Create a Document​

Introduction

The general steps to enter an adjustment are:

  • Assign a Document Number and a Batch Type and save the document.
  • Add rows to enter individual transactions and the fiscal coding.
  • Attach or view any scanned supporting documentation needed for the transactions.
  • The Balance displayed on screen must be zero or the Distribute Adjust Complete will be greyed out.
  • Authorize and approve the adjustment document. After the final level of approval, the transactions are automatically released as a batch to STARS.

Adjustments can be processed with a prior budget fiscal year (BFY) during July.

Other time frames to consider are:

  • During a current month, adjustments can have an effective date of the current day or any day that is open (on the STARS SM table).
  • During the first three working days of the each month, adjustments can be done with a current or previous month date.
  • Agencies are allowed to post an adjustment against a prior month as long as both months are open in STARS.
  • During July 1st to the June cutoff (or about a week into July), adjustments can be done with a previous month and previous BFY or with a current month and current BFY.
  • Agencies are required to post any adjustments pertaining to the prior BFY before it closes, which means they have to use the prior month and prior fiscal year.

Create an Adjustment Document

 Click the Document tab and begin by entering some "header" information - something that identifies and describes the document.

1. Enter an eight character alphanumeric document number in the Doc # field.

2. Select a Batch Type from the drop down menu: A - Adjustments module, 1 - Budgetary, 2 - Receipts/Revenue, 4 - Expenditures/Enc, 5 - General.

Figure 1 - New document example

Document screen with a new document example and Batch Type drop down menu shown

3. Enter a date in the Effective Date field or click the calendar icon to select a date.

  • The date entered may not be later than the current day's date.
  • The date entered may not be earlier than the first day of the previous month.

4. Enter a 30 character Description if desired. Do not use special characters or symbols, including &, ', “, <, and \.

5. If your agency uses Group names, select a Group from the drop down menu.

6. Enter a Comment if desired. Click the plus sign to expand the comments text box. (Do not use special characters or symbols, including &, ', “, <, and \.

7. Click Save & Continue. The document and the adjustment transaction grid will be displayed.

  • Click Save & Clear to save the document (without entering transactions on a transaction grid) and clear the fields.
  • Click Save as Template if you intend to create only a template to use for future adjustment transactions.
  • Click New Document to clear all fields without saving and start over.

Add Transactions and Fiscal Codes

In order to complete the fiscal coding or distribution, the Balance of the adjustment document, indicated on the Documents screen of the application, must be zero.

1. Click Add Row to create the first row of the adjustment transaction grid in order to enter the adjustment transactions and the fiscal coding.

Figure 2 - Adjustment transaction grid example

Document screen with new doucment example and Add Row button highlighted 

2. Enter a transaction code in the TC field. TC is a required field.

  • To search for a transaction code to use, use the look up to select one.
  • If you use a transaction code that requires Department of Financial Management approval, the batch will error in STARS because there is no DFM approval step in Adjustments. In that case, contact your DFM analyst and ask them to release the batch in STARS.

3. Press TAB or click into another field. The transaction code will be validated and other fiscal code fields required by the transaction code will be highlighted in pink. These fields must be filled in at the time the distribution is marked as complete.

4. If the transaction code should be a reversal, enter a reversal indicator in the R field.

5. Enter the amount of the adjustment in the AMT field.

6. If needed, enter a Reference Document Number (RefDoc). This can be an encumbrance document number, or a document number of the orginal expenditure. Use the lookup to find and select an encumbrance document. If you use the lookup, any associated fiscal coding will be automatically entered. If you manually enter it, click Save & Continue, and then any associated fiscal coding will be automatically entered.

Figure 3 - Reference document number field example

Document screen with new documetn example and the reference document field highlighted

7. Enter the remainder of the fiscal coding needed for the adjustment. (Do not use special characters or symbols, including &, ', “, <, and \, in the Description field.)

  • Adjustments will not allow a Grant number 999999 or a PCA or Index that uses that Grant number (aka a “dummy" grant). If your adjustment transaction requires this Grant number, the adjustment will have to be entered in STARS.

8. You can perform lookups in any fiscal code field designated with an asterisk and your data entry will be validated:

To look up a fiscal code:

a. Place the cursor in a designated field and press F3.

b. In the look up dialog box, enter any combination of search criteria. You can enter just the first few numbers or letters or use the wildcard (%). To search for adjustment transactions codes in general, use %Adj% in the Title.

c. Click Find.

d. Click the fiscal code you want to use. For example, click the PCA you want to use and the PCA field and any other fiscal codes associated with it will be automatically filled in.However, entering a code in the TC field highlights required fields, but does not automatically fill in related fiscal codes.

Figure 4 - Example of using a look up

Pop up screen with a list of Index codes

Manually entered data validation:

a. Enter a fiscal code into a designated field.

b. Press TAB to move to the next field or click in another field. If the data entry is valid, it will automatically fill in any other fiscal codes associated with it. If the fiscal code is invalid, an error message will be displayed.

c. When you mark the adjustment document as complete, invalid fiscal codes will cause an error message to be displayed and they will be highlighted. (If there is more than one 'page' of fiscal coding, you may see a general error message 'Document Failed Final Validation'.)

 9. Click Add Row to create an additional row for your adjustments.

  • Click Dup if you want to create a duplicate of the first row (to keep the same fiscal coding, etc.).
  • Click Del if you want to delete a row.
  • Click Undo Updates to clear all unsaved rows.

    • 10. Continue with adding the fiscal coding by entering the TC first, as described above. (Do not use special characters or symbols, including &, ', “, <, and \, in the Description field.)

  • To view several lines of transactions along with descriptive titles of the fiscal codes (PCA, Grant, etc.), click Preview.
  • To edit a transaction in the preview, click Select.

    • 11. Click Save & Continue. The Balance will update when you save the document. This reflects transactions that debit or credit GL accounts 1003 and 1005. The balance must be zero or the Distribute Adjust Complete will be greyed out.

    • If the Balance does not net to zero, try increasing the Rows per page so that all transactions are displayed on one page.
    • Click Save & Clear to save the document as is and clear the fields.
    • Click New Document to clear all fields without saving and start a new document.

    Figure 5 - Example of Balance amount ready to save

    Document screen with the Balance amount and Save button highlighted 

    12. When finished, click Distribute Adjust Complete. (The Balance must be zero for this button to be available.) Any fields that are invalid will cause an error message to be displayed and the invalid fiscal code fields will be highlighted.

    13. The document is then ready to be approved.

    Additional Actions You Can Take

    Search for an Existing Document Number

    You can search for ('look up') an existing document on the Document screen if you need to complete the data entry or use it for a new document (see below).

    1. On the Documents screen, click the asterisk next to the Doc # field.

    2. In the look up dialog box, enter any combination of search criteria (e.g., document number, transaction code, etc.). You can enter just the first few numbers or letters or use the wildcard (%).

    3. Click Find.

    4. Click Select next to a document.

    5. Complete the document and distribution as needed.

    Create a New Document from an Existing Document

    You can open an existing document to use its fiscal coding or distribution in a new document that has similar adjustment transactions to process.

    1. Open an existing document either from the Status screen, or search for the document on the Documents screen.

    2. Change the Doc # and then press TAB. (You cannot reuse a document number.)

    3. Change the Batch Type, Description, Comments, and/or any fiscal coding or distribution as needed. (Do not use special characters or symbols, including &, ', “, <, and \, in the Description and Comments fields.)

    4. Click Save As & Continue (to keep the document displayed). Keep Save Detail checked to save all of the fiscal coding and distribution. If unchecked, the document is saved with no distribution rows or fiscal coding. Click Save As & Clear if you want to clear the document from the screen.

    Figure 6 - Example of Save buttons

    Document screen with Save buttons highlighted