July Edition

Posting Periods = Flexibility

Ugh... the frustration you feel after you run ADJUST and realize you forgot to post a transaction. Too late.. right? Not any more..this is no longer an issue in the Redesign. The redesigned software will allow you to keep several months open within the same fiscal year... allowing you the flexibility to post transactions in previous and/or future months. It will no longer be necessary to completely close out the month before opening the next period. If leaving periods open causes you some anxiety, no worries... we have a rule available, when enabled for a district, will restrict a period from being re-opened so once a month is closed.. it's closed!

Posting Periods is located under the 'Core' menu.

In the image above, April, May and June are all open with June being the current month. What's the difference between an open period and a current period? There can be multiple open periods but only one current period. An open period allows you to post transactions in that month. The current period is used when calculating MTD figures on accounts and reports. In my example, April, May and June are all open but June is my current period, so when viewing MTD figures in accounts or reports, they will reflect June's figures.

On the side of each grid row are icons used to open, close, make current and delete a posting period. A posting period must be created before it appears on the grid. For example, to create my June period, I first clicked on at the top of the grid. The screenshot below displays the fields used to create the June period. Very simply, I selected June for the calendar month, entered the calendar year and if June is also to be my current period, I checked the 'Current' option and clicked on create. June will automatically be an open period and also the current period. If I wish to create purchase orders and requisitions for the month of July but leave June as my 'current period', I would create the July period leaving the 'current' box unchecked.

When you're ready to close a period, hover over the folder icons to locate the close folder and click on the folder to close a period. The 'Open' column on the grid will then change to 'false' to indicate the period has closed. If you need to re-open the period to make corrections, hover over the open folder and click on it to re-open the period. You can only re-open periods in the current fiscal year or June of the prior fiscal year. Again, you can restrict the re-opening of closed periods with a rule.

The checkmark icon on each grid row allows you to change the 'current' period. The delete icon on the grid allows you to delete a period. Obviously, any open period or period that has had activity posted against it cannot be deleted. However, if you erroneously opened a future period and had not processed against it, you can click on to delete it.

USPS-R Job Calendars

What’s the Purpose of a Job Calendar you ask?

Job Calendars are used to indicate the work schedule of an employee. Included in the work schedule are holidays, calamity days and make-up days. Compensations in the USPS system, will reference a certain job calendar.

Job Calendars used in conjunction with the attendance programs will determine retirement service days, ODJFS work weeks and EMIS attendance/absence days. Job Calendars are used to add, delete, modify, copy and mass change calendars. The copy function allows you to copy a calendar from one calendar type to another. Mass change allows you to enter things such as holidays and calamity days across many calendars at once.

Add new Job Calendar

From Core menu select 'Job Calendar'

Click on ‘Create’

Enter in the:

Type
Description
Start and End Date
Type of day
- W – Work Day
- H – Holiday
- C – Calamity Day
- M – Make-Up for Calamity Day
- Blank – Non-Work day or Unpaid Holiday
Should Weekends be included?
Once all Calendar information is added, select ‘Mass Add’
Click on ‘Save’

Mass Change a Calendar Day

The Mass Change option allows the type of day to be updated across several calendar types with a single entry. For example, a district had a calamity day and multiple calendars need marked accordingly.

Select ‘Mass Change’ and enter in the date to be updated in the ‘Date’ field. In the 'Update to' field, select from the following options:
- Work
- Holiday
- Calamity
- Makeup
From the ‘Available Calendar’, select any or all Calendars by holding down the Shift + ↓ and then click on the > to move the selected Calendars over to the 'Selected Calendars'.
Click on ‘Save’
Or, on the grid, select a single calendar to edit, right click on the day you want to change and then click on SAVE.

Copy Job Calendars

Click on ‘Copy’

Select the calendar you wish to copy from in the 'Copy From' field
Enter the date range you wish to copy from in the Start Date and the End Date fields
Select the Available Calendar you wish to duplicate, by highlighting one or more by holding down the Shift + ↓ and clicking on >.
Then Click on ‘Copy’.

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Redesign Demo Available on SSDT's YouTube Channel

If you haven't seen a demo of the Redesign yet, it is available on our YouTube Channel. A demonstration of the latest preview release of the USAS-R and USPS-R software was held at a recent Fiscal Redesign Oversight Committee meeting. The demo was recorded and is available for viewing at the SSDT's You Tube Channel. Here is the link.

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Conversion.. no. Migration.. yes!

It seems the word ‘conversion’ has been used frequently when discussing how districts are going to transition to the redesigned software. There is no conversion of your data that must be done ahead of time.. you don't have to convert account codes, etc. in order to use the redesigned software. We prefer to call the redesign a migration or 'upgrade' of the existing software. We are importing 100% of your existing data from Classic into a 'redesigned' version of State Software. Our goal is for you to have a seamless transition moving from Classic to the redesign software in a very short time frame. Is there any clean-up that needs to be involved? Not really. For example, in USAS, we advise leaving old accounts and vendors on the database for historical purposes. If you have old accounts or vendors you no longer use, before migration, change them to an 'inactive' status. Classic has the ACCLOAD and VENLOAD programs that will allow you to mass inactivate old accounts and vendors.

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