Frequently Asked Questions

Finance

• How do I check my Fund Balance? (http://www.answers.vt.edu/ask4help/ad_min/vtkb2337.htm)
• How do I determine whether an Invoice, SPO or Accounting Voucher has been processed?
• How can I see a list of transactions that were processed against my Fund during the month or specific Accounts in my Fund?
• How do I process a Budget Transfer to another department?
• How do I determine whether a Budget Transfer was completed and posted?
• How do I find the ending date on a Grant? How do I find out who the Principal Investigator is related to a Grant? How do I find out who the Project Administrator is related to a Grant?
• How do I search for a Form Name?
• How do I go directly from one form to another without exiting to the menu? Is there a quick way to open a form after I had opened it earlier in my logon session?
• What is NHIDIST, what information can I get from this form and how do I use it?
• How can I find what Funds are in my Department?

Accounts Receivable

• How can I look up an entity in Banner?
• If there are multiple accounts in Banner for the same entity, how can I decide which one to use?
• How can I view transaction information on an account?
• How do I know if a charge has been paid?
• Where can I view information on student holds?
• What does it mean if a transaction has a Term 000099, 000098, or 000097?
• What is the best form to use to view ‘true’ account balances?
• What address types are important for billing?
• What is a Detail Code?
• What is a Memo Balance?
• What is Authorized Aid?
• What types of comments are stored and how can they help me?
• How can I view Tuition Remission information on students?
• What can our office help to insure that our charges are paid?
• What reports can I run to view account information?
  

Finance Answers

How do I check my fund balance?

1. Go to FGIBDSR.
2. Enter or verify Chart U in Chart of Accounts (COA).
3. Select or verify the fiscal year to be viewed.
4. Tab over to the 'Fund' field.
5. Enter your Fund Number.
6. Do a Next Block command. This will populate the form with information.
7. The Available Balance for each account is shown in the column to the far right. The Available Balance for the Fund is shown at the bottom right hand corner of the form.

To view specific Account information:

1. Go to FGIBDSR.
2. Enter or verify Chart U in Chart of Accounts (COA).
3. Select or verify the fiscal year to be viewed.
4. Tab over to the 'Fund' field.
5. Enter your Fund Number.
6. Do a Next Block command. This will populate the form with information.
7. Select Entry Query by selecting from the Menu Bar, F7 or Enter Query icon. This will allow you to query by Account Number.
8. In the Account field, enter selected Account Number a or portion of the number, with the 'wildcard' feature and then Execute Query. Any method, Menu Bar, F8, or the Execute Query icon will provide results.
9. Only information pertaining to the Account selected will be returned.

To view additional information:

1. Select the Account to view. The selected row will be highlighted.
2. Select 'Transaction Detail Inforamtion' in the Navigation Frame to view additional information on the selected record.

How do I determine whether an Invoice, SPO or Accounting Voucher has been processed?

1. Go to FOIDOCH.
2. Enter 'INV' or other appropirate document identifier in the 'Doc Type' field.
3. Enter the Invoice Number or corresponding number in the 'Doc Code' field.
4. Remember, you are able to search on both of these fields by double-clicing in the 'Doc Type' field to view a List of Values or Validation Form and by clicking on the 'flashlight' to perform a search.
5. Do a Next Block command.
6. All information pertaining to the invoice in question will be displayed.
7. If the item has been processed, the Invoice Number will appear in the 'Invoice' block.
8. If it has been paid, a Check Number will appear in the 'Check' block.

Another method to view information on a particular invoice would be:

1. Go to FAIvndh.
2. Enter a Vendor Number in the 'Vendor' field.
3. Do a Next Block command. This will populate the form with information.
4. You may scroll down to find the Vendor Invoice Number in question or you may choose to perform a query to locate a particular Vendor Invoice Number or Invoice Number.
5. To Entery Query, use the Menu Bar, F7 or Enter Query icon.
6. Enter the Vendor Invoice Number or Invoice Number you wish to query in the appropriate field.
7. Do an Execute Query commmand by using the Menu Bar, F8, or Execute Query icon. This will return the requested information.
8. To view additional information, selecte the appropriate option in the Navigation Frame.
9. If you wish to see inforamtion from the Invoice/Credit Memo Query Form, select 'View Invoice Information' in the Navigation Frame.

NOTE:Another method of viewing this and other information is by going to the Invoice/Credit Memo Query Form, FAIINVE

1. If you arrive at this form from FAIvndh, the Document Number will be provided.
2. Press the Tab key to show additional information.
3. Select the 'Invoice Header' option in Navigation Frame or do a Next Block command. This will display information.
4. There are several options available in the Navigation Frame for you to chose from, depending on the inforamtion you wish to view.
5. Select Accounting Amounts from the Navigation Frame and then Accounting Distribution Information from the Navigation Frame to see what Fund this invoice was charged to.

If you don't know the Banner Invoice Number, but you do know the Vendor Invoice Number:

1. Go to FAIVNDH.
2. Enter the Vendor's ID Number in the 'Vendor' field.
   NOTE: If you don't know the Vendor's ID Number, you can look it up by clicking on the flashlight next to the Vendor field. This will take you to FTIIDEN where you can lookup the number.
3. Do a Next Block command to populate the form.
4. Do an Enter Query command by using the Menu Bar, F7, or Enter Query icon to put the form in query mode.
5. In the Name field, type the Vendor Name or Type enough characters with a wildcard% to bring back the desired results. Remember, the lookup is 'case sensitive'.
6. Perform the Execute Query function by selecting from the Menu Bar, F8. or the Execute Query icon.
7. Select the desired Vendor by highlighting and double-clicking or by using the 'Select' icon. This will populate the selected Vendor
8. Number on the form FAIVNDH.

If you know the Vendor's ID Number, use the following steps:

1. Go to FAIVNDH.
2. After entering the Vendor ID Number, press the 'Tab' keyu to show all information.
3. Do a Next Block command. This will populate the form with information.
4. Do an Enter Query command by using the Menu Bar, F7, or the Enter Query icon to put the form in query mode.
5. Enter the Vendor's Invoice Number in the 'Vendor Invoice' field.
6. Do an Execute Query command by using the Menu Bar, F8, or Execute Query icon.
7. If the query returns data, the Invoice has been processed and you can check the Date Due and Check Date by scrolling to the right.
8. There may be times when you will see a Due Date but no Check Date. This indicates the due date has not arrived and a check has not been issued.

How can I see a list of transactions that were processed against my Fund during the month or specific Accounts in my Fund?

List of transactions processed against my Fund for the month:

1. Go to FGITRND.
2. Confirm U in Chart of Accounts (COA) field and select desired fiscal year. Fiscal year will default to current year, but may be changed by highlighting and entering desired fiscal year to view.
3. Tab and enter your Fund Number in the 'Fund' field.
4. Do a Next Block command.
5. The form will be in an ENTER QUERY mode as noted on the Status Line at the bottom of the form (screen on a Mac).
6. Enter the month in the 'Date' field using the wildcard% for the day. For example %-SEP-1999.
7. Do an Execute Query commandby selecting from Menu Bar, F8 or the Execute Query icon.
8. You will see a list of all transactions that were processed during the month

List of transactions that were processed against a specific Account in my Fund:

1. Go to FGIBDSR.
2. Confirm Chart U in Chart of Accounts (COA) and select desired fiscal year. Fiscal year will default to current, but may be changed by highlighting and entering new fiscal year.
3. Tab and enter your Fund Number in the 'Fund' field. If you need to search for a particular Fund Number, click on the 'Flashlight'.
4. This will take you to a search form to select your Fund Number.
5. Do a Next Block command. This will populate the form with all account information relating to that particular Fund.

If you want to see all of the transactions for an Account:

1. Place your cursor in the 'Acct' field and enter the known Account Number for the Account you want to see.
2. If you are unsure of the full Account Number, choose Enter Query by selecting from the Menu Bar, F7, or Enter Query icon.
3. After entering partial Account Number, perform an Execute Query by selecting from the Menu Bar, F8, or Execute Query icon. This will populate the form with desired reuslts.
4. To view details on the Account Number, select 'Transactions Detail Inforamtion' option from the Navigation Frame.
5. This will take you to the FGITRND form with a list of all of the transactions related to that Account.

If you want to see only the year to date activity:

1. Place your cursor in the 'YTD Activity' field for the Account that you want to view.
2. Press the 'Transaction Detail Information' option in the Navigation Frame.
3. This will take you to the FGITRND form with a list of only the year-to-date transactions related to that account.
4. You may then make other selections from the Navigation Frame to view additional inforamtion.

If you want to only see the Encumbrances/Commitments for that Account:

1. Place your cursor in the 'Commitments' field for the Account that you want to view.
2. Press the 'Transactions Detail Information' option in the Navigation Frame.
3. This will take you to the FGITRND form with a list of only the Commitments/Encumbrances related to that Account.
4. You may then make other selections from the Navigation Frame to view additional information.

How do I process a Budget Transfer to another department?

Initiating Department:

1. Go to FZABDGT.
2. Enter 'NEXT' in the 'Document Number' field.
3. Do a Next Block command.
4. Enter the total in the 'Document Total' field.
   Note: Remember that the document total needs to be the absolute value of each side of the transaction. For example, if you are transferring $100 from your Fund to another Fund, the 'Document Total' should be $200.
5. Click on the 'Document Text' button if you wish to add text to this transaction.
6. Do a Next Block command.
7. Complete the appropriate fields for 'Sequence' 1.
   Note: The form now includes a field for 'Budget Period'. This should be the current accounting period.
8. Once you have completed your side of the transaction, click on the 'Save' icon.
9. Write down the 'Document Number' that is assigned to the transaction.
10. Notify the person in the other Department who has Budget Transfer authority and give them the Document Number.

Other Department completing the transaction:

1. Go to FZABDGT.
2. Enter the correct Document Number in the 'Document Number' field.
   Note: The Document Number does not contain capital O's. It only contains zeros (0's). Make sure that you do not enter capital O's when entering this number.
3. Do a Next Block command.
4. You will see 'Sequence' 1 on your screen.
5. DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING LISTED ON SEQUENCE 1.
6. Press your down arrow key on your keyboard.
7. You will see 'Sequence' 2. This field should be blank.
8. Complete the appropriate fields for 'Sequence' 2.
9. Once you have completed your side of the transaction, click the 'Completion' button.
10. If everything was done correctly, you will get the message that the transaction was completed and forwarded to posting.
11. If there is an error, you should be prompted as to what is incorrect.

How do I determine whether a Budget Transfer was completed and posted?

1. Go to FGIDOCR.
2. Enter the Document Number in the 'Document' field.
3. Do a Next Block command.
4. If the transaction is completed and posted, you will see the accounting distribution on this form.
5. If the transaction is not posted, you will get an error message that says 'Document code does not exist on FGBTRNH'. This message means it has not posted.
   Note: It may take as much as 10 to 15 minutes for a transaction to post after it has been completed, depending on what else is being posted at that time.

If the document has not posted, you can check whether it has been completed:

1. Go to FZABDGT.
2. Click on the 'Document Number' button.
3. Scroll through the list of documents to find your Document Number.
4. If your document is listed here, it indicates that it has not been completed.

Note: FGIJVCD List of Suspended Journal Voucher Forms is cleared weekly. If you are doing a budget transfer between departments, the second department needs to finish the transaction on a timely basis to ensure that it does not get cleared.

How do I find the ending date on a Grant? How do I find out who the Principal Investigator is related to a Grant? How do I find out who the Project Administrator is related to a Grant?

1. Go to FRAGRNT.
2. If you know the Grant Number you wish to view, enter it in the Grant field. If you are unsure of the correct number, select the 'Flashlight' icon. You may then choose either the List of Grant Codes or the Grant Title Search Form.
3. If you go to one of the search forms, you may either query by using the wildcard% search and then select the proper code by highlighting and double-clicking or highlighting and use the Select icon.
4. After entering or selecting your Grant Number, do a Next Block command. This will return information relating to the particular Grant.
5. By selecting 'Personnel Information' in the Navigation Frame, you are able to view the names of the Principle Investigator and the Project Administrator. Use the vertical scroll bar to view each of these names.
6. There are other options available in the Navigation Frame to supply additional inforamtion.

How do I search for a Form Name?

1. Select 'Object Search' from the 'File' pull-down menu, or go to GUIOBJS.
2. These will take you to the same form, the Object Search Form.
3. This form automatically opens in an ENTER QUERY mode.
4. If you remember part of the form description enter it in the 'Description' field. You may using wildcards as appropriate to assist you in your search.
• For example, '%Executive Summary%'. Or you may choose to use a shortened version version of the name. For example, 'Exec% Summ%'. If you are not sure of the order the words appear, you may use a wildcard% at the beginning and at the end.
5. In the 'Name' field you you may choose to reduce your search to Finance forms and if you know it is a query form you can reduce the search even more.
   • In the 'Name' field you you may choose to reduce your search to Finance forms and if you know it is a query form you can reduce the search even more.
6. Another method to search is to select 'Form' or other type of item from the 'Type' pop-up menu.
7. Do an Execute Query command by selecting from the Menu Bar or F8.
8. You will get a list of forms currently used in Banner 4.0.
9. Scroll down through the list until you find the form you are looking for. The list may be lengthy.
10. You may select a form from this list by highlighting and clicking on the 'Start' button.
11. This will take you to and open the slelcted form.

Note: Alternately, you can check the menu items under the 'Manage Organization Finances Menu' on the Main Menu. This will allow you to 'drill' down through the menu items.

How do I go directly from one form to another without exiting to the menu? Is there a quick way to open a form after I had opened it earlier in my logon session?

1. Select 'Direct Access' from the 'File' pull-down menu.
2. Type in the seven-character form name of the form you wish to access.
3. Click the 'Start' button.

If you have previously viewed a particular form you want to view again during the current logon session:

1. Select the 'File' from the Menu Bar.
2. The last ten forms that you have accessed are listed at the bottom of the 'File' pull-down menu.
3. Select the form you wish to open by clicking on it.

Note: Remember, Banner forms do not work the way other windows applications normally work in Windows 95 or the Mac OS. Only the last form that you opened is active. If you continue to use the Direct Access method of opening forms without exiting others you will build up all of those open forms in the Banner application. You will need to exit each form in turn to get back to the menu.

What is NHIDIST, what information can I get from this form and how do I use it?

NOTE: NHIDIST is the Labor Distribution Inquiry Form. This form allows you to look at Salary, Wage and Benefits information by Fund. It will not show you the entire labor distribution for an individual if they are split funded. It will only show the information within a fund. You must look at specific categories. The categories: Expenses, Liabilities, and Encumbrances will give you this informatoin. Accruals (Deferred Pay), Payouts (Deferred Pay), Fringe Actuals Clearing Account and Budgets do not work. You look at the information within a specified timeframe. You can then query for specific ID's, Pay Events, Positions, EClass, Rule Class, Account, Earnings Code, and BDCA (Fringe Codes).

1. Go to NHIDIST
2. Enter your Index (Fund code).
3. Enter a 'From Date' in the format DD-MMM-YYYY.
4. Enter a 'To Date' in the format DD-MMM-YYYY.
5. Select a 'Category' from the pull-down menu (Expenses, Liabilities or Encumbrances).
6. Do a Next Block command.
7. The form will be in an ENTER QUERY mode.
8. Enter the information that you would like to query.
9. Do an Execute Query command by selecting from the Menu Bar, F8, or Execute Query icon.
10. The form will return information based on the date range you entered and the query parameters that you entered in the bottom block of the form.

How can I find what Funds are in my Department?

1. Go to FTMFUND.
2. Do an Enter Query command by selecting from the Menu Bar, F7, or Enter Query icon.
   NOTE: This form is used primarily as a data entry form. It is VERY important that you do an Enter Query command as soon as you open this form. If you don't, the form will think that you are trying to do data entry and cause problems. If you get in this situation, do a Clear Record command. This command is found under the 'Record' pull-down menu. Then do an Enter Query command by selecting from the Menu Bar, F7, or Enter Query icon.
3. Enter Chart 'U' in the Chart of Account (COA) field.
4. Place your cursor in the 'Orgn' field at the bottom, center of the form.
5. Type in your six digit Organization Number.
6. Do an Execute Query command by selecting from the Menu Bar, F8, or Execute Query icon.
7. You will see information about the first Fund in your Organization.
8. There is a scroll bar located directly to the right of the Fund information. If you scroll down on this scroll bar the form will display the next Fund. By continuing to scroll down, you will see the other Funds that are tied to your Organization code.

Note: If you have more than one Organization in your Department, you will need to follow the above steps for each Organization code.

Accounts Receivable Answers

How can I look up an entity in Banner?

There are a few different methods to look-up an entity (student or non-student) on Banner. If you know the ID Number of the entity, you may use SPAIDEN and enter the ID Number. By performing a Next Block function and using the Options in the Navigation Panel, you will be able to view information about the entity.

If you are unsure of the ID Number or only have partial number or Last Name information, the better form to use will be TZAIDNS. This form allows you to search by ID Number or by Last Name and First Name combinations. The address information is displayed in the bottom portion of the screen. Based on the entity highlighted, the corresponding address information will be displayed at the bottom.

If there are multiple accounts in Banner for the same entity, how can I decide which one to use?

First, when entering an ID Number in the field, be sure the name matches. This is a good habit to maintain…verify the name matches the ID Number.

Second, verify the address. This is also helpful to ensure the correct account is being viewed.

As a general rule, accounts that begin with and F, FC, FF, FP, FR, FCT, FRF, or 888 are not used for regular charges. Each of these accounts has been set up for special circumstances and is used by specific departments for specific charges. They should not be used by the entire University community.

If you are in doubt about which account to use, please contact the Bursar’s Office. They can help you make an informed decision about an account.

Where can I view transaction information on an account?

There are two forms we would suggest that you use to view transaction information. The first is TSAAREV. This form will display all financial transactions for the entity. The form displays transactions by Detail Codes showing Charges, Payments and Balance. The Second is TSADETL. On this form you will see transaction information by Detail Code showing Amount and Balance. On both forms, additional data is displayed for each transaction.

Where can I view information on student holds?

User’s are able to view a HOLD on an account a few different ways. When accessing TSAAREV or TSADETL and performing a Next Block function, if an account has a HOLD on it, no data will be displayed. This is a clue that a HOLD is on the account. The cursor will default to a field and simply enter 222. Perform a Next Block and the data will be displayed.

When a ‘Y’ appears in the HOLDS field, you may click on the Flashlight and view the HOLDS currently on an account. If the ‘To’ date has passed, the HOLD has been released.

How do I know if a charge has been paid?

By using either TSAAREV or TSADETL, you will see in the Balance field 0.00 for all charges that have been paid in full. If the amount is greater that 0.00, but less than the original charge, a partial payment has been applied to the charge.

What does it mean if a transaction has a term of 000099, 000098, 000097?

These Term Codes identify transactions that have had action taken against them. For example, for transactions listed as Term 000099, these charges have been placed with a collection agency. Transactions in Term 000098 are currently in the pre-write off process, and transactions in Term 000097 are written off. These funds the University has determined they will not receive. However, it does not release the individuals responsibility to Virginia Tech, only that we are not actively attempting to collect.

What is the best form to use to view ‘true’ account balances?

To view the ‘true’ account balance for any account, use TZIAREV. You may access this form directly or reach it by selecting it from the Navigation Panel on TSAAREV. This form summarizes all transactions by Detail Codes and provides totals for each. It also gives amounts by Total Charge and Total Payment on the account. As a result, the Total Amount Due is displayed.

What address types are important for billing?

There are two address types that may be used in mailing statements. They are the BI and MA address types. When confirming an address, if the MA is correct and that is the address the statement should be mailed, all is good. If there is a BI on the account, this is the address where the statement will be mailed. Confirm this address is correct.

It is not necessary to have both a BI address type and an MA address type, if they are both the same. It is important to remember, the BI is the address where the statement will be sent. If there is no BI, the statement process will look for an MA.

What is a Detail Code?

Each transaction in Banner Accounts Receivable is associated with a Detail Code. This is true for both charge and payments. Each Detail Code is unique to itself. As a user, it is not necessary to memorize these detail codes as there is a description available for each.

What is a Memo Balance?

Students who have Financial Aid, Third Party Payments, Tuition Remission or other outside money available to them will have an amount in the Memo Balance field. This amount will be displayed once it is associated to a student until about a week before classes begin. At that point, the amount will soon reflect as a payment on the students account.

What is Authorized Aid?

For a brief time, money that was in the Memo Balance field will appear in this field. This field displays amounts that will be made available to the student and reflect as a payment on their account.

What types of comments are stored and how can they help me?

An account may have comments associated with it for many reasons. The most common may be when an entity disputes a charge and has contacted the Bursar’s Office. All conversations with the student will be documented.

There are others reasons comments are entered on an account. If a payment arrangement has been made with the Bursar’s Office to either remove a hold or to stop a hold from being put on an account. There also may be comments concerning the release of confidential information to other family members.

For what ever reason, comments can be and are very helpful to anyone using Banner Accounts Receivable. It is often a good practice to follow, look at the comments for each account. They can provide a history of conversations with others.

How can I view Tuition Remission information on students?

Tuition Remission is the means for a department or departments to pay for the tuition and associated fees for students. The Tuition Remission is a multi step process. First the department places the award for the student. This is done on TZATRAW. This entry will, prior to classes, reflect as a payment on the student’s account. Later, the funding for the award must be completed by the department. This is accomplished by using the form TZATRAF. For additional information concerning Tuition Remission, please refer to www.co.vt.edu under the heading General Accounting. A document has been posted to provide an overview of the Tuition Remission system.

To view the award as it appears as a payment, access TSAAREV. About 10 days prior to classes beginning, the awards will be posted from the Memo Balance field as payments to the students account.

To see all Tuition Remission amounts that have been awarded to a student while at Virginia Tech, access TSAACCT. After performing two Next Block functions, select from the Navigation Panel, View Exemptions/Contracts. Displayed at the bottom, by semester will be all awards for that student. You will be able to view the Contract Number, Term, and the Maximum Amount of the Award.

What can our office (department) do to help insure that charges are paid?

Initially, verify that the correct address in stored in Banner. Either as a BI-Billing Address or MA-mailing Address. Monthly, run the Accounts Receivable Aging Report. This will show outstanding charges.

If you have specific questions, please contact the Bursar’s Office. They will be able to provide additional insight.

What reports can I (departments) run to view account information?

There are several reports available to the users. There are two Accounts Receivable Web Reports available to users. These reports are Charge/Payment Report by Charge Code and Charge/Payment Report by Fund and Account. These reports provide a snapshot for departments.