PCard System Conversion: Ready, Set, Go! top
On Monday, October 20, the PCard settlement
system will be converted to become part of the Oracle Financials
suite. Changes to the system are very minimal, so you should
be up and working with little change to your normal process.
Among the changes to expect? The supported
web browser will change form Netscape to Internet Explorer,
and the login procedure will be a little different. Read on
for the details.
Are you ready?
Things you can do to make sure you are ready
for this conversion include preparing your desktop. Remember
that Internet Explorer (IE) is the supported browser for all
Oracle applications, including the new PCard functions. To make
IE the default browser on your desktop, just follow these simple
steps. You also may want to check out the desktop
standards for Oracle financial applications – these are
levels and combinations of desktop software and hardware you’ll
need to operate University administrative systems successfully.
We're getting set...
In order for the new system to be ready for
you on Monday, October 20, we have to close down the old one.
Therefore, the final sweep of the PCard settlement system will
be at the end of the day on Thursday, October 16 (the system
goes down at 4 p.m.). PCard will NOT be available on Friday,
October 17.
GO !
Beginning on Monday, October 20, you will
access PCard via the Oracle applications. Remember to use Internet
Explorer! You can find the link to Oracle on the applications
login page; just follow the Personal Homepage
link in the upper left box. You will then be prompted to log
into Oracle.
- If you already have an Oracle responsibility,
continue to use your HUID and Oracle password.
- If this is the first time you have
logged onto Oracle, use your HUID and the default Oracle password
"algorithm" to log in for the first time. Your default
password consists of the first four letters of your last name,
your two-digit birthdate, and your four-digit year of birth.
For example: John Smith, born December 12, 1962, would use
SMIT121962. If your last name has fewer than
four characters, add zero(s) at the end (for example, NG00121962).
- If you would like to see a simulation
of how to log onto Oracle, please visit the PCard
section of ABLE. On the left side of the screen you will
see a link called “Log on to PCard in Oracle and Change Your
Personal Settings.”
Getting help
All of the PCard
content on ABLE has been updated to reflect the migration
of PCard settlement functions to Oracle. You will find the PCard
Manual, work instructions, and three simulations for the PCard
system, including “Log on to PCard in Oracle and Change Your
Personal Settings,” “Review, Edit, or Split-Code PCard Transactions,”
and “Print a PCard Settlement Report.”
If you experience technical or login problems with PCard, please
call the UIS Help Desk at 6-2001 to report the problem.
A Message from FAD Payroll top
Looking back at where we were last year at
this time, it is hard to believe we've made it this far. So
much has changed over the past year in FAD Central Payroll,
and we would like to thank everyone for the persistence, patience,
and hard work that has gone into making the transition to PeopleSoft.
Central Payroll is now fully staffed and the
staff members have been receiving ongoing training. The staff
has become rather proficient in their day-to-day processes and
are now in the "continuous improvement" mode themselves.
They have taken ownership in the development of new and better
ways to make the payroll operation more efficient, and the improvements
have been tremendous!
This year we changed the ASIP process, added
the Costing Upload, implemented the Student/ Temp Quick Hire
process, and rolled out several other features and reports with
great success. We are hearing more and more positive feedback
from the Harvard community, and are excited about things to
come. These processes are a direct result of feedback we have
received from you, and your continued feedback is important
as we strive to continue developments to make payroll easier
for you. So please keep those cards and notes coming – your
input is very valuable to us.
We have been maintaining a paperwork processing turnaround
time of five business days or less for quite some time now.
The calls you are logging through the Payroll Hotline have seen
a decrease in response time to three business days or less (often
less) for an "urgent" ticket, and five business days
or less for tickets whose priority is classified as "high."
The call volume has decreased as well.
Please join us in congratulating the Payroll employee information
coordinators, customer service representatives, payroll processors
and accountants, and all others who have been involved in the
PeopleSoft project over the last year. We would also like to
thank all of you for your continued support.
New Cash Management Reconciliation Application
(CMRA) and Escheat Process Being Implemented top
The Cash Management Reconciliation Application
(CMRA), which will be implemented on October 20, will include
an escheat
process for all checks initiated out of Oracle AP.
CMRA will include a "due diligence"
report that will be available in HUDINI on November 3 to all
staff who have responsibility to view their tub and org. Its
purpose is to provide notification to local administrators of
all checks that have not been cashed and that have become un-cashable
because they are “stale dated.” Checks become stale dated six
months after their issue date.
The new Escheat Due Diligence report will
display checks as soon as they become stale dated, allowing
local units to begin research and perform the appropriate due
diligence while the payment is still fresh in everyone’s mind
and backup documentation is readily available.
If due diligence is not performed and there
is no determination made on the check, we are required to turn
the funds over to the state and this money is lost to the University.
Once the money is turned over, the individual or vendor can
process a claim with the State Treasurer’s Office to collect
the money. Cash Management will continue to track and report
all abandoned property annually to the state.
Here is the business process we recommend
for each tub in order to limit financial exposure:
| 1 |
On a monthly basis, the department
administrator should access the Escheat Due Diligence
report in HUDINI.
The selection parameters will be as
follows:
- User description = a freeform
area for you to name the report
- Tub = enter your tub
- Org = enter your org
- Status:
- All = all un-cashed checks
older than six months
- Escheatable = all un-cashed
checks that still require research
- Primary Sort Criteria = Optional:
default is check issue date. Other options are: date,
vendor name, tub, org
- Secondary & Tertiary Sort
= optional: no default. Other options are; check issue
date, vendor name, tub and org
- Show parameters = optional:
yes or no
|
| 2 |
Once the check has been researched
the user will determine which one of the following actions
should be taken:
- The check is due to the vendor
or individual and should be reissued.
- The check is not due to the
vendor or individual and should be redeposited.
- The check is due to the vendor
or individual but there is no known address and should
be turned over to the state.
|
| 3 |
At this point the user will need to
complete a check inquiry request form and check off the
appropriate action that should be taken, then forward
the form to Cash Management, 451 Holyoke Center. Once
received, Cash Management will update the descriptive
flexfield (DFF) of the transaction in Oracle AP with one
of the following values:
- Reissued:
Another check was issued to pay the vendor
- Not Due Vendor/Redeposit:
Research indicated that money is not owed to the vendor
but is due back to the department
- Due to State:
Due diligence was done; money should go to the state
|
When Cash Management enters one of these values,
the un-cashed check will no longer appear on your future reports.
The DFF value will be changed to Sent to State
on any checks still remaining un-cashed after the three-year
holding period.
Unclaimed Incoming Wire Transfers top
In conjunction with the Cash Management Reconciliation
Application project (CMRA), we have developed a new report that
will be available in HUDINI beginning November 3, 2003. It will
list wires that come into the Central Incoming Wire account
#531-37234 at Fleet. This report will allow tub financial staff
to see what money has come into this account at the bank and
to determine whether the money belongs to them.
The report selection criteria will be as
follows:
- User description – a freeform area
for you to name the report
- A timeframe parameter with the following drop-down options:
- All = all unclaimed wires
- Last_2_months = most recent 2 months
- Last_month = most recent month
Based on the parameters you select the report
will identify all incoming wires that are unclaimed for your
review. The report will show you the amount, the date, and a
description of the wire that has been passed to us from the
bank. If you identify a wire that belongs to your tub you will
need to contact Cash Management at 6-3018 or 6-3017 to claim
the wire. You will need to provide an appropriate distribution
string. Cash Management will post the funds to your account
via a journal entry.
Please refer to the Harvard
University Incoming Wire Transfer Data Requirements for
helpful information to use when providing a vendor with wiring
instructions.
Journals: Employee Name Field Removed in
Payroll Object Codes top
For your convenience, the Employee Name field
will be automatically filled in when a user enters a Harvard
University ID for a payroll object code. If you know the HUID,
you can type it in as usual. To perform a search on an HUID
number, the List of Values button is located within the field.
Users have the option of searching on a partial HUID number.
After filling in the HUID, the employee’s name appears to the
right (the Employee Name field has been removed since the name
is populated automatically). This new method ensures that the
employee's name is entered correctly, precludes typing errors,
and reduces the wait time for the user. Employee names will
still appear on the Detail Listing reports.
Please also note that the first two prompts
have been updated. Originating Document Name and Originating
Doc Date are now Originating Journal Name and Originating Journal
Date.
Fund: Picklist Feature Enabled top
For your convenience, a new feature has been
enabled on the fund segment of Harvard’s 33-digit coding. If
you know the fund value you want to use, you can type it in
as normal. Or, to perform a search for the value, the List of
Values button allows the option of searching on a partial fund
value. After finding your fund, the field populates as normal.
This new method reduces the list of values and lessens the wait
time for the user.
Enhancements to the AWS3 Invidual Job Profile top
The following enhancements have been made
to the Individual Job Profile report in AWS3, and are now available
in production:
| Current
Jobs |
Company Seniority Date (was called
Univ Start Date)
15 Year Flag
25 Year Flag
Time and Labor Group
Work group
Schedule
Time Reporter Status
Longer Service
Benefit Eligible Service
Pension Credited Service
Pension Participation Service
Pension Vesting Service
Date Issued
Degree
School
Account Code
Amount
Distribution % |
| All
Jobs |
Account Code
Distribution %
|
| Pre
10/1/2002 |
Account Code
Distribution %
|
About the e-News
top
The Office of Human Resources
publishes this semimonthly electronic newsletter for users of
Harvard University's financial, HR, and reporting 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 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
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