Top 10 Changes You May Notice When the Budget Ledger Groups are Simplified

As you’ve probably heard, the budget ledger groups in ConnectCarolina are being simplified beginning July 1.  While most of the changes are behind-the-scenes, here are the top 10 changes you may notice if you do budgeting, create budget journals or run reports in ConnectCarolina or InfoPorte:

1. State, F&A, and Trust are being combined into the new “FAST” ledger groups. There will be the FAST expense ledger group, the FAST_PAR parent expense ledger group, and the FAST_REV revenue ledger group.
2. You will choose the fund type, instead of the ledger, when running reports in InfoPorte. Even if you are pulling data for the old ledger groups, you will choose fund type.
3. Only State and F&A transactions will be recorded in the FAST_PAR parent ledger, even though State, F&A, and Trust will be combined into the FAST and FAST_REV ledger groups.
4. State fund codes will roll up to the FAST_PAR parent ledger. For example, starting July 1, 2017, if you enter a transaction using fund 20101, the transaction will roll up to 20100 for budget checking.  This means that when the Office of Budget, Planning & Analysis decides to control State funds, it will be less likely that a transaction fails due to insufficient budget.
5. Nine account codes are being consolidated with other accounts as budget rollups. This chart shows the account codes going away and the account codes you’ll need to use instead.  The account codes in the left column will be invalid starting July 1, 2017.

6. You should still submit separate budget journals and transfers for State, F&A, and Trust funds, even though the system will let you combine them on one. Tip: If you mention “State,” “F&A,” or “Trust” in the journal description, it’ll be easier to find the transaction later.
7. You need to use the updated Excel template for uploading budget transactions in the system. If you’re one of the small group of people who uses the Excel template, the updated template, BUDJRNL_UNC_FAST_and_FAST_REV, is available on the Budget, Planning and Analysis website in the Budgets and Fringe section.
8. Starting with fiscal year 2018, you will choose the FAST, FAST_PAR, or FAST_REV ledger group when running reports in ConnectCarolina. You can then use the fund value or fund range to report specifically on State, F&A, or Trust funds.
9. When using the Budgets Overview inquiry in ConnectCarolina, it’s best to create new inquiries. The new inquiries for FAST, FAST_PAR, and FAST_REV can be used beginning July 1, 2017.  You can still use the old ones for historical reporting.
   One more thing to keep in mind is that for budget period 2018, the available budget for program and cost codes will not reflect the purchase requisitions, purchase orders or expenses that have been applied to that budget.  Therefore your available budgets will be incomplete if using the Budget Overview inquiry.  To get an accurate budget balance, use the Program/Cost Code tabs in InfoPorte.
10. When using the Program/Cost Code tabs in InfoPorte, you’ll notice that the Expenses column on the reports has been renamed Revenue/Expenses. Accounts that begin with a “5” on the report show expenses while accounts that begin with a “4” show revenue.