What is a combination code?
A combination code is a unique 18-digit code that is linked to a specific CFC and must be used in payroll processes and distribution.
What is a CFC?
CFC stands for Chartfield Combination. It is comprised of the following components: Fund-Department-Program-Class-Project(If Applicable).
Do combination codes have to be created for supplies, travel or equipment budgets?
No, only personal service budgets need combination codes.
How long do I have to wait for a combination code to appear in PeopleSoft HCM?
The Office of Budget Services creates the combination codes in PeopleSoft Financials and syncs them over into PeopleSoft HCM. There is an automatic process that runs every evening so you should see the code the next day.
I cannot see the CFC I want to use on the ePAR screen. What should I do?
Contact budget@augusta.edu and ask if the combination code needs to be established, activated, or synced over into PeopleSoft HCM.
Can I transfer cents on the budget amendment form?
No, you should round up to the nearest whole dollar. Exceptions are made for closing out projects and grants.
Can I put multiple budget transactions on the same form?
Yes, this is actually preferred so that we can reduce the amount of requests we get on a daily basis, speeding up processing time for your request.
How long will my budget amendment request take to process?
A reasonable expectation is 2 business days. If you have not heard from someone about your request after this amount of time, please reach out to us.
Can I transfer budget from personal services into another account, such as travel/supplies/equipment?
Moving budget out of personal services is not allowed on lapsable funds. The Office of Budget Services may make an exception but a justification must be provided. However, moving between various non-personal service budget accounts is perfectly fine.
Who should I contact when I need to transfer budget on a grant?
Please contact the Division of Sponsored Programs Administration for amendments using funds 20000 and 20300.
How do I increase my department revenue budget (Departmental Sales, Continuing Ed, Other Revenue, etc.)?
Increasing your revenue budget is done by a positive number on the REVEST ledger and a positive number on the APPROP ledger. Technically you are increasing both ledgers, not transferring from one to the other.
How do I resolve a budget checking error on revenue posting to a CFC?
Financial Accounting may reach out to you about a revenue journal failing budget checking. If this happens, please contact the Office of Budget Services to see if a $0 revenue budget line needs to be established so the revenue can be recognized in PeopleSoft Financials.
Can I transfer budget between different fund codes? Different class codes?
Budget can only be transferred within the same fund + class code combination. So for a given transaction, the fund codes will match each other and the classes will also match each other.
Do I need to fill out the APPROP section on the budget amendment form when transferring budget on a project?
If the fund code starts with a “1”, the APPROP ledger should have an entry to match the PROJ_GRT entry. If the fund code starts with a “2”, the APPROP ledger entry is not necessary.
I have an error on the Invalid Funding Report. What does this mean?
This report is ran in PeopleSoft Financials for every pay period and shows positions that do not have valid funding distributions. Usually the causes are the position has no distribution set up at all for the pay period or it is funded by a project with an end date that ends before or during the pay period.
How do I fix positions on the Invalid Funding Report?
If involving a grant, please contact DSPA to see if the end date can be extended or if the distribution should change. If a distribution needs to be established for the position, submit a distribution change ePAR for the pay period or contact budget@augusta.edu for more assistance.
How are the personnel encumbrances calculated?
The process takes all filled positions with a pay group of 12A, 12E, 12F, 12H, and 12Y and encumbers the latest pay period charges through the remainder of the year or to the project end date, whichever is first. For example, the process runs on January 5th and monthly position X had total payroll expenses of $10,000 in December. The encumbrance for the remainder of the year (January thru June) will be $60,000. If they are funded entirely on a grant that ends on January 31st, the encumbrance will only go to January 31st and not the full year.
How often do the personnel encumbrances calculate?
The process is run by USG’s Shared Services Center in Athens on a strict schedule. You can expect the encumbrance amounts to be updated 2-3 times a month.
How can I see what positions are being encumbered?
Look at all filled positions in your department using the encumbered pay groups (12A, 12E, 12F, 12H, and 12Y) and examine the prior pay period’s expenses.
How can I see the encumbrances by employee or by department?
Some helpful public queries in PeopleSoft Financials are 120_PAYROLL_BY_DEPTID_ENC and 120_PAYROLL_BY_EMPLID_ENC. They will show you the encumbrance journals that post for each criteria.
I was notified that I have a negative balance on a personal services line. How is this possible?
Since Commitment Accounting was implemented in August 2018, there is no longer budget checking on personal services. Therefore, expenses will charge to a CFC regardless of the budget amount. Budget checking still exists on travel, supplies and equipment charges.
How do I correct my negative personal services budget(s)?
Please review the reason why the CFC is negative. If the charges are legitimate, do a budget amendment to cover the current deficit + projected expenses through the end of the year. Moving just enough budget to cover the deficit alone will not be accepted if more expenses are going to hit the CFC throughout the year. If the expenses should not have charged there, a payroll adjustment must be completed to transfer costs to another CFC that has enough budget available.
What is the suspense account?
Charges that hit this CFC are due to errors that occur during the payroll processes ran by Shared Services Center. These errant expenses can hit the suspense account for a variety of reasons, such as a project having an end date during the pay period, issues with the effective date on a distribution or using an inactive combination code.
How do I correct payroll expense charges in FY20?
Use the Payroll Accounting Adjustment Form.
How do I correct NPS expense charges?
NPS cost transfers are still done on the traditional form found on Financial Accounting’s website.
Are we processing budget retro ePARs + direct retros?
No.
If I submit a retroactive distribution change, will it move costs?
No.
Where should I look to gain information on Budget Prep policies and procedures?
Visit our Budget Prep Development page. There you will find many helpful links and documents for the upcoming Budget Prep season. The documents will be updated for FY2021 later on in this fiscal year.
What effective date should I use on ePAR distribution changes?
Typically the correct date to use is the “Beginning of Pay Period” date found on the exempt and non-exempt payroll calendars. However, it is possible to split up the pay period into multiple distributions if you need to (ex. if a grant ends in the middle of the month).
What kinds of PeopleSoft HCM ePARs does the Office of Budget Services have approval on?
The Office of Budget Services has approval on change position funding requests, ad hoc salary changes, supplemental pay requests, position transfers and staff job openings. We do not have approval on faculty job openings.
What queries/inquiries does the Budget Office use in PS Financials?
A list of helpful tools and queries can be found on our website in our training presentation.
