ASK THE DMAS/FRS EXPERT Q & A SESSION HELD AT GABLES CAMPUS – MARCH 23, 2010

DMAS Screens & Their Functions QUESTION I work mostly with Sponsored accounts (start with 6) so I frequently use FRS/SPM screens but I would like to know more about the different DMAS screens and what information is available to help me with my everyday functions? ANSWER DMAS-Account Menu Screens Account Summary Open Commitments Account Transactions by Month (All sub-objects) Account Detail (YTD by sub- object) Other Helpful DMAS Menus: Department Menu Purchasing Menu Sponsored Awards Equivalent DMAS screens: FRS 019 – Account Summary FRS 652 – Account Attributes 2

Sub-Object Codes for Revenue & Expenses QUESTION When reviewing transactions in DMAS, where do we look up what sub-object codes represent? When submitting an e-check requisition and the Controllers Office is in the approval loop, how do I know what would be the acceptable sub-object code for the expense? ANSWER A listing and explanations are found in the Accounting Information section of the Controllers Office web site Make sure you select the most appropriate sub-object for the type of expenditure being made from the available sub-objects This is extremely important for tax return purposes as we have to group the expenses by their natural classification 3

Transaction Dates QUESTION Are dates listed on journal entry transactions the date they were entered into the system or the date that shows on the supporting documents? ANSWER It varies depending on if a subsystem feed or a manual journal entry transaction PCard sub system transactions (Batch Ref ID GEDA) reflect the date listed as the mapping date on the Purchasing Card Mapping Schedule Journal entries entered into FRS by the Controllers Office data entry staff reflect an automated system date (the day they enter the transaction) regardless of what date is on the Journal Entry form 4

Reference 1 and Reference 2 Fields QUESTION I cant figure out what some of the Reference 1 and Reference 2 fields in DMAS stand for and why sometimes they are blank. Are there any rules for these fields as it does not seem to be consistent from one transaction to another? I have found CTX Batch # transactions with No Description – why is that? ANSWER First, look at Batch Ref ID to see what subsystem or individual originated the transaction Ref 1, Ref 2 fields as well as the Description field should provide the DMAS/FRS user with useful information The Ref 1 and 2 fields are optional so that explains why they are sometimes left blank # of characters (including spaces) Description – 20 Ref 1 – 7 Ref 2 – 7 If youre not sure what the values represent & need a better explanation, contact the individual listed on the Controllers Batch Ref Listing for that transaction 5

Indicator Codes QUESTION What do the letters P, F and N on the Indicator Code column refer to? Sometimes there is a D and C but sometimes the field is totally blank I also see this PFN column on the Journal Entry form found in the Forms section of the Controllers Office web-site ANSWER P, F, N – Encumbrances P – partial decrease F – decrease entire PO balance N - no decrease (liquidation) - GEDA D – Debit or left blank to default An entry increasing expenses or decreasing revenues, increasing assets, decreasing liabilities or fund balance C – Credit or left blank to default An entry decreasing expenses or increasing revenues, increasing liabilities or fund balance, or decreasing assets 6

Transactions with the View Document Image Globe QUESTION Why do some transactions in DMAS have the View Document Image globe in the last column and some do not? ANSWER The following Batch Ref ID transactions appear with the globe DEGA (Disbursements) Imaged since Fiscal Year 2003 DEGA Patient Refunds not imaged DEGA Req., BERF and eChecks – contact Nick Dabraio - Controllers Office APD (Journal Entries) Imaged since March 2005 Usually there is a two week or so delay in image appearing, but if you run into older transaction not imaged, then contact the department as there may have been an issue. Contact data custodian for backup or explanation of the charge if the documentation is not available as an imaged document on DMAS 7

Best Practices for Reconciling Accounts QUESTION What is the Best Practice for reconciling accounts? How do the DMAS/FRS users in this class reconcile their accounts? ANSWER Analyze monthly reports including Report 90, Labor Distribution & Salary Encumbrance Report Track account information in DMAS & download to Excel as starting point for reconciliation Review of overall financial standing of accounts - BBA/ABA formulas Examine detailed transactions posted to the account on a monthly basis Prepare findings and follow up Tools Provided FR90 and other RDS reports Online Systems - DMAS and FRS To Do List Checking balance of accounts Examination of transaction details on a monthly basis Review back up documentation Follow up on issues encountered 8

Open Commitments (Encumbrances) That Maybe Should Not be Outstanding QUESTION I am reviewing Open Encumbrances and ran into one that I think should be closed out. How should I go about this now and on and on-going basis? Also, how can the Controllers Office help me? Are there any automated monthly reports that reflect outstanding encumbrances on accounts instead of using the Purchasing system? ANSWER Review Open Commitments screen in DMAS to see a listing of sub-objects with amounts in Current column Check for 06/01/09 dates which may signal that this encumbrance has rolled over from previous fiscal years and should be -0- by now There could be a small chance of system issues that need analysis and a manual correction by the Controllers Office There is a monthly report available - Open Commitments Status section on RDS monthly FR90 reflects a Current Amount column which is the result of the Open Commitment Current Amount (OCCA) formula 9

Closing Out Open PO Encumbrances QUESTION What process should be used to close out/cancel POs that are old and should not be open? Should I have documents dated 2009 closed or is it too late? How do I know if a PO was fully closed out? Do these Open Encumbrances on POs affect my bottom line? ANSWER The Purchasing Department has tutorials on their website that discuss this topic First, do a review in DMAS: Go to the Account Menu Enter your Account Select Open Commitments Sub-Object listing includes Vendor, Date, Document # OCCA formula - Current Amount is indeed affecting your Budget Balance Available (BBA) Make sure invoices have been paid prior to closing out any PO Submit Purchase Requisition confirming the request for a change or cancellation Purchase Order Remaining Balance (PORB) = 0 and OCCA = 0 when PO is fully closed out 10

Closing Out Open PO Encumbrances (Continued) 11 List POs that need to be closed out.

Encumbrance Transactions with Same Amount Appearing Multiple Times QUESTION I am a bit confused on how encumbrance transactions post. I was told there are four encumbrances and one Journal Entry for 1 transaction but is that right? I am wondering if the system is duplicating encumbrance transactions – is that possible? ANSWER There is no such ratio of encumbrance transactions to journal entries and it is unlikely there are duplicates An encumbrance (D-debit )is set up for the requisition (Req # shows in Ref 1). Encumbrance is reversed (C-credit) & you see the Req. # (Ref 1) and PO # (Ref 2) as the requisition is closed out to make way for the actual PO. PO is set up (D) in the Indicator Code column. PO # now appears in Ref 1 & Purch Req # appears in Ref 2. The actual Journal Entry (APD) shows with an Indicator Code of F (Final liquidation of encumbrance). PO is in Ref 1 and Invoice # is shown in Ref 2 field. The encumbrance is now -0- (you can check this by going to Open Commitments screen. The F in the APD batch closes out the encumbrance without the need for another transaction. P(partial liquidation) - the encumbrance would still be open for the pending amount. Then you could have more payments decreasing the encumbrance. 12

Purchase Orders – Payment Terms, Dates QUESTION With the relatively new Net 60 payment policy we have, do the 60 days start counting from the document date or from the date we submitted it? ANSWER The Net 60 days payment term starts counting based on the invoice date not the PO/document date. The memo from Susan Montes was the communication that went out to the University. We updated POs individually and new vendors/new contracts were established with the new terms. The last step was to change all vendors in the system that were Net 30 to Net 60 so the POs would automatically be set up with the new terms The new terms have been printing on our purchase orders since approximately March 2009 so most vendors have received the notification if they have received a paper purchase order from us in the past year 13

Invoices and Vendor Information found in DMAS QUESTION How do I look up invoices and vendors in the DMAS system? How about if I receive an invoice from a vendor that I think may have been paid/received by another department? ANSWER To find an invoice in DMAS Go to the Purchasing Menu Type the PO # & click on Invoices The invoices for the PO will be displayed To find a vendor in DMAS Go to the Purchasing Menu Click Vendor Information and type in the name of the vendor Click on Lookup Vendor If you dont have access to the other department, then you need assistance from Purchasing-UMeNET 14

Locating Vendor Payments QUESTION Can you search for all invoices paid for a particular vendor rather than looking it up by sub- object and totaling everything up? ANSWER Go to Purchasing Menu Click on Vendor Information Enter full or partial vendor name and click Lookup Vendor Select from Vendor List Do you have the following green buttons at the bottom of the Vendor Information screen: Browse Vendor Documents Browse Vendor Invoices Browse Vendor Vouchers If not, you need additional access from Purchasing – form to be submitted 15

Check Issued but has it been Cashed QUESTION How can I see (in DMAS) if a check has been cashed? ANSWER We do not image the checks before they are mailed out UM only receives the image from the bank after the check has been cashed or deposited by the Payee E-Check Disb (040) Transaction Ref 1 – Check Req. # Ref 2 – Check # If there is a View option, then check has been cashed Front and back of check will display eCheck Menu – Document Inquiry – to view Check Number Purchase Req check – Ref 2 Invoice # to get to view CK. # 16

Stop Payment, Check Replacement and Cancelled Check Procedures QUESTION Is there a way to see (in DMAS) if a replacement check has been issued? How about if the replacement check is presented for payment? ANSWER DMAS will not reflect replacement check transactions The General Account Dept. of the Controllers Office handles Stop Payments and issuing of replacement checks Instructions and forms to place a Stop Payment, request a replacement check, cancel a check and inquiry as to the check cased status are found in the FORMS section of the Controllers web site 17

THANK YOU from Terry Diaz and Vivian Kaye FOR PARTICIPATING in the CONTROLLERS OFFICE SESSION the CONTROLLERS OFFICE SESSION