COA - ChartFields

In this section:

COA - ChartField Summary
COA - Purpose
COA - Responsibilities
COA - ChartFields
COA - Budgeting and Planning

In this Guide section, "COA" is used in a general overarching sense. The following terms are defined as:

  • Faculty - faculty or a central services unit,
  • PS Financials - PeopleSoft Financial System,
  • RSO - Research Services Office,
  • ChartField string - all the ChartFields required for processing a transaction, and
  • FS - Financial Services (Financial Accounting and Reporting).

COA - ChartField Summary

In the PS Financials application, a COA field is referred to as a ChartField. The ChartField attaches specific attributes to a transaction for both accounting and reporting purposes. ChartFields are used to manage, categorize and classify accounting and budgetary transactions.

There are eight unique ChartFields used to classify and process transactions. The combination of ChartFields used is called the ChartField string.

CHARTFIELD

DESCRIPTION

Business Unit

Business unit represents the entity. UOFAB is the value assigned by default for the UofA. Units may not always see this ChartField in processing modules or in reports.

Account

The account captures the specific nature of the accounting transaction (e.g., tuition revenue, salaries expense). The account broadly classifies a transaction as expense, revenue, asset, liability or net assets.

Fund

Fund, excluding endowments, is a broad classification based on criteria such as funding/budget source, nature/purpose, and any restrictions on use.

The endowment fund is a unique identifier for each individual endowment.

DeptID

DeptID is a unique identifier for each accountability unit at the UofA and is based on the organizational hierarchy. In the PS Financials system, the deptID is referred to as Organization.

Program

Program is a user-defined identifier of ongoing activities, goals or objectives of one or more organizations.

Class

Class is a user-defined identifier that provides a further breakdown of business activity. This ChartField should be viewed as subordinate to program, perhaps identifying elements of a program.

Project

Project is a unique identifier of an event or activity that has a finite life span and which contributes to the achievement of a set of objectives within one or more programs. It is used for ongoing (multi-year) segregation of revenue and expenses. This ChartField is mandatory in the capital and research funds and optional in the operating fund.

Note: for the purposes of this document, special purpose projects whose annual grant or donation is greater than $1 million are included wherever the reference to research is made. These projects are managed by RSO (F550).

Sponsor

Sponsor is a unique identifier indicating the sources of research funding.


SpeedCode

The use of SpeedCode facilitates efficient and accurate data entry. Some transaction processes must use SpeedCode (e.g. SupplyNet). Each SpeedCode represents a unique combination of ChartFields and once entered, the SpeedCode is translated into the ChartField string required for transaction processing. The account code and business unit are not included in the SpeedCode and must be used in conjunction with the SpeedCode in order to process transactions.
Note: Business Unit is defaulted by the system in transactions; account must be added to the transaction line by the user.

After processing, transactions are only associated with the ChartField string values, and not the SpeedCode; queries, nVision reports, and nVision drills cannot be generated by SpeedCode.

Examples of SpeedCodes

The shaded ChartFields represent the ChartField string associated with a SpeedCode.

 

 

SPEEDCODE

BUSINESS UNIT

ACCOUNT

FUND

DEPTID

PROGRAM

CLASS

PROJECT

SPONSOR

deptID
(operating)

FS001

UOFAB

502101

210

710206

0

0

 

research
project

40013

UOFAB

502101

530

710206

0

0

G12345678

SFR1234

endowment

E7191

UOFAB

502101

E7191

510000

0

0

 

 

Note for clarification purposes:

TERM

MODULE(S)

COMMENTS

SpeedCode

PS Financials

See above

SpeedType

Human Capital Management (HCM), General Ledger

This is the same as SpeedCode

SpeedChart

Accounts Payable

This is the same as SpeedCode

The above represent the same ChartField string; however, PeopleSoft has used different terminology in some of the modules.

TERM

MODULE(S)

COMMENTS

Combination (Combo) Code

HCM

Used to represent the ChartField string. Combo Code numbers are different than SpeedCode numbers; this is because HCM uses auto numbering in an effort to maximize usage of PS delivered functionality. The Combo Code ChartField string is the same as the SpeedCode with the addition of a suspense account (500001 - Payroll Suspense). As transactions are processed, the appropriate Salary account is assigned by HCM (e.g. 500011 - Faculty). For more information, refer to Speed Code vs Combo Code - Reference document located on the HRS Service Excellence & Efficiency Initiative webpage.


COA - Purpose

The COA represents the financial structure of the University and is comprised of codes used to record and classify financial transactions. The COA is also used to capture data at aggregate levels in order to provide various levels of users with financial information. An efficient and organized COA provides all levels of users with the capability to efficiently generate useful information for their business needs.

A well-designed COA will support:

  • Institutional external financial reporting requirements,
  • External audits,
  • Stewardship and budgetary control, and
  • Many levels of users of internal financial reporting.


COA - Responsibilities

FS has overall accountability for the university's COA to:

  1. Ensure institutional external financial reporting and audit requirements are met, as well as internal institutional reporting requirements, and
  2. Assist in ensuring internal reporting and any other stakeholder requirements are met.
  3. Ensure consistency in data processing across units.

FS carries out this accountability in coordination with the following stakeholders:

  • Central Services Units - responsible for institutional external and internal financial reporting, stewardship and budgetary control.
  • Central Services Units (Business Process Owners) - responsible for specific account ChartFields related to their transaction processes.
  • Senior Financial Officers (SFOs) - responsible for:
    • Budget owner reporting as well as various levels of roll-up reporting for management reporting purposes.
    • Approving all COA requests for the faculty.

FS is responsible for:

  • Ensuring the account structure (revenue, expense, asset, liability, net assets) supports the university requirements. FS reviews the account ChartFields with the various CSU owners to ensure that descriptions are current and reviews dollar amounts to determine if account code structure is effective.
  • Providing consultative support or any other assistance required by SFOs with their COA.
  • Approving and processing all ChartField requests to ensure:
    • Appropriate numbering and naming convention has been used;
    • For new deptID request that these meet the university's definition of deptID;
    • For new account request that the request is warranted.
    • Consistency in use.

Note: Research Projects (F330, F530)
FS (Financial Reporting) has delegated ChartField maintenance for research projects to RSO (this includes the project and sponsor ChartFields). This delegation includes: the set-up of a new research project (including SpeedCode at set-up), any subsequent project maintenance required during the life of the project, and inactivating the project.


COA - ChartFields

The following ChartFields comprise the University's chart of accounts; each ChartField captures specific information about a transaction.

CHARTFIELD

DEFINITION

CHARTFIELD ASSIGNED BY

NUMBERING CONVENTION

EXAMPLE

Account

Identifies a unique expense, revenue, asset, liability, or net assets transaction.

Institutionally-defined

First character:

1: Asset

2: Liability

3: Net Asset

4: Revenue

5: Expense

502101

Supplies & Services General

Business Unit (1)

Identifies the organization for operational and reporting purposes. The University of Alberta comprises one business unit.

Institutionally-defined

 

UOFAB

 

Fund

Provides a general classification based on criteria such as funding/budget source, purpose, and restrictions on usage.

Institutionally-defined

First character:

Operating: 1xx-3xx

Restricted: 5xx, Exxxx

210 - Operating

E0212 - Parkland Institute Endowment

Department (2)

("deptID")

Identifies the accountability unit and is based on the organizational hierarchy.

User-defined

First 2 digits identify the faculty

15xxxx

Faculty of Arts

Program

Identifies ongoing activities.

User-defined

First 2 digits identify the faculty

15100

Undergraduate Accreditation

Class

Further classifies financial information within program.

User-defined

First 2 digits identify the faculty

15110

Exams

Project

Identifies an activity designed to produce a specific outcome within a limited time span, defined resources and a defined scope.

Projects for research funds require additional ChartField information (e.g. sponsor). See Project section.

User-defined (operating funds)

 

Institutionally-defined (restricted funds)

Dependent upon fund - see Project section

 

Sponsor

Identifies unique sources of research funding.

Institutionally-defined

Dependent upon funding source - see Sponsor section

SFR1451
NSERC

(1) Although Business Unit is a required on all transactions, units may not see this ChartField in processing modules or in reports. UOFAB is the value assigned by default.

(2) In PS Financials, deptID is referred to as Organization.

ChartField String

A ChartField string is a combination of ChartFields, examples:

Account

fund

Deptid

program

class

project

sponsor

502101

210

150100

15024

15128

 

 

502171

530

150110

0

0

RES0000001

SFR2337

500121

E1234

150100

0

0

 

 


Fund Requirements

The following shows the ChartField requirements (excluding account) for processing transactions.

Fund

DeptID

Program

Class

Project

Sponsor

Operating

F100, F210, F310

Required

Required:

Must default "0" if not coding

F100 programs must start with "8"

Required:

Must default "0" if not coding

Optional

Not Applicable

Capital

F320, F520

F & O use only

Required

Required

Must default "0" if not coding

Required

Not Applicable

Research
F330, F530 (1)

Required

Required

Must default "0" if not coding

Required

Required

Special Purpose

551

Required

Required

Must default "0" if not coding

Optional

Not Applicable

Special Purpose

F552

Student Financial Support (SFS) use only

Required

Required

Student Awards - 0xxxx

Bursaries - Bxxxx

Program "0" is not applicable

Required

Must default "0" if not coding

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

Endowment

(Exxxx)

Required

Required

Must default "0" if not coding

Optional

Not Applicable

(1) F530 also includes F535 and F531. It is anticipated that these funds will eventually be closed.

In this section:

Account

An account objectively identifies a unique expense, revenue, asset, liability or net asset. The account definition must be objective, unambiguous and consistent. The requesting unit, in collaboration with FS, provides the definition.

If a new account is required, SFO would contact FS.

Definition and Numbering

The account ChartField is a 6-digit code. The first digit identifies the account type as follows:

Account Range

Account Type

Definition

1xxxxx

Asset

Assets are resources from which future economic benefits are expected to flow to the University (e.g. accounts receivable, buildings).

2xxxxx

Liability

A liability is an amount that will be paid or settled by the University in the future (e.g. accounts payable).

3xxxxx

Net Asset

Net assets are total assets minus total liabilities, including (but not limited to) the University's accumulated operating surplus/deficit and endowment principal.

4xxxxx, TCxxxx (1),

DCxxxx (2)

Revenue

Revenue includes grants, donations, student tuition and fees, the sale of products or services, and investment income.

5xxxxx, TDxxxx (1), DDxxxx (2)

Expense

Expenses are costs incurred for the purposes of the University's business (e.g. salaries, supplies).

(1) TC refers to transfer credit; TD refers to transfer debit (transfers are considered revenue (TC) or expense (TD) for internal reporting purposes only)

(2) DC refers to distribution credit; DD refers to distribution debit

Account Attributes

Each account is characterized by:

  • Effective date - April 1 of the current fiscal year
  • Status - active or inactive
  • Description - account name
  • Type - revenue, expense, equity, asset, liability

Account Lists

The following lists are provided to assist in transaction coding:

  • General Ledger (GL) Accounts - Quick List
    This is a one-page list of the most commonly used revenue and expense accounts. The majority of users can refer to this list instead of the Complete List when coding transactions. Refer to Guide: Chart of Accounts (COA)\ ChartFields\COA General Ledger (GL) Accounts - Quick list.
  • General Ledger (GL) Accounts - Complete List
    This is a list of all revenue and expense accounts where users code transactions or which users will see in their financial reports. Refer to Guide: Chart of Accounts (COA)\ ChartFields\COA General Ledger (GL) Accounts - Complete list.

Fund

Fund provides a broad classification based on criteria such as funding/budget source, purpose, and restrictions on use. Funding is classified as unrestricted ("operating") or restricted and within these categories there is further segregation to reflect the nature and restrictions of this funding as well as to enhance accountability, budgetary control, and stewardship of resources. Fund is institutionally-defined.

Operating fund revenues include the Government of Alberta operating grant, tuition and other fees, investment earnings and revenue from sales of services and products. Restricted fund revenues include those revenues from donors and sponsors that have restrictions on use. Generally, operating and restricted funds cannot be commingled.

For further detail on the definition of operating and restricted funds, refer to Guide Chapter 2 - Institutional Financial Reporting.

 

UNRESTRICTED ("OPERATING") FUNDS

RESTRICTED FUNDS

FUND

DESCRIPTION

FUND

DESCRIPTION

100

Central Institution

520

Capital

210

Operating

530

Sponsored Research

310

Ancillary Services

550

Special Purpose

551 Special Purpose Programs

320

Capital (Operating)

552

Undergraduate Student Awards

330

Research (Operating)

Exxxx

Endowment (spending allocation is categorized as either sponsored research or special purpose)

The fund Chartfield is a 3-character numeric code (excluding endowments). Each fund is characterized by:

  • Effective date - April 1 of the current fiscal year
  • Status - active or inactive
  • Description - fund name


Unrestricted ("Operating") Funds

Central Institution (F100)

F100 supports expenditures incurred on behalf of the institution (e.g. utility cost) as well as institutional initiatives such as scholarship programs, library and human resources programs. This fund includes all institutional revenues that are part of the planning budget that supports both institutional programs and units' general operating activities. The main sources of revenue include the Government of Alberta Campus Alberta operating grant, student tuition and fees, and investment income available for general spending.

Operating (F210)

F210 supports the University's mandate of teaching, research (not funded through sponsored research agreements) and community service. It also supports administrative and other infrastructure costs in support of these core activities. F210 includes activities funded by fee for service activities. Many activities within this fund are funded by expenditure budget allocations (supported by revenue in F100).

Ancillary Services (F310)

Ancillary Services are operational units whose function is to provide support services and products to the University community (staff, students, external customers) on a fee-for-service basis or as a merchandising operation. Ancillary Services operate on a full cost recovery or break even basis; in some cases, a profit may be generated.

Capital (Operating) (F320)

F320 is used for the operating portion of a capital project that is being funded from both operating and restricted funds (the restricted funding is in capital funds (F520)). These funds are designated for major construction projects, major renovation projects and purchase of buildings. 

Research (Operating) (F330)

F330 is used for transfers from operating (F100 and F210) to research projects for lab or start-up costs or to match or top-up a restricted research project. This fund also includes internal and external revenue for research initiatives (i.e. research conference fees, fee for research service activity).


Restricted Funds 

Capital (F520)

F520 is used for capital projects that include major construction projects, major renovation projects and purchase of buildings. Funding is provided by grants from the Government of Alberta as well as other grants and donations.

Sponsored Research (F530*, E0010-E4899, E98xx)

These funds are used to manage research project funding provided from external sources including grants, donations and endowment spending allocation. Graduate awards are included in these funds.

*F530 reference also includes: F535 and F531; it is anticipated that these funds will eventually be closed. 

Special Purpose (F551, F552, E5000-E9799)

These funds are used to manage funding in support of teaching and learning and are funded by grants and donations from external sources and endowment spending allocation.

F551 - Special Purpose
The primary purpose of this fund is to manage the grants for the Faculty of Medicine's Academic Alternate Relationship Plans (AARP) which provides funding to physicians who teach or perform research.

F552 - Special Purpose - Undergraduate Student Awards
The purpose of this fund is to manage grants and donations for undergraduate awards and graduate & undergraduate bursaries. The Office of the Registrar administers these student awards.

Note: F550 Special Purpose Fund - for non-research grants or donations greater than $1 million. Projects in this fund are set up as grants in the Grants module. This fund is rarely used and is managed by RSO. Non-research grants less than $1 million are managed in the Sponsored Research fund (F530).

Endowment Funds (restricted funds)

The fund ChartField is also used to segregate individual endowments.

The term "endowment" is used to refer to donations made to the University on the understanding that the donation will be invested in perpetuity with the investment income used to support specified educational purposes. The use of a unique fund number for each endowment enables ease of reporting for the principal donation and the revenue (spending allocation) and expenses.

There is a one to one relationship between an endowment and a deptID (i.e. an endowment cannot be shared between deptIDs as there can be only one holder of an endowment).The spending allocation is assigned to this deptID/endowment number; therefore, spending follows this same ChartField string for financial reporting purposes and budgetary control.

Definition and Numbering:

The endowment fund ChartField is a 5-character, alphanumeric code. Endowments are restricted funds; therefore, based on the endowment terms, endowments are classified as either sponsored research (E0010- 4899, E98xx) or special purpose (E5000-E9799). FS assigns the next number within the applicable range. Each endowment is characterized by:

  • Effective date - April 1 of the current fiscal year
  • Status - active or inactive
  • Description - endowment fund name

DeptID

DeptIDs are a systematic representation of the University's organizational hierarchy and therefore represent levels of accountability and budgetary control. A deptID has ongoing activity (revenue and/or expenditure) and will have a corresponding budget plan.

DeptIDs are used in Campus Solutions (CS), Financials and HCM for 2 different purposes:

  • Chart of Accounts
  • Organizational Structure

In Financials, deptID forms part of the Chart of Accounts, used to manage budget plans, revenue and expenditure.

In HCM and CS, deptIDs are used to manage people and closely follow the organizational chart to represent the organizational structure. In HCM, the deptID forms part of the Job or Person of Interest (POI) record for a person and, in combination with the Department Security Tree, is used to control access. Considering the sensitive nature of salary and personal information, ensuring appropriate security access is critical to the University.

In addition, HCM uses Department IDs to produce legislated reports such as Statistics Canada, Federal Contractors Reports, etc.

Definition and Numbering

The deptID is a 6-digit numeric code used to identify various levels within the faculty organizational hierarchy. The first two digits of this ChartField are institutionally-defined and are assigned to faculties; the remaining four digits are available to units to develop lower levels of organizational hierarchy if they choose.

Ranges of deptIDs are generally used to facilitate ease of data querying and to ensure accuracy of Tree rollups (therefore accurate reports are generated). Refer to DeptID Rollup section below.

Example: 

100300 Department of Agricultural, Food & Nutritional Science

03 - Department of Agricultural, Food & Nutritional Science

10 - Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Science

100320 Agricultural, Food & Nutritional Science Central Labs

20 - Agricultural, Food & Nutritional Science Central Labs

03 - Department of Agricultural, Food & Nutritional Science

10 - Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Science

 

DeptID Attributes

Each deptID is characterized by:

  • Effective date - April 1 of the current fiscal year
  • Status - active or inactive
  • Description - faculty prefix (e.g. MED plus deptID name) Note: faculty prefix is required to assist all users of data querying.
  • DeptID budget owner (e.g. Dean, Chair, Director). The employee name must be used for the purposes of electronic approval routing.

DeptID Rollup

This refers to how a faculty wishes to look at combined reporting. Each deptID will generate its own financial report (e.g. Statement of Revenue, Expenditure and Encumbrance vs Budget (FSGLV12)); however, depending upon how a faculty structures its rollup, multiple deptIDs can be combined into one V12 report.

The COA_ROLLUP_ORG tree reflects the levels of summarization within the organizational hierarchy.

COA ChartFields DeptID Rollup

One-over-one deptID

When the budget owner is the claimant (i.e. a travel or expense reimbursement), another employee must be assigned as the approver; this is called a one-over-one approver. This type of approver is required due to the conflict of interest that may arise if approving your own claims. The one-over-one approval provides assurance that the expenditure is reasonable and required for University operations or relevant to the research being funded. The DEPTID_BUD_OWNER tree demonstrates the one-over-one relationships between parent (e.g. 100100 - ALES Dean's Office General) and children departments (e.g. 100101 - ALES Admin) (example below).

COA ChartFields DeptID One Over One

Other

  • DeptID is required on all transactions
  • DeptID requires a budget (i.e. to meet the institutional definition, it is expected that a deptID has a budget)

For further information, refer to the Department ID Management document in the FS Forms Cabinet.


Program

The program ChartField identifies ongoing activities that occur within the deptID's organizational unit, and enables units to further segregate financial data. Program activities may occur within or across deptIDs within a faculty. 

Definition and Numbering

The program ChartField is a 5-character alphanumeric code. The first 2 digits of this ChartField are the same as the first 2 digits of the faculty deptID range; the remaining characters are faculty-defined, with the exception of programs used in F100 and F552 which are institutionally-defined.

Examples :

FUND

DEPTID

PROGRAM

PROGRAM NAME

210

100104

10019

International Program

210

100400

10434

Promos & External Relations

210

100416

104N1

RenR 210-10415 DonationsUndsg

 

Coding Requirements and Options

FUND

REQUIREMENTS

OPTIONS

F210
F310

 

 

  • Required on all transactions, if not using a specific program number, then default is '0'

 

 

 

  • Use of program ChartField other than '0'
  • Program budget
  • Program can be shared with all other ChartFields (deptID, class, project - operating) within the faculty.

F100

 

  • Program code must start with '8'
  • Budget
  • Budget variance carries forward to program
  • Programs cannot be shared between deptIDs (to assist the central review to ensure that activity is correctly coded to this fund and for the accountability unit).

All other funds

 

  • Required on all transactions, if not using a specific program number, then default is '0'

 

 

  • Use of program ChartField other than '0'

 

 

 

Program Attributes

Each program is characterized by:

  • Effective date - April 1 of the current fiscal year
  • Status - active or inactive
  • Program name
  • Manager - position name of individual managing the activity (in order to minimize need to update, position title rather than employee name is used)

Class

The class ChartField provides a further breakdown and can be viewed as subordinate to program, perhaps identifying elements of a program(s).

Definition and Numbering

The class ChartField is a 5-character, alphanumeric code. The first 2 digits of this ChartField are the same as the first 2 digits of the faculty deptID range; the remaining characters are faculty-defined.

Example:

FUND

DEPTID

PROGRAM

CLASS

CLASS NAME

210

100104

10019

10103

Asst. Dean Intl.

210

100400

10434

10DFT

Dean Office General

210

100416

104N1

10001

Faculty Equip Alloc

 

Coding Requirements and Options

FUND

REQUIREMENTS

OPTIONS

All

 

  • Required on all transactions, if not using a specific class number, then default is '0'

 

 

  • Use of class ChartField other than '0' Note: generally class is not used with restricted projects.
  • Class can be shared with all other ChartFields (e.g. deptID, program) within a faculty

 

Class Attributes

Each class is characterized by:

  • Effective date - April 1 of the current fiscal year
  • Status - active or inactive
  • Class name

Other

  • Due to budget system limitations, budgets cannot be set up for classes.

Project

The project ChartField (referred to in PS Financials modules as Project/Grant or PG), tracks activities designed to produce a specific outcome within a limited time span (generally 1-5 years), defined resources, and a defined scope.

Projects are classified in PS Financials as either:

  • Project - non-research (not included in eTrac reporting); or
  • Grant - research (included in eTrac reporting).

The Project Status field is used in PS Project Costing to indicate if a project is Open, Closed (Past End Date), or Complete. Transactions for projects can only be processed if the project status is O (Open). All projects are set to C (Closed/Past End Date) automatically on the tenth working day of the current month, if the End Date is on or before the last day of the previous month, as part of the monthly IST project close process. When projects are set to C, they remain active, but transactions cannot be processed; project must be set to O in order for transactions in progress to post.

Research projects are set to K (Complete) by RSO once all project requirements have been met. All other projects are set to K (Complete) by FS when the request to inactivate is processed.

When a project is set to K, then the Project Processing Status field is set to Inactive. All SpeedCodes associated with the K project will be automatically inactivated at this time.

The project ChartField is an alphanumeric field.

The Analysis Type field must be used for transactions involving a project in the Research and Capital funds. Some common analysis types are:

  • GLE, GLR - General Ledger transaction for expenditure / revenue
  • REQ - Purchase Requisitions
  • ACT - Accounts Payable transaction
  • PYS - Payroll Summary transaction

 

Categories of Projects

 

CATEGORY

 

 

PROJECT/GRANT

 

 

AUTO CLOSE?

 

 

BUDGET OWNER FOR EXPENDITURE

APPROVALS

 

Operating, Endowments, and Special Purpose Funds (F210, F100, F310, F551, Exxxx)

Project

Yes

DeptID budget owner

Research (F330, F530)

Grant

Yes

Project budget owner

Capital (F320, F520)

Project

Yes

Project budget owner


Project - Operating, Endowments, and Special Purpose Funds (F210, F100, F310, F551, Exxxx) 

Definition and Numbering

The project ChartField is an alphanumeric field.

 

FUNDS

 

 

NUMBERING

 

 

SETUP BY

 

 

EXAMPLE PROJECT ID

 

Operating (F210,
F100, F310) and Endowments (Exxxx)

  • Project number assigned by requesting faculty
  • Project numbers are between 10 and 15 characters in length
  • First two digits equal first two digits of associated deptID; remaining digits are faculty-defined
  • Project can be shared with all other ChartFields (deptID, program, class) within the faculty.

FS

15xxxxxxxx
(DeptID=150100)

Special Purpose (F551)

  • Project number assigned by requesting faculty
  • Project numbers are between 10 and 15 characters in length

FS

25xxxxxxxx

(DeptID = 250000)

 

Project Coding Requirements and Options 

FUND

TRANSACTION REQUIREMENTS

OPTIONS

Operating (F210, F100, F310) and Endowments (Exxxx)

Special Purpose (F551)

 

 

  • Use of project ChartField in operating funds·
  • Use of program and class ChartField other than '0'

 

Project Attributes

Each project is characterized by:

  • project start and end date (generally set by faculty)
  • project status (Open/Closed/Complete)
  • processing status (Active/Inactive)
  • project name (generally set by faculty)
  • project holder (employee name) - individual managing the activity

Project - Research (F330, F530)

RSO is responsible for research project setup and maintenance.

Research projects use the PS Project Costing module, which provides an integration point between all modules and the project. All transactions are imported into project tables to provide user reporting.

Definition and Numbering

 

FUNDS

 

 

NUMBERING

 

 

SETUP BY

 

 

EXAMPLE PROJECT ID

 

Research (F330, F530 (1))

  • Project number assigned by RSO
  • Project numbers are usually 10 characters in length, although some are longer
  • First three characters are RES(2); remaining digits are assigned sequentially
  • Some projects may be suffixed with additional alpha characters such as SAL. These projects share the first ten digits of their parent project with the alpha characters reflecting the relationship between the projects.

RSO

RESxxxxxxx

RESxxxxxxxSAL

(1) F530 also includes F535 and F531. It is anticipated that these funds will eventually be closed.

(2) In 2009, the University implemented the PS Grants Management module for the administration of research activities. This resulted in changes to the numbering of Projects created after the implementation of the new system. Projects existing at the time of the implementation of Grants 2.0 will continue to operate with the existing Project ID (e.g., Cxxxxxxxxx, Gxxxxxxxxx, and Nxxxxxxxxx) until the project reaches its conclusion.

Project Coding Requirements and Options

 

FUND

TRANSACTION REQUIREMENTS

OPTIONS

F330, F530 (1)

 

 

  • Project ChartField must be used in research funds
  • Project cannot be used across deptIDs or funds
  • Analysis Type must be used when a project is used

 

  • Use of program and class ChartField other than '0'

 

(1) F530 also includes F535 and F531. It is anticipated that these funds will eventually be closed.

Project Attributes

Research projects require various unique attributes for management and reporting purposes.

ATTRIBUTE

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Project Title

Sponsor - Program - Sponsor Ref# - PI Name (e.g., NSERC RGP 143926 JONES). If funding is tied to a student (e.g., a scholarship/internship), student's last name should be included in the Title (e.g., NSERC IPS SMITH/JONES).

Project Description

Brief description of the research activities being undertaken.

Principal Investigator (PI)

Name of PI at the UofA who was awarded the grant or contract.

Project Holder

Individual who, according to University policy, is authorized to manage and spend within a research project. Typically the award recipient or principal investigator/lead researcher. Listed on the Researcher Home Page and eTRAC. Project holder is project budget owner for workflow approval process.

Project Team

Identifies project team members and provides access to project financial reports and attachments.

Project Role

Identifies the specific role of each team member, including the Project Manager.

Project Status

Open (O) - transactions may be processed to a Project.

Past End Date (C) - project has reached its end date and transaction processing is not permitted. Project status is changed to C as part of the IST monthly project close process.

Complete (K) - all project deliverables have been met and any unspent funds have been returned or lapsed according to sponsor requirements. Projects are set to K by RSO.

Processing Status

Active - transactions may be processed to the Project.

Inactive - no further transactions may be processed to the Project.

Project Type

Budget-based (RSBUD) - Budgets can only be created or amended by RSO

Cash-based (RSCSH) - Budget entries are automatically generated by revenue transactions

Start Date

Date specified by sponsor at which transactions may be processed to a Project.

End Date

Date specified by sponsor after which no further transactions may be processed to a Project.

Project DeptID

DeptID with administrative and financial responsibility for the Project. Only one deptID can be associated with a research project.

Project Costing Business Unit

Referred to as PC Business Unit; This is the "operational subset of an organization" within PS pertaining to Project Costing. All PC business units are currently defined as "UOFAB".

Activity ID

This field represents an individual task or event within a project. Currently this field defaults to DFLT for research projects.

Award Periods

Periods of time into which the legal agreement period is divided by the sponsor for budgeting and financial reporting purposes

Further information on creating research projects can be found on the RSO website:

Research Services Office/Applying for Funding/Applications and Proposals

Project - Capital (F320, F520)

All capital projects are assigned to Facilities and Operations (F&O) deptIDs.

Definition and Numbering

FUNDS

NUMBERING

SETUP BY

EXAMPLE PROJECT ID

Capital (F320, F520)

  • Project number assigned by F&O
  • Project numbers are between 10 and 15 characters in length
  • First two characters are J1 or 74; remaining digits are defined by F&O

FS

J1xxxxxxxx

74xxxxxxxx


Project Coding Requirements and Options
 

FUND

REQUIREMENTS

OPTIONS

Capital (F320, F520)

 

  • Project must be used in capital funds
  • Project cannot be used across deptIDs or funds
  • Analysis Type must be used when a project is used

Use of program and class ChartField other than '0'


Project Attributes

Each project is characterized by:

  • project start date (generally set by sponsor if externally funded)
  • project end date (generally set by sponsor if externally funded)
  • project status (Open/Closed/Complete)
  • processing status (Active/Inactive)
  • project name
  • project holder (employee name) - F&O individual managing the project
  • activity type (21 types for capital projects)

Sponsor

The sponsor ChartField identifies sources of research funding and enables financial reporting by sponsor. Sponsor must be used in Research funds, and is only used in Research funds. MULTI sponsor is used when a project is created with multiple funding sources.


Definition and Numbering

The sponsor ChartField is a 6 to 8-character, alphanumeric code. This field is institutionally defined and is used to identify sources of grant funding. The sponsor number is assigned by RSO during project setup. The most common sponsor values are as follows:

SPONSOR

DEFINITION

SFRxxxxx

Identifies the sponsor providing the research project funding

PABxxxxx

Province of Alberta research funding; identifies the ministry providing the funding

Internal

Indicates the project is funded by sources internal to the University

Multi

Indicates the project has multiple sources of external funding

Note: the sponsor value is equal to the customer number for the same agency.

Sponsor Attributes

Each sponsor is characterized by:

  • Effective date - first day of the fiscal year in which use of the sponsor field will begin
  • Status - active or inactive
  • Description - sponsor name

SpeedCode

The use of SpeedCode facilitates efficient and accurate data entry. Some transaction processes must use SpeedCode (e.g. SupplyNet). Each SpeedCode represents a unique combination of ChartFields and once entered, the SpeedCode is translated into the ChartField string required for transaction processing. The account code and business unit are not included in the SpeedCode and must be used in conjunction with the SpeedCode in order to process transactions.

After processing, transactions are only associated with the ChartField string values, and not the SpeedCode; queries, nVision reports, and nVision drills cannot be generated by SpeedCode.

SpeedCode can be used in most PS Financials modules.


Definition and Numbering

A SpeedCode is a 5-character alphanumeric field; refer to the table below for more details:

Fund

Who assigns SpeedCode number

SpeedCode number

SpeedCode description

Operating
F210, F100, F310

Unit

Unit uses AAA_CF_SPEEDCODE query to confirm SpeedCode number is available, and to confirm that there is no existing SpeedCode already set up with the same ChartField string.
Option - If unit does not define the number, FS will assign using the next available number (ZL000-ZZZZZ)

Unit defined

Capital

F320, F520

F&O use only

F&O

Unit uses AAA_CF_SPEEDCODE query to confirm SpeedCode number is available, and to confirm that there is no existing SpeedCode already set up with the same ChartField string.

Option - FS can assign (ZL000-ZZZZZ)

Unit defined

 

Research

F330, F530

RSO

RSO assigns at project set up (ZA000-ZKZZZ)

Project description

Special Purpose

F551, F552

Unit

Unit uses AAA_CF_SPEEDCODE query to confirm SpeedCode number is available, and to confirm that there is no existing SpeedCode already set up with the same ChartField string.

Option - FS can assign (ZL000-ZZZZZ)

Unit defined

Endowment

(Exxxx)

FS

 

The SpeedCode is the same as the endowment fund number (e.g. E4267). This was implemented in fiscal 2011; prior to that, this was unit defined.

FS assigns

Example

The ChartFields highlighted in grey are represented by the SpeedCode:

Account

Business Unit

Fund

DeptID

Program

Class

Project

Sponsor

502101

UOFAB

210

100104

10019

10103

 

 

502101

UOFAB

530

610100

0

0

G121140006

SFR1451

502101

UOFAB

E7191

510000

0

0

 

 

SpeedCode Attributes

Each SpeedCode is characterized by:

  • Effective date - April 1 of the current fiscal year
  • Status - active or inactive
  • Description - describes the ChartField string represented by the SpeedCode
  • ChartField values represented by the SpeedCode (see Example above)

Other

  • For any additional SpeedCodes (i.e. after the initial set-up and SpeedCode assigned), the SpeedCode must be assigned to the same fund and deptID that was used on set-up (e.g. research projects, endowments)
  • Inactivating a ChartField (e.g. program) will automatically inactivate any associated SpeedCodes that contain that same ChartField.
  • ChartField strings within SpeedCodes cannot be changed. A new SpeedCode must be set up for the new ChartField string.
  • Faculties can choose any alphanumeric that is currently not set up, with the exception that new SpeedCodes cannot start with "VP". The AAA_CF_SPEEDCODE query will assist in choosing a SpeedCode that is available as well as ensuring a SpeedCode has not already been set up for the same ChartField string. Note: When PS Financials was implemented, logical ranges were assigned to faculties. Within a few years' time, some of these ranges were fully used.

COA - Budgeting and Planning

In some funds, there are specific accounts used for budgeting purposes only. These are identified by 'BL' (budget level) on the end of the account name (e.g. 500010 - Faculty-BL). Each budget level account is meant to represent a roll-up of actual accounts, so that budget can be entered at a summary level.

For guidance on Budget functionality, refer to uPlan Guide (chapter currently being developed).

 

Last Update: July 2017