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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a budget number?
What is Banner?
How do I use Banner?
What is a FOAPAL?
How do I find out how much money I have in my budget?
How much is left in my gift or endowed fund?
What is an activity code?
What's a budget report? What do they mean?
I just charged something on a line I haven't budgeted for. How do I change my budget?
How do I fix a transaction on my report that wasn't charged to the right org (or fund or account or activity)?
Important Contacts

What is a budget number?
A budget number is the string of numbers used to track budgets and expenses. A budget number consists of a fund, org, account, program code, and sometimes an activity code. The budget number is also known as a
FOAPAL.

What is Banner?
Banner is the computer software that the College uses for most of its activities, including tracking financial data. To access and learn more Wellesley's banner click here.

How do I use Banner?
For information on navigating on Banner
click here, or contact Linda Murphy Church for more specific budget information. To get access to Banner please contact your supervisor.

What is a FOAPAL?
A FOAPAL is the acronym used by Banner for the budget number. It stands for Fund Organization Account Program Activity (optional) Location (not used).

How do I find out how much money I have in my budget?
Check Banner (FWIBDST) for information on your budget. For questions on this form and others
click here.

How much is left in my gift or endowed fund?
Check Banner (FGITBAL). For questions on this form and others
click here.

What is an activity code?
An activity code is a number that allows easy tracking of an event or on-going activity. When used in conjunction with the org and account numbers the expenses attributed to the activity can easily be monitored.
Create of an activity code.

What's a budget report? What do they mean?
There are four common budget reports that list transactions, summary data, and detail data. If you have any questions on any of your reports, please contact
Linda Murphy Church.

Report A: Transaction Detail Report
This report lists all the transactions that took place in your org for the month. It is sorted by account codes such as 6151 Casual Wage, 7124 Copying, etc.

Report B: Organization Summary Budget Report
This report lists in summary form by organization (department) what was spent this month and year-to-date, sorted by account code. By "summary" it means that all the transactions that took place on each code are summed up, even if they had different funding sources, e.g. a gift and regular college unrestricted sources, or if they had special activity codes attached, e.g. an endowed fund number or an activity code.

Report C: Fund Code Budget Report
This report breaks out the information in the B reports in detail by fund code. If you have endowed funds or gifts, this is more useful than the B report.

Report D: Activity Code Budget Report
This report breaks out the information in the B report in detail by the activity code. Activity codes are project numbers that usually begin with A. For instance, if you ran a conference and used an activity code to track the charges, this report would show the total by that activity code. If part of the charges for the activity was against college unrestricted money (Fund 10000) and some were against a gift fund (e.g. Fund 20525), it would show the two sources under that activity code.

I just charged something on a line I haven't budgeted for. How do I change my budget?
You do not have to change your budget as long as you have enough total money to cover the expense. If you would like your budget lines to directly reflect your expenses please send e-mail to
Linda Murphy Church indicating where you want budget money moved from and to. Please see "Budget Changes" for more information.

How do I fix a transaction on my report that wasn't charged to the right org (or fund or account or activity)?
You will need to do a journal entry to move the charge to the appropriate place. Please check the
Controller's office website for a journal entry form that is filled out and submitted as an e-mail attachment to the Controller's office.

Important contacts:

Questions About...
Contact
Phone
Budgets/Banner
2301
Endowment
2248
Grants
2250
Payroll
2797
Student Payroll
2265

 

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Created By: Nadine Abraham and Evann Schwerm
Date: December, 2006