Bridges Advisory #34 - Nov 5, 2004
Printable versionThe University of Florida is committed to keeping you informed as we continue our transition to the new myUFL systems. To help you with the transition, each week you will receive a Bridges Advisory.
DEPARTMENT SUMMARY LEDGERS: SHOW ME THE MONEY! Do you want to know how much money you have and where it went? Department Summary Ledgers, commonly known as Department Ledgers, show fund and account activity summaries per department or college. Anyone with the UF_ER_FI_LEDGER, UF_ER_LEDGER_ALL, or UF_ER_FI_ALL user security role can run Summary Ledgers in Enterprise Reporting to monitor their account balances in five ledger groups: Appropriations, Cash, Grants, Construction and Auxiliary. This guide is designed to help you run a variety of reports to help you manage your budget. Use the new Summary Ledger handout to learn how to customize the report using differing ledger groups, ChartFields, and time periods (including Current Month). Once created, you can save the report for future use.
This handout also demonstrates how to drill down to Ledger Detail Report for Operating Expenses or for Budget.
GETTING HELP WITH myUFL. When you contact anyone for help with myUFL systems, please provide the following information:
- What module are you using (link in menu) and what are you trying to do?
- What path did you take to get there (i.e., what menu links did you click in order)?
- What is the transaction ID number (if there is one)?
- What is the last thing you did before receiving the error message, blank screen, etc.?
- What is the exact wording of the error message?
The best way to get help with myUFL:
- If you have an unexpected or new problem using the system, first check the Alert Notices page and, if not listed, call the UF Help Desk.
- Ask your peers-many of you have common concerns or questions that can be easily answered by your peers either face-to-face or via the myUFL discussion forums (i.e., Travel, Time Entry, Time Mgmt, Proposal and Award Exchanges).
- Ask your college expert-they are most familiar with any internal or unit-specific policies and practices, and have heard many of your questions before. If they cannot help you they will contact their Bridges Liaison who will then personally handle your problem.
- Call the appropriate central office on campus if you have specific questions about your own personal records or general policy and procedure questions. For questions about your Directory profile or data, please contact your Directory Coordinator or submit a Help Desk ticket (392-HELP or helpdesk@ufl.edu).
- You may continue to contact the UF Help Desk for any problem. In most cases, Help desk tickets received by UF Bridges are now being handled within 24 hours.
More information about these topics is available on the Bridges Web site under Get Assistance.
CHANGES TO THE BRIDGES OPEN LABS. We have made two important changes to the Open Lab schedule, which is available on the myUFL portal sign on page as well as the Bridges Web Site under Get Assistance. Bridges Open Labs are the BEST place to get your issue resolved. It is staffed by experts in the subject matter and where you can speak DIRECTLY to the people who configured the system.
First, Bridges Open Labs will now include "open house" sessions that cover all topics. These will continue to be staffed by knowledge experts. If the staff working the open lab cannot answer your question they have direct access to those who can. To begin, we replaced two Voucher sessions with the Open House - All Topics sessions on the morning of November 17 and November 23. After Thanksgiving, all sessions will be based on the new "open house" approach.
Second, Bridges has added two new sessions for Enterprise Reporting - Tuesday, November 9, 1:30 - 5:00 pm and Tuesday, November 23, 1:30 - 5:00 pm. These Open Lab sessions are a perfect opportunity to practice with the Summary Ledgers mentioned above and get the expert help you need. Bring your work and questions - we are here to help.
USE RTS BUSES FOR ATTENDING OPEN LAB SESSIONS. If you want to attend the Open Lab session at UF Bridges but don't want to lose your campus parking space, you may want to take an RTS bus. The bus will drop you off at the Downtown Plaza, which is located just two short blocks north of Union Street Station. One of the benefits provided by the University of Florida is that anyone with a valid Gator 1 Card may ride the bus free of charge. The two primary campus-to-downtown routes include:
- From University Avenue, Route 5 will take riders directly to the Downtown Plaza. Buses run every 20 minutes. Route and schedule: http://www.go-rts.com/Fall2004/Route5.pdf.
- From Shands Center Drive and Museum Road, Route 1 will take riders directly to the Downtown Plaza. Buses run every 20 minutes. Route and schedule: http://www.go-rts.com/Fall2004/Route1.pdf.
ACCOUNT CHARTFIELD EDITS NOW IN PLACE. Each subsystem of General Ledger (GL) allows users to enter specific ChartField information and most of them allow users to select a GL Account, which normally relates to an expense or revenue account. Subsystems include Accounts Payable (AP), Accounts Receivable (AR), Expenses, Letters of Appointment (LOA), Billing, Assets, and Payroll.
To prevent users from selecting the wrong GL Account, we implemented an edit on the Account ChartField. In most cases users will not be able to enter a balance sheet GL account values and they will receive an error message if they attempt to use an invalid GL account value. Some core users like AP Managers or UFS Cashiers will be able to use all GL account values so the capability is still there when necessary and you should contact the core offices (like Elmore Hall or UFS) if you need to use a GL account value that is not available to all users.
ISSUE RESOLVED-NO MORE DOUBLE RECORDING OF TRAVEL EXPENSES ON CHARGES OTHER THAN PERSONAL FUNDS. The issues related to the double recording of travel-related charges (Purchasing Card and Direct Billings) have been resolved. Prepaid/direct billed items may now be input on a Travel Authorization. This will not encumber the funds, but it will allow for a more accurate reflection of all the anticipated expenses on a travel and will also allow you to populate the Travel Expense Report with all the required information. These transactions will still be paid unencumbered either through the Purchasing Card (PCard) module or the Accounts Payable (AP) module for direct billings.
You may now also input prepaid/direct billed items on the Travel Expense Report. When selecting a Payment Type of "UF PCard," "PP/Direct Bill," and "Avis Company Travel Order (ACTO)," you must also use a Billing Type of "Prepaid Expense" instead of In-State, Out-of-State, or Foreign. This transaction will not post to the commitment control or actual ledgers when inputting the Travel Authorization or Travel Expense Report. The charges will be reflected in the correct ledgers when the item is paid in the PCard module or Accounts Payable (AP) module
Please make sure you use the correct account code when processing a PCard transaction or an AP voucher to properly account for the In-State, Out-of-State, or Foreign travel classification.
VOUCHERS-PLEASE USE MEANINGFUL INVOICE NUMBERS. Departments must provide more specific information for the INVOICE NUMBER on the Invoice Information Tab of the voucher. The number should be meaningful to the vendor so that the vendor will be able to apply the department's payment correctly to their account. Generally, if a vendor provides an invoice number this is what should be used as the invoice number in myUFL. Please contact Disbursements at 392-1241 for further assistance or questions about this topic.
NEW ENTERPRISE REPORTING REPORTS. There are several new or revised reports available in Enterprise Reporting. Located in the myUFL portal, Enterprise Reporting is available to any faculty or staff but does require the UF_ER_USER role for general access and may require additional roles depending on the type of information and level of detail.
Revised report in Enterprise Reporting > Human Resources Information > My UFL HR and Payroll > Benefit Information > Leave:
- Leave Accrual, Usage and Balances by Pay Period Ending Date (PPE) and EmplID - revised to report all Employees, including Terminated employees
New report in Enterprise Reporting > Human Resources Information > My UFL HR and Payroll > Workforce Information:
- Job Information for Last 180 Days by EmplID
New report in Enterprise Reporting > Human Resources Information > My UFL HR and Payroll > Pay Information > Payroll Cost History:
- Payroll Cost Distribution Detail by Cost Center and Person - Prior Fiscal Year
New report in Enterprise Reporting > Human Resources Information > My UFL HR and Payroll >Pay Information > Current Pay Cycle:
- Payroll Cost Distribution Detail by Cost Center and Person by Division
- Retro Cost Distribution Detail by Person List
NEW TRAINING MATERIALS. The following training class materials have been added or updated this week. Class presentations and handouts are located on the Bridges Web Site under Training.
- AR/Billing: Accounts Receivable for Invoices (New)
- Hiring and Job Actions: Payroll Distribution and Additional Pay (Updated)
NEW INSTRUCTION GUIDES. Some new or updated Instruction Guides are available:
- Ledger: SpeedCharts (Updated)
- Ledger: Summary Ledgers (New)
- Ledger: Where Are My Available Balances? (Updated)
PORTAL TIP: SAVING FREQUENTLY USED SEARCH CRITERIA. Quite often we use the same search criteria in our daily jobs. Did you know that you can save search criteria? Saving a frequently used search can save you time when using myUFL.
- Begin from any Advanced Search page. Enter your search criteria.
- Click on 'Save Search Criteria'.
- Enter your search name in the 'Name of Search' box.
- Click 'Save'
- Click 'Return to Advanced Search'
Your search will now appear in the 'Use Save Search' drop down box. You also have the option of deleting any of your saved searches by clicking on the 'Delete Saved Search' link.
For frequent updates about the project, subscribe to the UF Bridges pagelet on the myUFL portal. For a quick tutorial on how to use myUFL, visit: http://wla.erp.ufl.edu/media/PersonalizeContentLayout.html.
For more information about the transition, visit the Bridges Web site.
For help or support in using the new systems, including the portal, contact the UF Help Desk at 392-HELP or helpdesk@ufl.edu.
