The Chart String is the coding structure used for charging expenditures or depositing revenue in the PeopleSoft Financial system. It is used for actual accounting transactions as well as budgeting.  It consists of the following:

Fund Code – 5 digit code identifying the source of funding for the transaction.

Department ID – 7 digit code identifying an operating unit or cost center within the institution. Department ID’s begin with specific numbers to represent the funds in which financial transactions occur. Please refer to the table below for more details. 

Program Code – 5 digit code identifying the purpose (functional activity) for which spending occurs. This is also referred to as the Function Code by the Board of Regents.

Class Code – 5 digit code which further defines the fund code by identifying a specific source of income, either provided or generated.

Project ID – used for identifying transactions funded by a grant, gift or capital project in either sponsored or general operations.

Position # – 8 digit code used to for budgeting personnel funds and describing attributes of the employee type.

In addition to the chart string information above, every document requesting payment of an invoice, ordering an item, or depositing money must also include the account code identifying the type of expenditure or revenue. See “Where can I find chart string information?” for the detailed list of codes.

The full list of Fund Codes may be found on the Board of Regent’s website at: https://www.usg.edu/business_procedures_manual/section2/C1086/

The full list of Account Codes may be found on the Controller’s website at: https://www.westga.edu/administration/business-and-finance/controller/account-and-fund-codes.php

The full list of Department IDs may be found on Budget Services website at: https://www.westga.edu/administration/business-and-finance/budget/department-chart-strings.php

The full list of Program Codes may be found on the Board of Regents website at: https://www.usg.edu/business_procedures_manual/section2/C1092/#p2.3.1_function_and_sub-function_codes_for_all_fund_groups_except_auxiliary_

The full list of Class Codes may be found on the Board of Regents website at: https://www.usg.edu/business_procedures_manual/section2/C1095

Budget reports within the PeopleSoft Financials system are used to show the current status of a budget, including the funds available and transactions that have occurred.

The easiest way to see your current budget is by using the Budgets Overview screen in PeopleSoft Financials. You can find detailed instructions on the "Budget Management Tools" section of our website: https://www.westga.edu/administration/business-and-finance/budget/budget-management-tools.php

A budget amendment is used for making changes to your approved spending amount and revenue estimates, either permanently or temporarily.

You need to complete a budget amendment whenever you need to:

• Transfer spending authority from one account code to another such as from travel to operating expenses OR from one personal service line to another (e.g. full-time faculty to part-time faculty).
• Change spending authority for a position due to a new hire or reclassification.
• Change spending authority to recognize a change in revenue earned.
• When you want to create or inactivate a position.

Budget Amendment Forms may be found on the “Forms” section of the Budget Services website at: https://www.westga.edu/administration/business-and-finance/budget/budget-forms.php

Instructions for completing form are found at the same location.

Spending authority is set at the beginning of each year during the budget development process. If additional spending authority is needed, please contact your immediate supervisor or your college or divisional budget manager.

Please note that spending authority can be reduced by college/divisional budget managers or by Budget Services based on revenue collections.

If you have not attended the Budget Reconciliation training class, sign up for an instructor-led training at Develop West using this link: https://www.westga.edu/developwest.

If you’ve attended training and are running into a difficult issue, please contact your college or divisional budget manager or call Budget Services at ext. 9-6406.

Please process an expenditure transfer moving the charge out of your budget or moving the charge to the correct chart string within your budget.  You may find the form on the Controller’s website at:  https://www.westga.edu/controller/.

If you have additional questions, please contact the Controller’s Office at extension 9-6390.

No, you cannot transfer money from one fund code to another.  For additional information, please contact your college or division budget manager.

Budgeted revenues need to equal budgeted expenditures in order for both revenue and expenditure ledgers of the budget to match. If additional revenue is earned, a budget amendment should be submitted to increase the spending authority, which balances the ledgers by fund.  Please review the Budget Amendment instructions on our website at: https://www.westga.edu/administration/business-and-finance/budget/budget-forms.php

In the initial budget some spending authority will be provided based on past revenue collections. If this is a new fee, there will likely not be any spending authority approved before revenue is earned.

Three times a year (October, March, and May) Budget Services will update spending authority in fund 10600 and 14000 based on earned revenue.  A department may request an increase in spending authority anytime during the year when more revenue is earned than what is currently budgeted.  Please review the budget amendment instructions for documentation required.  The instructions may be found at: https://www.westga.edu/administration/business-and-finance/budget/budget-forms.php

Run a Revenue Summary Report in PeopleSoft Financials OR look at the REVEST ledger or DETAIL ledger on the Budget Overview screen.  Please refer to the "Budget Management Tools" section of Budget Services website for instructions on running these reports: https://www.westga.edu/administration/business-and-finance/budget/budget-management-tools.php

The form to change the authorized approver is found on the Controller’s website at:
https://www.westga.edu/administration/business-and-finance/controller/forms.php

Any unspent balances remaining from prior years need to be confirmed by the Controller’s Office. Only balances in funds 12xxx, 13000, 14000, 15000, and 16000 may be carried forward from one year to the next.

Once the balance has been confirmed you will need to submit a budget amendment increasing both the budgeted revenue and the budgeted expenditures.  Please be sure to include documentation that the balance is approved by the Controller’s Office.

To set up a new department (budget) in PeopleSoft, please complete the new department request form on Budget Services website at: https://www.westga.edu/administration/business-and-finance/budget/budget-forms.php

Here you will also find the set of instructions for completing the form.