BRASS Basics Instructor: Claudio Campuzano Fall 2014 Instructor: Claudio Campuzano Fall 2014

Learning Objectives  Learn how to get and get into BRASS  Understand the menus and basic navigation  Understand the basic structure of the system and key concepts  Know where to go for more information and training  Learn how to get and get into BRASS  Understand the menus and basic navigation  Understand the basic structure of the system and key concepts  Know where to go for more information and training

What is BRASS?  The City’s budgeting and performance reporting software  A desktop application that accesses a collection of databases on the network  An system that interfaces with SAP  Very simple (and a little quirky)  Very good at maintaining an audit trail of decisions  The City’s budgeting and performance reporting software  A desktop application that accesses a collection of databases on the network  An system that interfaces with SAP  Very simple (and a little quirky)  Very good at maintaining an audit trail of decisions

Learning Resources  Manuals  Budget Manual  BRASS Manual  BMP Manual  Trainings  Drop-in sessions  Bureau budget staff  City Budget Office analysts  BRASS administrators  Manuals  Budget Manual  BRASS Manual  BMP Manual  Trainings  Drop-in sessions  Bureau budget staff  City Budget Office analysts  BRASS administrators

Non-Objectives  Learn how to build a budget  Learn about budget development or supplemental budget processes  Discuss bureau-specific issues  Learn how to build a budget  Learn about budget development or supplemental budget processes  Discuss bureau-specific issues

Getting Set Up  Getting BRASS on your desktop is a BTS HelpDesk Ticket. Call x  CBO creates user IDs. Finance managers should make the request to a BRASS administrator  Sign up for trainings  Read the manuals  Getting BRASS on your desktop is a BTS HelpDesk Ticket. Call x  CBO creates user IDs. Finance managers should make the request to a BRASS administrator  Sign up for trainings  Read the manuals

Logging In – Part 1  Select the database  ‘Production’ is for development of next year’s budget  ‘BMP’ is for adjusting the current year’s budget and reporting  ‘Training’ is a great place to try things out without breaking anything  Archive databases are also available as read- only  Select the database  ‘Production’ is for development of next year’s budget  ‘BMP’ is for adjusting the current year’s budget and reporting  ‘Training’ is a great place to try things out without breaking anything  Archive databases are also available as read- only

Logging In – Part 2  No password is required the first time you log in  Please create a password when first logging in to each database (Utilities>Change Password)  Each database has a separate password. CBO recommends users use the same one for all of them  Passwords never expire  No password is required the first time you log in  Please create a password when first logging in to each database (Utilities>Change Password)  Each database has a separate password. CBO recommends users use the same one for all of them  Passwords never expire

Navigation Most work is done in the BRASS and SBFS menus

BRASS vs SBFS BRASS  The core budgeting database  One big table of data (almost)  Fed by forms, preloaded data, and SBFS projection results SBFS  Salary and Benefits Forecasting System  A tool for estimating personnel services costs  A very complex cost projection engine  Projection results summarized and ‘posted’ to BRASS as expenses  A very robust relational database with tables for class, position, grade, step, salary, etc.  Fed by SAP-HCM and user adjustments  Not a personnel management tool

BRASS – Behind the Scenes

SBFS – Behind the Scenes Class Salary Step

Budget Forms: Feeding the Beast  Forms are used to get budget data into the database  All forms require all six master data elements (the Gang of Six): Fund, Funds Center, Functional Area, Commitment Item, Grant, and Funded Program  Data can be entered on the ‘inside’ or the ‘outside’ of the form, depending on how the form is defined by the administrator  Some forms must balance revenues and expenses; some do not require this  Some forms ‘advance’ through ‘stages’ of the decision-making process; some do not  Some forms have multiple tabs; the Position tab is the other tab we use most frequently  Not all forms impact the budget (e.g. projection forms)  Forms are used to get budget data into the database  All forms require all six master data elements (the Gang of Six): Fund, Funds Center, Functional Area, Commitment Item, Grant, and Funded Program  Data can be entered on the ‘inside’ or the ‘outside’ of the form, depending on how the form is defined by the administrator  Some forms must balance revenues and expenses; some do not require this  Some forms ‘advance’ through ‘stages’ of the decision-making process; some do not  Some forms have multiple tabs; the Position tab is the other tab we use most frequently  Not all forms impact the budget (e.g. projection forms)

Forms - Example

Forms – Tricks and Issues  Sort the form by clicking on the column headers  Hit the ‘Apply’ button or ‘Return’ key frequently to save your work  Use the ‘Audit’ button to see all historical changes to the form and who did them  Use the drop-down menu at the top of the form to switch between net expenses, sum of expense, and sum of revenue  The ‘Save’ button saves and closes you out of the form  Do not delete lines! Zero them out.  There is no way to cut and paste spreadsheets to forms  Sort the form by clicking on the column headers  Hit the ‘Apply’ button or ‘Return’ key frequently to save your work  Use the ‘Audit’ button to see all historical changes to the form and who did them  Use the drop-down menu at the top of the form to switch between net expenses, sum of expense, and sum of revenue  The ‘Save’ button saves and closes you out of the form  Do not delete lines! Zero them out.  There is no way to cut and paste spreadsheets to forms

Reports: Canned Information  Reports are strictly defined data presentations with minimal (or no) user selections required or allowed  Most reports are designed for output  Some reports are exportable (most are not)  Examples…  Reports are strictly defined data presentations with minimal (or no) user selections required or allowed  Most reports are designed for output  Some reports are exportable (most are not)  Examples…

Spreadsheet Views: A Powerful Tool  There are two types of spreadsheet view: regular (SSVs) and advanced (ASVs)  SSVs and ASVs are a quick and easy way to see summary data  Many views already exist, but users can create their own  Users can narrow selections and how data is tabbed  Exportable to Excel  Users can drill-down into cells  Users can drill-down into cell line-item detail to get audit trail  Examples…  There are two types of spreadsheet view: regular (SSVs) and advanced (ASVs)  SSVs and ASVs are a quick and easy way to see summary data  Many views already exist, but users can create their own  Users can narrow selections and how data is tabbed  Exportable to Excel  Users can drill-down into cells  Users can drill-down into cell line-item detail to get audit trail  Examples…

Info Edit Example 1: BMP Request Info Tab Text Tab

Info Edit: The Words  Every piece of master data (except commitment items) and decision package has an info edit  Most master data information is imported on a regular basis from SAP  Info edit is where all the descriptive information associated with the master data is held  Two tabs – Info and Text  The Info tab has a lot of short descriptor fields and dropdown selections  The Text tab has one or two large text boxes  This info is pulled into reports and published budget documents  Tip: Ctrl+Return ends a paragraph in the Text tab (instead of saving)  Tip: Copy and Paste DOES work in Info Edit  Every piece of master data (except commitment items) and decision package has an info edit  Most master data information is imported on a regular basis from SAP  Info edit is where all the descriptive information associated with the master data is held  Two tabs – Info and Text  The Info tab has a lot of short descriptor fields and dropdown selections  The Text tab has one or two large text boxes  This info is pulled into reports and published budget documents  Tip: Ctrl+Return ends a paragraph in the Text tab (instead of saving)  Tip: Copy and Paste DOES work in Info Edit

Info Edit Example 2: BMP Request Info Tab Text Tab

Performance Measures  Performance measures are maintained in BRASS  The budget development training covers these measures.  Performance measures are maintained in BRASS  The budget development training covers these measures.

Columns

 Data is entered into columns as defined by the form or the import  Columns are used to distinguish between budget phases, time periods, etc.  Columns can ‘post’ to other columns, aggregating the results  There are a lot of columns that many people don’t use but that are quite useful (e.g. monthly actuals)  Data is entered into columns as defined by the form or the import  Columns are used to distinguish between budget phases, time periods, etc.  Columns can ‘post’ to other columns, aggregating the results  There are a lot of columns that many people don’t use but that are quite useful (e.g. monthly actuals)

Column Example 1: Budget Development V51_BASE CAL Targets, EM&S Load V51_IA_TOT OMF IA Preload V51_SBFS SBFS without user adjustments V51_TOTAL Preloaded Base V51_TOTAL V52_SBFSCH Future Changes and Allocations V52_TEC_CH Tech Adjustment Form Changes V52_CIP_CH CIP Form Changes V52_NO_DP Request Base V52_NO_DP V52_DP_REQ Decision Package Form Changes V52_TOTAL Request Total

Column Example 2: Spring BMP SPRING_REQ Bureau Adjustments SPRING_ADJ CBO and Council Adjustments SPRING_TOT Total Spring Changes SPRING_BAS AP 10 or 11 Revised Budget SPRING_TOT SPRING_REV Spring Revised Budget

Audit Trails – Two Ways to Keep Track  Line Item Justify – Explanation in the form of what the line is intended to do  Reason for Change – Explanation when you hit save that is ‘attached’ to each line that was changed since the last save; used to explain why change was made  Line Item Justify – Explanation in the form of what the line is intended to do  Reason for Change – Explanation when you hit save that is ‘attached’ to each line that was changed since the last save; used to explain why change was made

Audit Trails – Where to find the data  Line Item Justify – Shows up in the form and in certain reports  Reason for Change – Available upon drill down into SSV cells and by using the ‘Audit’ button on forms.  Line Item Justify – Shows up in the form and in certain reports  Reason for Change – Available upon drill down into SSV cells and by using the ‘Audit’ button on forms.

Audit Trails – Tricks and Tips  Use the Apply button frequently when making changes to original form entry to get fine-grained audit detail  Cut and paste the same Justify for groups of balanced lines. It allows you to see how expenses are funded.  Use the Apply button frequently when making changes to original form entry to get fine-grained audit detail  Cut and paste the same Justify for groups of balanced lines. It allows you to see how expenses are funded.

Position Maintenance  Where position detail is kept and managed  Each position has a record  Records include information on start date, promote date, class, grade, step, salary (for non-reps), allocations, benefits selections, etc.  This information is used for costing personnel services through the use of snapshots  Names do not matter, positions do  Dates matter; they drive the projection engine  Where position detail is kept and managed  Each position has a record  Records include information on start date, promote date, class, grade, step, salary (for non-reps), allocations, benefits selections, etc.  This information is used for costing personnel services through the use of snapshots  Names do not matter, positions do  Dates matter; they drive the projection engine

Snapshots – What are they?  A cost projection and allocation…  At a fine-grained level of detail…  Over a user-defined period of time.  Source data for BRASS personnel costs.  A cost projection and allocation…  At a fine-grained level of detail…  Over a user-defined period of time.  Source data for BRASS personnel costs.

What Next?  Building a Budget in BRASS: The nuts and bolts of building a budget for anyone who does form entry, reporting, or technical checks  BRASS Tips and Tricks: A demonstration of lots of underutilized features including spreadsheet views, snapshots, and  SBFS Advanced Topics: An in depth discussion of the inputs and mechanisms that generate the various salary and benefits projection snapshots  Suggestions?  Building a Budget in BRASS: The nuts and bolts of building a budget for anyone who does form entry, reporting, or technical checks  BRASS Tips and Tricks: A demonstration of lots of underutilized features including spreadsheet views, snapshots, and  SBFS Advanced Topics: An in depth discussion of the inputs and mechanisms that generate the various salary and benefits projection snapshots  Suggestions?