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GBM  |  General Balance Inquiries

If you don't quite get how GMM connects with GBM, or if you are generally unfamiliar with navigating in *Define, or with its menu system, please head to *Define Resources before coming back to the information below. (it'll be here when you get back!)

GB1 & GB2 - The Power Lifters of GBM

Navigating to the GBM module will pull up several useful submenus that are helpful toward managing grants and awards, especially with creating budgets and spending projections. Below are the modules in GBM that most admins make use of, including brief explanations and sample screengrabs to point out key features.
 

GB1 General Balance Information (Overall Account Details) - Sample GB1 Screen
To access info in the GB1 screen, the entire 10-digit account number is needed because GB1 is subaccount-specific. GB1 provides similar information to the CA3.

The most useful piece of informatio in GB1 is the IDC rate (aka F&A, Overhead) that is applied to each subaccount. Open the Sample GB1 Screen to see where it sits (lower right corner) on the screen. It's a fast way to confirm account-specific and subaccount-specific F&A rates. Practice changing the subaccount in the GB1 screen to see what happens with the OH Rate --when you get to a category that is exempt from F&A, the OH Rate will be empty, so GB1 also helps you confirm which subaccounts are exempt and non-exempt. That's helpful for when processing fund transfers via FRMS.

Also in GB1, in the account status section (right hand side square), there is access to reporting detail, such as totals per costing category - the red underlines indicate there's more information there; just input x and enter to see more. While this doesn't come up a lot in grant management, there are times when that level of category-specific detail could be useful. It's worth clicking into and looking around.
 

GB2 - General Balance Information (Budget Group Details)
The GB2 module is used for budgeting and projections, as well as keeping an eye on the general health of an account, as required. When an award is set up in the financial system, GB2 is where to confirm the funds are activly set up and ready for charges, and also to see all the subaccounts of the budget group and how funds have been distributed among them.

• The following are a series of GB2 screengrabs from an expired account. By changing the year and month, you can go back to the beginning of an account's existence and see how the funds were deposited and how spending progressed. Clicking on the links below will create pop-up screens; or use the right-side panel to view these screens from within this frame.
  
  GB2 | New Award - a newly established account without funds in it
  GB2 | Spending Start - 1st month -funds have been deposited and spending has started
  GB2 | 2 months In - spending is well under way 2 months into the project
  GB2 | Final Month of Spending - fast forward to the final month of the award
   
•  Use an active account number of one of your PIs and practice moving between the different years and months in the GB1 screen. Notice the change in the columns from month to month, as the BF (Balance forward/expended) column grows and the EN (Encumbered) column and free balance shrink. 

 

Important GB2 Balance Information

The balances in the GB2 account represent all the activity that ocurrs on an account each month. Every month of spending is closed out roughly about a week later, around the 7th or 8th of each following month.

Once closeout happens, the numbers you see on the GB2 screen are final and will not change no matter what other new activity might happen to impact that month later on.

'*Define don't deal with dreamland accounting just cuz someone wants to get cute with a time machine and make the spending look different than it actually was. *Define don't play that.'

Any changes or moves or corrections that are related to the closed out month will appear on the month the changes are processed. That means you can COUNT ON what you see in GB2 as final and permanent. Closed out months are exactly that: CLOSED. You don't have to worry that something will change ---when you balance an account in your own budgets/projections, it's done and you can move on with confidence. Find the exact closeout dates here.

GTM  |  General Transaction Module

Most of us only have the GT1 screen in the GTM module, though some of the other GT modules are available as budgeting tools via FRMS.

The GTM *Define training handout on the Office of Accounting training resources webpage is packed full of lots and lots of GTM stuff that we, as Research Administrators, don't need, and will never use. The handout can be overwhelming...

It's great that they gave us so much detail, and it's terrible that they gave us so much detail!

For folks who are looking to up their *Define game and learn more about the GTM module, and all that you can do with it, the handout is a great way to do that. For the rest of us who just need to get around and find that basic information that helps us manage our awards, you're in the right place.
 

GT1 - The Transaction Go-To

GT1 is where you see individual transactions within each account--well, really, each subaccount of a budget group. You need the full 10-digit account number to use this module.

The GT1 screen lays out all transaction activity per month within each subaccount - this is a non-reversable list of activity that comes directly from the Mainframe (the university's gigantic computing source that processes financial activity). Any changes or corrections show up as additional transactions that occur later, so what you see is essentially carved in stone (meaning you can count on what you see there as having actually happened).

The way transactions are laid out in GT1 can be confusing. There is a lot of detail within each transaction (2 lines worth), and the encumberance and disencumberance entries further compliate matters.
 

Click on the GT1 Example as a pop-up window

Or click in the right-side panel to see a larger integrated version in this same window.
Use the GT1 Example to compare to the list below to better understand the columns of information.
 

• Rec date = Record date = Date the transaction was recorded 
• Document-ID = Doc ID = unique identifying number of the electronic document created in *Define
• Voucher = unique identifying number of the voucher document processed by Accounting and Finance to make payments to employees, vendors, recipients, etc. Vouchers contain multiple transactions that come from the electronic documents we process.
• Description = Name of employee if salary/wages, or descirption of type of charge, or Purchase Order Number.
• Chk.Nbr. = Check Number, when applicable.
• Obj = Object code
• AC/RT = Account Charge Type / Reporting Type
• T-Code = Transaction Code used by Office of Accounting and Finance
• Prc-Date = Process Date
• Amount = Amount charged or credited to account
• S = Transaction status

GOM  |  General Object Code Module

There are a lot of modules in the GOM. Most of us only need access to the GO7 screen. The other modules are for reporting functions specific to object codes, which are typically out of the purview of research administration. If you don't have GO7 access, request it from your department/unit admin lead. GO7 is especially helpful for research and grant admins who process vouchers or who help manage spending on awards and grants.

There is no handout specific for the GO7 module. It's covered in the VP1 & VP2 payment vouchers handout, but it gets pretty lost in there, and understanding object codes is really useful, so we're pulling it into this space for easier access.

We've also given Object Codes there own section because it's a topic that comes up a lot, including for seasoned grant admins -it's worth doing a deeper dive, so check it out when you're ready.
 

GO7 is account-specific and voucher-specific

It shows all the object codes that have been added to each full 10-digit account number for the purpose of clarifying which types of costs are allowable on each subaccount -in each type of voucher (such as a VP2, VE5, VP5, etc.).

Here are the types of vouchers most common with research related accounts:

• Voucher Type C

VC1 - Cash receipt vouchers (deposits)

• Voucher Type J

VT6 - Correction vouchers, VTA & VTC - budget changes, requests for transfer of funds

• Voucher Type L

VP1, VP2, VP3, VPE - Local funds vouchers (purchase orders, vendor payments, meal/entertainment expenses)
Local funds are non-State funds (sponsored awards, grants, gift funds)

• Voucher Type O

Encumbrances (PBO, PB3, PB5, PB7, PBS, and PBX)

When you're trying to process a voucher and you get an error that the object code isn't in that particular account, that means, when you head to GO7 module and plug in the account number, you won't find that object code included under the type of voucher you are trying to process. 

Click on the sample GO7 screen for a pop-up window
Or click on the link in the right-side panel to see a larger, integrated version in this same window.
Note: Object codes with first one or two digits followed by dots means all codes in that series are included

To try out the GO7 module: Type GO7 in the command line, then tab over once to the account space, enter an account number, then enter. Typing in only part of the account number returns more subaccounts to choose from within a budget group.
 

Expenditure codes by major category

• 1100-1145  - Personal Services
• 1150-1196 - Fringe Benefits
• 12XX - Travel
• 13XX - Other Services
• 1401-1467 - Materials and Supply
• 1475-1487 - Maintenance and Repair
• 1501-1754 - Other Expenses
• 1761-1774 - Utilities
• 1780-1789 - Telecommunications
• 18XX - Capital Outlay

 

SPAA Analysts (UT Accountants) are responsible for setting up accounts with the appropriate object codes - which codes are chosen based on the award agreement details. In order to make it easier for the SPAA Analyst to add object codes to a large number of accounts, the codes are arranged in standard groups based on types of awards/grants. There is a standard '26 Object Code Group' for sponsored award subaccounts.

Object codes can be manually added (or removed) depending on the specifics of the award/account. Object codes can only be added to an account if the agreement documentation supports the type of cost/code being requested. The Analyst will request explanation for the need, as well as check the agreement details to ensure compliance with sponsor rules.

Check out the Object Codes section, as well as the GGM modules to learn more about Obect Codes. 

GGM = General Information Inquiries - GG1 - GG9

GGV