How to Prepare, Edit, and Submit Sponsored Research Cost Transfer Journals in PeopleSoft (Source Codes 545/547)

This guide describes how to enter, edit, and submit Regular (Source Code 545) and Exception (Source Code 547) Sponsored Research Cost Transfer Journals.

About Cost Transfer Journals (Source Codes 545 and 547)

When to Use Cost Transfer Journals

Cost Transfer Journals (Source codes 545 and 547) should only be used to transfer costs/expenses onto or off of sponsored research accounted for via Award Projects in the Research Administration System (RAS). The transfer must conform to UCSF Cost Accounting Standards (opens in new window).

Use Cost Transfer Journals (Source 545) to: Use Exception Cost Transfer Journals (Source 547) to:
  • Correct transactions where the original source document or subsequent transaction (e.g., Purchase Order) contained incorrect information (e.g., Award Project, DeptID, GL account, amount, date).
  • Redistribute or reallocate certain recharge expenses such as rent that are billed to a central department and then need to be proportionally applied to other activities, projects, or programs.
  • Record a change in use of goods or services. For example, equipment originally ordered for and charged to a teaching program, but subsequently required by and transferred to a research project.
  • Transfer of retroactive expenses (including any pre-award costs) due to an unexpected delay in contract negotiations. In these circumstances, an advance should be obtained as soon as possible to avoid the need for retroactive transfers.
  • Transfer cost overruns in Award Project to a current unrestricted departmental chartstring.
  • Transfer exceptional payroll cost/expense, including vacation accrual, between Activity Periods within the same Award Project.
  • Transfer true cost overruns (those where an Award Project’s overrun contains only allowable and appropriate costs under the terms of the Award agreement). For example, the one-time lump sum transfer of a deficit to a current unrestricted departmental chartstring to close an expired Award Project. Transfer costs that involve equipment purchases using a Federal Award Project that are less than $5,000. Equipment over $5,000 requires the help of Capital Accounting.

Exception cost transfers should rarely be used and are closely monitored by CGA.

Source codes 545 and 547 cannot be used to transfer:

If you need to correct a posted cost transfer journal, create a new Regular Cost Transfer Journal (source code 545) to move transactions from an incorrect chartfield to the correct chartfield. Since these transactions inherently pose an audit risk, the cost transfer must be completed within 90 days and submitted with adequate supporting documentation attached. Explanations indicating the cost transfer is intended to “correct an error” are considered incomplete and additional information plus documentation is required.

How to Log into PeopleSoft and Navigate to the Create/Update Journal Entries Page

  1. Log into MyAccess (opens in new window) (not shown). Scroll down to locate and select PeopleSoft Financials from the application menu. If you have set MyAccess to display "Favorites", you may need to change to "All Apps" or search for PeopleSoft.
  2. Click on the General Ledger tile, then on the Create/Update Journal Entries tile . The Create/Update Journal Entries page displays.

How to Begin a New Sponsored Research Cost Transfer Journal

  1. Enter the correct Business Unit (defaults to the Business Unit set in your PeopleSoft System Profile) .
  2. Enter a Journal ID , using the UCSF preferred "XXABCYYYY" format, where:
    • XX = the fiscal period of the journal (e.g., 01, 02, 03)
    • ABC = your specific 3-character Journal Preparer ID
    • YYYY = a sequential numbering scheme of your choosing

    Overwriting the default of NEXT allows you to locate your entered journals on the Find an Existing Value tab. Using this preferred method, you can easily change the Journal ID search to contain your Journal Preparer ID ("ABC") to quickly find any journal you have created.

  3. Enter the correct Journal Date (defaults to current) .
    • During the first five (5) business days of a month, you may enter dates in the previous month. Make sure to allow time for journal approval, ensuring the journal posts before month-end close.
    • You may enter a date in a future period and save your journal, but you cannot edit or submit it until the period of the selected date opens.
  4. Click the Add button .

How to Prepare the Header Tab for a Sponsored Research Cost Transfer Journal (Source Codes 545 and 547)

On the Header tab enter the following information:

  1. Long Description (required) - Enter a description that adequately describes what is being transferred so that anyone seeing this description will know exactly why the journal is being entered .
  2. Ledger Group – should be ACTUALS .
  3. Source –
    • Enter 545 for Regular Cost Transfer Journals
    • Enter 547 for Exception Cost Transfer Journals
  4. Reference Number - (optional) 8-character field .
  5. Attachments – Click to attach documents as necessary to support the nature and amounts of the journal , then follow the attachment instructions in the next section of this guide.
  6. Lines - Click the Lines tab to enter the financial information for the journal .

How to Attach Supporting Documentation on the Header Tab

Attachments that substantiate your journal entry are required for timely approval:

  • For 547 lump-sum transfers, attach the Net Position Report.
  • For 545 regular cost transfers, include the Transaction Detail Report.
  • For expenses being allocated to more than one Award Project, an attachment showing the methodology for determining the allocation should be provided. Federal guidelines require the methodology to be "proportionate to the benefits derived."
  1. Click the Attachments (x) link from the journal header tab (x = the number of attachments that have been uploaded to this journal) to attach all supporting documentation that corroborates the journal, which may include: reports from MyReports or another subsystem; email correspondence detailing the journal requirement; and/or any other relevant documents supporting the amount and nature of the journal entry .
  2. Click the Add Attachment button from the Journal Entry Attachments pop-up .
  3. Click the Choose File or Browse button (depending on browser configuration) from the File Attachment pop-up .
  4. Browse for the file you want to attach, select it, and click the Open button. (not shown)
  5. Click the Upload button on the File Attachment pop-up .
  6. Enter a Description of the uploaded document (optional) .
  7. Repeat steps 2-6 for all other files to be attached, then click OK when done to return to the journal entry screen .

How to Select Source Transactions on the Lines Tab for Regular (Source Code 545) Cost Transfer Journals

For regular Cost Transfer (545) Journals, the posted expenses (source transactions) you need to transfer are retrieved using a special application available on the lines tab:

  • You can only retrieve posted non-payroll expenses.
  • You can only retrieve one chartstring with a single range of Accounts at a time.

To retrieve your source transactions:

  1. Click the Source of Transfer link . The UCSF Cost Transfer Source Transaction Inquiry pop-up displays .

 

 

 

 

  1. Enter the chartstring of the original expenses, e.g., Project, Dept ID, Activity Period (sponsored project), Function, Flexfield (optional), and range of Accounts using Account From and To. Note if searching for a single Account, enter the same Account in both the Account From and Account To fields .
  2. Either Journal ID(s) or a Journal Date range is required. Either enter a single Journal ID in the Journal ID field and continue to step 5, or to search for multiple Journal IDs:
    1. Click the List icon ; the Journal ID List Entry Page displays.
    2. Enter the first Journal ID to search for in the Journal ID field .
    3. Click the plus (+) icon to insert an additional Journal ID line and fill in the resulting field with the second Journal ID you want to search for .
    4. Repeat step 3c until all Journal IDs you want to search for are entered.
    5. If you need to remove a Journal ID you entered, click its minus (-) button .
    6. When you are finished entering Journal IDs, click OK .

 

 

  1. If you do not know the Journal ID you can select all journals posted with the selected chartstring using a date range by populating the Journal Date From and Journal Date To fields .
  2. After you have entered your search criteria, click the Search button .
  3. Click the checkbox(es) next to the line(s) you need to transfer .
  4. Accept the default Transfer amount, or enter the correct amount of transfer. You can transfer an amount that is less than the Remaining Amount, but not more .
  5. When finished, click OK to return to the Lines tab .

How to Complete the Lines Tab for Regular (545) Cost Transfer Journals

Complete the financial information on the Lines tab of the journal:

  1. For both debit(s) and credit(s), enter the appropriate chartstrings: Business Unit / Account / Fund / Dept ID / Project / Act Period / Function / Flexfield
    • Enter the SpeedType (if applicable) , OR
    • Enter the appropriate Chartstring information .
  2. Enter the Amount for each line . (see instructions in the screenshot captions for adding additional lines)
    • A Debit (e.g., 2000.00) increases an expense or decreases revenue or net position transfers.
    • A Credit (e.g., -2000.00) increases revenue or net position transfers and decreases an expense.
  3. Scroll over to the far right of the screen, where you can enter data in two optional fields :
    • Reference is an 8-character field. If your journal line is correcting a previous journal entry, enter the original Journal ID.
    • Journal Line Description is a 30-character field where you may override the default Account description in order to provide a description of this transaction which will display on the Transaction Detail Report (opens in new window) in MyReports.
  4. After entering all lines, Total Debits must equal Total Credits and the Journal Status should be N (not edited) . If not, the mismatch must be corrected.
  5. Save the journal before moving on to the next step .

How to Complete the Lines Tab for Exception (547) Cost Transfer Journals

Exception cost transfers should rarely be used and are closely monitored by CGA. Complete the financial information directly on the Lines tab of the journal:

  1. For both debit(s) and credit(s), enter the appropriate chartstrings: Business Unit / Account / Fund / Dept ID / Project / Act Period / Function / Flexfield
    • Enter the SpeedType (if applicable) , OR
    • Enter the appropriate Chartstring information .
    • Make sure to enter the appropriate Account .
      • For Cost overrun or Deficit transfers, use Account 58351 on both the debit and credit.
      • For exception payroll cost transfers including vacation accrual, Accounts 50620 (Academic) and 50559 (Non-Academic) should be used for lump-sum transfer of Payroll Benefits.
      • In the case of tuition offsets only, if the journal you are entering is being submitted to adjust an offset from a term no longer listed in PeopleSoft, make sure you use Account 54202 on both sides of the journal. Do not use clearing account 54201 for any lines.
  2. Enter the Amount for each line . (see instructions in the screenshot captions for adding additional lines)
    • A Debit (e.g. 2000.00) increases an expense or decreases revenue or net position transfers.
    • A Credit (e.g. -2000.00) increases revenue or net position transfers and decreases an expense.
  3. Scroll over to the far right of the screen, where you can enter data in two optional fields :
    • Reference is an 8-character field. If your journal line is correcting a previous journal entry, enter the original Journal ID.
    • Journal Line Description is a 30-character field where you may override the default Account description in order to provide a description of this transaction which will display on the Transaction Detail Report (opens in new window) in MyReports.
  4. After entering all lines, Total Debits must equal Total Credits and the Journal Status should be N (not edited) . If not, the mismatch must be corrected.
  5. Save the journal before moving on to the next step .

How to Complete UCSF Attachment E

Attachment E must always be completed for federal or federal flow-through Award Projects. Click the UCSF Attachment E tab, and complete as follows:

  • For source transactions within 120 days of the transaction posting date, complete question 1 only, otherwise complete both questions.
  • For Exception Cost Transfer (Source code 547) journals transferring deficits, answer “N/A” for both Attachment E questions.
  • For Exception Cost Transfer (Source code 547) journals transferring benefits, answer question 1 and enter “N/A” for question 2.
  • When answering, provide a reasonable and clear explanation of the direct benefit, necessity, and relatedness justifying the transfer. For partial transfers, always provide an explanation for the partial cost being transferred.

 

PI Certification Requirements:

The primary Principal Investigator (PI) of the federal or federal flow-through Award Project receiving charges is required to review/certify the statement on Attachment E for all Sponsored Research Cost Transfer Journals (Source Codes 545 & 547). The PI’s approval may be obtained in the following ways:

  • Preparer obtains PI’s signature on Attachment E, scans to PDF, and attaches PDF to the cost transfer journal at the time of submission.
  • Preparer attaches a saved PDF copy of PI’s electronic email approval to the cost transfer journal at the time of submission.

When all information is completed/attached, click the Save button to save your journal before continuing to the next section to Edit and Submit the journal.

How to Edit, Submit, and Track Approval for All Cost Transfer Journals

The Edit Journal process must be run prior to submitting any journal, and ensures that:

  • All chartfield combinations are valid
  • The journal date is in an open period
  • Total Debits equal Total Credits
  1. Set the Process drop-down menu to Edit Journal and click the Process button .
    • If there are errors, the Journal Status will display “E” and the lines in error will be marked with an “X” .
    • If you have an error status but no lines are marked in error, this is most likely because Total Debits do not equal Total Credits, or because the Journal Date is in a closed period.
    • For lines marked with “X”, go to the Errors tab to review the error description. Refer to the Combo Edit Rules Quick Reference Guide (opens in new window) for more information regarding valid chartfield combinations.
  2. When the errors are corrected, click the Save button .
  3. Re-run the Edit Journal process by repeating step 1.
  4. When the Edit Process is successful and there are no errors, Journal Status is set to V (Valid), and the journal can now be submitted for approval .

To submit the journal for approval:

  1. Change the Process drop-down menu to Submit Journal and click the Process button .
  2. Click the Approval tab to view the Approval Status and list of approvers . The journal will be in the first approver’s Worklist until action is taken.
  3. Click the Notify button at the bottom of the page if you wish to notify the Approver via email .

To track the approval of this journal, return to the Approval tab at any time in the journal cycle to see the current step of the approval process. In the Journal Approval section, you will see a visual display of completed and pending approval actions related to your journal. Cost Transfer Journals (both 545 and 547) must be approved by an approver with cost transfer journal authorization. A list of approved cost transfer approvers (opens in new window) is available on the Controller’s Office website.

Exceptional (547) Cost Transfer Journals have additional workflow and are routed to CGA for review and approval.

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