Cannot Perform Custom Calc. Essbase Error(1300033) - PCMCS Quick Tip

Another post sitting in my drafts folder for quite some time about an issue I encountered in PCMCS allocation rules, specifically when it comes to using alternate hierarchies.

I was getting the following Essbase issue:

Cannot Perform Custom Calc. Essbase Error(1300033): Upper-level members, for example [General and Administrative], are not allowed in argument [POV]. Select a level-0 member

So let's get on with it and I'll start with the background and how it started using a sample Oracle demo application. When you're building allocation rules in PCMCS you specify three main components that are going to define how your is executed:

1- Source (The data slice you need to allocate)

2- Destination (The allocated data)

3- Driver Basis (How data is allocated)

I'm not going to delve into the basics of PCM rules in this post and I'll assume you have some product knowledge (if you have specific questions please post them in the comments section and I'll try to get back to you ASAP).

In the Source tab, I was trying to allocate a data subset based on alternate hierarchy (my cube deign had thousands of members and I needed an alternate hierarchy to make it more efficient and easier to manage). So here is my alternate hierarchy:

In the allocation rule, I want to allocate General and Administrative, Sales, and Marketing entities (Reminder: I'm using a sample application and in reailty, my cube had a lot more members and dimensions) and here is my Entity dimension selection in Source tab.

But the problem is when I try and run the rule I'm getting the Essbase error.

Cannot Perform Custom Calc. Essbase Error(1300033): Upper-level members, for example [General and Administrative], are not allowed in argument [POV]. Select a level-0 member

This didn't make sense, because I use parent members in the Source definition all the time and I know it works perfectly and to prove it here is the same allocation rule using the primary hierarchy.

And the primary vs alternate hierarchy:

To conclude, you need to use the primary hierarchy! It took me a while to figure it out and hopefully, it'll save some time for anyone facing the same issue.

I still need to figure out why the alternate hierarchy is not working and I'll keep you guys posted as soon as I figure it out.