Transaction Information
All dollar data enters FAS as 80-character transactions in the same
format:
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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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