Spring 2001 Financial Systems Training Registration Is Open  back to top

Earlier this week, registration opened for spring 2001 offerings of FAD Training programs on the general ledger, accounts receivable, sponsored chart of accounts, the fiscal and sponsored budget tools, STAR (last offering on April 2), AWS2, HUDINI, and ad hoc reporting.

Please make note of the following offerings which are scheduled in the coming days and have some seats available:

• Processing Invoices Using Web Voucher, Jan. 30, 1730 Cambridge St., 7 seats available
• Using STAR, Feb. 2, 1730 Cambridge St., 8 seats available
• Sponsored Chart of Accounts, Feb. 5, Gutman Conference Center, many seats available
• Using AR to Create Customer Invoices, Feb. 6, 8 Story St., 3 seats available
• Using the Sponsored Budget Tool, Feb. 9, Holyoke 803, 10 seats available

A reminder about our Snow Cancellation Policy: In the case of a weather emergency, please call 617-495-1221 to determine whether your class or clinic has been cancelled. A message should be posted by 7 a.m. the day of the event if cancelled. If in doubt about an afternoon event due to developing weather conditions during the day, please check the message at 617-495-1221 or call our offices at 495-8891.

Registration was also opened for training that will support the transition of STAR proxies and current Web Voucher users to processing reimbursements in the revamped Web Voucher system. Two training programs are being offered:

Course Name
Using Web Voucher for Reimbursements: a Briefing for Current Users

Format
90 minutes including Q&A, lecture style, audiences of 25-40 users

Who it's for
Experienced Web Voucher users and STAR approvers

The course covers

• An explanation and demonstration of the revamped system;
• Key differences between the Create Reimbursement and Create Web Voucher screens;
• A review of the new business process, with particular emphasis on the minimum levels of detail and documentation required to process reimbursements;
• How reimbursees are set up in the vendor master file;
• The special processing required for American Express payments and credits, as well as travel advances;
• A quick review of special vendor payment processes in Web Voucher, including petty cash and multiple invoices on one voucher.

Prerequisites

• A working knowledge of the Web Voucher and STAR systems, as well as relevant University travel, reimbursement, and vendor payment policies;
• An understanding of your local policies and procedures relating to reimbursements in the new system.

When and where it's offered

Note: Training to support users at the Divinity and Law Schools -- both of which go live on April 2 -- is being scheduled on-site, with times, dates, and locations to be announced by each school's local financial office.

Course Name
Processing Vendor Payments and Reimbursements Using Web Voucher

Format
Half-day, hands-on course in computer classroom

Who it's for
STAR proxies with no prior Web Voucher experience and new hires who must learn to process both vendor payments and reimbursements.

The course covers

• When to use the vendor payment, reimbursement, PCard, and extra compensation payment processes;
• Creating vendor payments, American Express payments, and reimbursements in Web Voucher;
• The minimum level of detail required for reimbursements and an understanding of how this information flows through to detail listing;
• Key University policies governing purchasing and reimbursements;
• How to request the creation of a new vendor or reimbursee in the system;
• Handling special processes such as multiple vendor invoices on a single web voucher, petty cash, travel advances, vendor credit memos, and American Express credits;
• How to use the system to research available chart values, payment status and history, and available online approvers.

Prerequisites

• An understanding of Harvard's Chart of Accounts (CoA) structure generally and your department's chart values in particular.
• Basic Windows 95+ or Macintosh equivalent navigation skills.
• An understanding of your department's local policies and procedures relating to reimbursements in the new system.

When and where it's offered

Each of these courses assumes that staff will come to class with an understanding of local reimbursement policies and procedures. By this, we mean specifically:

• If you are a preparer, who is your online approver in the Web Voucher system?
• Does your department require receipts for reimbursement items less than $75 (the University threshhold)?
• Will your department use the new Universal Expense Report Form, a printout of the Web Voucher reimbursement screen, or both depending on circumstances, in order to:
  • capture the reimbursee's signature;
  • itemize and substantiate expenses;
  • attach receipts; and
  • provide the number of the online web voucher.

These and other locally determined practices should be communicated to you in the weeks immediately prior to your go-live date. If you have not received this information by the time you are scheduled to attend training, please contact your local representative on the Web Voucher Reimbursement Advisory Board. Members are listed in the November 9, 2000 e-News.

Accounts Receivable Project Update
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The new Oracle Accounts Receivable system went "live" as scheduled on January 2, 2001. Throughout the month of December, Central AR was busy working on reconciliation and conversion of nearly 12,000 active customer accounts in the new system.

Central AR continues to perform daily operational activities, such as entering invoices, setting up new customers, and making collection calls. In addition, Central AR is attending to some residual conversion cleanup activities, such as duplicate customers, customer master file corrections, and receipt entry catch-up. Central AR staff members are also continuing to learn the "ins and outs" of the new system and are finetuning their new business processes. Local billing units from across the University are making the same adjustments to a new online system, and have thus far entered nearly 500 invoices. Another 2,000 customer invoices have flowed to the Receivables system from local feeder systems. Nearly 5,000 customer payments have been applied to active accounts and over 200 new customers have been set up by Central AR since January 2nd.

Training began in late December and will continue through March. A number of training offerings remain available to help new users ramp up:

More detailed information on these Accounts Receivable courses is available on the FAD Training web site.

 

New Procedure for Short-Term
Operating Advances Goes
into Effect February 1      back to top

At a recent meeting of the Financial Deans and Directors, the following new procedure was formally approved. It will take effect on February 1.

Definition

A short-term operating advance account is generally set up to accommodate short (six months or less) projects carried out by Harvard personnel where a petty cash fund is not appropriate.

Funds are disbursed by check to a Harvard employee who manages the project.

Every short-term operating advance must be authorized by a Financial Dean. Each request will contain the name of the account manager, a specified termination date, and is accompanied by a departmental expense coding to be charged in the event that the account is not settled in a timely manner.

Requesting a Short-Term Operating Advance

The tub must submit a Short-Term Operating Advance Authorization Form to the Travel Office. The form must carry the name of the custodian, the termination date of the project, the departmental account to charge, the amount to advance, and the signature of the Financial Dean or dean equivalent in central units.

Tub Responsibilities

• Authorizes advance, determines termination date, and assigns responsible individuals;
• Reviews expenses;
• Maintains receipts subject to periodic review by Risk Management and Audit Services;
• Creates web voucher for the advance;
• Processes settlements via journal voucher;
• Returns unused funds to Cash Receipts using a University Credit Voucher.

Central Responsibilities

Travel Office

• Maintains record of authorized advances;
• Authorizes web vouchers for replenishment;
• Ensures advance accounts are settled in a timely manner.

Cash Management

• Accepts Credit Vouchers, processes unused funds and credits appropriate STOA object code as recorded on Credit Voucher

Office for Sponsored Research

• Reviews expenses related to sponsored activity

Funding a Short-Term Operating Advance

• Checks made payable to the account manager are the only form of payment allowed.
  
  
• The tub must prepare a web voucher (eventually web expense) for the amount of the advance as follows:

   

  Select the name of the employee/account manager in the vendor file, then:

  • Enter "STOA for (name of project)" in the description;
  • Enter the responsible tub and org;
  • Enter 0501 for object code;
  • Enter all zeros for fund;
  • Enter all zeros for the activity;
  • Assign the web voucher to the Travel Supervisor (currently Margarita Rivera) for approval.
    
    
• Forward a printed copy of the web voucher along with a Short Term Operating Advance Request Form to the Travel Office.

Settling a Short-Term Operating Advance

• Settlement should be processed on a journal voucher;
• The tub should keep a copy of the journal, detail of the expenditures, and all original receipts for auditing purposes;
• If receipts are in foreign currency the settlement should be accompanied by a cover sheet itemizing the receipts and the exchange rates used. Original receipts should be kept locally;
• We recommend that settlements be reviewed by a program administrator who understands the research project and then by a tub-level financial administrator;
• Short-term operating advances should be settled by the termination date of the account, otherwise the Travel Office will charge the outstanding balance to the departmental account provided by the Financial Dean on the STOA Authorization Form;
• Unused funds must be processed on a credit voucher using the same coding listed above;
• The tub is responsible for collecting the unused funds. The tub returns unused funds by attaching them to a University Credit Voucher and sending the voucher to the Cash Receipts Office. The STOA object code 0501 must be credited;
• The Financial Dean should address any exceptions to this policy to the University Controller.

About the e-News   back to top

The Financial Administration publishes this semi-monthly electronic newsletter for users of Harvard University's financial systems, policies, and procedures. Generally, the e-News is published on or around the 12th and 26th of each month.

It contains:

Updates on projects underway to build or improve University financial systems;

Information about new University financial policies, procedures, and forms;

Reminders about upcoming deadlines and cut-over dates;

Tips and tricks for working more easily or productively.

We welcome questions and suggestions for improvement from readers. If your questions are of general interest, we will answer them in future issues.

Please send comments, questions, or suggestions for improvement by email to us at: fad_communications@harvard.edu