Bridges Advisory #67 – July 08, 2005
Printable versionThe University of Florida is committed to keeping you informed as we continue our transition to the new myUFL systems. For more information about the Bridges Advisories, or to read past issues, please visit www.bridges.ufl.edu/advisory.
ENTERPRISE REPORTING INITIATIVES UPDATE. As promised in the June 27, 2005 DDD memo from Associate Vice President Fred Cantrell, we want to share with you the recent additions or progress made improving Enterprise Reporting over the past two weeks. Bridges has received many suggestions and comments since releasing the Grant Project Reports and announcing the reporting initiatives. We will first focus on those suggestions that cover performance and stability and then turn to specific report requests. We may not personally respond to each email or letter, but be assured we are compiling and reviewing all suggestions.
In the area of reliability and stability, Bridges has made a good first step reducing the processing time of updating the data in the data warehouse. But we won’t be satisfied until we have reached our objective of processing the data in a timely, consistent manner.
Work will be going on for the next three to four months to the Web servers and to implement a Cognos “hot fix” similar to the PeopleSoft maintenance packs we have done in the past. These two efforts, plus on–site help from one of our vendors, should result in increased stability of the system, but not until we are in the actual reporting environment with real users can we measure the true impact.
The work described above will also help us to resolve the 2022 errors that users may get when using Enterprise Reporting. In the meantime, Bridges has devised some short–term solutions that have reduced the frequency of the errors. In the event that a user does receive a 2022 error, they can typically continue their session by hitting the refresh button once or twice.
Improvements over the past two weeks for outreach and communication include a standard and continuing alert notice called “Enterprise Reporting – Daily Status Report.” This alert covers the more popular reports and will be a quick way for campus end users to check what data are available in Enterprise Reporting. Additionally, the UF Help Desk and Bridges Help Desk have modified the process for handling Enterprise Reporting calls. These changes should result in shorter help desks calls, quicker resolution of problems, and more consistent posting of alerts for reporting issues.
In the area of report improvements and additions, the May 2005 Department Reports for fiscal staff are now available in the myUFL portal. Like the May 2005 Project Reports released last month, these reports are available as a direct link under Enterprise Reporting in a delivered PDF format. Read the new instruction guide “Department Report Package” – located on the Enterprise Reporting and General Ledger and Budgets services page on Bridges Web site – for useful information about these data and reports.
To use the delivered reports, click on the link for the appropriate college, then the department, and then the report title. Note the links also appear at the top of the page to show progression through the pages (e.g., HOME > 00000000 COLLEGE > 00010000 DEPT). Click on any of these links to easily navigate.
Each department’s report package contains the following reports:
- Expense Detail Report for State Appropriated Funds
- Payroll Cost Distribution Summary for State Appropriated Funds
- Summary Expenses by Category, Account for State Appropriated Funds
We anticipate that the June versions of both report packages (i.e., Project and Department) will be available by the end of July.
The fiscal year 2006 data and reports are still undergoing development and testing. Upon the completion of this fiscal year end and current fiscal year reports, Bridges will begin development and testing of cash-based monthly delivered reports.
On usability, by placing the Project Reports and Department Reports directly under Enterprise Reporting in the myUFL Menu we have improved navigation, access and response time. After this work is done, Bridges will focus on the reduction of Enterprise Reporting user security roles to simplify access to reports.
In an effort to improve usability, as well as increase stability, Bridges will discontinue the use of Impromptu Web Reports (IWR). These reports run on an earlier version of Cognos and will no longer be supported. Users who have saved IWR reports in their personal folder will be given prior notice and Bridges will work with them to move the reports into the current ReportNet version. This is a future project and work has not yet begun.
Bridges will continue to update you periodically on the reporting initiatives. If you have any suggestions or comments about this update, please send us an email via the myUFL Suggestion Box.
PURCHASING AND CARRY FORWARD ISSUES. The Carry Forward Purchase Orders for fiscal year 2006 have not yet been moved into myUFL. [We anticipate this will be completed by Monday, July 11. Purchasing has been receiving Change Notice Requests on Carry Forward Purchase Orders for FY 2006. Because these POs haven’t been established yet, Purchasing cannot process any Change Notices. Do not send Change Notices until the Carry Forward PO is established, and then submit one only if you need to cancel a PO. Some other common questions about Carry Forward POs:
- What if the Invoice comes in for more than the amount of the Carry Forward PO? When you voucher add an unencumbered line to pay from another source (example: “CRNNT” budget) and then Finalize the PO in the Voucher.
- What if the invoice comes in for less than the amount of the Carry Forward PO? Remember, closing a Carry Forward PO works the same way a regular PO does. If the PO has been vouchered against, the processor must Finalize the Voucher to release the balance of encumbered funds to your carry forward budget.
- How will I identify Carry Forward POs? The Carry Forward POs will be available with a leading prefix of “CF” and the remainder of the number the same as last year. Example:
Old |
New |
||
POBU |
1901 |
POBU |
1901 |
PO# |
0000000151 |
PO# |
CF00000151 |
Lastly, please do not input vouchers against PY purchase orders and change the budget reference to CYFWD. These vouchers will not pass budget check. Once applied against a PO, they also can not be deleted.
For questions about change notices, send email to purchasing@ufl.edu. For questions about vouchering, send email to disbursements@ufl.edu.
FINAL RETRO DISTRIBUTION FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005 ON JULY 13. One final Retro Distribution process for fiscal year 2005 changes is scheduled to run overnight on Wednesday, July 13. Bridges anticipates Enterprise Reporting will be updated by Monday, July 11 to include data from the June 30, 2005 period end. As usual, you will have until 5:00 pm on Wednesday, July 13 to post any changes to FY 2005 distributions. This is the final retro that will affect fiscal year 2005.
NEW INSTRUCTION GUIDES. Two new instruction guides are available this week for the following services:
- Purchasing > Paying Certain UF Departments Using Item Templates (Updated)
- Budgets > Department Reports (New)
For frequent updates about the project, subscribe to the UF Bridges pagelet in the myUFL portal. For a quick tutorial on how to use myUFL, please sign on to the portal and click on Help > How to Use myUFL.
For more information about myUFL systems, 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.
