[Physstaff] FW: FMS - Important information

[Catherine Cheshire]

Dear All

See below for additional pointers to help you use the new FMS system.

Catherine

Change to Cost Centres
A number of departments have requested or required changes to the Cost Centres associated with Sub Projects and Projects.  As those involved will be aware, there is some complexity in making these changes, not just within FMS but also within other University systems (e.g. Payroll, SUnBIRD, ATA).  As a result, we are asking that if any other Departments require changes to Cost Centres associated with Sub Projects and Projects, these requests be made by Friday 25 September.  We will then make all further changes simultaneously to help effect the changes as smoothly as possible. Thereafter, such Cost Centre changes will only be made at the beginning of each financial year (in line with the timescales for changes to the Organisation Hierarchy<https://moss.strath.ac.uk/stratpolicy/Pages/Organisational-Hierarchy.aspx>), unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Useful links
A reminder that we have been posting additional training and help resources over the last couple of weeks.  Some of the key new resources:

-          Reporting training manual<https://moss.strath.ac.uk/developmentandtraining/FMS/Pages/FindingYourWay.aspx>

-          Additional Guidance on Journals and Virements<http://www.strath.ac.uk/finance/accountingservices/fmsjournalsandvirements/>

-          Additional Expenses guidance<https://moss.strath.ac.uk/developmentandtraining/FMS/_layouts/WordViewer.aspx?id=/developmentandtraining/FMS/ResourceLibrary/FMS%20Guide%20to%20submitting%20expense%20claims.docx&Source=https%3A%2F%2Fmoss%2Estrath%2Eac%2Euk%2Fdevelopmentandtraining%2FFMS%2FPages%2FExpenses%2Easpx%3FInitialTabId%3DRibbon%252EDocument%26VisibilityContext%3DWSSTabPersistence%26&DefaultItemOpen=1&DefaultItemOpen=1%20>

Note also that there is an 'Alerts and Changes' section within the Knowledge Hub<http://www.strath.ac.uk/finance/generalinformation/fmslandingpage/fmsknowledgehub-it/>, highlighting links to new resources.

Orders and invoices
We have noted a number of instances where departments have raised orders after they have received an invoice from a supplier.  On FMS, unlike Oracle Finance, you cannot raise an order after you receive an invoice.  When you create an FMS order it is immediately emailed to the supplier, and there is a risk that the supplier will treat any order raised after invoicing as an additional order.  If you do receive an invoice for which you have not already raised an FMS order, and you require this to be paid, you should instead complete and send a Request for Payment<http://www.strath.ac.uk/media/ps/finance/p2p/Request_for_Payment_Form.xlsx> form to Finance along with the invoice, following the request for payment process<http://www.strath.ac.uk/finance/financialservices/purchasinggoodsservices/purchasinggoodsandservicesfromexternalsuppliers/> set out on the Finance web pages.

Staff absence: substitutes
Please remember that when staff are going on holiday - in particular if they have an approval role - they need to ensure they allocate a Substitute for the period of their absence.  If you find someone is absent and they have not set a substitute, this can be done by emailing the Finance Systems team at help at strath.ac.uk<mailto:help at strath.ac.uk>.

Approvers
Email alerts to approvers should be available this week or next, to highlight when tasks are awaiting their approval.  In the meantime, please remind all Approvers in your area to check FMS regularly, even if you or they have not initiated any transactions, because others may have initiated transactions that have workflowed to them.

Funds check
Remember that a 'funds check failed' alert does not mean a transaction cannot be processed.  If a transaction is urgent, the user can continue with the transaction, then separately investigate and resolve the funds check failure.

Research and consultancy invoices
Note that departments should not raise Sales Invoices/Orders for Research, Consultancy or Knowledge Transfer Specific Grants.  These invoices continue to be managed from the Research Contracts team within Finance, to ensure we comply with funder conditions around claim timing and content.

Activity codes
Where necessary, please ensure you select the appropriate Activity within the GL Analysis code.  If you select an incorrect activity for KE, you should receive a Funds Check warning.

Virements
We were recently experiencing difficulties with Virements on FMS Web.  A fix has now been put in place, and users with appropriate permissions should again be able to initiate virements.  Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Month end on FMS
At the start of each new month, the period in FMS will change.  Note that transactions will be posted into the period in which they are approved.  For example, if you have transactions which were raised in August but which have not yet been fully approved or posted, these will appear in September, once approved.  For many users, this will not have any impact, other than at the year end.

'Web page cannot be found' / 'Bad Request' error message when accessing FMS
If you are experiencing issues accessing FMS in either Internet Explorer ('Web page cannot be found') or Firefox ('Bad Request - Request Too Long') refer to the guide<http://www.strath.ac.uk/media/ps/finance/fmslanding/Internet_Explorer_(v.__9.0.8112.16421)_-_Access_Issue.docx> on the Knowledge Hub.

Access Rights error
If the system displays the error message 'Access rights - You are not authorised to use this function', the message relates to your being timed out of the system after a period of inactivity.  Although this is not the most obvious error message, we are unable to change it.

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Hope you find the above update of assistance.

FMS Project Team





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