Fundware® Update
Month, Year
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Advanced Fund
Management Solutions
Hi Everyone,
This month we cover how to place a cap on allocations, using the Cost Allocation module. Some of your funding agencies may be placing dollar limits on indirect costs. We can do it, easily!
The transaction export isn’t pretty, but it can be the source for sophisticated reports that cross modules. And, you probably have the tools and talent in, or near, your office. Speaking of reports, did you know there’s a 990 report available that can show you how to extract the financial information it requires?
As always, if you have any questions regarding a FundWare® issue, please contact me at
(318) 253-8556, or email me at jgarv@afmss.com
Thanks,
Judy Garver
The Transaction Export
The Transaction Export is meant to provide a file that contains all of your accounting transactions (all of your debits and credits) over any time range you need. A sample of the output is shown below. It shows some depreciation entries made by the journal GJ. All of the output is in comma separated format. What does this mean to you? You may have a certain report in mind that FundWare cannot provide from it list of standard reports. What you see below is raw data that can be grabbed by one of your IT folks, or anyone familiar with products such as Microsoft Access, or Excel. Since the output can be formatted in comma separated variable (the various pieces of data are separated with commas), they are very easy to read and/or import into other products. Once there, the data can be manipulated to produce reports from General Ledger, Accounts Payable, or any other module you have that is posting. This also means that you can produce cross module reports, such as expense reports that show employee costs from Payroll, and Account Payable expense reimbursement amounts all on the same report!
Raw data like this can be used to create a wide variety of reports that can fill those reporting gaps you may have. Yes, there are other reporting tools that may be able to do this type of reporting, but they may not be as cost effective as the Transaction Export approach!
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The 990 Report
If you have to submit a 990 report each year, you know how much work it can be. Using the sample 990 report in Division 96’s Report Manager may help you create a report that will make the job a lot easier each year. The 990 report is in the list of Advanced Financial Reporter reports under General Ledger. It is created in parts, such as a portion of Part I shown below:
A portion of Part II is also shown below: You must modify the report that is provided because everyone’s chart of accounts is different. It will require the creation and use of a number of attributes, but it can all pay off big time. Give us a call for assistance!
Ask Judy...
Q All of our Due to/From (DTF) postings on our balance sheet are in accounts with an object code of 1900. How can we display how much of that amount is from payroll checks for employees in various funds?
Mac
A It sounds like you have a typical setup, with all of your journals using the same DTF object code. If you change the DTF object code in your Payroll journal (the one that’s used when you log checks) to 1901, for example, the amounts owed by your funds to the General Fund can be displayed separately on your balance sheet. Setups do vary in subtle ways, however, so contact us for guidance.
Q I have posted a budget in Budget Preparation. What’s the easiest way to verify what has been posted?
Jack
A If you are already in Budget Preparation, you might open your worksheet and click on the "Posted Accounts" tab. You will then see a list of all the accounts that have been posted by that revision, the date and the amount. If you are closer to Report Manager, run a REAB1 report for the period in question, it will show a month, or year to date based on the report date. Either solution works well!
Placing a Cap on Allocations
If you allocate indirect costs and you have a funding agency that places a cap on how much of a certain expense they will allow each period, the Cost Allocation module may be able to handle it for you.
Below is the depreciation allocation in Division 96. It has been modified to place a $20 cap on how much is allocated to program 003 each month (highlighted at right). Program 003 will receive four percent of the depreciation expense up to $20. Anything over $20 will go to the Remainder account.
We went over the cap this time! When this allocation was run, the maximum allocation was used (highlighted below). The remainder of $8.29 (highlighted) went to A000 8650-00 0. If you have caps on your allocations, maybe Allocation Management can handle it for you!
Did You Know...?
General Ledger. You can change the status of accounts (to "System") so that they will not accept manual journal entries. This is typically done to control accounts (accounts payable, accounts receivable, wages payable, etc.) that should maintain their balances through entries generated by appropriate modules. An account with status of "System" will still show on reports, it just won’t accept manual journal entries (unless changed back to "Active").
General Ledger. If you wish to copy several accounts from one department or fund to another, try using the Duplicate button on the Chart of Accounts screen. Highlight an account you wish to copy and click the Duplicate button. A new form will open with all of the original account’s information (name, attributes, status, etc.). All you have to do is key in the new account number. Don’t forget that you may need to edit attributes.
Payroll. The Direct Deposit (EFT) feature can be used for more than depositing checks in an employee’s checking account. It can very easily be setup to deposit amounts/percentages into mortgage accounts, savings accounts, garnishment accounts, or almost any account at a financial institution.
Links to Other FundWare® Sources
There are several sources of information on the internet that can make your Fund-Ware®
experience more productive and effective. Check out the following sites:
This is Fundware's home page. On it you will find the latest in file fixes and program updates.
In addition, you may search the knowledge base for answers to your support questions.
Check out my site for a complete listing of the products and services I offer.
This site offers a number of products that add an extra measure of functionality to FundWare®.
One of these products may make your life a lot easier.
This site offers a number of free downloads that will help you get more out of Fund-Ware®.
