GL - FAQ

New Activity codes are approved by the City Administrative Officer; please contact your department’s assigned CAO liaison for specific requirements.

Once your department receives approval to create a new ACTV code, submit a new Chart of Account Element(s) Creation/Modification Form (COA Form) to the FMS support Team by submitting an SOS ticket. You may also fax it at (213) 978-7218, Attention: FMS Support Team. Once your new Activity code is created in FMS, your department is required to create a new budget line in the Activity Budget table in FMS in order to track your budget by Activity code. Please see the Policies and Procedures section on the FMS website pertaining to Central Chart of Accounts for further information.

Click HERE for COA Form

Click HERE to submit an FMS Quick Ticket

Citywide Object codes are approved by Funds & Appropriations; please contact your assigned liaison for further instructions.

Users are required to submit a COA Form along with any supporting information to process their new Object code. Please see the Policies and Procedures section on the FMS website pertaining to Central Chart of Accounts for further information.

Department Object codes are created by City departments based on need. Funds & Appropriations provides the final approval; please contact your assigned liaison for further instructions.

Users are required to submit a COA Form along with any supporting information to process their new DOBJ code. Please see the Policies and Procedures section on the FMS website pertaining to Departmental Chart of Accounts for further information.

Valid Appropriation Object combinations are added in FMS based on need. Funds & Appropriations provides the final approval; please contact your assigned liaison for further instructions.

Users are required to submit a COA Form along with any supporting information to process their new VAOBJ Object code. Please see the Policies and Procedures section on the FMS website pertaining to Departmental Chart of Accounts for further information.

Object Inference (OBJINF) codes are added in FMS based on departments’ request, an Object and Department Object need to exist before an Object Inference can be created. Funds & Appropriations provides the final approval; please contact your assigned liaison for further instructions.

Users are required to submit a COA Form along with any supporting information to process their new OBJINF code. Please see the Policies and Procedures section on the FMS website pertaining to Departmental Chart of Accounts for further information.

Citywide Revenue Source (RSRC) codes are set up as determined by the Controller’s Office, General Accounting section; please contact your assigned liaison for further instructions.

Please see the Policies and Procedures section on the FMS website pertaining to Central Chart of Accounts for further information.

Department Revenue Source (DRSRC) codes are created by City departments based on need. General Accounting provides the final approval; please contact your assigned liaison for further instructions.

Users are required to submit a COA Form along with any supporting information to process their new DRSRC code. Please see the Policies and Procedures section on the FMS website pertaining to Departmental Chart of Accounts for further information.

Revenue Object Inference (OBJINF) codes are added in FMS based on need, a Revenue Source and Department Revenue Source need to exist before a Revenue Source Inference can be created. General Accounting provides the final approval; please contact your assigned liaison for further instructions.

Users are required to submit a COA Form along with any supporting information to process their new RSRCINF code request. Please see the Policies and Procedures section on the FMS website pertaining to Departmental Chart of Accounts for further information

Unit codes are created by City departments based on need. City departments are required to submit a COA Form along with information describing the various elements needed for the creation of the Unit element.

Required information includes (some information might be optional):

• Department code

• Unit code requested

• Unit name

• Unit short-name

• Unit description

• Org Level 1

• Org Level 2

• Org Level 3

• Org Level 4

• Org Level 5

Users are required to submit a COA Form along with any supporting information to process their new RSRCINF code request. Please see the Policies and Procedures section on the FMS website pertaining to Departmental Chart of Accounts for further information.:

Please contact the FMS Support Team for further instructions.

Organizational inferences are entered by the General Ledger Module staff at the request of the department whenever a new Unit is created.

When a department requests creation of a new Unit, organization inferences must be created for the new Unit. In addition to the Unit number, departments must also provide the following to create ORGINFs:

• Fiscal Year

• Department number

• Unit

• Activity

Users are required to submit a COA Form along with any supporting information to process their new RSRCINF code request. Please see the Policies and Procedures section on the FMS website pertaining to Departmental Chart of Accounts for further information.

Please contact the FMS Support Team for further instructions.

Departments submit a COA Form to the FMS Support Team requesting addition of a new Payroll Department in PaySR. Staff from the FMS General Module will verify that a Unit exists in FMS and that all Organization Inferences are updated. Once verified, the department’s request will be transferred to the Controller’s Payroll section for completion.

Departments submit a COA Form requesting addition of a new Payroll Division in PaySR. Staff from the FMS General Module will verify that a Unit exists in FMS and that all Organization Inferences are updated. Once verified, the department’s request will be transferred to the Controller’s Payroll section for completion.

Create a new BGAA using F&A’s guidelines for document numbering (contact your F&A liaison for clarification).

General steps to follow when creating a BGAA document for this situation are as follows:

• Insert a new line in the Appropriation tab of the document and enter the accounting information of the department FROM which the funds will be coming using Event Type BG07.

• Go to the Allotments tab of the document and insert a new line. Enter the Allotment Period from which the funds will be transferred and the dollar amount to be transferred.

• Insert a new line in the Appropriation tab of the document and enter the accounting information of the department TO which the funds will be transferring using Event Type BG06.

• Go to the Allotments tab of the document and insert a new line. Enter the Allotment Period to which the fund will be transferred and the dollar amount to be transferred.

• Repeat the above steps for any additional appropriations you want to transfer.

• Validate (resolve any errors if needed) and submit your document for approval.

Detailed processing instructions can be found in the FMS Budget Controls training manual. You may access it using the following link: Click Here

Yes, users are required to enter allotment lines whenever they process BGAA documents. Fund 100 transactions require users to always enter the allotment period involved in the transaction; however, Special Funds only require users to enter a line for the allotment period, entering amounts is not necessary.

You may contact your F&A liaison for further guidelines.

All budgetary documents (e.g., BGAA, BGB9CON) are recorded in the Budget Journal, FMS page code JBUD.

It depends; the following is a summary matrix presenting the various situations under which a BGAA document might be submitted.  Refer to the image below

​General Ledger Documents

BGAA documents have been permanently modified not to display this field. This configuration change increases data entry accuracy and efficiency.

Whenever a BGAA document is used to transfer funds (e.g., appr unit to appr unit, fund to fund) an originating Transfer Out, BG07 Event Type needs to be entered for the Fund, Appr Unit providing the funds. A corresponding Transfer In, BG06 Event Type needs to be entered for the Fund, Appr Unit receiving the funds.

If any of these Event Types are missing, the document will generate a number of errors after validation.

Event Types automate the necessary accounting entries based on the accounting ‘event’ to be recorded in FMS. When an Event Type is entered in the Line Group section of the JV, the system will automatically create the required accounting lines on the Accounting section of the document.

Users may still adjust the debit/credit entry to accurately record the transaction; however, changing other Event Type parameters may result in a document error. Please refer to the FMS 203 – Journal Vouchers training manual for detailed instructions on how to create JV documents. You may access the manual at the following location Click Here

You may access the Event Type (ETYP) reference page in FMS for additional information on a particular event type.

You may access the Allowable Event Types for Document Code (AETDC) reference page in FMS.  You may search by Document Type, Document Code, or Event Type.

The FMS Journal Voucher Crosswalk contains document numbering conventions for JVs and other documents. You may access the crosswalk at the following location: Click Here

The FMS Journal Voucher Crosswalk contains document numbering conventions for JVs and other documents. You may access the crosswalk at the following location: Click Here

All JV documents have four sections: Header, Line Group, Accounting, and Posting.

Header – Contains general information about the document (e.g., Document Name, Record Date).

Line Group – This section serves as a grouping tool for any accounting lines in the Accounting section under a specific Line Group, Event Types are entered in the Line Group section. A JV document must contain at least one (1) Line Group. A Line Group must contain at least two (2) accounting lines.

Accounting – This section contains the accounting lines (two) generated by the system after entering an Event Type in the Line Group section. Users may also insert additional accounting lines under the same Line Group.

Posting – Once a document is finalized, FMS will automatically populate this section with the accounting entries and elements posted in the various Journals and Ledgers. This section is non-editable

Although JV documents require departmental approval, all JVs receive final approval from Funds & Appropriations section. A summary of workflow requirements (FMS WorkflowSummary) for all FMS documents may be accessed at the following location: Click Here

ITI and ITA documents are used in conjunction. ITI documents serve as the ‘billing’ document from one department to another. The billing department (provider/seller) creates the ITI, approves it and finalizes it. An ITA then gets created by the provider/seller using the ITI as the basis. The paying department (receiver/buyer) receives the ITA online and inputs their accounting information and submits it for final approval. ITI documents are finalized at the department level. All ITA documents receive final approval from the Controller’s Funds & Appropriations section.

IET documents contain both the billing and paying information; therefore, are usually processed by the department purchasing the service (receiver/buyer). The receiver/buyer department enters both the revenue information from the provider/seller and their own expenditure information. All IET documents receive final approval from the Controller’s Funds & Appropriations section.

Currently ITI and ITA documents are being used by departments that do not have a ‘separate’ billing system. On the other hand, IETs are currently being used by departments that have a billing system in place, IETs would reference any billings received by the receiver/buyer in order to track payments made.

For a listing of required Event Types on internal transactions, you may access the FMS Journal Voucher Crosswalk. Please refer to the FMS 204 – Internal Transactions training manual for detailed instructions on how to create ITI/ITA and IET documents.

To access the FMS Journal Voucher Click Here

To access the Manual Click Here

You may access the Allowable Event Types for Document Code (AETDC) reference page in FMS. You can search by Document Type, Document Code, or Event Type.

Although internal transactions require the usual departmental approvals, all internal transactions receive final approval from Funds & Appropriations section. A summary of workflow requirements (FMS WorkflowSummary) for all FMS documents may be accessed at the following location: Click Here.

Both ITA and IET documents may reference encumbrance documents. The encumbering document to pay internal transactions is the GAEID. Please refer to the FMS 303 Encumbrances manual for detailed instructions on how to create GAEID documents. You may access the manual at the following location: Click Here.