Chartfields 101
AUGUST 2012
PRESENTED BY
BRIAN THOMASON
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT AND UNIVERSITY
CONTROLLER
Chartfields
 An individual field representing a portion of the
accounting structure.
 Each field captures a different element of
information regarding the transaction (e.g., who,
what, where, why).
Chartstring
 A set of chartfields “strung” together to represent the
proper categorization of a financial transaction
 A chartstring is the combination of chartfield values.
Chartfield Values
 Business Unit - required
 Fund - required
 Dept ID - required
 Account - required
 Class - optional
 Program - optional
 Product - optional
 Project - optional
 Operating Unit - optional
Business Unit
 Used to distinguish legal business entities.
 PUNIV (Pepperdine University), PUWSI, PUWEI
and PUWPI
 Required.
Fund
 Provides information about the type of funding,
including restriction, designation, or purpose.
 First letter: U, T, P
 Examples: UONDA, UODNS, UPPRJ, UGFED and
PETEN
Department
 Identifies the department for which a transaction is
taking place
 6-digit numeric, generally grouped by major area
 Summary nodes start with “S” or “KK” – allow for
“roll-up reporting”
Account
 The account defines what is being recorded on a
financial transaction. This chartfield is used to track
assets, liabilities, fund balance (equity), revenues
and expenses.
1= Asset
4 = Revenue
2=Liability
5 = Expense
3 = Fund Balance
6 = Transfer
9 = Budget Only
Class
 Indicates the purpose of the transaction.
 Required if “Account” is a Revenue (4) or Expense
(5).
AE = Auxiliary Enterprise
AG = Agency
AS = Academic Support
FD = Fundraising
IN = Instruction
IS = Institutional Support
MB = Membership Development
OM = Ops and Maintenance
PS = Public Service
RS = Research
SF = Scholarship
SS = Student Services
Program
 Defines a specific academic program within the
various schools.
 Required if “Department” is academic.
5 = Seaver College
6 = GSBM
7 = Law
8 = GSEP
9 = SPP
Product
 A user defined field.
 Not managed centrally
 Product 1034 could mean something different in the
Biology Department than Product 1034 does in the
Accounting Office.
Project ID
 Used to identify and accumulate financial
transactions associated with a capital project
(construction of a new building) or a sponsored
program (also known as a grant).
 Required for grants or capital expenditures
10 = Capital Project
15 = Renewal and Replacement
20 = Grant
30 = Departmental Project
40 = Campaign
Operating Unit
 Specifically identifies the funding source for certain
designated activities.
 Required for certain “Funds”.
Questions?
Thank you!
 Brian.thomason@pepperdine.edu
 x7269