Post on 31-Mar-2015
Introduction to Advantage
Advantage Financial System
Advantage Financial System
Advantage is ASU’s Financial System
Financial transactions are recorded into Advantage
Account balances and transaction tables are available in Advantage
Accounting Structure
The Account Structure at ASU consists of:FundAgencyOrganization (Org)Suborganization (Suborg)
Funds
A Fund identifies a group of accounts
This field is not entered on many documents as Advantage provides it based on Agency/Org
Agency/Org
An Agency can identify the Department and Funding Source:
Agencies ending in letters indicate Sponsored funding (grants)
Agencies ending in numbers indicate state or local funding
Agency/Org
An Org can identify the Campus and purpose of the Account
A Suborg is optional and can be used to provide further detail on an Org
Agency/Org
Agency Ending In:1 = State Fund2 = Auxiliary4 = Summer Sessions5 = Local Unrestricted6 = Plant Funds7 = Agency Accounts8 = Endowments9 = Restricted Funds
Org Beginning With:0 = Sponsored1 = Tempe Campus2 = Tempe Campus3 = Tempe Campus4 = Downtown Campus5 = West Campus6 = Reserved Use7 = Polytechnic Campus8 = Capital Replacement9 = Specialized Accounts
Agency/Org
TR5 1008 03Music - Local
Agency: TR5Fine Arts School of Music
Org: 1008Tempe Campus
Suborg: 03Advertising
Agency/Org - Sponsored
BTS 0033Collaborative Research: Ecosys
Agency: BTSRS: Institute of Sustainability
Org: 0033
Accounting Structure
The Account Structure at ASU consists of:FundAgencyOrg
A transaction within Advantage will require:ObjectSubobject
Object/Subobject
The Object code identifies the category of expenditure or revenue
The Subobject code is used with an Object code to further specify the expenditure or revenue type
Object/Subobject
7310
7310 is the Object code for Services
7310 28
The Subobject 28 combined with 7310 indicates Photocopy charges
Object/Subobject
7810
7810 is the Object code for Capital Equipment
7810 02
The Subobject 02 combined with 7810 indicates Software over $5,000
Introduction to Advantage
Accessing Advantage
Accessing Advantage
A combination of passwords is required to access Advantage:
CICS – established by Computer Accounts and must be changed every 90 days
Advantage ID – established by the Advantage Helpline and can be changed by user request
Accessing Advantage
Remember to follow commonly used guidelines for passwords:
Do not write down your passwordsDo not use “common” passwordsDo not share your passwords
Accessing Advantage
Advantage Profiles determine the level of access a user has and what actions they can perform
Common profiles include DAT1 – enter documentsSCN1 – lookup and reports accessMGR1 – enter and approve documents
Some areas have specialized profiles
Accessing Advantage
Profiles such as SCN1 and MGR1 can be assigned certain accounts for access as an Account Signer or Org Manager
An Account Signer can approve documents on the account on behalf of the Org Manager
An Org Manager is responsible for the account consistent with department, University, and state guidelines
Introduction to Advantage
The Suspense File
Suspense File
All documents that are started in Advantage are stored in the holding area called Suspense
Documents that are fully accepted or deleted are removed in a nightly process
Suspense File
Documents in Suspense are ordered by document type, agency, and document number
Suspense File
The status and approval levels are shown for each document
Status Levels
The status code indicates where a document is in the approval process
ACCPT – accepted in AdvantageSCHED – approved but not processedPEND# – waiting for approvalREJCT – contains errorsHELD – not ready for approvals
Approval Levels
ASU uses three approval levels to process documents:
Level 1 – Departmental Users and SignersLevel 4 – Accounts Payable/Cashiering/
AccountantsLevel 5 – Accounting Managers
Different levels of approval are required for different documents
Approval Levels
The approval code on Suspense show which approvals are necessary using a series of Y, A, and 0 indicators
A – approval required at that levelY – approval applied at that level0 – approval not required at that level
Approval Levels
Pending Level 1 approval
Approval required at Levels 1 and 4
Approval Levels
Pending Level 4 approval
Approval applied at Level 1Approval required at Level 4
Introduction to Advantage
Approving Documents
Approving Documents
All Advantage documents require approvals at one or more levels
Different documents require different approvals
The approval process consists of editing, approving, and processing a document
Approving Documents
The Edit process checks for errors after the document has been entered
Editing a document is done by hitting F7 or “ED” then Enter in the Function field
A successful Edit will display the message “Ready for Approval”
Approving Documents
Approval is applied by hitting F12 or “A+” then Enter in the Function field
After final approval is applied, the document needs to be processed
Approving Documents
Processing a document is done by hitting F8 or “R” then Enter in the Function field
After a document is processed, it is accepted into Advantage
No changes can be made to the document and all tables are updated
Unapproving Documents
If approvals have been applied but the document has not been accepted, it may be changed or deleted
All approvals must be removed in order to change or delete
Unapproving Documents
Unapproving a document is done by typing “A-” then hitting Enter in the Function field
Approvals must be removed by a user at that approval level
Level 4 can be removed by someone with Level 4 approval authority
Deleting Documents
Deleting documents will remove them from Suspense in the nightly process
Once a document is deleted and removed from Suspense, it cannot be retrieved
If the deletion was done in error, the document can be undeleted on the same day it was deleted
Deleting Documents
To delete a document, hit F9 or “D” then Enter in the Function field
To undelete a document, type “UD” then Enter in the function field