OVERVIEW

The General Ledger tracks actual revenues and expenditures.  The General Ledger is the official financial record of the University and is subject to audit.  Both University policy and externally determined regulations influence how transactions must be recorded.

 Budgets are management tools that represent estimated revenues and expenditures and are used to delegate “permission to spend”.  By comparing budgeted to actual activity, variances can be analyzed to assist management in better utilization of financial resources.  Financial reports, such as the “Summary of Expenditures” reflect both Budget and General Ledger transactions.

 Departments request that funds be transferred to another area for a variety of reasons.  Please review the following situation descriptions to determine the proper method to use.

CORRECTION OF AN ERROR

 If a transaction has already occurred and was charged to the incorrect account or needs to be allocated to various accounts, please send an e-mail to the financial/budget analyst assigned to your cost center and provide the following information:

  Transaction date

• Reference (six digit field, usually either a check number or a GJ number - “GJxxxx”)
• Transaction dollar amount
• Account originally charged including 3-digit expense code:  XXXX-XX-XXXX xxx
• Correct account(s) to be charged

 The correction will be made to the actual transaction in the General Ledger. 

SHARED EXPENSE

Determined at time of purchase:

If departments/units intend to share the cost of a purchase of goods or services, the preferred method is to split the cost at the time the Purchase Requisition is made.  Financial Services and Purchasing are in the process of developing specific steps, but in the meantime, one of units sharing the expense can submit a UBUY requisition and 1) indicate it will be a shared expense and 2) follow up with an email to Purchasing that is copied to the other units indicating the account numbers and the dollar or percentage split for the unit(s) involved and asking the other units to confirm their authorization to Purchasing.

 Determined after the purchase:

If the purchase has already occurred, the department that wants to pay for part of a cost already charged to another department can send an e-mail to the financial/budget analyst assigned to their cost center and follow the same procedures under “Correction of an Error”.   

 In both of these cases, the expense should be a true expense of the both (or all) departments’ operations.  This is not intended to be a funding mechanism as described below.

BUDGET TRANSFERS AND FUNDING SUPPORT

 Sometimes a department/unit (such as a college) wants to financially support an expenditure of another department.  Also, some units (such as a college travel budget) hold budget centrally and distribute it throughout the year as needed by other departments.  Both of these can be accomplished through a budget transfer.  Sometimes a new program is established during a fiscal year or a change in estimated revenues occurs, both of which require a budget amendment.  Please contact the Director of Accounting & Budgeting for new program budgets or changes in budgeted revenues.

 Budget Transfers should only be used to

1)                  Move budget from one budget line to another within a unit

2)                  Help fund an expense incurred by another unit and properly charged to that unit.  It should not be used as a method to “pay” for an expense. 

 These budget transfers can be accomplished by a unit using UBUY, by selecting option 30 “Budget Inquiry and Transfer Menu” and then selecting option 70 “Perform Budget Transfer”.   You can use the “Description” and “Reason” fields to provide meaningful documentation to both the giving and receiving units.  This does require that the proper authority has been set up in the UBUY system.  Typically department heads already have transfer authority established, but they can also delegate that authority to others, such as to a departmental secretary.

 Exceptions requiring additional approvals or Financial Services processing include:

• Reserved Personnel Services (budget lines 101, 104,105, 106, 108, 110) which require Financial Services processing
• Graduate Assistants (line 109) which require Graduate School approval if funds are being transferred out of a 109 line and Financial Services processing
• Carryover (line 699) which requires Financial Services approval and processing
• Transfers between different funds (as determined by the first three digits of an account number) *

 * If the accounts of both the giving and receiving units are in different funds, you need to  request a “502” transfer which will be processed as a transaction in the General Ledger as a “GJ” entry using the 502 expense code.  This is accomplished by sending an e-mail the financial/budget analyst assigned to your cost center.  You will need to include the ten-digit account number for both the giving and receiving units and the purpose of the transfer.  Generally, a transfer from a 1015 to a 1017 account is not allowed.  Funds may be transferred from a 1017 to a 1015 account, but must use the 502 transfer process.

INTERNAL BILLINGS

 If your unit regularly provides services to other departments on campus, you need to establish an internal billing process.  Please send an e-mail to the financial/budget analyst assigned to your cost center requesting to establish internal billing.  Please provide an explanation of the services, the frequency, and estimate of the number of monthly transactions.  You will be contacted to discuss and set up the internal billings process.

 QUESTIONS

If you’re not sure which process to use, contact the financial/budget analyst assigned to your cost center.