Volume 7 Issue 6 - May 2024
- Michelle Drewes
- Lori Nye
- Pat Zelei
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Account Code Dimension Attention
And it certainly does deserve some attention! Recently, we have made improvements in both USAS and USPS in regard to filtering improvements of account code dimensions in specific areas of the applications.
USPS
Improvements were made to the expenditure account dimensions on grids, reports, and various options in USPS. For example, the Payroll Accounts grid account dimensions were renamed to display the true name of each dimension (fund, function, etc.), thus making it easier to identify the dimension you wish to filter on. Because of this improvement to Payroll Accounts, Core>Payroll Accounts New menu option is no longer needed and was removed. The dimensions improvement included a patch to update any existing advance queries or reports using the old account code dimension properties to the new ones.
USAS
The ability to filter by any dimension of the account code was recently added to the Activity Ledger. To add one or more dimensions to your ledger grid, click ‘More’ and select the desired dimension(s). Once added to your grid, these columns can be filtered and/or sorted as you wish!
SSDT YouTube videos to help keep you in the know!
Recently we conducted USAS, USPS and Inventory overview sessions reviewing various processes in the software. The recordings are easily accessible on our SSDT YouTube channel by searching on ‘overview 2024’. Each overview recording covers a lot of material so we created chapters within each recording, allowing viewers to quickly navigate to a specific portion of the video to review a particular process. For a user new to the software or new to a specific process within the software, the chapters provide an excellent way to learn a process without getting too overwhelmed reviewing the entire recording. You can play, pause, and review the chapter as much as you’d like.
Displayed below is an image of our recent Expenditure Process Overview recording. In order to generate the chapter listing, click on the chapter title at the bottom of the video (highlighted yellow. It will then display the chapter listings to the right of the recording. Scroll through the chapters to the find portion of the video you would prefer to listen to and click!
You will also find the chapter links in the description of each recording. Just click on the start time to review that portion of the training.
In addition to our overview sessions, the SSDT holds several 'train-the-trainer' sessions with ITC fiscal support staff throughout the year. These sessions are recorded and posted to our YouTube channel for anyone to review. If you are looking for videos for a specific application package (i.e., USAS), refer to the Playlists area on our channel where we provide a collection of videos by software application.
Once you click on View Full Playlist, it will display a list of trainings SSDT has conducted for that application with the most recent recording displayed at the top. Just click and go!
TIP: In each SSDT monthly newsletter, the USAS, USPS, and Inventory YouTube playlist links are located in the top right section under the ‘Useful Links’ area.
Useful links:
Recently, the SSDT conducted a session with ITC staff on USAS related EMIS topics such as Maintenance of Effort, grants balancing with USAS, and balancing Period H reports to USAS. This session provides an excellent way to tie your USAS and EMIS processing together! Please review the recording for more details.
Ready or Not, Here it Comes… the STRS Advance!
June will be here before you know it! Please keep in mind it’s never too early to begin running and reviewing your STRS Advance reports - the Advance Fiscal Year To Date Report, Advanced Positions Report, and Non-Advanced Positions Report. By generating and reviewing all three STRS advance reports now will allow changes, if necessary, to be made before it’s too late.
Helpful STRS Advance Resources:
Getting Ready for FYE - Options for Closing Purchase Orders
If you have purchase orders that will no longer be needed or used, you may want to close these purchase orders so that the account encumbrances are not carried forward into FY2025. Depending on the Rules of your district, there are different options to close purchase orders.
Users may create an AP Invoice in the current/open posting period to cancel the remaining encumbrance amounts. Select PO item(s) and select Cancel_Full for Item Status.
Open purchase orders that have never been invoiced may also be Amended. By Amending the PO, the user may cancel the PO line item(s) by clicking on the Cancel button and selecting a date in an Open posting period.
The user also may have the option to change the Status on a previously paid AP Invoice if the last partially paid invoice is dated in an open posting period, or if the posting period can be reopened per district rules. To do this, locate the last partially paid invoice by sorting the AP Invoice grid, viewing that Invoice and clicking to update the Status from Partial to Full.
Reminder… July 1 (FY25) requisitions may be prepared now!
Once a future Posting Period has been Opened, users may enter future requisitions by using a future date. Therefore, your FY25 requisitions may be prepared now and dated in the future with a date such as 7/1/2024. Also keep in mind that a requisition, by default, does not require an account number; thus, allowing an account number to be added at a later date prior to the conversion to a Purchase Order. Upon conversion to a Purchase Order, USAS will convert these requisitions utilizing the date of the requisition (i.e. 7/1/2024) and the encumbrances will be posted as of that date, in July, against your FY25 budget accounts.