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Please check the travel news
section of the Travel
Office's web site for the latest information regarding the
reinstatement of airline service in the United States and travel
services available to the Harvard community. back
to top
FINDINI 2.0.4 Release
Scheduled
for September 24 back
to top
September's release to the University financial
systems brings with it several significant enhancements in Web
Voucher functionality, as requested by the user community; a
change in how online help content is accessed; and a planned
upgrade of the Harvard Data Warehouse that will result in a
one-business-day blackout of the systems that access it.
Web Voucher Enhancements
(back to top)
Copy Line function
improved
Copy Voucher function added
Invoice number and vendor name searches added
Preparer search added to Open Requisitions/Vouchers
Chart of Accounts search added
Reprint web voucher ability improved
Improved error message on dollar amounts
Copy Line function improved back
Users who process web vouchers containing multiple lines will
find that the task of adding extra lines to their vouchers is
about to get much easier. Beginning on September 24, when you
click on the "Copy Line" button to the right of any line, a
prompt saying "Number of Copies 1-10" will appear. You can then
enter the number of lines you'd like and the system will duplicate
the line you have chosen that many times. You can use this process
in regular web vouchers for vendor payment or reimbursement
to create as many new lines as you need, up to ten at a time.
Please note that you should still click "Apply Changes"
before you click "Copy Line."
Note for users of the multiple
invoice web voucher process: please be aware that you are
still only allowed to include a maximum of ten separate invoices
from one vendor at one paysite in a multiple invoice voucher.
Also remember that each item in a multiple invoice voucher must
contain a single line of coding. Any invoices that require split-coding
must still be processed on their own.
Copy Voucher
function added back
This function, available from the Web Voucher main menu,
will allow users to make a duplicate of an existing web voucher
and use that copy as a template to create a new voucher. Copies
can be made of any web voucher, regardless of whether it was
for a payment or a reimbursement, submitted or incomplete, approved
or rejected.
Use the Copy Voucher screen to
search for a voucher using the voucher number, the name of the
preparer, or the voucher's creation date (note that this search
is case-sensitive). The system will then provide you with a
list of vouchers that match your search criteria. You can then
select a voucher to copy by clicking on Copy Voucher, or you
can look up more info about a voucher by clicking on the voucher
number.
Once you have selected a voucher
for copying, the system will automatically create a new voucher
(with a new voucher number) containing the exact information
from the original voucher. You will then be able to edit any
of the fields on the new voucher or submit it as is. This feature
will be particularly useful for users who need to process periodic
vendor invoices that are the same each month or each time you
are billed.
Invoice number
and vendor name searches added back
Invoice Search by Invoice Number is a new search function that
will be added to the Web Voucher main menu on September 24.
This highly requested feature will allow users to search the
Web Voucher system using vendor names, invoice numbers, or invoice
dates. Once the search is complete, you can view payment information
(such as remit-to address or the check number, date, and amount)
for the web vouchers that were found.
Previously, the only way to get
this information was to use Invoice Search by PO Number, which
required you to know the web voucher number of the voucher you
were searching for. Now, if a vendor calls you looking for payment
information, you can find it by simply searching by their invoice
number or name. You won't have to first search for an unknown
web voucher number.
Preparer search
added to Open Requisitions / Vouchers back
In addition to searching for web voucher information by
description, creation date, or chart of account values, after
September 24 Web Voucher users will also be able to use Open
Requisitions / Vouchers to search for vouchers by the name of
the preparer. This search was previously only available under
Requisition / Voucher History. After this change, users should
now only need to use Requisition / Voucher History if they are
looking for information about cancelled lines.
Chart of Accounts
search added back
Beginning September 24, Web Voucher users will be able to
search for unknown Chart of Accounts (CoA) values. You can access
this feature by clicking the List of Values button to the right
of the CoA values on any voucher creation screen or on the General
Preferences screen. A new window opens, showing you the currently
selected values. From there, you can click on the List of Values
button to the right of the CoA segment you want to search for
(e.g. object codes). This opens another window (see example
below) that you can use to search for a particular CoA value.
The best way to search for a
value is to set the search parameters to "Description contains"
and then try a word you think would be in the name of that value.
Reprint web
voucher ability improved back
Previously, the Web Voucher system only allowed you to reprint
the confirmation screen for unapproved web vouchers, making
it difficult to provide a cover sheet for a voucher that had
been modified during the approval process. The new Reprint Web
Voucher option, available from the main menu on September 24,
will allow users to reprint approved as well as unapproved vouchers,
and will show any changes that were saved by the approver.
Improved error
message on dollar amounts back
You cannot enter dollar signs or commas into Web Voucher,
but until now there was no error message that explained why
a voucher wasn't working if a user entered one of these symbols.
Now you will receive a specific error message that says, "Please
do not use a comma or dollar sign when entering an amount in
this field."
A web voucher in the amount of
one thousand two hundred and fifty dollars should be entered
as "1250.00" or "1250", not "$1,250.00".
How to Access Online
Help
Content back
to top
Beginning September 24, pressing
or choosing "Help" from within one of the University financial
systems will bring you to the new home page of ABLE or to the
standard (not Harvard-customized) Oracle Release 11 help text
in the case of the General Ledger, Accounts Payable, and Accounts
Receivable applications. The redesigned ABLE system, which features
simpler, easier-to-use navigation and a streamlined body of
content, is scheduled to go live September 24. The website will
then be available on the internet at http://able.harvard.edu
as well as on the Harvard intranet at http://able.
Harvard Data Warehouse
Upgrade
Planned back
to top
The upcoming planned release
to the University's financial applications includes a change
that affects all HDW users.
On the weekend of September 22-23,
the HDW Team will upgrade the Oracle database in our User Table
Space (UTS) environment from Oracle 8.0.5 to Oracle 8.1.6.3.
This database upgrade brings the UTS system in line with the
other financial applications as well as preparing UTS for future
improvements.
As a result, the HDWUTS ad-hoc
reporting environment will be unavailable beginning on the morning
of Saturday, September 22 and will be brought back up on the
morning of Tuesday, September 25.
Please note: Access to
the AWS2, HUDINI, and HDWPROD ad-hoc reporting systems will
be available on the weekend of September 22-23. However, on
Monday, September 24, AWS2, HUDINI, and the HDWPROD ad-hoc reporting
environment will be unavailable so that the release upgrade
can be checked.
All reports scheduled for Monday,
September 24 will be executed and available for you on Tuesday,
September 25.
|
Available on
...
|
... Sept.
22
|
... Sept.
23
|
... Sept.
24
|
| AWS2 |
yes
|
yes
|
no
|
| HUDINI |
yes
|
yes
|
no
|
| HDWPROD ad-hoc
reporting |
yes
|
yes
|
no
|
| HDW UTS ad-hoc
reporting |
no
|
no
|
no
|
Registration Open for
Fall
Training Offerings back
to top
Registration is open for September
and October classes on University financial systems:
| Course
schedule |
|
| Course
descriptions |
|
| Local
training registrars |
|
| Featured
course offering |
A one-day course for new hires called
"Getting Up and Running on University Financial Systems"
covers the Chart of Accounts, PCard, Web Voucher payments
and reimbursements, and AWS2. Click
here for a complete course description. |
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
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