FAQ's

Requests for budget access should be forwarded to the Campus Budget Office by the appropriate fiscal officer in a unit. The Campus Budget Office will forward this request to the system office, who sets up the budget user with the PeopleSoft budget system. After this is done, system notifies the campus budget office and we will set up the user with appropriate departmental access.

2. What types of budget entries are unit budget users allowed to do?

Unit budget managers and users can set up budgets and transfer budgets within their own unit. The Campus Budget Office must do all budget transfers between units and all transfers involving the general revenue allocation PS account (400000).

3. What is the difference between Level 1 and Level 2 budgets?

Level 1 budget accounts are high level budget categories that are roll-up placeholders for more detailed expenditures. (Level 1 budget accounts are highlighted in blue in the PeopleSoft Chart of Accounts. This listing is available at the system accounting website.) Level 2 budget accounts (highlighted in yellow on the chart of accounts) are more detailed than Level 1, but still have other revenue and expenditure accounts rolling up to them. In most instances, our campus budgets at Level 1. Only selected auxiliary or service operations are allowed to budget at Level 2.

4. What is a BCM error?

A BCM (budget control module) error is an error which occurs when a journal, voucher or other financial entry attempts to post revenue or expenditures to a chartfield that has no budget entered. The campus budget office runs a report daily and notifies campus budget managers of any BCM errors affecting their areas.

5. How do I correct a BCM error? Most BCM errors can be corrected by putting appropriate budgets in place. However, in some instances the error occurs because a MoCode has been transposed or typed incorrectly, therefore making the entry try to post to an inappropriate chartfield. BCM errors should be investigated before automatically putting budgets in place. Timely resolution of BCM errors is critical.

6. I have been notified by the Budget Office that there is a BCM error for one of my chartfields. The error is from a monthly or biweekly payroll journal that is attempting to post payroll expenses to a chartfield in my unit. I do not believe this charge is appropriate. How can I tell who this payroll is for? How can I correct this BCM error?

There is a public query available that will list all payroll journals for a chartfield (deptid) by payroll ending date. This query is KW_PAYROLL_JRNLS and can be run by accessing the PeopleSoft Financial Reporting database.

While the query will tell you which employee the payroll journal is for, you must still post a budget to this chartfield. ALL PAYROLL JOURNALS MUST POST; after posting, the entry will have to be corrected by doing a payroll correcting entry.

7. I have been notified by the campus budget office that my budget(s) is out of balance. What does that mean?

For a budget to be in balance, sources (including beginning balances and revenue) must equal expenditures (including budgeted ending balance). There is a public query in PeopleSoft financial reporting which will tell indicate deptids that are not in balance: UBD_DEPTID_ORG_REV_BAL.

The budget variance reports available in the web applications will also indicate deptids which are out of balance. If the "budgeted ending balance" (PS account 880000) and the "calculated ending balance" are different amounts, that deptid is out of balance.

8. How often can I change the budget?

A budget is an operational plan, and plans change throughout the year. The campus budget office recommends that units review budgets for all funds at least once a month to compare actual financial activity to budget. Budgets should be altered if a change in budget is warranted due to higher expenditures, change in policies, low revenues, inaccurate budgeting or other reasons.

9. How do I review my budget?

Budget variance reports are available on the web applications. These reports can be run by individual deptid, by program, by department and by division. These reports will indicate the original budget (July 1), the current budget (with all budget transfers and revisions to date) and actual revenues and expenditures. By reviewing budget to actual expenses and encumbrances, budget managers will see areas where budget variances are large and budgets may need to be adjusted.

10. I want to set up a new chartfield to track revenues and expenses for a new program. How can I do that?

A form is available on Outlook that facilitates chartfield setup. This form can be accessed through Outlook, Tools, Forms. Choose form "UM New Chartfield Request." Complete the request and forward to the Accounting Office. They will review and forward on to the system Controller's Office. Once a new chartfield is established the user/requestor and the campus budget office will be notified. The Budget Office will set up deptid access at that time.

11. Where can I find more information on the new Financial Management Training Program?

A webpage is under construction for the training program. Until it is ready, a list of the current courses and descriptions can be found here, as well as the calendar for the current month:

• Course Descriptions
• List of Currently Scheduled Courses - September 2006
• Current Calendar - September 2006.

For more information or to register for classes, please email haskinr@umkc.edu.

12. Where can I find more information for Fiscal Officers?

Please check the Fiscal Officers website and the Fiscal Officers Training website for more information.

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