Comprehensive and Detailed 150 to 250 words of Explanation From Workday Record-to-Report/Course Guide/topics:
An allocation definition is Workday's controlled mechanism for distributing utility expense from a source cost pool to receiving cost centers. The Source identifies the utility ledger accounts and originating worktags. The Basis lists or derives the receiving cost centers and determines their shares through an appropriate method such as fixed percentage, pro-rata statistics, ledger activity, headcount, or spread even. The Target maps the resulting cost center worktags from the Basis, and the Offset relieves the source pool.
Splitting the cost evenly is valid only when equal distribution represents the approved business driver; the question does not impose that requirement. Entering amounts into cost-center budgets affects planning rather than reallocating actual utility expense. Recording the complete amount in one cost center fails the stated distribution objective. By configuring the target to use cost centers listed in the Basis, Workday creates separate allocation journal lines for the receiving organizations according to the calculated percentages. The run produces Pro Forma journals for review and posts them only after finalization. Therefore, an allocation definition targeting the basis cost centers provides the required traceability, repeatability, and period-close control.
Official Workday reference: Workday Education - Allocations ; topics: allocation definition, basis dimensions, target mapping, and offset.
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