FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions Topics:

Asset Management

Q. When does the information in the pre-interface go away?

A. It always stays. You can mark the status to errored and search by status of pending.

Q. Who loads assets into asset management?

A. You review the assets in the pre-interface, mark the ones you want to bring across in the pre-interface (mark the others “on hold” or “errored”), then load the assets per the UPK. The interface is assigned and the nightly batch process brings the assets across for the next day.

Q. Does it matter on the reason for retirement?

A. Yes. If sold, the system calculates “gain on sale”. If surplused, there will be a record of where that asset went. You may want to justify which reason is chosen in the comments section.

Q. Does the date matter?

A. There are 4 dates to consider: please keep in-service date, trans date, and acquisition date equal (the same). The accounting date must be a date in the current open period! Depreciation calculates based on the first three dates; however, the asset will post to GL based on the accounting date.

Q. I brought these July assets over in the pre-interface in September, why are they posting in September and not July?

A. Remember, the accounting date must be a current open period so General Ledger was posted in September. The assets were place in service and started depreciation as of July.

Q. Do I select “depreciate when placed in service”?

A. Never. The system will pick up the in-service date and start depreciation using the mid-month convention and straight line depreciation.

Accounts Payable

Vendors

Q: I added a vendor this morning but it hasn’t been approved yet. Why?

A: The SAO vendor staff has 24 hours in order to approve new vendors or make changes to a current vendor record. If your vendor has not been approved or changes made after 24 hours, please call the SAO Financial Systems @ 404-657-3956 or 888-896-7771.

Q: I need to have an address added or changed for a vendor. What do I need to do?

A: Access the Phoenix website and the Vendor Change Form located under “Forms” in either the Accounts Payable or Purchasing section and save the form to one of your drives. Fill out the form and send it as an attachment to psvendor@sao.ga.gov or fax it to 404-463-5089 (Attn: Vendor Maintenance). Your changes will be made and you will receive an email acknowledgement from our staff that your changes have been made. Please be sure to mark the form appropriately for either a new vendor location or a current location change.

Q: I need to have EFT information added to a vendor record. How do I get this information added?

A: Send an email to psvendor@sao.ga.gov requesting that EFT information be added to a vendor record. Be sure to include all banking information (Bank routing ID and Vendor Bank Account number). You may also fax the information to 404-463-5089 Attn: Vendor Maintenance.

Q: I need to have a vendor name changed. How do I get the name changed on the vendor file?

A: Have the vendor fill out a new W-9 form (taxpayer ID form) and submit it as an attachment in an email to the psvendor@sao.ga.gov address. You may also fax a copy of the form to 404-463-5089 (Attn: Vendor Maintenance).

Q: Must every vendor have a Taxpayer ID number?

A: Yes. All vendors must have a taxpayer ID of some type. It may be an FEI number or a Social Security number. It may also be “FOREIGN” if the vendor is not a USA vendor.

Q: May I add an employee as a vendor and make a payment to them in the same day?

A: Yes. If the employee vendor record is to be used on the Header panel of the voucher (ex. Travel payment). If you need to use the employee vendor ID for a third party payment, the vendor record must go through overnight processing in order to be added to a table of which the AP process will pull the employee ID record to ensure that the vendor is truly an employee. The voucher may be set up and payment made to the employee after this overnight process.

Accounts Payable

Q: My system seems to be slow in its processing. Is there anything that I can do to speed up the system?

A: Your Cache Files may need to be cleared. See below:

Q: I can’t pull a Purchase Order into a PO Voucher. Why?

A: Check the Purchase Order. In order for a Purchase order to be pulled into AP, the Purchase Order must be in a dispatched status. In order for a Purchase Order to be in a dispatched status, it must have first been approved and/or budget checked.

Q: Can I delete a voucher that has not posted?

A: Yes. The only way to cancel a voucher that has not posted is to delete it. (Process, Voucher delete, Delete voucher)

Q: Can I delete a voucher that has already posted to the ledger?

A: No. If a voucher has already posted to the ledger, it must be closed instead of deleted. (Process, Voucher Close, Close Voucher)

Q: I was expecting a check to be produced by the system for a voucher but the check didn’t process. Why?

A: There are several areas of the voucher that might have caused the non-payment. Check the following:

Make sure that the voucher has a valid budget checking status.
Make sure that the Scheduled Due date is less than the date requested on the check run.
Verify that your Pay cycle was successfully requested.
Make sure that the vendor selected on the voucher is a valid vendor/location.
Check for Negative Balances for the Vendor (Create Payments Panel Group)

Q: My voucher has a “Recycled” status on it. Why?

A: There are several reasons that the voucher may have been placed in a recycled status. Check the following:

Invoice # - If the invoice number entered on a voucher is a duplicate of another invoice number, your voucher is placed in a recycled status.
Out of Balance –If the sum of the voucher lines on the Line Information & Charges panel does not equal the gross amount on the Voucher Header, the difference will be displayed in the top right corner of the Header panel. This is the amount by which the voucher is out of balance.

Q: I need to add shipping charges to a Voucher. How do I add a voucher line?

A: Once the voucher has been accessed, go to the Line Information & Charges panel. Place the cursor into the Description field and insert a new voucher line. This new voucher line should be used to expense the shipping charges. Keep in mind that if this is related to a purchase order, the system tolerances levels would have to be examined before entries are made.

Q: I need to make a partial payment on a Purchase Order. How do I make a partial payment?

A: It depends upon the “Charge By” selection on the Distribution panel of the Purchase Order. If the purchase order is set to ‘Charge By’ Amount, the user may change the amount on the Lines Information & Charges panel of the PO Voucher. If the purchase order is set to “Charge By’ Quantity, the user must change the quantity field on the Lines Information & Charges panel of the PO Voucher in order to affect the amount of the voucher (PO) line.

Q: I have a credit memo to enter for a vendor. How do I add a credit memo?

A: A credit memo should be added using an Adjustment Voucher. By using an Adjustment Voucher, the user may relate the credit memo to a previously paid voucher. Negative amounts that are entered on the Header panel of an Adjustment Voucher will not copy to the Line Information & Charges panel and must be entered manually by the user.

Q: I need to make a payment to a third party vendor for an employee. How do I need to set up the voucher?

A: In order to correlate expenses to an employee, the employee should first be set up as a vendor. After the vendor record is established and processes through overnight processing, the voucher may be established. The vendor on the Voucher Header panel should be the third party vendor (check will be made to this vendor). On the Line Information & Charges panel, a separate voucher line should be entered for each individual employee for whom payment is being made. The Third Party Checkbox should be checked and each employee vendor Id entered into the Recipient field on this panel. All voucher line amounts should equal the total amount entered on the Voucher Header panel.

Q: I have certain payments that are made every month. Is there an easy way to set these vouchers up in the system?

A: There are several ways to set up these type payments. A Template Voucher may be set up to use for payments that occur often. This Template may be used again and again for a particular vendor. There is also a Recurring Voucher which will allow the set up of multiple vouchers at one time.

Q: I have outstanding payables with a zero gross amount. How do I clear these payables from my report?

A: A Pay Cycle should be set to clear the Zero payables from your reports. Under Create Payments, Payment Selection Criteria, select the Date Criteria panel, mark the check box “Process Zero Pay Cycle”. On the Bank/Payment Method Criteria panel select the check box next to the Bank/Bank Account from which you wish to clear the payables. The system will assign a “ZPYMT” reference number to the voucher which will clear the payable from your reports.

Q: I have received my travel report for the month and I have expenses that were made to a non-employee (marked with an asterisk *). How do I correct this entry?

A: An Adjustment voucher must be entered to remove the travel expense from the incorrect vendor ID and to place the expense into the correct vendor record.

The vendor on the adjustment voucher header panel should be the vendor whose record is incorrect. Voucher line 1 (Line Information & Charges panel) should relate to the vendor on the header and should be for a negative (-) amount. A second voucher line should be inserted for the third party checkbox to be available for entry or selection of the correct employee vendor ID with a positive (+) amount. The gross amount of the adjustment voucher should be zero.

Q: When I enter a vendor into the header record of a voucher (or copy from a PO), the 1099 button becomes active (1099 button located beside the vendor ID). Why?

A: This means that the vendor selected is a 1099 vendor. Voucher lines may be selected or deselected for 1099 reporting by pressing the 1099 button.

When a vendor is activated for 1099 effective after the date on a PO, the 1099 drilldown button on the PO vouchers created will be active, but none of the lines will be selected for 1099. A user may have to exit out of the saved voucher and re-enter to see the 1099 button active. The users should then drilldown to the 1099 panel and select the line(s).

When the vendor used on a PO is selected for 1099, the selection of the 1099 button and 1099 code defaults unto the PO (Lines panel, use double chevrons). Then when a PO Voucher is created, the 1099 drilldown button is grayed. To get the 1099 button to activate, exit then re-enter the voucher, then select to drilldown into the 1099 Information panel to verify selection of lines or to deselect as needed.

When the vendor is not selected for 1099, the PO will not be selected for 1099 and the 1099 drilldown button on the voucher will be grayed.

Q: Are 1099’s created on a calendar year or fiscal year basis?

A: 1099’s are reported based on a calendar year.

Q: My agency needs to add a new Bank and Bank Account. How do I get new accounts added for my agency?

A: See the “Forms” section on the Financial Website under the AP Module and select the “New Bank Account” form. Fill out this form and submit it to FSS and the new bank and/or account will be set up.

Q: How does my agency get blank check stock to use for manual check printing?

A: Each agency should get blank check stock from their bank.

Q: Yesterday I voided a check and placed the voucher on hold, but today, the voucher is still grayed like nothing was done. What should I look for to let me know that the cancel payment was successful and that my voucher is still available for processing?

A: Go to the Scheduled Payments panel and the scroll bar should be at the top, indicating that there is additional information. Pull the scroll bar down and there should be an additional payments panel that is active and that should have the “Hold” checkbox selected.

Q: I have entered a voucher which includes a discount. I want to be sure that this payment is processed in the next pay cycle so that the discount is not lost. How do I ensure that the payment is processed in time?

A: When a voucher is saved, the Scheduled Due date is calculated based on the terms and the Invoice Date. To ensure that the discounted voucher is selected in the next pay cycle, you should change the Scheduled Due date to current date and be sure that the pay cycle includes this date.

General Ledger

Q: How do I make Journal Entries in the 998 Adjustment Period document?

A: Click here for tips on making Journal Entries in the 998 Adjustment Period document.

Q: How to use the Account Analysis Report?

A: Click here for instructions on how to use the Account Analysis Report.

Labor Distribution

Q: What is the purpose of the Labor Detail Report manual?

A: The Labor Detail Reports panel allows business units to order Labor Expense Detail Reports by Pay End Date, Calendar Month, Fiscal Quarter and Fiscal Year to Date. It will also give business units an option of ordering the Expense Detail Report and Summary Recap or ordering a Summary Recap only.

Q: What does the Labor Distribution panel shot look like?

A: Click here to view an example a Labor Distribution panel shot. Also, when ordering the Fiscal Quarter Report you must now take in consideration the Quarters within the Fiscal Year instead of the calendar year. When ordering the Fiscal Year to Date Report, input the Fiscal Year in the Calendar Year/Fiscal Year field. The Fiscal Year to Date report number is LDXXX024 (O, F, P).

Dept. of Transportation (484), Dept. of Human Resources (427), Dept. of Corrections (467), Dept. of Children and Youth (461), Dept. of Natural Resources (462), Dept. of Public Safety (466) and the Dept. of Motor Vehicles (475) will be limited to ordering the Summary RECAPS only.

Q: What is the Labor Release-I document?

A: Click here to view the Labor Release-I document. For questions, please contact SAO Financial Systems at 404-657-3956 or 888-896-7771.

Purchasing

Vendors

Q: I added a vendor this morning but it hasn’t been approved yet. Why?

A: The GTA vendor staff has 24 hours in order to approve new vendors or make changes to a current vendor record. If your vendor has not been approved or changes made after 24 hours, please call the help desk @ 404-657-3956 or 888-896-7771.

Q: I need to have an address added or changed for a vendor. What do I need to do?

Q: I need to have EFT information added to a vendor record. How do I get this information added?

Q: I need to have a vendor name changed. How do I get the name changed on the vendor file?

Q: Must every vendor have a Taxpayer ID number?

A: Yes. All vendors must have a taxpayer ID of some type. It may be an FEI number or a Social Security number. It may also be “FOREIGN” if the vendor is not a USA vendor.

Q: May I add an employee as a vendor and make a payment to them in the same day?

A: No. When an employee is added as a vendor, the vendor record must go through overnight processing in order to be added to a table of which the AP process will pull the employee ID record to ensure that the vendor is truly an employee. Payment may be made to the employee after this overnight process.

Purchase Orders

Q: My system seems to be slow in its processing. Is there anything that I can do to speed up the system?

A: Your Cache Files may need to be cleared.

Cache Files

There are times when the system operation will slow down considerably due to multiple files that have accumulated on your hard drive. These files must be cleared in order to improve system operations.

Cache files store database panel information for each user and are automatically downloaded the first time that you open a Peoplesoft panel or if a change has been made to the master copy of the panel on the database server.

For Citrix users, the client cache files are stored on network addressable storage connected to the Citrix farm. For most other users, the client cache files are stored locally on the individual workstation.

Citrix cache is located on the Citrix Farm. When this cache is cleared, it is cleared via the Citrix program neighborhood’s clear cache icon. When this cache is cleared, it actually clears the Peoplesoft cache which is generally located on the “H” drive of the Citrix Farm.

Other users have cache files most likely located on their local “C” drive although it could be located differently. This cache can be cleared through either the configuration manager (which indicates where the cache is located) or by Windows Explorer. In both cases, Peoplesoft needs to be shut down in order the clear the cache.

If a user has given their password to another user or are logged in at multiple workstations, they will need to shut down ALL instances of Peoplesoft in order to clear the cache files.

Q: I’m having problems getting a Purchase Order or Receiving Report to print. What can I do?

A: After dispatching a PO, the PO can be viewed and printed from the Report Manager. Navigation: Reporting Tools>Report Manager – Click on the Administration tab, then click on the PO Dispatch_Print link. If a new window does not open, it may be because you have pop-up blocker turned on. Either turn this off or hold the “CONTROL” key down when you click on the link. This will over-ride pop-up blocker. If the PO still does not display, verify that you have Adobe Acrobat installed on your machine.

Q: My Purchase Order has a remaining encumbrance balance that should be cancelled and sent back to budget. How do I send money back to budget?

A: There are several ways to send the remaining funds back to budget. They are:

If the PO line has been paid by Accounts Payable, click the Final Reference box on the PO voucher distribution line. Final Reference on a PO Voucher does not close PO lines unless all lines are final referenced or fully paid. If users want their money back in budget remaining funds immediately, they should reduce the PO lines to match payments that have been made or cancel the Purchase Order thru PO Workbench.

The PO may also be cancelled through PO Workbench. It does not matter if the PO has been paid or not. Never cancel an individual PO line, schedule or distribution that has had payments made against it. Note: Never cancel all lines on a Purchase Order. By canceling all lines, you will leave a Header record that must be removed by GTA – FSS.

Use Query 0PO003B “Encumbrance Balance by PO ID” to see remaining encumbrance.

Q: I have a Purchase order with an “Initial” status. How do I delete this PO from my active list?

A: The best solution for this type of purchase order is to use the PO ID for your next purchase. A different vendor may be selected.

If you don’t want to use the PO ID as your next purchase, you must change the PO status to “open”. In order to place the PO in an “open” status, you must enter at least one complete PO line and save the record. Once the PO is in an “open” status, the PO can be retrieved and canceled in PO Workbench.

Q: I want to cancel lines on a Purchase Order but the system will not allow the entry. Why?

A: If you are trying to cancel PO lines from a Purchase Order and the system won’t allow the entry, Accounts Payable has probably associated a voucher with the PO line and the line should not be canceled. The amount can be reduced to equal the amount already paid or the entire PO can be canceled from PO Workbench to completely close the order and reverse all outstanding encumbrances. The 0PO003 and 0PO003B queries can be used to determine if vouchers have been processed against the PO line.

Q: An invoice has arrived from a vendor but the price is different than the Purchase Order. The new price does falls within the PO tolerances set up in the system. What do I need to do in order to pay this invoice?

A: If the invoice comes in and is within the system PO tolerance, don’t increase the Purchase order to include the extra dollars after the voucher passes Budget Checking. By increasing the Purchase Order, the System has cleared out the original encumbrance and you are left with an outstanding encumbrance, which must be cleared by FSS personnel. If the invoice is greater than the PO and within tolerance, the voucher can be processed normally and no action is needed on the Purchase Order. If the invoice is less than the PO amount and no other charges will be billed, then the “final reference” flag on the voucher line should be checked to indicate to the system that the remaining encumbrance balance will not be needed.

If not within tolerance or if the agency wishes to keep the PO and vouchered amounts totally in sync, a Change Order may be done to the purchase order line before a voucher has been processed by Accounts Payable. Once the changes have been made to the PO and it is re-edited, approved, budget checked, and dispatched; accounts payable can then copy the PO Voucher from the PO for the correct amounts.

In most cases, an error message will be given if the user tries to reduce a PO line below what has been vouchered. Use Query OPO003 or OPO005 to see vouchers.

Q: I want to cancel a Purchase Order that contains a budget error. How do I cancel/delete this type of Purchase Order?

A: Never cancel a purchase order which contains Budget Errors. You must make the purchase order BCM status = Valid. (the Account # may be changed to a non-controlled account (ie. 100001) which will pass budget and produce a Valid BCM Status). The user may then cancel the Purchase order using PO Workbench (be sure to add comments to the Purchase order before canceling it.).

Q: My PO will not dispatch. Why?

A: The PO must be successfully budget checked and Approved before it can be dispatched. Also assure that the “Hold from further processing” box is not checked.

Q: My PO line is not available for Receiving. Why?

A: Receipts must be processed before the PO line is vouchered. If the PO line has already been fully paid by Accounts Payable, it cannot then be received. However, a Receipt Form (Receiving Copy of PO) can still be printed using the PO number. Since there is no receipt, a Receipt Delivery Form cannot be printed.

Q: My Purchase Order is fully paid but will not go into “Complete” status. Why?

A: In order for a Purchase Order to have a “Completed” status, all lines must be paid in full. Also, the Purchase Order “Due Date” (located on the schedule panel) must have passed.

Q: I want to change the price for a purchase order line. How do I change the price of an item?

A: Access the Purchase Order, Lines Panel and refresh with Sparky. Go to the Schedule panel and refresh the line to be changed with Sparky. Press the >> located next to the price field and click the “Change Schedule” button. This will allow the price field to be changed which will in turn change the distribution rows for that line.

Q: I have an invoice for a Prior Year Purchase order and the invoice is greater than the amount on the PO. How do I add funds to a prior year purchase order to cover the increased cost of the goods?

A: Any additional amounts greater than the PO amounts on a Prior Year PO must be taken from current year funds. You should add a new line to the Purchase Order using current year chartfields. You don’t want to mix distribution lines containing different budget years on the same PO Line schedule.

Q: Must every line of a Purchase Order have an NIGP code?

A: Yes. All lines of a purchase order must have a valid NIGP code.

New edits have been added to the PO Module which will force the use of 5 digit NIGP codes other than '99999' on any PO line with an extended price of $500 or greater. This change is at the request of the DOAS State Purchasing office and is in support of their Official Memorandum #04-02 dated July 11th, 2003. Select a 5 digit NIGP code other than '99999' for the "Category" field on the "Purchase Order Line Details" panel when entering any Purchase Order line whose total value is $500 or greater. The '99999' code is still valid for PO lines less than $500.

At the request of "State Purchasing" new edits have been added to the PO Module which will force the use of 5 digit NIGP codes (PeopleSoft Category field) rather than 3 digit codes. In other words, NIGP codes ending in '00' cannot be selected. There are two exceptions for this rule: 26900 - Drugs and Pharmaceuticals and 96300 - Non-Biddable Miscellaneous items.

Any questions concerning the proper selection of commodity codes should be addressed to DOAS State Purchasing.

Q: Can I award a Request for Quotation to multiple vendors?

A: Yes, the RFQ may be awarded to as many vendors as needed.

Q: How do I get on the list to receive communications about PeopleSoft?

A: Go to the Financial Systems LISTSERV and subscribe to one of the Financials or HCM lists.

Q: Can I email the Financial Systems help desk?

A: Yes, the email address for the help desk can be found on our "Contact Us" page.

SB300 Payment Validation

Q: Is the SB300_PAYMENTS_VALIDATION query based on the payment date or voucher date?

A: The SB300_PAYMENTS_VALIDATION query reflects data by payment date for the period 7/1/08 through 6/30/09 for the specified account range identified by the Department of Audits and Accounts (DOAA).

Q: Why do the amounts on the DOAA portal differ from the amounts for the results of the SB300_PAYMENTS_VALIDATION query?

A: The DOAA portal data may not include transactions related to exception items noted in Section 3 of the SAO SB300 validation instructions.

Q: How should variances between the DOAA portal and the SB300 query be addressed?

A: The variances which may be noted between the DOAA portal and the SB300 query should be reviewed to determine if the amounts posted in the extract should be increased or decreased to report the appropriate amount for the respective vendor (see example below). The goal of this process is to ensure the appropriate amounts and payment counts have been reported in the DOAA portal for each vendor for Fiscal Year 2009 based on the account criteria specified by DOAA.

DOAA Portal amount: CHEROKEE COUNTY	$231,672.00
SAO Validation query amount: CHEROKEE COUNTY	$297,490.00
Variance	$ 65,818.00

4Q: What additional procedures can be performed to determine what comprises the variance?

4A: Within PeopleSoft Financials, view “payment information by vendor”. The SB300_VERIFY_VENDOR_PAYMENTS query is available to allow validation of payments by Vendor Name. This query is a modified version of the existing 0AP013 query. The prompts for this query include Business Unit, Vendor Name, Payment From Date and Payment To Date. See details below run for the vendor – “CHEROKEE COUNTY” from example above.

NOTE: SOME FIELDS WHICH ARE DISPLAYED IN THE QUERY RESULTS HAVE BEEN PURPOSEFULLY HIDDEN IN THE SCREEN SHOT BELOW.

Review the voucher or vouchers which comprise the variance. This may be done by reviewing the voucher information online or by running the 0AP012 query. By running the 0AP012 query, all detailed accounting transactions associated with the voucher may be viewed. Sorting the results by Journal ID will assist in analyzing the data.

The query results will show the activity over the life span of the voucher (creation, payment, payment cancellations, payment reissues or voucher close). This will help in determining if the transaction in question should be added to the amount in the DOAA portal. NOTE: SOME FIELDS WHICH ARE DISPLAYED IN THE QUERY RESULTS HAVE BEEN PURPOSEFULLY HIDDEN IN THE SCREEN SHOT BELOW.

In this example, the voucher was originally created and paid in June 2008 (fiscal year 2008, which is outside of the range of dates required for SB300 purposes). The first payment was cancelled in February 2009 and reissued in April 2009. The reissued payment is not reflected in the DOAA portal because the payment was netted against the cancellation.

The SB300_PAYMENTS_VALIDATION query does reflect the reissued payment in April 2009 because the cancel and reissue are not netted. This payment should be added to the DOAA portal amount.