| K12 and Higher Education Business Systems - Budget
Perparation |
| If you employ a combination of zero-based and site-based budgeting,
you will find a lot to like in BRS. The system provides a variety
of options for determining how requests are formulated and controlled.
Allocation amounts, for example, may be linked to pre-defined ranges
of account Objects. Object ranges may be independently tagged as
requiring or not requiring supporting detail. The Budget Administrator
determines how requests are to be entered and has the tools to monitor
each step of the budget-entry process. The result is a complete
institutional budget ready for loading into your financial accounting
system. |
Features:
- User security defined internally for BRS
- System administrator defines account categories requiring
supporting detail
- Allocation option enables pre-definition of allowable budget
totals for account groups
- Supplies ordering in BRS enables consolidation of demand
- Reporting built into system provides immediate confirmation
of request totals and summary totals for system administrator
- Accounts may be selected for data entry by Responsibility
Code, and Payroll budget information may be loaded directly
from the APECS Payroll Budget module
- Completed budget is uploaded automatically to APECS
|
| ACCOUNT TYPES |
| Payroll and non-payroll accounts have different budget procedures
at the detail level. Employee or position typically builds up payroll.
Goods and non-payroll services accounts are built up by expenditure
item. The system administrator specifies by Object range the accounts
of each type. The system then displays the correct data entry screen
for accounts as they are called up. |
| ALLOCATION FEATURE |
| This feature makes it possible for the budget administrator to
assign a budget total to a group of accounts. A requestor can then
"use up" the allocation amount as account budgets are
entered. Totals for used and unused dollars are available for constant
tracking. A warning is displayed if the allocation amount is exceeded.
Accounts may be designated for inclusion or exclusion from an allocation
group by object range. |
| ACCOUNT DEFINITION |
| Some elements of BRS operations make reference to elements of
the account structure. Therefore, your account structure may be
defined online to make these features available. Account definition
is one of the tasks on the system administrator menu. |
| BRS SECURITY |
| Access to the budget entry process is controlled by the system
administrator by individual or by position. Through the security
mechanism, operators may be restricted to only those accounts for
which they are individually responsible. |
| HISTORY DATA |
| Current and prior-year data is stored in the Access database and
displayed for visual reference on budget entry screens. Display
formats may be easily modified. For APECS users, data is extracted
from the APECS database and loaded into BRS programmatically. |
| ACCOUNT SELECTION |
| A local administrator may select account groups for data entry
by a variety of methods, such as Responsibility Code or starting
account number (sequential list). For APECS users, Responsibility
Codes are loaded automatically. Additional selection options are
also provided. |
| SUPPORTING DETAILS |
| The system administrator determines in advance which account objects
require supporting detail. For these accounts, the requestor is
transferred to a detail screen correct for the account type. The
request is calculated automatically as detail lines are entered.
Detail is stored in a database table for reference, and may be called
up at any time for review. A special screen is provided for entry
of warehouse material requests, utilizing a reference table downloaded
from the APECS Warehouse system or built locally in BRS. The screen
uses a "shopping cart" methodology for efficiency and
ease of use. |
| REVIEW AND COMPLETION |
| The system administrator can check on status of requests at any
time. Requestors can flag their requests as complete, so they can
be locked. The administrator will then communicate details regarding
any need for modification of requests, or make them herself. When
the budget is complete it can be reported from within BRS for additional
review. APECS users can upload the budget and produce additional
standard reports there. |
