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Oracle financial and Harvard Data Warehouse (HDW reporting applications to become PIN enabled top
Beginning Monday, February 28, you will access the Oracle financial and HDW reporting applications by logging on through the Harvard PIN authentication system. The affected applications include Web Voucher, Web Reimbursement, PCard, General Ledger, Web ADI, Budget Tool, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Chart Security Maintenance Application (CSMA), Cash Management (CMRA), as well as HUDINI and AWS2 for financial reporting.
This will mean fewer passwords for you to manage. Your Harvard PIN will not only provide access to Oracle, HUDINI, and AWS2, but to any other PIN-enabled administrative systems such as PeopleSoft, CREW, and GMAS.
You will also have access to a new “Gateway” page that will provide useful information such as planned and unplanned system outages and links to pertinent business schedules such as year-end closings, holiday breaks, etc.
Links to PIN information
To find out more about the PIN authentication system, visit the PIN home page at http://www.pin1.harvard.edu/default.asp.
If you currently do not have a Harvard University PIN and would like to request one, or if you have lost or forgotten your existing PIN, please complete the online request form at https://www.huid.harvard.edu/pin/pin_req.asp.
The February e-News will contain more information about using PIN with Oracle.
New PeopleSoft access in 2005 top
In an effort to provide local HR officers with the same functionality offered to employees via self-service, we have created the following two new roles:
- PS^HR^ALL^NAUP^PD NameAddrUpdt – this role provides direct PeopleSoft access to update employee name and address information.
- PS^HR^ALL^ECUP^Emrgncy CntctUp – this role provides direct PeopleSoft access to update employee emergency contact data.
Assigning these roles to a local HR officer gives the schools and departments the flexibility to update name, address, phone, and emergency contact information for those who desire an alternative to employees maintaining their own data.
These new roles can be requested through your local Authorized Requestor. Although this work can now be done online, Central Payroll will continue to accept and process all Personal Data Change and Emergency Contact forms.
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To learn more about direct PeopleSoft entry of... |
Review these screenshots and helpful hints |
| Name, address, and other personal data | |
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Emergency contact information |
Changes to PeopleSoft Employee Self Service in Release 9 top
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ESS Changes |
Explanation |
| Voluntary Deductions view page added |
Employee Self Service now includes access to allow employees to view their voluntary deductions. Voluntary deductions (also called general deductions) are those deductions that employees elect to have withheld from their paychecks to pay for nonbenefit-related expenditures, such as charitable gifts, parking, monthly T-Passes, union dues, home and auto insurance fees, and tuition loan payments. A complete list of deductions is available on ABLE. The path for viewing the Voluntary deductions screen is: Home > Self Service > Employee > Tasks > Voluntary Deductions.
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Changes to the W-4 page: W-4 Tax Data |
In Release 9, there were two modifications to the Employee Self Service W-4 page:
New field for marital status: a check box for an employee who is married but wants to withhold at the higher single rate. Why would someone check this box? Some married people find that they do not have enough tax withheld at the married rate. This can happen, for example, when both spouses work. To avoid this, you can claim married, but withhold at higher single rate (even if you qualify for the married rate). How does the check box work? In order for this to work properly, employees must follow the instructions to select the single radio button for marital status and check the box. If they do not select single and select apply to MA, Federal will update to single with the check box marked properly, but MA will update to whatever marital status is selected when submitted. Example:
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Changes to the W-4 page: Claim Exemption |
At the bottom of the W-4 page, a new section has been added for claiming exemption from withholding:
ESS cannot be used to update State (MA) to exempt:
Employee is going from exempt to subject:
Employee is Federal (subject) and State (exempt):
Nonresident alien:
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Reminders when processing HR actions using the PeopleSoft Auto Job Change form top
Processing Reappointments:
If the current action on the left side of the form is TER or RET (employee status is terminated or retired), you CANNOT use the Auto Job Data Change form to extend the employee's appointment or make any changes. Although the form doesn't always prevent you from making changes at this time, the employee will remain terminated! Keep in mind that although a form may be started while the person is still active, by the time the form is ready for submission, the employee could be terminated. Please pay attention to the "current" data (left side of the form). If the employee has already been terminated please perform one of the following actions:
- If the Termination action effective date is less than two weeks, inform the preparer to write up a Remedy ticket instructing Central Payroll to delete the termination row. Once the termination row has been deleted, the Auto Job Change form can be processed.
- If the Termination action effective date is greater than two weeks, inform the preparer to process as a Rehire. If an Auto Job Change form has already been created, please delete the form.
If you still have questions concerning this process, please email debbie_tarini@harvard.edu.
Action/Reason codes for moving from LHT or Temp to Regular:
Please note that when moving an employee from a Less Than Half-Time (LHT) or a Temporary position to a Regular position, the action/reason code should be one of the following:
- DTA/TTR – when a Temporary or LHT employee is moving into a Regular (non-temp) position within the same department.
- XFR/TTR – when a Temporary or LHT employee is moving into a Regular (non-temp) open position in a different or new department.
Moving from an LHT or Temp position to a Regular position is not considered a promotion for reporting purposes, so these types of changes should not be coded as promotions. Using the incorrect action/reason code has an adverse impact on University reporting.
Special note on changing business titles (applies to all forms, not just the AJDC):
When entering an employee's business title, please do not hit the Enter key to start a new line on the form. The text in the field automatically wraps, so a return is not needed. If you use a return the business title will show up as two lines, and this causes several interfaces to fail.
Central Payroll announces new hiring process improvements for 2005 top
As most local HR and payroll officers know, hiring actions made in the HIRES job posting and application system flow through to PeopleSoft.
A recent process improvement means that it is no longer necessary to print the paper HIRES form, attach the W-4, direct deposit form, and I-9, then forward the packet to Central Payroll and wait five days for paperwork processing.
So what do we need in Central Payroll to process a new hire from the transmitted data?
The I-9. Nothing but the I-9. And we will process the I-9 within 24 hours of receipt, just as we currently process the I-9s for quick hires.
You can now have a new hire set up in PeopleSoft and ready to be paid in about 24 hours from the time you process him/her through HIRES. Ideally, this could keep you from having to submit paperwork for retro pay, as well as keeping the employee from potentially missing his/her first paycheck.
The Local Submitter Role for the Job Data Change Form (JDCF) lets you change the paygroup from the HIRES paygroup to the correct paid paygroup once the I-9 is on file. This is as simple as navigating to the form, entering the effective date (date of hire), HUID, and employee record number, then entering the action and reason codes of DTA/UPD along with the appropriate paygroup, and finally scrolling to the bottom of the form and clicking the submit button. Once an employee's record is established in PeopleSoft, the employee can use Employee Self-Service to establish direct deposit and set up W-4 withholding allowances.
New HUDINI / AWS2 financial report provides a flexible view of change in net assets (CINA) top
The new CINA Flex Comparative by Fund Group (CINA Flex) report became available in the “Budget” category of reports in AWS2 and HUDINI on January 17, 2005. This new report, expected to better support the analytic needs of the financial reporting community, has these key features:
- It follows the Change in Net Assets (CINA) row structure and natural chart hierarchy (with two minor exceptions)
- It provides up to three comparative columns of any budget or actuals data for any period, and
- It groups results in up to thirteen major fund groups.
The “Flex” in CINA Flex is short for “flexible”; the report was built to accommodate a multiplicity of business scenarios. For instance, a department administrator might want to compare actual results for the first six months of FY05 with the operating budget for full year FY05 and actuals for the first six months of FY04. The report can also display the data at any level of Object Code and subtotal on any level of Object Code.
Of course, with flexibility comes complexity; the CINA Flex has more parameter fields than any other report. This allows report users to choose exactly what they wish to see and how they wish to see it.
For each of the thirteen potential major fund groups that may be chosen, the CINA Flex displays up to seven columns of data, so this report is not available in PDF format. Comma delimited (CSV) is the only output option for this report.
An ABLE report catalog entry illustrating the report and explaining its features in greater detail, and describing the two minor exceptions, is available at http://able.harvard.edu/repcat/repcat_index.shtml. As always, please call the Help Desk (6-2001) with questions or problems.
The report is the product of a collaboration between the Office of Budgets, Financial Planning and Institutional Research (OBFPIR), University Business Support Services (UBSS), and the Harvard Data Warehouse (HDW).
Update on US Airways shuttle schedules top
Shuttle flights currently operate hourly between New York LaGuardia, Boston Logan, and Washington Reagan National.
Beginning on Feb. 6, 2005, shuttle flights between Washington and Boston will depart 45 minutes after the hour, rather than on the hour or half-hour. Shuttle service between New York and both Boston and Washington will continue to operate hourly on the hour. The new service pattern is part of US Airways' overall plan to ensure increased efficiency through better aircraft utilization and airport staffing.
IKON Demo Day on January 27 top
IKON Office Solutions, one of Harvard's strategic vendor partners, is offering a “Demo Day” on Thursday, January 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Events and Information Center located in the Holyoke Center Arcade.
IKON will set up a showroom to demonstrate low-to-mid-range “convenience” copiers (copiers suitable for regular office use). There will be refreshments, door prizes, and giveaways.
More information about the IKON/Harvard purchasing arrangement, which features one low, University-wide “cost per copy,” is available at http://vpf-web.harvard.edu/ofs/procurement/ven_par_ikon.shtml.
About the e-News top
The Office of Human Resources publishes this monthly electronic newsletter for users of Harvard University's financial, HR, and reporting systems, policies, and procedures.
It contains:
- updates on projects underway to build or improve University administrative systems;
- information about new University 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: admin_systems_enews@harvard.edu