Generation of unified codes across forecast plans for actual line items utilizing the “External Codes” feature

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When a forecast plan is generated from a baseline plan that contains actuals data, the system creates new line‑item codes for the new plan. This occurs even if the Copy Line Item Codes option is selected during creation. 

The below article explains summarization of actuals in a Forecast plan before they are imported in the plan:
https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/apptio-commercial/planning-standard/saas?topic=management-actual-summarization-settings

The screenshots below demonstrate how line‑item codes are generated when “May Test2_Forecast Plan” is built using “May Test1_Forecast Plan” as the baseline, with the Copy Line Item Codes option enabled.

This behavior—generating new line‑item codes—is intentional, as confirmed by the Engineering team. During Forecast Plan creation, actuals are always pulled directly from Spend Management to ensure the latest data is used, because the baseline plan’s actuals might be outdated. Since actuals aren’t copied from the baseline, the original line‑item codes aren’t retained in the new forecast plan. 

However, the continuous regeneration of new line item codes each time actuals are ingested makes cross‑plan comparisons difficult. To address this, a new feature in ITP now enables users to maintain a single, unified code for actual data across all plans. Detailed information about External Codes feature can be reviewed here:
https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/apptio-commercial/planning-standard/saas?topic=administration-external-codes

By default, Apptio assigns its own line‑item codes, which serve as unique identifiers for every line item created in the key planning tables. When the External Code feature is enabled, each expense line is given an externally defined unique identifier that stays consistent across all plans. Apptio Planning now supports this External Code capability, allowing customers to specify their own unique identifiers for both actuals and plan lines, and to aggregate actuals by these external codes. The steps below outline how customers can establish unified identifier codes across all plans:

• Enable the External Code feature from the Company Profile.
  • Once enabled, the External Code column appears in the expense tables.
• Add a user‑defined unique ID to the Actuals you upload to Spend Management by using the External Code column.
• Enable Actuals Summarization by selecting 'External Code' in the Company Profile.
• Create a Forecast Plan.
  • Although Actuals are pulled from Spend Management during Forecast Plan creation, the IDs entered in the External Code column remain stable.
  • Customers can then compare plans using the External Code.
  • If desired, they can also add External Codes to Plan lines, allowing those IDs to be used for plan‑line comparisons.