Financials upgrade newsletter [Oct. 2005 (Issue 4)]

Issue 4

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

Fall, 2005

Milestones to Date...
Phase 1 Strategy & Planning - Completed! Confirm Project Business Drivers Establish Management Procedures Complete Project Implementation Plan
Phase 2 System Design Completed! Fit Gap Sessions (Traditional and Delta) Confirm modifications for v8.8 Security Analysis Upgrade Lab Compare Reports End User Skills Assessment
Phase 3 Development Underway!!!

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

1

Milestones to Date

1

Chartfield Analysis

2

Spotlight on Accounts Payable

3

Chartfield Mapping

3

Chartfield Highlights

4

Want to be "in the know?"

4 Go Live!

4

Contact Us!

4

Security Update

5

Take a "Look"

6

Meet the Staff

7

Glossary of Terms

8

Training Update

Chart of Account Analysis
Project Goals Leverage the new capabilities available in
PeopleSoft version 8.8. Enable centralized reporting across Business Units
and certain chartfields. Support and facilitate Program Budgeting.
Benefits include: Maximize capabilities available in PS 8.8 with
minimal software modifications and adverse
impact on State Agencies. Increased ability for agencies to capture desired
data. Improved access to data facilitates better financial
management. Consistent chartfield use increases comparability
across agencies and fiscal periods. Creation of enterprise reporting standards increase
the timeliness of mandated and external reporting.
Required Chartfields PeopleSoft version 7.02 include: GL Business Unit Fund Org/Dept ID Sub Class Account Program Project Budget Year
Required Chartfields in PeopleSoft version 8.8 include: GL Business Unit Fund Department ( same as Org/Dept ID) Account Program Fund Source
Optional Chartfields in PeopleSoft version 8.8 include: Project Class (same as Sub Class)
New Chartfields in PeopleSoft version 8.8 include: Budget Reference (optional) Product (optional for Agency use) Chartfield 2 (optional for Agency use)
See Page 3 for Chartfield Mapping and Highlights

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

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Spotlight on Accounts Payable
New Functionality
Matching Turn on three-way matching for a small group of pilot agencies at go-live. Remaining agencies will have three-way matching turned off. After go-live, agencies will have the discretion to turn on three-way matching.
Link an Employee Vendor to the Personal Data Table When a vendor is classified as an employee, the employee id will be required before saving the vendor.
Asset Profiles Voucher Soft warnings pertaining to Asset Profiles will be replaced by focused training and UPK content on the proper use of asset profiles.
Ability to Search for Vendor Based on the Name 2 Field This will be helpful in situations where there is one corporate name, but the local or doing business as (DBA) name can be identified.
Open Item Processing The open item field will be used for employee travel reimbursements and travel advance tracking. When the account that is set up as an open item account is used, the open item field will require a valid value. (It's validated against the HCM table.) Instead of using the SS#, the Employee Id will be used on the voucher.
Add an NIGP Code to the Voucher Line State Purchasing requested the item category field be added and required on the voucher line.
Prevent Inquiry Access to Employee Bank Information Because this is sensitive information, only the vendor maintenance group will be able to view employee bank account information. The bank account will still default to the voucher, but will be hidden or masked (only show the last 4 digits of the account number).
Enter USD on the Manual Payment Worksheet Users in 8.8 are asked to enter a currency code when entering a manual payment. This will be emphasized in UPK lessons and training.
Prevent Chartfields from Being Changed on a Voucher Created From a PO Chartfields will continue to be grayed out when processing a PO Voucher as in version 7.02.

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

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Continued from Page 1

ChartField Changes

7.02 ChartFields

XXXXX Business Unit
(72 in Total) (Required)

XXXXX Fund
(Required)

XXXXXXXXXX ORG
(Required
Note 4

XXXXX SubClass (Required for Expenses)
Note 5

XXXXXX Account
(Required)

XXXXX Program (Required)
Note 2

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Project/Grant (Required)

XXXX Budget Year (Required)
Note 6

XXXXX Business Unit
(72 in Total) (Required)

XXXXX Fund
(Required)

XXXXXXXXXX Department (Required)
Note 4

8.8 ChartFields

XXXXX Class
Note 5

XXXXXX Account (Required)
Note 3

XXXXX Funding Source
(Required)
Note 1

XXXXXXXXXX Program (Required)
Note 2

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Project (Optional)

XXXXXXXX Budget Reference
(Optional) NEW
Note 7

XXXXXX Product (Optional)
NEW
Note 8

XXXXXXXXXX Special Purpose
(Optional) NEW
Note 9

ChartField Changes - Highlights
1. Program in 8.8 is Relabeled "Funding Source" 2. ChartField 1 will be labeled Program to reflect Program as used in Appropriations Act 3. Rollup Accounts will be designed to reflect Common Object Classes 4. Department in 8.8 is renamed from ORG in 7.02 5. Class in 8.8 is renamed from SubClass in 7.02 6. Budget Year is no longer a ChartField and is replaced by Budget Period. Budget
Period is automatically placed on transactions based on Budget Date 7. Budget Reference is introduced in 8.8. Can be useful for Multi-Year Grants 8. Product ChartField is introduced in 8.8 for agency needs 9. "Special Purpose" ChartField is introduced in 8.8 for agency needs

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

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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.

PeopleSoft Financials Go-Live
July 2006
Security Update Don't forget to mail or fax your new security
applications for PeopleSoft Version 8.8.
(Address and phone number information can be found on page 7)
The deadline for submission is November 1, 2005

Contact Us
An e-mail address has been created especially for your use.
Contact us at upgradefeedback@sao.ga.gov
A project team member will personally respond to any questions you may have.
If there is anything you would like to see included in the newsletter, please don't hesitate to contact the Communications Team with your
ideas.
Additional information pertaining to the Upgrade Project can be found at the
State Accounting Office Website:
http://sao.georgia.gov

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

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New Functionality

Take a

at the new Accounts Receivable Main Menu page:

This page is new to Accounts Receivable in version 8.8

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

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Meet the SAO Financial Systems Production Team!
In each issue of the Financials Upgrade newsletter, we will feature SAO personnel that serve on our Production Support Team. These folks are our hero's! Without this staff maintaining the current production environment, the upgrade could not take place.

Pictured from Left: (Front row) Andre McManus, Cheryl Cottrell, and Rusk Roam (Back row) Brian Hampton, Carla Faulk, Elizabeth Price, Deborah Cooper, Greg Downs, Dan Dollar Not pictured: Toni Hill and Patty Laster

Financial Systems Productions Support
Team
These individuals bring 125 years of experience to the State
of Georgia!
Contact Production Support at 404-657-3956
Or 1-888-896-7771
acctspay@sao.ga.gov finacctg@sao.ga.gov

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.

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

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Training Update
As reported to you in our last newsletter, the SAO Functional Team were hard at work identifying the training curriculum to be developed in the UPK (User Productivity Kit). We're happy to report that this task is complete and the development phase for UPK content is underway. The team is currently in the process of creating "storyboards", which are basically scripts for step by step instructions on how to complete PeopleSoft transactions. Included in the storyboards will be very detailed concepts and important points pertaining to how a transaction should be done and how it may relate to other modules. Job aids, web site links and other related documentation will also be incorporated into the concepts. Once storyboards are complete for each topic, they will be utilized by a development staff to program the UPK. Our goal is to have all topics programmed and ready for use by early Spring, 2006.
The next major training task will be to prepare for rollout of the Train the Trainer program. More information on train the trainer will be reported in future publications.
Help us to help you!
Financial List Serv subscribers will soon be receiving an email requesting participation in an on-line survey. Should you receive this communication, please take a few moments of your time to click on the link that will take you to a brief series of questions related to your experience with the PeopleSoft system. Your feedback
is very important and will assist the Upgrade Team identify opportunities for enhancements in training and communications.

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

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

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