Q: Will agencies be able to view the disbursement account to see if checks have cleared?
A: Agencies will use TeamWorks to obtain cleared check information. Reports and Queries include “Review Pay Check and Review Pay Check Summary” menus.
Q: How will check attachments be handled?
A: Special payment handling codes will be selected in TeamWorks by the agency that requires a check to be accompanied by attachments.
Q: Due to the fact that Agencies have accounts all over the state, how proactive should agencies be with Bank of America to match up agency sites to the nearest bank locations so that plans can be made to start partnering with them?
A: Non-Pilot Agencies may contact Bank of America to begin the Streamlined Banking Process. However, SAO informed Wachovia and Bank of America that they do not want them initiating contact with the agencies.
Q: Does Cash Management account for credit card receivables in the SLB reconciliation process? How will these funds be handled?
A: The interface from credit card companies to TeamWorks will not be implemented in this phase. Credit cards are out of scope for this phase of the project. However, the bank card deposits would go into the agency main depository account and then be ZBA’d into the main concentration account like any deposit.
Q: What is bilateral netting?
A: Bilateral netting is an automatic process that will net interagency receivables and payables and close the open vouchers and receivables for Streamlined Banking agencies. This will eliminate the process of agencies writing checks to other state agencies.
Q: Are the 103XXX (HCM and AP Disbursement GL Accounts) on treasury’s Business Unit?
A: No, these accounts are not on treasury’s GL Business Unit (486). These will be on the Treasury Banking Business Unit GL account (499). Agencies will have the depository cash accounts (102400) and the Agency Cash account (101005).
Q: Should non-pilot agencies begin using New Revenue Funding Source Codes?
A: Yes, if you can get your system in place prior to moving onto Streamlined Banking, it will be beneficial and one less task to worry about when you are slated to move onto SLB.
Q: Is End User Training hands on or does it use the UPK?
A: It will consist of both UPK as well as hands on. The end user training will be instructor led while the UPK will be accessed by each user at their own pace. Our focus for Streamlined Banking is to move towards hands on user training.
Q: Will Streamlined Banking utilize the SAO Customer Service Center?
A: Yes, Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) from the SAO Cash Management Team will handle the Customer Service Center calls related to the business side while functional and technical calls will be handled by experts from the Financial System Functional Team. All customer service center calls will be routed based on these three areas, business process, technical, and functional.
Q: Is the state going to encourage vendors to use EFTs?
A: Yes, if business is done with the state of Georgia we should be able to pay with ACH. This method of payment is more efficient than paying with checks. Vendors are strongly encouraged to allow the state to pay only by ACH.
Q: Will agencies need to submit the Banking Supplies Order Form to SAO for local accounts?
A: No, SAO is only responsible for the main depository and disbursement accounts. Agencies will work with their local accounts as they do today.
Q: Does the “vendor address” on the Control Group Register mean the same as “payment address”?
A: Yes.
Q: Will agencies receive check copies?
A: No. Agencies will no longer receive a paper copy of checks that they currently use to file invoices and documentation.
Q: Is it mandatory that agencies use Control Groups?
A: Not at this time. However, agencies will no longer have physical checks to verify payments for correctness. The Control Group will allow an error to be seen before the check is processed rather than after.
Q: When is the Control Group Report created?
A: It is a crystal report and can be pulled anytime after the Control Group is completed.
Q: Why should we use a Control Group?
A: Today you have access to the actual checks to verify against the invoice or other documents before they are sent out. In the future you will not see the checks as they will be sent from SAO. Agencies will need to adopt a new business process to verify checks and voucher information prior to the check being printed and mailed.
Q: If you have one item rejected in the budget check process, will it reject the whole Control Group?
A: If you post your group using post individually, only the one item that is rejected will not post. The rest of the Control Group will post. However if you select the group button, all items will be rejected.
Q: If a check in the Control Group doesn’t clear budget check, will it be on the Control Group report?
A: The Control Group report contains the data keyed for every voucher in the control group. Budget checking data will not show here. If you reprint the report, it should still show every voucher that was included in the Control Group. User can use the Payable Due Proof report to see budget checked information.
Q: What does “AG” mean for the Handling Code?
A: It means “Return to Agency”.
Q: What is the turnaround time for a stop pay, void, or reissue since the process will go through SAO?
A: The Policy and Procedures are being developed and we will communicate turn-around times when Policy and Procedures have been completed. However, SAO will implement a rapid turn around to ensure that productivity is no compromised.
Q: If SAO is handling stop payments, will they still appear on the agencies’ books?
A: Yes.
Q: If you have documentation that needs to go with the check, can you still get the check sent back to the agency for further processing?
A: Yes, we will allow special handling codes to be used for this purpose, but will continue to monitor to ensure that the bulk of the AP checks are sent directly to the vendors. Additionally, you may also send out documentation separately from the check and notate that the check will be arriving at a later date. SAO is encouraging the use of ACH(electronic) payment to vendors when appropriate.
Q: If we submit a request for a check copy to SAO, how long will it take to get the copy?
A: The Service Level has not been determined for all of the services SAO will provide, but as soon as the Service Level is determined, we will communicate this to the agencies. However, we anticipate that check images will be electronically sent to agency within 1-3 hours.
Q: What is the plan for Federal funds that cannot be escheated?
A: If federal funds cannot be escheated, the agencies and SAO will identify the payments and changed to an escheated status through an individual entry into TeamWorks for each check. Agencies will monitor this on a monthly basis and will also have access to the monthly aging report. Agencies will communicate these restrictions to SAO as they occur.
Q: How will HCM-related agency payments be handled if they do not have treasury accounts?
A: Most payments will be through EFT, but some will continue to be handled by check.
Q: Will garnishments be handled automatically?
A: No. Agencies will continue to handle the paperwork and manage that process as they do today. Payments will be disbursed from the central disbursement account.
Q: How will agencies be able to make credit card deposits to TeamWorks on the same day as the deposit when it takes 2-3 days for the deposits to settle and reconcile?
A: Agencies that receive large batches of credit cards payments will be evaluated on a agency basis to determine the best solution for that agency. SAO is currently developing business processes to handle credit card collections.
Q: Some agencies receive payments through ACH. What means of notification by SAO to the agency that the funds have come in?
A: The funds will come in on the agency depository account that the agency will reconcile daily. This account will get a daily BAI electronic feed of all transactions and it will be imported into TeamWorks every morning. Agencies will be able to identify payments at that time. There may be a day lag before the agency gets this transaction into TeamWorks so you may carry a reconciling exception for one day.
Q: How will the payments through ARIS be identified?
A: There is no change. Agencies will still be required to send a query.
Q: Will the agency name be on the check and if so, where will it be?
A: The agency name will not be in the memo line on the face of the check.
Q: How will we inquire on the status of a check if we no longer have access to the bank proprietary system?
A: You will be able to view the check status on the Payment Inquiry page on TeamWorks. You will see if the check has been reconciled (cash by the bank), escheated, or if it is still outstanding.
Q: Will agencies still need to submit a report on travel per diem and payroll expenses to SAO annually for the CAFR reporting?
A: Agencies do not submit this information to SAO; this information is submitted to Audits for reports they are required to produce annually. SAO facilitates the submission of this data through an extract of TeamWorks information (with processes in place to allow agencies to make adjustments, as necessary). The statute outlining this reporting requirement by Audits has not changed; therefore, this information will still need to be submitted annually.
Q: How will agencies get the information needed to set up their agencies for EFTPS payment through SAO?
A: SAO will provide the account numbers to the agency and the agency can add a new account to their EFTPS profile. They will continue to use the old profile until they switch to the new SLB account. At that time they can delete the old account number from the profile. It is recommended that if you have an existing ID, you will need to allow a 6 week lead time and if you don’t have an ID at all, you may need a two month lead time.
Q: Federal funds are part of all processing, not Revenue recognition. To have automatic recognition of revenue is incorrect, should be recognized when earned.
A: Currently when agencies request an allotment in BudgetNet, they specify state, federal and other funds. But from Treasury’s perspective, OTFS is only concerned with state funds and does not move monies related to federal and other funds based on the allotment. Agencies are responsible for collecting and depositing federal and other funds.
Under streamlined banking, Treasury is still only concerned with controlling state funds. The allotment process will generate 3 entries into TeamWorks:
- An entry to the allotment ledger (budget) to establish spending authority
- An entry to the Agency’s GL to record the revenue and cash for the allotment(state funds only) – increasing the 151
- An entry to OTFS reducing OTFS’s 151
Please note:
- Revenue will be recorded in GL based on the allotment request. This means if you request the allotment for 3 programs, the revenue will be recorded against those same three programs in GL.
- The allotment ledger will only contain state funds by program for streamlined banking agencies.
Q: Is there an automatic cash sweep into the concentration account?
A: SAO is working on creating a process to sweep local agency accounts to the Bank of America Main Depository accounts. The goal is to have the cleared funds swept daily.
Q: Is there just one cash account to be used on both Treasury and the agencies books?
A: Yes. The same account number will be used because of its used by different business units. The same Agency Cash Account (101005) will be used between OTFS and all Streamlined Banking agencies. This will be the main cash account, but if you have a local depository account, the local cash accounts will still be used (e.g. 101060). Business Units is how you differentiate the activity in the 101005 account.
Q: Will there be a need to reconcile the sweep and allocation entries?
A: Yes. When reconciled, you will get a bank exception if entries are not made in TeamWorks. The agency will also monitor the allocation entries by viewing their Agency Cash account “101005”. If the deposits they made and booked in TeamWorks the day before are not reflected in their Agency Cash, they should raise the issue with SAO. The sweep transactions will occur in the 49900 business unit and will be reconciled by SAO an OTFS.
Q: I’m confused on using Business Unit 49900. We only have access to our own business unit.
A: Agencies will not see Business unit 49900. The bank account will default on vouchers to the bank account associated with Business Unit 49900. The bank account selected on the voucher determines the SLB process in Business Unit 49900.
Q: What is the purpose in using different distribution codes?
A. It is a method that isolates system generated streamlined banking entries from non-streamlined banking entries and will aid in identifying system entries in reconciliation. When a payment is made between two streamlined banking agencies distribution code 141001 is used and the payment is generated through bilateral netting, which is system generated When a payment is made between an agency not on streamlined banking and a streamlined banking agency or vice versa the payment is not system generated and the 140001 account is used.
Q: What causes the need for reconciliation? What can we do to avoid reconciliation problems?
A: Make sure deposits are made daily with correct transaction types and amounts and that the TeamWorks entry is made on the same day as the deposit.
Q: At my agency, we don’t make deposits daily. We use an armored carrier once a week to make our deposits.
A: We are looking at ways to assist the agencies in making this process more efficient. We may consider using a bank courier pickup to facilitate daily deposits. It is important for the state accounting office to define ways to safeguard state funds. Many states enact laws requiring agencies to make timely deposits to ensure they obtain full investment value for their state.
Q: Our agency has received bank statements from Bank of America with fees on them.
A: The Pilot agencies have received analysis statements in the past for the sub accounts that sweep funds into the master state concentration account. All fees are paid at the state concentration level and in addition all fees related to the Streamlined Banking accounts have been reversed and will continue to be reversed until we implement Streamlined Banking. The SLB Project Team has informed both banks to discontinue sending the paper statements to the agencies. If you continue to receive statements please send an email to Streamlined Banking Feedback and we will contact the banks again.
Q: When the agencies send forms via the internet to SAO Cash Management to make banking related requests, i.e. stop pays, check image, etc. will they receive a response from the SAO Cash Management team that the request has been received?
A: Yes, the SAO Cash Management team will have an individual assigned to respond to each of the request types and will be required to send an acknowledgement to the requesting agency.
Q: Will you still be able to process a check void/reissue on the operating account?
A: No, you will no longer have access to the bank proprietary accounts. You will be required to access the SAO/Streamlined Banking internet site and submit a request form online that will be processed by an individual from the SAO Cash Management team. In the interim, you will still have access to stop any checks made out of your Operating account before Streamlined Banking.
Q: What if I have the actual check in my possession? A: You will still need to send the request to the SAO Cash Management team and you will also need to manually mark the check void and mail to the State Accounting Office, Attn: SAO Cash Management Team.
Q: The agencies have been directed to set up a 407ALLOT department Chartfield value for Commitment Control purposes. Don’t we need an organization code for each program? Where do I put it in my budget tree?
A: Please refer to the tree instructions at the end of these questions.
Q: Who will SAO Cash Management send the directions to on the 407ALLOT tree set-up?
A: Please refer to the tree instructions at the end of these questions.
Q: If you do decide to reallocate the revenue once it has hit the 407ALLOT or Administrative Account, do you use a journal entry to post the transactions?
A: Yes.
Q: When you record an expenditure, they are recorded at the sub-program level. If you choose to allocate the GL entry that the BudgetNet interface creates to other sub levels, how does this work with Commitment Control?
A: The Commitment Control Allotment ledger will still have the central point at the program level not the sub-program level.
Q: In the first example of revenue collection, the funds deposited in the 102400 (Agency Depository GL account) is moved to the agency GL cash account in the nightly allocation process. In the second revenue collection example, the funds deposited in the 102400 (Agency Depository GL account) are moved to Treasury in the nightly allocation process. Why doesn’t this second example show up in our 101005 agency GL cash account?
A: In the second example the fund source code 10200 is used in recording the deposit which tells the allocation process that this money belongs to Treasury. The difference in the transactions is that one is recording revenue the agency can use to run its business; while the other records agency revenue that must be remitted to Treasury by State Law. Refer to slides 28 - 31 of Transition Session 5.
Q: What if we need to refund money we have already remitted to the Treasury? Is it refunded from fund source 10200 at the Treasury or the GL cash account 101005?
A: You will need to do a reversal entry on TeamWorks that will reverse posting to 10200 and run a reversing or negative allocation to the 101005 GL cash account. You would then put the correct deposit into the system to get it allocated to the 101005. The reversing entry takes it off Treasury’s books. The correct deposit moves it to 101005.
Q: Will an allocation be triggered anytime you deposit cash?
A: The physical deposit of cash in the bank does not trigger the Allocation. Everything that is recorded in TeamWorks. The agency depository account number will be picked up by allocation.
Q: How will this allocation process for cash affect Payroll transactions? If I have a check I collected from an employee for a payroll overpayment, where will I deposit the check and record the transaction?
A: When an agency collects money from an employee because they were overpaid, they create a negative manual check in HCM. The reversal will cause a debit to be posted to 101005 on the agency’s books – representing agency cash.
When the employee’s personal check is deposited, it will have to be posted to the Bank of America depository account (102400) and recorded in TeamWorks. The credit side of this entry will have to be made to 101005 agency cash. This effectively reverses the original payroll debit to 101005, leaving only one cash debit. The positive pay file, which we transmit to the bank, will include the negative manual check and the bank will use this information to adjust the amount of money transferred from the concentration account when funding the next payroll, effectively reducing the draw-down.
Agencies will be required to actually post the entry, as opposed to the current practice, because a bank exception will exist on the depository account until the deposit is recorded in AR.
Q: How does Streamlined Banking plan to move deposited funds from the local depository accounts to the Bank of America State Concentration account? Will the agency need to initiate a transfer of funds from the local depository if it is not a Bank of America account?
A: We are looking at ways to automatically move funds to the State Concentration Account but for the initial phase of Streamlined Banking, we will need the agencies to initiate the transfer.
Q: Will the sweep be automatic if the local depository is a second or additional Bank of America account i.e. a revenue collections account (s)?
A: Ideally we would like for those accounts to sweep automatically, but we will address these types of issues with each agency in individual One on One session prior to rolling any agency onto Streamlined Banking. The SAO Cash Management team plans on having a dedicated deployment team in place that will work with the agencies to address these issues and to determine how to integrate into the Streamlined Banking process.
Q: What if the receivable in an interagency transaction is a federal receivable and we don’t want the funds to go into account 141001?
A: To be determined - - We will research this question and post an answer on the Streamlined Banking website as soon as possible.
Q: If you add a department XXXDISBIU and update Trees for an inter unit accounting entry created in AP to post a department and a project, will you still be able to run a cash report?
A: Yes, you will be able to run a cash report, but it will not be distributed by project, department or program. We are asking each agency to determine if any reports, queries, or allocations are based on project, department or program on the cash line.
Q: If a check needs to be voided in an old operating/payroll account, can a check from the old account be written and deposited in the new SLB Depository account?
A: No, you must follow the process to void a check and then wire the funds to the new SLB Operating/Payroll account.
Q: If there is an outstanding check in the old operating/payroll account after 90 days, are you suggesting we void these checks?
A: Yes, we suggest you contact your check recipients within 60 days of go live if a check is still outstanding and if the check is still outstanding after 90 days, void the check and reissue from the new SLB accounts. You will also need to void and place a hold overnight in the old account and change the bank account number the next day before you reissue the check.
Q: Why do the agencies need to do the allotment entries; I thought that the allotment entries would be automatic with the new SLB process.
A: The entries the agencies are required to make are the initial entries to move the existing allotment amounts to the new SLB cash account 101005. Once the agencies are on SLB, the allotment entries will be automated.
Q: When will we be able to view some of the new SLB reports in testing?
A: You can currently view the report list on the SLB website. The actual reports should be available for you to view in the month end and year end testing. If you have reports that are not on the list please ask your module testers about the report.
Q: When can we expect to see the flow of transactions to the GL in testing?
A: The allocations were run last week and certain data was re-entered. You should be able to see in your next round of testing.
Q: Can you explain the timing of the posting of the journals created from the BudgetNet interface?
A: Initially, there will be a one-day lag from when the commitment control ledger is updated versus the general ledger – see example below. As soon as possible we will be updating this process so that both commitment control and the general ledger are updated the same day.
Q. OTFS stated the changes Streamlined Banking agencies need to make regarding surplus payments.
A. Streamlined Banking agencies should remit their surplus payments to OTFS via EFT/ACH in TeamWorks. They should use vendor # 0000377564. OTFS has set up this vendor for EFT/ACH payments as a Non Interunit Vendor.
Q. What query can Streamlined Banking receiving agencies use for Interagency Settlements?
A. There is no specific interunit query for open receivables. There is a query to view open items by distribution codes. The query is 0AR027. Agencies can use Query 0AR027 by distribution code, which contain the account 141001. Upon completion of the 9.0 Upgrade, a query may be developed specifically to identify open receivables, contingent upon technical support availability.
Q. Why are Prenotes not processed for Accounts Payable vendors?
A. Currently, TeamWorks Financial does not have the functionality in the Accounts Payable module to test Prenotes.