Financials upgrade newsletter [Dec. 2005 (Issue 5)]

Issue 5

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

December, 2005

What's New...
Customer Fit Gaps were held on November 15, 2005 and December 6, 2005. See the SAO Website for session summaries.
Off Line Inbound Interface File Layouts sent to agency Technical Contacts. Test files due by 2/1/2006.
Scan Gun Inventories (Audits/GTA) due by 4/2006.
Consolidated Customer File cleanup deadline 12/23/05.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

1

What's New

1

New Functionality:

Consolidated Customer File

2

Spotlight on Accounts

Receivable

3

Fun Facts:

What is "Control-Alt-Delete"

3

Glossary

4

ListServ

4

Security Applications

5

New Functionality:

Customer General Info Page

6

Contact Us!

New Functionality
Consolidated Customer File
The State of Georgia is implementing a Statewide Consolidated Customer File in conjunction with the upgrade of the PeopleSoft financial accounting system to version 8.8.
The new consolidated Customer File will assist in providing greater efficiency and management of Accounts Receivables across the state. This will be accomplished by eliminating duplication of customers and eliminating improper use of the customer file in capturing revenue sources. Individual business units will no longer have their own customer file listing, but will access customers from the Statewide listing. To ensure the integrity of the listing, a customer approval process will be implemented, similar to that of the vendor approval process.
The first step toward consolidating the customer file will be the clean-up of each individual business unit's customer file. Initial meetings to discuss consolidation efforts were held on November 1, 2005. Fit Gap sessions to review current customer set-up and version 8.8 customer set-up were held on November 15th and December 6th 2005 (see Meeting Summaries on the SAO website).
The deadline for each business unit to complete the clean-up process is December 23, 2005.
Any questions regarding the Statewide Customer Consolidation file should be sent to: upgradefeedback@sao.ga.gov.

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Spotlight on Accounts Receivable
New Functionality:
Customers There will be one statewide customer file. See special article on Page 1. Effective dating will be used in the customer pages. Status of customer will be grayed out (user can not change status). Address field will not be updated by users (SAO only). The insert row and delete row icons will be grayed out to prevent data entry changes. There will be an approval process similar to the Vendor approval already in place.
Receivables Receivables will continue to be entered at the Agency level by a manual online entry or offline feeds. The receivable items will update as they do currently, with the AR update process performed during nightly batch processing. Each agency will continue to be responsible for maintenance of receivable activity. Group ID will continue to default to "Next" but may be changed if necessary. Group Actions Page - New options are available for use in the "Posting Action" field which facilitates the posting of items to the AR ledger. New options include: Batch Priority, Batch Standard, Do Not Post, Post Now, and Post Now to GL. Batch Standard is the equivalent of Post Later. The OK button must be clicked before the group status will update.
Deposits The Deposit ID will continue to default to "Next" for agencies that use autonumbering, but may be changed for those agencies who wish to define their own Deposit ID's. There is no "Action" page in the 8.8 version. In order to delete a deposit, the user must use the "Delete Deposit" button on the Totals page.
Payments Payment application will continue to be processed at the Agency level using the Worksheet or Direct Journal methods. Payment application will continue to be either a manual online entry or offline feeds. The payment application will be processed during AR update in overnight processing. Worksheets Actions Page - New options are available for use in the "Posting Action" field which facilitates the posting of items to the AR ledger. New options include: Batch Priority, Batch Standard, Do Not Post, Post Now, and Post Now to GL. Batch Standard is the equivalent of Post Later. The OK button must be clicked before the group status will update.
Miscellaneous Non-Sufficient Funds No changes noted in version 8.8. On Account No changes in processing on account entries. "Add" button will replace "new worksheet item" dialog box. Speedtypes will continue to be used as a short cut data entry feature.

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Fun Facts........

What is "Control-Alt-Delete"

Control-Alt-Delete (often abbreviated to Ctrl-Alt-Del) is a computer keyboard command on IBM PC compatible systems that can be used to reboot a computer. It is given by simultaneously pressing the Control, Alt, and Delete keys.
This keyboard combination was designed to trigger a soft reboot, using a key combination which will open the Windows Task Manager allowing a user to end a task or program. Incidentally, because this key combination is impossible to do with one hand, it prevents accidental reboot.

Glossary
Look for this column in each newsletter to learn new terms and phrases utilized in the upgrade process and the new 8.8 system.
1. Search - Is no longer case sensitive in 8.8.
2. Asterisk (*) - Indicates where fields are required.
3. Insert/Delete Rows - Use + and for inserting and deleting rows.
4. Stalker Coding - PeopleSoft 8 uses `Stalker Coding' which means that in some cases, it will use the same criteria when moving from page to page until you click the clear button.

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Want to be "In the Know"?
One of the most common complaints expressed to the SAO Help Desk is that users do not receive notification of system availability, special processing instructions and other important communications. These "FS Official Communications" are e-mailed on a regular basis to users who have subscribed to the Listserv system. One way to be "in the know" is to sign up for Listserv!
Don't rely on others to pass along information to you.......put yourself in the "LOOP"! There is no cost to subscribe and it's easy to do! You can also unsubscribe at any time. Please be aware, however, that the more elists (modules) that you sign up for, the more emails you will receive in your inbox. We recommend only signing up for the lists applicable to your job duties.
Listserv is one of the most effective ways for you to obtain information and communications relative to your PeopleSoft system. If you have not already done so, sign up now.
Available lists include: AP, AR, AM, GL, PC, Labor, Budget, and PO.
Visit the SAO Website and click ListServ>Financial Systems eLists and subscribe today!
Security Update
A BIG "Thank You" to all who responded to our request for new security applications! We expect to have the new applications entered and ready for GO
LIVE!
Don't forget to continue the practice of submitting an 8.8 application along with your 7.02 applications when requesting security for new hires.

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New Functionality

Take a

at the new Customer General Information page:

This page is the first of six pagelets in the Customer component

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For more information on the Financials Upgrade Project or Comments / questions about the Project Newsletter, contact the
Communications Team at: upgradefeedback@sao.ga.gov
Additional information can also be found at the State Accounting Office Website:
http://sao.georgia.gov
State Accounting Office - Financial Systems - 200 Piedmont Avenue, Suite 1604, West Tower Atlanta, GA 30334 - Phone: 404-656-2133 - Fax: 404-463-5089

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