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Overview
Media buyers can use the Schedule grid to define the tactical details of a campaign and quickly build out different media schedule options. The Schedule grid is a spreadsheet-like interface that combines user-entered data with pre-defined reference data records and formulas, and is located on the Schedule tab.
Once an agency is ready to move forward with a particular schedule option, they can commit lines on the Schedule grid and start the next step of the OneStrata campaign management workflow.
This page contains information about terms and concepts related to schedules in OneStrata.
Types of Schedule Grid Lines
There are six types of lines that can be added to the Schedule grid:
| Buy Type | Schedule Grid Line Type | Description | Graphic | |||||||||||
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| Media | Placement |
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| Media | Media Package |
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| Non-Media | Entered Fee |
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| Non-Media | Central Fee |
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| Non-Media | Assigned Fee |
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About Flight Periods, Billing Periods, and the Unit Calendar
Schedule grid lines can be divided into flight periods and/or billing periods, which are managed through the Unit Calendar.
About Flight Periods and Billing Periods
The following table describes flight periods and billing periods in OneStrata:
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The phrase "Cost Line" is the general term for a Schedule grid line that has associated costs. Not all Schedule grid lines are Cost Lines, because not all types of Schedule grid lines have costs. For example, a child Placement that is purchased as part of a Media Package is not a Cost Line, because the Media Package (which is a Cost Line) is paid for as a single item, and the individual children Placements are not paid for separately. Within a cost package or a standalone media package, the top-most line (the Cost Package line or the Media Package line) is always a Cost Line. |
The costs of a Cost Line are divided into monthly intervals called billing periods. Cost Lines and their billing periods are the level at which costs are actualized, clients are billed, and vendors are invoiced.
Other important actions in OneStrata also occur at the Cost Line level:
- Committing: Costs Lines are committed
- DSP integrations: Cost Lines are linked to DSP insertion orders
The following table describes which types of Schedule grid lines are Cost Lines:
| Schedule Grid Line Type | Cost Line? |
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| Standalone Placement | Yes |
| Child Placement | No |
| Secondary Placement | No |
| Standalone Media Package | Yes |
| Secondary Media Package | No |
| Cost Package | Yes |
| Entered / Assigned / Central Fee | Yes |
Cost Line Cost Methods
The cost method of a Cost Line defines what type of cost-related fields are available or editable within the Cost Line, and how they are calculated. Each Cost Line can have a different cost method, depending on what cost methods are enabled within the OneStrata enterprise.
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A flight period defines the period of time that a media activity purchase runs for, as well as the number of units purchased during that time frame. Standalone / Secondary Placements and Media Packages have at least one flight period. Child Placements, Cost Packages and Fees do not have any flight periods. |
- If a Schedule grid line has multiple flight periods:
- The dates of the flight periods cannot overlap.
- The start date of the Schedule grid line is the same as the start date of the first flight period.
- The end date of the Schedule grid line is the same as the end date of the last flight period.
- The total number of units of the Schedule grid line is equal to the sum of the number of units of its flight periods.
- By default:
- There is one flight period per month.
- The number of units of the Schedule grid line is distributed among its flight periods according to the default cost distribution setting (Pro Rata or Even) of the media campaign.
- However, the start and end dates and the number of units of a flight period can be customized.
- To customize a flight period, see Edit a Media Line's Flight Periods.
Imagine a standalone Placement that runs from March 15th to May 22nd, with 300 units.
By default, this Placement has three flight periods:
- Flight Period 1: March 15th to March 31st
- Flight Period 2: April 1st to April 30th
- Flight Period 3: May 2nd to May 22nd
If the default cost distribution setting of the campaign is Pro Rata:
- Flight Period 1: 75 units
- Flight Period 2: 132 units
- Flight Period 3: 93 units
If the default cost distribution setting of the campaign is Even:
- Flight Period 1: 100 units
- Flight Period 2: 100 units
- Flight Period 3: 100 units
For more information on cost distribution settings, see:
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All Schedule grid lines (Placements, Media Packages, Cost Packages, and Fees) have at least one billing period.
- Billing periods are used for billing and actualization. Each billing period has a corresponding Billing Period line on the Actualization grid
- There is at most one billing period per month, and the billing period must start and end in the same month.
- A billing period can define the costs for multiple flight periods, if the flight periods all start and end in the same month.
- If a billing period is paired with multiple flight periods:
- The start date of the billing period is the same as the start date of the first flight period.
- The end date of the billing is the same as the end date of the last flight period.
- If there is no flight period within a given month, there is no billing period for that month.
Imagine a standalone Placement that runs from March 15th to June 30th, with the following flight periods:
- Flight Period 1: March 15th to March 31st
- Flight Period 2: May 2nd to May 10th
- Flight Period 3: May 15th to May 19th
- Flight Period 4: May 21st to May 22nd
- Flight Period 5: June 1st to June 30th
This Placement, and any fees assigned to the Placement, has three billing periods, one for each month with at least one flight period:
- Billing Period 1 (March): March 15th to March 31st
- Billing Period 2 (May): May 2nd to May 22nd
- Billing Period 3 (June): June 1st to June 30th 22nd
There is no billing period for April, because there are no flight periods in April.
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The flight periods and billing periods of a Schedule grid line can be viewed and managed through the Unit Calendar. The Unit Calendar has two parts:
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About Flight Periods, Billing Periods, and the Unit Calendar
Schedule grid lines can be divided into flight periods and/or billing periods, which are managed through the Unit Calendar.
About Flight Periods and Billing Periods
The following table describes flight periods and billing periods in OneStrata:
| Term | Description | Notes | Example | |||||||||||
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| Imagine a standalone Placement that runs from March 15th to May 22nd, with 300 units. By default, this Placement has three flight periods:
If the default cost distribution setting of the campaign is Pro Rata:
If the default cost distribution setting of the campaign is Even:
For more information on cost distribution settings, see: | |||||||||||
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| Imagine a standalone Placement that runs from March 15th to June 30th, with the following flight periods:
This Placement, and any fees assigned to the Placement, has three billing periods, one for each month with at least one flight period:
There is no billing period for April, because there are no flight periods in April. |
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A high-level summary of a Schedule grid line's flight periods or billing periods.
If the Schedule grid line is a standalone / secondary Placement, Media Package, or Cost Package:
- Each Unit Calendar bar represents a flight period.
- Each Unit Calendar bar displays the number of units and/or the cost of the flight period.
If the Schedule grid line is a Fee:
- Each Unit Calendar bar represents a billing period.
- Each Unit Calendar bar displays the cost of the billing period.
The cost of the flight period or billing period is displayed in the primary cost type, which is either Vendor Net or Vendor Gross.
Primary cost type is an enterprise-level setting that is managed on the Administration > Cost Model Settings page.
Hover over a Unit Calendar bar to view more information:
- Dates: The start and end dates of the flight period or billing period
- Rate: The vendor rate of the flight period or billing period, in the primary cost type
- Units: The number of units of the flight period or billing period
- Cost: The cost of the flight period or billing period, in the primary cost type
A detailed list of a Schedule grid line's flight periods and/or billing periods.
If the Schedule grid line is a standalone / secondary Placement or Media Package:
- The Unit Calendar widget displays the Flight Periods grid and the Billing Periods grid.
If the Schedule grid line is a Cost Package or Fee:
- The Unit Calendar widget displays the Billing Periods grid only.
For more information about the Flight Periods grid or Billing Periods grid, see Unit Calendar Widget Reference.
Open the Unit Calendar widget for a specific Schedule grid line by double-clicking its Unit Calendar bars, on the Schedule grid.
Make flight-level adjustments through the Unit Calendar widget:
Once a Schedule grid line has been filled out and customized as desired, the line can be committed.
Committing a Schedule grid line indicates that the line is ready to move from a draft state to a "real" state, with financial implications. Once a Schedule grid line is committed, it becomes available throughout the rest of the OneStrata platform:
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About Soft Locks and Hard Locks
Once a Schedule grid line has been committed, its flight periods are automatically soft locked, as each flight period begins.
In OneStrata, there are two types of locks, soft locks and hard locks. Items that are soft locked or hard locked must be unlocked before they can be edited, ensuring that any changes with potential financial impacts are done carefully.
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The flight periods and billing periods of a Schedule grid line can be viewed and managed through the Unit Calendar. The Unit Calendar has two parts:
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| Unit Calendar Part | Description | Notes | ||||||
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| A high-level summary of a Schedule grid line's flight periods or billing periods. If the Schedule grid line is a standalone / secondary Placement, Media Package, or Cost Package:
If the Schedule grid line is a Fee:
The cost of the flight period or billing period is displayed in the primary cost type, which is either Vendor Net or Vendor Gross. Primary cost type is an enterprise-level setting that is managed on the Administration > Cost Model Settings page. | Hover over a Unit Calendar bar to view more information:
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| A detailed list of a Schedule grid line's flight periods and/or billing periods. If the Schedule grid line is a standalone / secondary Placement or Media Package:
If the Schedule grid line is a Cost Package or Fee:
For more information about the Flight Periods grid or Billing Periods grid, see Unit Calendar Widget Reference. | Open the Unit Calendar widget for a specific Schedule grid line by double-clicking its Unit Calendar bars, on the Schedule grid. Make flight-level adjustments through the Unit Calendar widget: |
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Once a Schedule grid line has been filled out and customized as desired, the line can be committed.
Committing a Schedule grid line indicates that the line is ready to move from a draft state to a "real" state, with financial implications. Once a Schedule grid line is committed, it becomes available throughout the rest of the OneStrata platform:
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About Soft Locks and Hard Locks
Once a Schedule grid line has been committed, its flight periods are automatically soft locked, as each flight period begins.
In OneStrata, there are two types of locks, soft locks and hard locks. Items that are soft locked or hard locked must be unlocked before they can be edited, ensuring that any changes with potential financial impacts are done carefully.
| Lock-related term | Description | Items That Can Be Locked | ||||||
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| Once a flight period that is part of a committed Schedule grid line begins (its start date is in the past), the flight period is automatically soft locked. Flight periods that are part of a Schedule grid line that has not been committed are not automatically soft locked, because non-committed lines are considered drafts that can be freely edited without financial impact. However, flight periods can be manually soft locked at any time, whether they are part of a committed Schedule grid line or not. Schedule grid lines can also be manually soft locked. Soft locked items are indicated by a dark grey lock icon, and can be unlocked within OneStrata. To unlock a soft locked item, click the lock icon. | Schedule grid
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Invoice lock  | Once a billing period has been invoiced (by actualizing the corresponding Billing Period line and matching or clearing its invoice in the external financial system), the billing period, any paired flight periods, and the corresponding Billing Period line are automatically hard locked. Hard locked items are indicated by a light gray lock icon, and cannot be unlocked within OneStrata. To unlock a hard locked item, unlock its corresponding invoice within the external financial system. | Schedule grid
Actualization grid
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The following table describes the impact of soft locking or hard locking an item:
| Item | UI Location | Lock Status | Impact |
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| Flight period | Flight Periods grid | Locked (soft locked or hard locked) | A locked flight period cannot be manually changed by the user or indirectly changed by a unit or cost redistribution. In other words, the units or cost values of a locked flight period do not change, even if the units or cost of the entire Schedule grid line changes. |
| Schedule grid line | Schedule grid | Soft locked If every flight period in a Schedule grid line is locked, the Schedule grid line is soft locked. | The following values of a soft locked Schedule grid line cannot be changed, on the Schedule grid:
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| Schedule grid line | Schedule grid | Partially soft locked If at least one flight period, but not all, in the Schedule grid line is soft locked, the Schedule grid line is partially soft locked. | The following values of a partially soft locked Schedule grid line cannot be changed, on the Schedule grid:
The number of units or vendor cost of a partially locked Schedule grid line can be changed. However, since locked flight periods are protected from unit or cost redistribution, the new units or cost value of the Schedule grid line cannot be less than the lowest minimum value, the sum of the units or cost of any locked flight periods. The difference in units or cost is redistributed among the unlocked flight periods, according to the default cost distribution setting (Pro Rata or Even) of the media campaign. |
| Billing period | Billing Periods grid | Hard locked If the Invoice Status of a billing period is Matched or Cleared, the billing period is hard locked. | When a billing period is hard locked, the following items are also hard locked:
A Schedule grid line that has one or more hard locked billing periods cannot be canceled. |
| Billing Period line | Standard Actualization grid, Margin Actualization grid | Hard locked If the Invoice Status of a Billing Period line is Invoiced, the Billing Period line is hard locked. | A hard locked Billing Period line cannot be edited. |
About Rate Types and Secondary Units
Schedule grid lines are required to have a rate type, which indicates the primary ad metric being tracked or purchased and its cost per unit. Schedule grid lines can also track other ad metrics, referred to as secondary units.
| Term | Description | Notes | |||||||||||
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For a Schedule grid line, its Rate Type value indicates what type of unit is represented in the Units value, and is required before entering rate, units, or cost information. For a list of available rate types, see Rate Type Reference. |
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Secondary Unit Type |
For example, the primary unit type of a placement might be impressions, but the agency might also want to track clicks, views, or acquisitions. Secondary units have no effect on the (net) cost of a media purchase, but can affect any fees assigned to the purchase:
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Once a flight period that is part of a committed Schedule grid line begins (its start date is in the past), the flight period is automatically soft locked.
Flight periods that are part of a Schedule grid line that has not been committed are not automatically soft locked, because non-committed lines are considered drafts that can be freely edited without financial impact.
However, flight periods can be manually soft locked at any time, whether they are part of a committed Schedule grid line or not. Schedule grid lines can also be manually soft locked.
Soft locked items are indicated by a dark grey lock icon, and can be unlocked within OneStrata. To unlock a soft locked item, click the lock icon.
Schedule grid
- Flight periods
- Schedule grid lines. If at least one flight period within a Schedule grid line is soft locked, the Schedule grid line is also soft locked.
Invoice lock
Once a billing period has been invoiced (by actualizing the corresponding Billing Period line and matching or clearing its invoice in the external financial system), the billing period, any paired flight periods, and the corresponding Billing Period line are automatically hard locked.
Hard locked items are indicated by a light gray lock icon, and cannot be unlocked within OneStrata. To unlock a hard locked item, unlock its corresponding invoice within the external financial system.
Schedule grid
- Billing periods
- Flight periods
Actualization grid
- Billing Period lines
The following table describes the impact of soft locking or hard locking an item:
Locked (soft locked or hard locked)
The locked flight period, managed on the Flight Periods grid, cannot be edited.
Locked flight periods cannot be manually changed by the user or indirectly changed by a unit or cost redistribution.
In other words, the units or cost values of a locked flight period do not change, even if the units or cost of the entire Schedule grid line changes.
Soft locked
If every flight period in a Schedule grid line is locked, the Schedule grid line is soft locked.
The following values of the soft locked Schedule grid line cannot be changed, on the Schedule grid:
- Start Date
- Cost Category
- Rate Type
- Vendor Net Rate (VC)
- Units
- Vendor Net Cost (VC)
Partially soft locked
If at least one flight period, but not all, in the Schedule grid line is soft locked, the Schedule grid line is partially soft locked.
The following values of the partially soft locked Schedule grid line cannot be changed, on the Schedule grid:
- Start Date
- Cost Category
- Rate Type
- Vendor Net Rate (VC)
The number of units or vendor cost of a partially locked Schedule grid line can be changed.
However, since locked flight periods are protected from unit or cost redistribution, the new units or cost value of the Schedule grid line cannot be less than the lowest minimum value, the sum of the units or cost of any locked flight periods.
The difference in units or cost is redistributed among the unlocked flight periods, according to the default cost distribution setting (Pro Rata or Even) of the media campaign.
Hard locked
If the Invoice Status of a Billing Period line is Matched or Cleared, the billing period is hard locked.
When a billing period is hard locked, any paired flight periods and its corresponding Billing Period line are also hard locked.
A Schedule grid line that has one or more hard locked billing periods cannot be canceled.
Hard locked
If the Invoice Status of a Billing Period line is Invoiced, the Billing Period line is hard locked.
Anchor About-Schedule-Options About-Schedule-Options
About Schedule Options
| About-Schedule-Options | |
| About-Schedule-Options |
A campaign can have multiple schedule drafts, in order to map out and consider different budgets and tactics during the planning process. These different options can be shared and reviewed with clients, and iterated on until a specific option is approved.
When one or more lines on a specific schedule option are committed, that schedule option becomes "active". Any other schedule options are immediately archived and become read-only.
Moving forward, any changes to the campaign's media schedule can only be done on the active schedule option, now referred to simply as "the schedule". A campaign that has an active schedule cannot create new schedule draft options.
There are three schedule option types/statuses:
| Schedule Option Status | Description | ||||||||
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| When a media campaign is first created, the campaign automatically has a single draft schedule option. During the initial planning phase, draft schedule options can be freely created, deleted, and renamed within the media campaign. However, as soon as one or more lines on a specific draft are committed, any other draft schedule options within the campaign become archived, and no new draft schedule options can be created.
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| An active schedule has one or more committed lines, and any number of uncommitted lines. A media campaign has at most one active schedule. | ||||||||
| During the initial planning phase, a media campaign may have multiple draft schedule options. When a specific draft is chosen and moved forward, and one or more lines on that draft is committed, any other draft schedule options become archived. Archived schedules are read-only and cannot be edited or deleted. |
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