes active and when it expires within Custodia. These rules control the lifecycle of an activity budget based on key timestamps such as approval time or event dates entered during activity creation.
By configuring these rules, administrators ensure that spend permissions align precisely with business intent. For example, a travel activity can activate at approval and automatically expire after the trip ends. This eliminates manual intervention and reduces the risk of spend occurring outside the intended timeframe.
To modify Activity Budget Rules, navigate to:
Finance & Accounting → Accounting Setup → Activity Budget Rules
Activity Budget Rule Attributes
Each Activity Budget Rule includes the following components:
Business Activity
The specific activity type created by the administrator or end user (for example, Business Trip, Office Supplies, Event Travel).
Expense Category
The expense classification associated with the activity. This links the activity to the appropriate accounting treatment and GL mapping.
Activated At
Defines when the activity becomes active. Available options include:
- Approval Time – The moment the activity is approved.
- 24 Hours After Approval – Exactly 24 hours after approval.
- Event Start – The start date entered during activity creation.
- Event End – The end date entered during activity creation.
- Day Before Start – One day prior to the requested start date.
- Day After Completion – One day after the requested end date.
Expires At
Defines when the activity expires and can no longer be used. The expiration value must align with one of the same time-based options available under Activated At.
Why This Matters
Activity Budget Rules provide structured control over spend windows. Instead of relying on manual monitoring, the system automatically enforces activation and expiration timing based on defined logic. This ensures:
- Spend is only available during approved periods
- Activities automatically close when intended
- Finance teams maintain clean, policy-aligned controls