The Ledger : Student Billing State-of-Mind

Make it Feel Like Home: The FE Home Page

Jennifer Maroney — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:56:00 GMT

Do you run the same saved reports and queries daily, weekly, or monthly? Save yourself time by adding links to them on your Home page. This simple process will help streamline your regular tasks by accessing common FE reports and queries, websites, or non-Blackbaud products, such as Word or Excel, from one location. Remember, these settings follow your user name, so you don't have to worry about resetting them, or doing more work , if you switch workstations.

The first thing you want to do is set FE to start on the Home page. To configure this, select Tools, Options from the menu bar, select the General tab, and then select Home from the Start on this page drop-down list.

If you have several items for a given task, such as the reports, spreadsheets, and queries needed for reconciliation, create a folder to keep organized. To add a new folder to the Home page, follow these steps:

Select Favorites, Organize favorites from the menu bar.
Highlight the appropriate home page and click New Folder.
Enter the name of the new folder and click OK.

Ok, now that you have set FE to open on the Home page of your choice and created any necessary folders, it's time to create the links.

For links to FE reports or queries:

Open the report or query and select Favorites, Add to Favorites from the menu bar.
Enter a name and description.
In the Create in field, select the modules name, such as Accounts Receivable, for the link to display on the Home page or the folder listed below the module name to add the link to the folder on the Home page.
Click OK.

For links to non-Blackbaud products or website:

Drag the saved file into the FE shell. You will see the document open and display within the shell.
Note: To create a shortcut to a Web page, right-click the desktop, and select New, Shortcut. Paste the entire URL in the location box and click Next. Enter a name for the shortcut and click Finish. Drag the shortcut on the desktop into the FE Shell.
Select Favorites, Add Page to Favorites from the menu bar.
Enter a name and description.
In the Create in field, select the modules name, such as Accounts Receivable, for the link to display on the Home page or the folder listed below the module name to add the link to the folder on the Home page.
Click OK.

Make sure you also add links to our online resources for quick reference.

Knowledgebase: http://kb.blackbaud.com
FAQs: http://www.blackbaud.com/support/faqs/fe7.aspx
User Guides: http://www.blackbaud.com/support/guides/fe.aspx
Newsletter back issues: http://www.blackbaud.com/support/newsletters/supnewsletters.aspx
The Financial Edge Forums: http://forums.blackbaud.com/forums/4.aspx
The Ledger blog: http://forums.blackbaud.com/blogs/financialedge/default.aspx

Stay tuned for more helpful hints to make The Financial Edge feel more like... home.

Talk to you soon!

Improve Your Data's Quality and Consistency

Jennifer Maroney — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:30:00 GMT

A list of procedures and rules can improve your data's consistency and quality, and save you time and effort when entering data, preparing reports, and reconciling. I recommend compiling the procedures and rules to create a policies and procedures manual, also known as a data entry guide. The manual should specify how you enter and maintain records, and perform various functions related to your database. By documenting rules and guidelines, you can ensure consistent data entry. Here are some items to consider for your policies and procedures manual.

Soft close all periods except the current period and the next period. Closing previous periods prevents accidental posting to a closed and balanced period. By closing periods in the future, you prevent inadvertently posting transactions to periods that should not yet be affected.
Use journal codes correctly. Journal codes, also known as source codes, tell you the origin of a transaction. The codes specifically assigned to sub-ledgers should never be used in journal entries and vice versa. In GL Journal Entry, you can define which journal codes are allowed to prevent any errors. Check out BB58058 for the steps.
Create recurring journal entries for your regularly occurring journal entries. These templates allow you to define transactions and/or distributions to use over and over again.
Create distribution templates for commonly used distributions so all you have to do is select the template instead of manually typing in each account number, amount, project, or t-code. Using distribution templates not only prevent data entry errors but also save time, especially if you have detailed distributions.
Use business rules to promote accuracy and consistency. There are a variety of business rules that allow you to determine some things that should or should not be allowed in your database. Some examples include not posting zero dollar amounts, excluding inactive records from searches, allowing non-bank transactions to cash accounts, and automatically assigning record IDs. Each sub-ledger has its own business rules to set. Check out these solutions for some business rule tips: General Ledger | Accounts Receivable | Student Billing | Payroll
Configure security groups to restrict user rights. Carefully consider which users need what rights. For example, not all users should have access to voiding, deleting, or purging transactions. Depending on your organization's size and needs, you may be able to set up just one or two security groups or you may need to set up a separate security group for each user.

Talk to you soon!

Meet Ms. Queue

Jennifer Maroney — Fri, 29 May 2009 12:30:00 GMT

Do you run the same reports and queries everyday or every week? Would you like to hire an assistant to just run these reports so you can focus on more important things? FE has your assistant waiting. Please meet Ms. Accounting Queue:

Ms. Queue is proficient in running reports, queries, exports, and posts automatically. The best part is, she works at any hour, does not require vacation, breaks, and bonuses, and no supervision is required. I recommend using Ms. Queue during non-working hours so you can be more productive by utilizing all workstations and printers during working hours.

For more information, check out the Accounting Queue Guide. If you would like to hire Ms. Accounting Queue to work for you, contact your account manager.

Talk to you soon!

Reconciliation Recommendations

Jennifer Maroney — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:33:00 GMT

At some point we all need to perform the dreaded reconciliation process. It can go smoothly, especially if you reconcile on a regular basis, or can be a headache if you don't reconcile regularly and have inconsistent data entry. The Transaction Business Rules, implemented in version 7.77, can help with inconsistent data entry, but you still need to get in the habit of reconciling regularly; have you caught my theme yet ?

Sometimes, no matter how careful you are, your subsidiary ledger does not balance to the GL. Here are some of the common causes of balancing issues:

Voided or deleted transactions
Voided checks
Transactions where the transaction date and post date are in different fiscal periods
Remitting Payroll taxes, deductions, or withholdings from the incorrect account
Journal entries made directly to the subledger summary account

You can find these sneaky transactions by creating a query or running additional reports.

I've put together a list of recommendations for reconciling subsidiary ledgers, but they can also help when reconciling balance sheet and income statement line items.

Find a reliable starting point. This may be your annual audit or another period when your subledger and general ledger were in agreement. If you cannot find a period, you may need to make a one-time adjustment at your reconciliation start date. Without a good starting point in the past, none of the subsequent beginning balances will be reliable.
Avoid manual journal entries to the summary accounts (e.g., Accounts Payable Summary, Accounts Receivable Summary, or the Accumulated Depreciation accounts). Make corrections to items such as invoices or checks in the subsidiary ledger, rather than making a manual journal entry to General Ledger. If you must make journal entries, consider creating a separate account for them to simplify subledger reconciliation.
Use journal codes to indicate the source of transactions. When posting journal entries, do not use the journal code used by the subsidiary ledger. Clearly and consistently identifying the journal codes helps you trace a transaction to its origin.
Reconcile monthly . Perform reconciliations at least monthly. Finding and correcting items regularly may prevent additional errors. If you have several periods to reconcile, start with the oldest and reconcile one period at a time.
Be aware of how your organization uses post dates and transaction dates. Items such as invoices may be dated in one fiscal period, posted in another, and paid in yet another fiscal period. When running reports, determine whether you want to see the transaction date or the post date. Ensure you have established guidelines for determining the correct transaction post date. Inconsistency can cause reconciliation issues and possible financial statement misrepresentation.
Ensure transactions have the correct post status.
Update your policies and procedures manual regularly. Include detailed instructions for correcting reconciling issues. Create a reconciliation schedule as part of your policies and procedures manual, detailing which accounts should be reconciled with what frequency, and by whom.

For detailed reconciliation information, check out the Subsidiary Ledger Reconciliation Guide.

Is it Okay to Cancel Out of Posting, Copying, or Reversing a Batch?

Jennifer Maroney — Mon, 18 May 2009 11:42:00 GMT

Do you ever notice your workstation task manager shows The Financial Edge is not responding? Just because it shows not responding on your workstation doesn't mean that FE has stopped working. Many times the process is still running on the server. If you cancel the process at the wrong point it could result in data corruption and who wants that?

Pardon the interruption, but this is a great example of why you should regularly back up your database. Check out the Backup and Recovery series on Inside the Edge for more details about the importance of backing up your database and testing it on a regular basis. Now back to you regularly scheduled program.

Here are some helpful tips:

Before initiating the process, disable any applications running unnecessarily, including those running in the background that may be using up system resources.
Post regularly, and assign a specific time of day to complete your posting.
Large batches with complex distributions, attributes, transaction codes, and projects will take longer to process because more information must be validated for each element of the transaction. If you have large distributions, post in smaller batches.
Allow sufficient time for the process to finish.
If you think you have performance issues, check out Knowledgebase solution BB8626 for performance considerations.

So remember, the next time you're posting, copying, or reversing a batch and your workstation's task manager indicates that the software is not responding, wait before you cancel the process.

Talk to you soon!

The Ledger Lowdown: Get the Discounts You Deserve

Jennifer Maroney — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:22:00 GMT

When you purchase an item using credit or on account, you enter into a contract and agree to pay off the balance by a specific date, which is usually set by the vendor. Sometimes you even get a discount if you pay the balance early. I'm sure you're asking yourself, "What does this have to do with FE?" More than you may know. You can set terms for AP invoices so you get the discounts you deserve and on AR invoices so your customers get the discounts they deserve. These terms are not just used for discounts; they also specify how long a customer can wait to pay an invoice.

The first step is to create the terms in Configuration. This process is the same for AP and AR with one exception: in AP you define the discount you receive from vendors and in AR you define the discounts you offer to your clients.

Now that you have all of your terms created, it's time to add them to records. I recommend defining the terms on the vendor or client record so they default on new invoices. This not only saves time, but ensures each invoice is discounted accurately. On a vendor record, select the default terms on the Vendor tab. On client records, define the default terms on the Defaults tab. That's it! All that is left is to do is collect yo' money and save yo' money .

Talk to you soon!

Report Madness

Jennifer Maroney — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:36:00 GMT

Have you ever looked through the 160 standard reports available in FE? Well even if you haven't the number is quite impressive, but how do you know which report to use ? Here are some tips to help you figure it out:

Determine what information you need.
Ok, so this one sounds silly to start with, but if you don't know exactly what you want, how will you know when you get it? Having a clear picture of what you need from a report helps you find the report category to start looking in and saves time. For example, if you need a financial statement, start with the Financial Statements category or if you need employee information, start in Profile and Statistical reports.
Review the Sample Reports Guide (PDF).
This one also sounds obvious, but how many of you knew such a guide existed?

Pardon the interruption, but I wanted to take a moment to remind you that there are several helpful FE guides. They can be found by selecting Help, User Guides from the FE menu bar, or by selecting User Guides from the Support menu on our website. Now back to your previously scheduled program.

The Sample Reports Guide divides standard reports into broad categories, and, for each report, you'll find:
- A brief overview
- Parameter descriptions
- A preview of what the report looks like
Use a test query.
To quickly see how a report will return your data, run it using a query with a few familiar records or a few records with a variety of transactions so you can see how each is treated. For example, if you're running account reports in General Ledger, select a variety of account types with several different transactions. If you are running reports in Accounts Payable, select a vendor with different invoices, credit memos, voided checks, or partially paid invoices.
Use the Layout button.
Click Layout to quickly preview a report using just a few records. Make sure you experiment with the report parameters, such as limiting the date range, to learn how different parameters impact the report totals.
Save and document your report parameters.
After you go through the process to find the report, make sure you document and save your report parameters. This way when you run the report next week or next month, you can save time and compare apples to apples. Follow these steps to print the report criteria:
1. Open the Report.
2. Select the Format tab and highlight Criteria.
3. Mark the Print Report Criteria on checkbox and select either first page or a separate page.
4. Mark checkboxes for individual criteria or right-click in the box and choose Select All.
5. Click Save and name the parameters.
Document your choices in a policies and procedures manual.
After taking the time to determine which reports to run, create an office policy and document it in your policies and procedure manual.

Happy Reporting. Talk to you soon!

Make it Feel Like Home: Require or Hide Fields

Jennifer Maroney — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 11:49:00 GMT

In my last Make it Feel Like Home post, I talked about changing the display name of fields to match the language of your organization. Well, I thought the ability to require or hide fields would be a good follow up. Making a field required ensures the field contains the appropriate information before the record can be saved. On the other hand, if there are fields which you don't want to be used, you can remove the field from the record. Requiring or hiding a field increases the accuracy and consistency of data entry.

Here are some examples of fields you can hide or require (not all fields can be hidden or made required):

General Ledger: Project start date or grant type
Accounts Payable: Invoice number or purchase order Department
Accounts Receivable: Invoice date or recurring invoice service provider
Fixed Assets: Asset ID or asset location
Payroll: Department ID or nickname

As with changing field names, you cannot hide or require all fields in FE. The easiest way to determine if the options are available is to follow the steps below. If the checkbox is available, you're good to go. Here are the steps:

Log in as Supervisor or as a user with supervisor rights.
In Configuration, click Fields.
Highlight the appropriate record type.
To make a field required, mark the checkbox in the Required column.
To hide a field, mark the checkbox in the Hidden column.

Stay tuned for more helpful hints to make The Financial Edge feel more like... home.

Talk to you soon!

Make it Feel Like Home: Change Field Names

Jennifer Maroney — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:11:00 GMT

What's in a field name? That which we call department by any other name would still report the same. OK, so I am not Shakespeare. If you are tired of continually translating field names on reports and records for coworkers because the names do not match your org's terminology, I have the thing for you...simply change the field name. So it is not that simple since you can't rename all fields, but there are several you can, which can make your life easier. The simplest way to know if the name can be changed is to follow the steps below; if the Display as field is yellowed out, you can't change the name.

Follow these steps to change the field name or check if the name can be changed:

In Configuration, click Fields.
Highlight the record type.
Locate the field name to change.
In the Display As column, enter the new name for the field.
Note: The new name can't be more characters than the original name. If it is, the new field name will be cut off on records and reports.

Stay tuned for more helpful hints to make The Financial Edge feel more like... home.

Talk to you soon!

The Query's Wild

Jennifer Maroney — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:24:00 GMT

I decided to share a cool wildcard trick with you guys today for searching records or creating queries. Then I found this topic already on the User's Edge blog, so I figured why reinvent the wheel. Check out the Wild, Wild Cards post, it's one of those little known helpful features. Enjoy!

Talk to you soon!

Void a Posted Payment

Jennifer Maroney — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:38:00 GMT

If you need to void a payment because [insert your reason here], there is no need to worry as long as the payment has not been reconciled.

Reconciled payments cannot be changed or voided. If the payment is reconciled, create a bank adjustment or manual journal entry to make the correction.

For non-reconciled payments, follow these steps:

Ensure the payment is unapplied.
Note: For Student Billing, you do not need to unapply the payment from a charge to void the payment. If the payment is applied to a fully or partially generated advance deposit, the generated credits must be deleted to free up the advance deposit so the payment can then be deleted.
Open the deposit where the payment resides.
Change the deposit status from Closed to Open, save the deposit.
Select the Payments tab, open the payment in question.
Select Payment, Void this Payment from the menu bar.

Talk to you soon!

Posting Errors? Check Your Post Dates

Jennifer Maroney — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:28:00 GMT

If your fiscal year or period has ended, you may suddenly start receiving errors such as Period Closed or Period Not Found when posting to General Ledger. These errors happen when transactions post to a hard-closed, soft-closed, or an undefined fiscal year. To resolve the error:

Review the Batch Validation or Pre-post Report to find the transactions that failed validation. You can find the exceptions in bold under the problem transaction. If you are posting a journal entry batch, the cursor stops in the date field of the transaction causing the error message.
If the post date is incorrect, change the post date of the transaction to a valid, open fiscal year. In Accounts Payable, if the Post date field is grayed out on a paid invoice, refer to How to edit the post date on a paid but unposted invoice.
If the post date is correct:
1. Verify the fiscal year was created. If it hasn't been created, add the new fiscal year.
2. If the fiscal year exists and is soft closed, reopen the period.
3. If the fiscal year is hard closed, restore to a backup created before the fiscal year was closed or post to an open fiscal period.
  Note: If you restore to a backup, any data entered after the backup was created will be lost.

Happy posting. Talk to you soon!

New Year's Resolutions

Jennifer Maroney — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:14:00 GMT

We all have a list of things we meant to do last year, but didn't because we were too busy or simply forgot. Start this year off right by making a resolution to take care of your database and utilize Support resources. Here are some ideas for your work resolution list:

Maintain Your Data
- Create a policies and procedures manual to help make data entry more consistent and to train new hires.
- Reconcile subsidiary ledgers monthly. Establish the procedures and add them to your policies and procedures manual.
- Use the Supervisor login only when necessary.
Protect Your Data
- Use an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to protect your database from corruption caused by sudden power outages.
- Back up your database daily and test the backups frequently. Store them in a safe, off-site location .
- Check your database integrity weekly.
Take Advantage of Your Maintenance Benefits
- Review the Customer Support Guide (PDF).
- Visit the Support section of our website for resources to help you make the most of your Blackbaud software and resolve issues. Resources include FAQs, Case Central, downloads, system recommendations, user guides, Forums, and Knowledgebase.
- Visit the Events section of our website for information about Blackbaud conferences, industry conferences, regional conferences, web seminars, and user group meetings.
- Visit the Training section of our website to learn about classroom training, on-site training, distance learning such as the eLearning library, and the Blackbaud Training Pass.
Keep Informed
- Visit Alerts on our website regularly.
- Ensure your users are subscribed to our newsletters. Visit Support Newsletters to learn about available newsletters for your organization's products.
  Note: If your organization uses multiple Blackbaud products, subscribe your system administrator to all applicable newsletters.
- Review the release readme, patch readme, and outstanding issues list.

Happy New Year! Talk to you soon!

Filter Reports by Multiple Records Without a Query

Jennifer Maroney — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:42:00 GMT

If you need a last minute report for specific records, don't waste time creating a query. Instead, select multiple records on the fly as you create the report. Here's how:

In Reports, open the appropriate report and select the Filters tab.
Change the appropriate Include filter from All to Selected.
On the new screen that opens, click in the empty row and then click the binoculars.
On the search screen, click Find Now.
Highlight the records by holding down the Control key on your keyboard and pressing Enter.
Click OK and then click Preview.

Talk to you soon!

List Deleted Transactions

Jennifer Maroney — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:15:00 GMT

Here is a quickie but a goodie. If you post a transaction in FE and then delete it, the record will remain in the database. This allows you to have a paper trail in subledgers for transactions posted to General Ledger. You can create a transaction query to list all deleted transactions based on criteria such as transaction date, record type, or product ID. Here's how:

Create a new transaction query.
On the Criteria tab, select the following:
Transaction, Deleted? [equals] [Yes]
And/Or Transaction, Payment, Voided? [equals] Yes
To limit the transactions to a specific type, select Transaction, Transaction type [equals] [type].
Select any other desired fields on the Criteria and Output tabs.
Run the query.

Take a look at the Where's Waldo's Transaction post for information about viewing deleted transactions on the Activity tab of records.

Talk to you soon!