FAS Gargoyle
 
FAS User's Manual
Table of Contents
 

 

Transaction Information 

All dollar data enters FAS as 80-character transactions in the same format: 
 

Columns Data
1–10 Debit account and subaccount/account control
11–12 Entry Code
13–19 Purchase order/Encumbrance number
20–23 Date in format MMDD
24–43 Description of transaction
44–55 Amount of transaction in dollars and cents
56 Debit/Credit indicator
57–63 Transaction number
64–73 Credit account and subaccount/account control
74–80 Control Number
 
Budget entries include an indicator for the monthly budgeting option, and, therefore, only have room for an eighteen-character description. "One-sided" transactions such as cash receipts and disbursements (where FAS automatically supplies the other side of the transaction) have a layout similar to the above but omit unnecessary fields. 

Because transactions have the same general format, the two-character entry code governs the way the transaction will be handled by the system, and it determines which dollar fields will be updated. The transactions printed on the AD010 (Daily Diagnostic Listing) report are a reflection of the data as actually entered; the transactions printed on the AM091 (Transactions for the Month Ending [Date]) reflect a reorganization of the data for ease of reading. 

Account Numbers (Debit or Credit) 

Transactions must have valid six-digit account and four-digit subaccount/account control numbers. FAS first checks to make sure that the subaccount or account control is valid for the ledger being charged. If the transaction fails this check, it is rejected from the system and must be resubmitted. If it passes, FAS then checks to make sure that the six-digit account number being charged or credited is active and has not been deleted from the system or "frozen." "Dollar" transactions (entry codes 3X, 4X and 6X) that fail this second check are sent to the appropriate suspense account for correction. Nondollar transactions (entry codes 01–2X, 5X, 90–98) that fail this check are rejected. 

Entry Codes 

Entry codes indicate to FAS whether the individual transaction is a cash receipt, a budget entry, an interdepartmental order, a transfer of charge/credit, etc. Entry codes are pre-printed on most forms, and the correct entry code is added to the transaction when it is keyed into the system. The assignment of entry codes is made by the Comptroller. 

Entry codes in FAS are grouped according to type of transaction. 
 

Entry Codes
Action
01–19
Account maintenance
2X
Budget transactions
3X
Cash receipts
41–48
Cash disbursements
49
Compound journal entry
5X
Encumbrance transactions
6X
Journal entries, subsystem
90
Bank transfer
97
Beginning balance, project year
98
Beginning balance, fiscal year or project inception

Purchase Order/Encumbrance Number 

If the transaction is a commitment of funds such as a purchase order or a travel or cash advance, a unique seven-digit PO/encumbrance number will be added to the transaction and will be printed on the AM090/91. For purchase orders, this number is the purchase order number assigned to the order by the Purchasing Department. For travel and cash advances, it is the encumbrance number entered on the advance request form by the Comptroller’s Office. This number and the account/subaccount number will be entered into the Open Commitment file. When the purchase order or advance is liquidated, or when unspent advance money is returned, the system will use the PO/Encumbrance number to debit or credit the correct commitment. 

Date 

A date is entered on each transaction in the format MMDD. Most user-initiated forms request a date in the upper right hand corner. If the date is left blank when the transaction enters FAS, the computer will substitute the current date. 

Twenty-character Description 

Each transaction has room for a 20-character description which will be printed on the AM091 with the transaction. (Most entry code 2X descriptions are limited to 18 characters.) Some descriptions are standard and are generated by the subsystem that feeds the transaction to FAS. For example, the Accounts Payable system prints the first 20 characters of the vendor’s or payee’s name in the description field; Payroll prints the name and date of the payroll; the Computation Center and Telecommunications include the service center’s name in the description. 

On most user-initiated forms, the administrator can complete the description field so that the description will "explain" the transaction when it appears on the AM091. For example, the description on an Interdepartmental Order Form might be "Two Cylinders Gas." The account administrator is strongly advised to use the description field in this way. 

If the description is left blank on all but entry code 20 transactions, the description entered on the batch header record will be automatically supplied. For example, blank entry code 60 transactions may say "Interdepartmental Order." 

Amount of Transaction 

FAS can process individual transactions up to $9,999,999,999.99. The amounts entered on forms can include dollar signs, commas, and decimal points. When the form is keyed into the system, only the numbers are entered. 

Debit/Credit Indicator 

Since entry codes tell FAS how similar transactions are to be handled, FAS expects to find debit account numbers in one place on the transaction and credit account numbers in another. Normally, it is not necessary to enter the Debit/Credit Indicator, as the system knows that a Cash Receipt (entry code 3X) is a credit while a Cash Disbursement (entry code 48) is a debit. However, the Debit/Credit Indicator can be used to override the normal handling of a transaction. For example, if the accounting staff wished to reverse a previously entered cash receipt, they would code a "D" on a Cash Receipt. Similarly, they would code a "C" on a Cash Disbursement to reverse a prior entry. On a 4X or 6X transaction that liquidates an encumbrance, a "P" or "F" is placed in this field to indicate a "Partial" or "Final" liquidation. 

Transaction Number 

Certain transactions have a special Transaction number associated with them. For Cash Disbursements, the transaction number is the check number. For Expenditure Transfers, the Transaction number is the Control number of the transaction being transferred. 

Control Number 

Most user-initiated forms have a Control number printed at the top and sometimes also at the bottom. This number is a unique number placed on the form when it is manufactured, and FAS prints it on the AM091. As a result, an administrator with three or four transactions on an AM091 that are described simply as "Interdepartmental Order" can use the Control numbers printed on the AM091 to refer back to which forms initiated which transactions. 
  


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