University of Rhode Island
PeopleSoft Financials
User Procedures
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University of Rhode Island
PeopleSoft Financials User Procedures
Table of Contents
1. Intoduction
1.1. Background
1.2. PS Terminology
2. PS Financial Module
2.1. Sign-on
2.2. Favorites
3. General Ledger Chartfield
3.1. Chartfield Values
3.2. Security
3.3. Signature Authorization
4. Accounts Payable
4.1. Vendor Lookup
4.2. W-9's
5. Commitment Control
5.1. Budget Inquiry
5.2. Budget Categories
6. Reports and Inquiries
6.1. Reports
6.2. Project Reports
7. Personalization Home Page
7.1. Personalization and Setting up Reports on Your Home Page
8. Other helpful info
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1. Introduction
1.1
Background
The University has been using the Oracle software marketed as PeopleSoft (PS) since
7/01/03. PeopleSoft provides an integrated software solution for Student Administration,
Financials, and Human Resources/Payroll, all of which are being utilized here at URI.
PeopleSoft is in use in 9 of top 10 commercial banks, 59% of top 100 of fortune 500
companies(PS Retail), 6 of top 10 communications companies, 60% of the top 15
insurance companies, 70% of top 10 health care organizations, 19 US States, 50 of largest
US Counties and Cities, 7 of top 10 Research universities and top 10 printing and
publishing companies in the US.
At URI we are currently using version 9.1 of this software. The individual Financials
modules in use here at the University are: Accounts Payable, Purchasing, Commitment
Control, Projects, Grants and the General Ledger.
1.2. Terminology used in the Financials system
1. Set ID: PeopleSoft allows us to maintain more than one Business
Unit for the general ledger. At URI we have only one set of books
(general ledger) and we identify it as URIPS (University of Rhode
Island PeopleSoft). Therefore Set ID: will always equal URIPS
when it is a required field in a PeopleSoft screen.
2. FUND: A fund is an accounting entity established for the purpose of
carrying on specific activities or attaining certain objectives in
accordance with special regulations, or restrictions. For reporting
purposes, funds of similar characteristics are combined into fund
groups, such as restricted funds, auxiliary enterprise fund, sponsored
research, unrestricted funds, etc. This is the only level where you
can maintain cash balances. In PeopleSoft this is a required threedigit field.
3. DEPARTMENT: A department is an organizational unit established
for the purpose of carrying on specific activities or attaining certain
objectives with its own organizational structure. For example,
academic departments include Civil Engineering, Journalism, etc
while administrative departments include Purchasing, Facility and
Operations, etc. In PeopleSoft this is a required four digit field.
4. PROGRAM: Programs are groups of related activities directed
toward the accomplishment of a set of objectives that are budgeted
for separately. Programs might include start-up funds, research
incentive funds, faculty recruitment, and so on. These activities may
occur within a single department or across multiple departments. In
PeopleSoft this is a required four digit field.
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5. PROJECT: Projects can contain either a capital project or a research
project (grant / contract). Projects accumulate financial information
related to a specific project or group of activities from all financial
resources. Projects are separately budgeted and have a defined life
cycle. Projects could be capital projects such as the Convocation
Center or groups of activities such as the Higher Education
Technology Initiative. Grants are contributions or gifts of cash or
other assets from another government or entity to be used or
expended for a specified purpose, activity, or facility. This is a
seven-digit field that is not required in all chart field strings.
6. ACCOUNT: Accounts are asset, liability, and fund balance (equity)
items that appear on the balance sheet. Accounts are also revenue
and expense items that appear on the statement of revenues and
expenditures (profit and loss). This is a four-digit field and is not
required in all chart field strings searches. The account number is
required on all expense documentation requesting payment. (The
expense accounts can be compared to the object code in the FRS
system.)
7. W-9: This is a form required by the federal government (payer’s
request for taxpayer identification number and certification). We are
required to obtain a taxpayer identification number for individuals
(a social security number SSN) and registered businesses (a Federal
Employee Identification Number FEIN) for all payments made by
the University. We need to supply this information to the
government at the end of every calendar year.
8. % symbol: This symbol “%” is a “wildcard”. When you enter the
wildcard symbol you will receive all the data elements being specified.
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2. PeopleSoft Financial Module Sign-on:
2.1 Sign-on
1. Go to the University of Rhode Island home page and click on the “e-Campus”
link.
Click
here
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2. Click on Financial Administration link to access PeopleSoft Financials.
Click
here
You can also click on the Financial Management Home Page for information, documents
and forms relevant to the PS Financials System.
For first time users, enter your user ID and use 123456 as your initial password.
Key your e-Campus
User ID Name
Initial Password
is 123456
Change your password. Once you log in it is important to change my password to something
meaningful to you. Click on the link at the bottom of the main menu that says Change my
Password and follow the directions.
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2.2 Utilizing the Favorites Functionality
Use the Favorites Functionality to be able to access a page immediately from the
Favorite dropdown instead of going through the full navigation steps.
Click the “Add
to Favorites”
Report Manager
For example say, you’d like to add the Report Manager to your Favorites. Click on
Report Manager , which will open that page, then the Add to Favorites link to bookmark
the page you are currently on and avoid all the navigation in the future. The next time
you wish to access the page saved as a Favorite, simple select it from the Favorites link
3. General Ledger ChartField
3.1
ChartField Values
Use the ChartField Values page to lookup values and descriptions for any of the
chartfields used at the University. Use the following steps to define for the
values:
Navigation (see gold task bar): Set Up Financials/Supply Chain, Common
Definitions, Design Chartfields, Define Values, Chartfield Values.
As an example we will now look up an account for information on Asset, Liability,
Revenue or expenses.
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Insert part or all of
a PS Account
Number and click
the search button
A full or partial description can also be
inserted here to display any accounts
beginning with the description. A search
can also be done with “contains”. For
example, computer, repairs, travels, etc.
Insert part or all of a PS Account
type and click the search button.
You do not have to fill in every value in order to search. If you asked for an
account that started with 53 (see below) and clicked on lookup, a listing of Accounts will
be displayed. You would than select the appropriate account to use for processing
requisitions, vouchers, etc. Another way to search is to click on the magnifying glass and
it will give you a listing of the items in that category (Account, Account type).
Below is an example of the search results that would be displayed when an
account that begins with 53 was entered:
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3.2. Security
Each PeopleSoft Module (Student, HR, and Financial) has their own security
definitions. You will need to obtain separate security for the Financials and
the Student and HR systems. The form and instructions to obtain security for
the PS Financials system can be found on the URI home page, then A-Z,
Controller, Forms, Peoplesoft Financials, PS Security Form. The form should
be completed, signed by the responsible person and forwarded to Deb Cole as
indicated on the form.
3.3. Signature Authorization:
The Signature Authorization system contains a list of Authorized Individuals
for unique Chartfield strings with the documents authorized for each
individual. Use the following navigation to access Signature Authorization
information:
Navigation: URI Menu, Signature Authorization.
This is a view only option. Departments will be responsible to notify the
Budget Office of security and signature authorization changes.
Below is the screen where you will be able to view signature authorizations
once it has been updated.
Enter Department
Number
Click Search
The search results will return a row for every unique ChartField string for
your Department. Click on one of the rows to drilldown for the listing of
authorized individuals and the documents they are authorized to approve.
Any changes must be made on the Signature Authorization form in its entirety
and forwarded to the Budget Office for updating.
The form and instructions for Signature Authorization can be found in the
URI Home page, then A-Z, Budget and Financial Planning, Forms Signature
Authorization Form and Instructions.
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4.
Accounts Payable
4.1. Vendor Lookup
Use the Vendor Information Page to determine if a vendor is on file with the
University. If the vendor is on file with the University, use the vendor number for
processing all of your invoices and purchase orders for that vendor. The
navigation for Vendor Lookup is as follows:
Navigation: (as seen in the gold task bar) Vendors, Vendor Information,
Add/ Update, Vendor:
Insert a portion of the Vendor name in the “Name 1:” box, change the operator to
“contains” and click the search button. Vendors that match the criteria will be
listed below. In the example below, a search is performed to determine if Apple
Computer is included in the URI Vendor File. The search results contain six
vendors on file with the word “apple”.
Vendor ID
Number
Insert a portion of the
Vendor Name. This
could also be a DBA
name
Click on the line for
Apple Computer Inc.
Click on the “Address” tab to obtain address information. Use the Vendor ID
number 442 for all purchasing and disbursement documents.
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Click this tab for the
Vendor Address
If you are not successful or have vendor questions call the following individuals:
Main Campus: Sara Benn at 4-7553
4.2. W-9’s
If the vendor does not exist on the University’s Vendor File, a FORM W-9
must be completed. All vendors’ related information can be found on the
Purchasing Departments’ website. Go to the URI Home page, then A-Z,
Purchasing.
5.
Commitment Control
-
Definition -Tool to enforce budgetary control over Expense Accounts and
budgetary tracking over Revenue Accounts
-
When do I use it?
– View funds available
– Perform budget checking from other modules
See the diagram on the following page that depicts the relationships between
modules in the financial systems here at the University.
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Accounts
Payable
Module
Purchasing
Module
(Reqs, POs
and PCard)
Commitment
Control Module
(Budgets & Budget
Checking)
Payroll and
Student
System
Feeds
(Vouchers)
Grants
Administration
Module
General
Ledger
Module
(Actual
Transactions)
External
Feeds
Budget Checking is processed through the Commitment Control Module. Budgets must
exist for each Chartfield String. Transactions are processed when there is sufficient
budget balance available. Transactions will not be processed when they fail budget
checking for the following reasons:
1.
2.
No budget exists for the Chartfield String referenced.
Insufficient Budget Balance Available for the Chartfield String referenced.
When a budget checking error occurs there are different methods of notification.
Requisitioners will receive an email from the system letting them know that requisition is
in budget error. If there is a problem with a purchase order the buyer will let the
department’s business manager know. If the pcard voucher fails budget checking, the
pcard administrator will inform the department’s business manager. The business
manager must then request a budget transfer from the budget office.
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How do I find out more about my departments budget?
5.1. Budget Inquiry:
This section will demonstrate how to create an inquiry about your budget based
on the security levels assigned to you. The following illustrates an inquiry for a
department.
Navigation (see gold task bar): Main Menu, Commitment Control, Review Budget
Activities, Budgets Overview.
To create a new inquiry, click
on the Add a new value tab.
Insert the name for your new
budget inquiry. (Ex. Org_xxxx)
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Insert a description
Select a Ledger Group (see
listing below) from the Search
Button
% is the wild card
symbol. This means all
accounts will be shown in
this inquiry
Insert a department
number or range
Insert a fund
number or range
Ledger Groups:
ORG
ORG_DTL
ORG_RV
GRT
GRT_DTL
PRJ
PRJ_DTL
Summary Categories for Budget Checking Purposes
Detail Expenses Budgets for Reporting Purposes
Detail Revenue Budgets for Reporting Purposes
Summary for Grant Budget Checking Purposes
Detail Grant Expenses Budgets for Reporting Purposes
Summary for Capital Projects Budget Checking Purposes
Detail Capital Project Expenses Budgets for Reporting Purposes
Click search when all desired data is entered.
The search results will display the following information: (see image on next page)
The Summary Budget Information lists the following information:
Ledger Totals
 Net Budget
 Expenses – YTD Actual Expenses
 Pre-Encumbrance – Requisitions
 Encumbrance – Purchase Order
 Available Budget – Balance Available
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Budget Overview Results (Summary Budget Checking Categories)
 CLS_PRM_OT – Non Classified Overtime Expenses
 NONCLS – Non-Classified Salary Expenses
 OPER2 – Operating Expenses
 SCHOL2 – Graduate Student Tuition
 STE HELP – Student Payroll Expenses
Summary Budget
Information
Click on Blue Fields for
drill-down Information
Further detailed information is available by drilling down on individual amounts –
voucher, purchase order, vendor, chartfield string etc.
5.2 Budget Categories
Budget checking is done on a summary account level and balance available is
determined by summarizing the balance available for all the accounts attached to
a summary account. For example, the Summary Budget Account PRINTING
includes Accounts 5330-5331.
The complete list of account codes is attached at the end of this document.
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Reports
6.1. Reports
There are a number of reports available to financial users via the Report Manager.
Reports are delivered to your report manager on a variety of schedules from daily
to monthly.
Two main reports that most people rely on when looking for formatted, organized
layout of their departments data are the Department Statements and the YTD
Details.
Navigation (see gold task bar): Main Menu, Reporting Tools, Report Manager
Administration
tab
Refresh
whenever
criteria are
changed
Folder
Your report manager should only be viewed using the Administration tab; the
other tabs are not reliable. You can choose to view different folders depending on
the report you are looking to reference or change the number of days to look for a
report generated within the last week, month or other time span. Always hit
refresh when you change criteria.
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6.2. Project Reports
When looking for Project Reports, log into the PS financials system using the
login ID = reporting and the password = 123456.
This is a general login that everyone in the university has access to. Thousands
of reports are generated for projects, so make sure you use the find option on the
blue task line to locate your specific project number.
Reporting ID
Find
Enter project number you are looking for.
If there are multiple reports for your project
you can hit the find button again and retype
your project number to see the next report
available for that project.
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7.1 Personalization and Setting Up Reports on Your Home Page
Reports can be setup to appear on your PS Financials Home Page. The process to display
your reports on the Home Page is as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Select “Personalize Content” located above the PeopleSoft menu.
Select “My Reports” from the PS Applications menu.
Click “Save” to return to the home page.
Rearrange the home page layout by selecting “Personalize Layout”, and
Making the required changes.
Click “Save” and return to the home page.
Click the “Customize” button at the top of the MY Reports pagelet. The
“Personalize My Reports” page appears.
Enter the maximum number of reports to display.
Select to display reports created within a specified number of days or
hours. Should use 2 days
Click the “Save Options” button.
Click the “Close and Return to Home Page” link.
1. Select the “Content”
hyperlink
You may encounter a security warning when you first logon, this can be corrected
by changing your Content Personalization Options.
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Click Content
Uncheck this Box
Top Menu Features
Uncheck Top Menu Features
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Check this Box
Menu
Click Save
Check Menu
8. Other helpful info
- The phone number for the financials help line is 4-7048
- Join the Controllers Office listserv for important notices and
information… go to www.uri.edu, click A-Z, click “L”, click
Listserv, click Online mailing list archives, scroll down and click
on Controllers-Fiscal-info, click join and follow instructions.
- Office of the Controller Policies and procedures can be found at
http://www.uri.edu/controller/policies.html which offers a slew of
documents and manuals.
- For listings of account codes and categories for printing go to the
Purchasing webpage at http://www.uri.edu/purchasing/codes.html
- For on-line requester training - http://www.uri.edu/purchasing/
- For Requisition approver training call the Financials Lab for
further details
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