When funding information is missing or invalid, UCPath posts corresponding payroll expenses to a department default chartstring. While this practice reduces the occurrence of payroll suspense items and gives greater visibility to identify and fix funding distribution issues, additional effort is required by departments to perform corrections using the UCPath Salary Cost Transfer/Direct Retro process.
The quick reference guide, Understanding Department Default and Catch-All Funding Sources (opens in new window) (MyAccess login required), contains guidance for Funding Entry Initiators seeking to proactively address funding entry issues that may result in posting to the department default chartstring. Tips for monitoring potential issues using the MyReports Employee and Position Distribution Report are also provided.
Financial Management Dashboard Metrics That Can Help
As a best practice, departments should regularly monitor and take action to correct payroll expenses that are recorded to the department default chartstring by the following month-end close.
In 2022, Audit & Advisory Services added two metrics to the Financial Management Dashboard (opens in new window) to help departments identify payroll transactions requiring corrections:
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Payroll Default Chartstrings: Identifies campus payroll transactions requiring correction after posting to department default chartstrings due to invalid funding setup
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Payroll Transactions in Suspense: Identifies campus payroll transactions requiring correction after posting to payroll suspense due to invalid funding setup. Payroll suspense items are cleared with the assistance of the Payroll Office and require two to three months to fully clear. Review Clearing Salary and Benefit Expenses in Payroll Suspense for the process and department responsibilities for clearing suspense items.
Avoiding Issues When Posting Salary Cost Transfers/Direct Retros
To avoid payroll expenses posting to suspense or a department default chartstring during a Salary Cost Transfer/Direct Retro, Salary Cost Transfer Initiators should take the following actions to validate chartstrings before submitting transactions:
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Validate both “new data” and “old data” chartstrings. In cases where a Salary Cost Transfer/Direct Retro is reversing all expenses on an “old data” chartstring, UCPath will not validate the chartstring at the time of submission (UCPath only validates chartstrings entered into the “new data” section of the transaction.). However, the chartstring for the reversing salary and benefits must be valid at the time of posting to the General Ledger or it will post to the payroll suspense account. Use the Chartfield Validator (opens in new window) in PeopleSoft Financials (MyAccess login required) to confirm that old data chartstrings are valid prior to submitting your transaction.
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Confirm that sponsored projects are active. A sponsored project must remain open during the entire Salary Cost Transfer/Direct Retro transaction processing period, from submission through posting to the General Ledger.
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Use the Salary Cost Transfer/Direct Retro schedule in the Payroll Processing Calendar to confirm processing dates.
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Make sure that the Salary Cost Transfer/Direct Retro transaction is approved. The approval process may sometimes take a week or more, which may cause an issue with how long the activity period will be kept active.
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File the appropriate paperwork for late Salary Cost Transfers/Direct Retros in a timely manner. The paperwork specifically required for Late Salary Cost Transfers/Direct Retros will need to be submitted to CGA’s Compliance Unit for review, which may add additional time to the process.
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Research Services Analysts (RSAs) can confirm Project Activity Periods, Activity Period End Dates, and Processing End Dates on the Award Periods tab in the Research Administration System (RAS). Consult the RAS User Reference for more information.
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If the intended transaction will allocate or remove expenses on an inactive activity period in the current month, contact your CGA Service Team to open the period prior to submitting the Salary Cost Transfer/Direct Retro.
If you have questions about addressing payroll that posted to suspense or the department default chartstring, contact the Controller’s Office Solution Center.