FMS - Financial Management System

Welcome to SFSU's FMS web site. Here you will find information and announcements regarding the FMS system.

FMS Access Request Forms

There are a number of different areas of the FMS system which require the submission of an application form to gain access to. Below are the available forms.

If you have any questions, please contact our help desk at x87143.

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News

FMS Users Group Meeting

Please check your email for the next Fiscal Affairs User Group Meeting.

FMS User's Group Presentation

FMS User's Group Presentation - April 3, 2008 (PDF)

FMS User's Group Presentation - September 27, 2007 (PDF)

FMS User's Group Presentation - April 20, 2007 (PDF)

FMS User's Group Presentation - December 1, 2006 (PDF)

FMS User's Group Presentation - September 27, 2006 (PDF)

FMS User's Group Presentation - February 21, 2006 (PDF)

FMS User's Group Presentation - November 3, 2005 (PDF)

FMS User Bulletin

We hope you find the information covered by September's Bulletin informative and useful in conducting the business of your office. Topics covered in this bulletin include items related to: Upcoming Meetings, Asset Management, Credit Cards, Campus Procurement Cards, Requisitions, Travel, Training Schedules, Tutorials, and Tips and Tricks.

Organization Change

Fiscal Affairs is pleased to announce that Agnes Wong Nickerson joined its management team on September 1st serving as Controller. Ms. Nickerson comes to the university from Duke University where she served as the Chief Financial Officer of the Duke Press. Ms. Nickerson is responsible for all areas of Accounting and reports to A.V.P. Larry Ware.

Asset Management

REMINDERS

The implementation of the FMS Asset Management module, effective April 1, has made it very important that information provided by requesters when submitting requisitions for equipment and other assets be complete and accurate. The User Bulletin from April 12, 2004 provided the account codes applicable to capital and non-capital equipment purchases as well as purchases of instructional equipment. Please use the correct codes when requisitioning assets. Purchasing staff will change the account code when the PO is created if an incorrect code is used.

Consolidated Asset Lines

Another aspect of the Asset Management module concerns the consolidation of asset related lines on a PO. Consider the following example:

Line 1 1 Ea HP 9050dn Printer $3366.00
Line 2 1 Ea 2000 Sheet Input Tray $ 784.00
Line 3 1 Ea 3000 Sheet Stacker $1485.00
$5635.00

Lines 2 and 3 are integral components of the HP printer. The lines would be consolidated in Asset Management and assigned one ID tag with a value of $5635.00.

While the above example is clear case of consolidation, other cases may not be so self-evident. Therefore, when entering equipment requisitions with multiple lines that will comprise one asset, please use line comments such as "Consolidate with line 1" to indicate the relationship to Purchasing and Property Dept. staff.

Also, note in the above example that while each line is less than $5000, the correct account code to use is 619002 - Depreciable IT Hardware (>$5000).

The Procurement Dept. appreciates your correct coding and identification of asset related requisitions, which avoids delay while Buyers seek clarification.

Bursars

Credit Card Usage

Effective immediately, EPOS Corporation (an agent of the University contracted for electronic payment processing) will only accept MasterCard, Discover and American Express for payments of fees, tuition, housing charges, and other miscellaneous fees. VISA will no longer be accepted as a method of payment for campus obligations.

Procurement Card

Single purchase transaction limits have been raised to $2,500 per transaction. Any request for a temporary increase to the per transaction limit must be approved by Wayne Kuhaupt (wkuhaupt@sfsu.edu ext. 8-2367 and Steve Smith scsmith@sfsu.edu ext 8-3879).

Purchasing

NEW OFFICE SUPPLY CONTRACT COMING...

Based on a competitive solicitation process the CSU, in partnership with E & I (Educational and Institutional Cooperative Purchasing), has entered into a new office supply contract with OfficeMax. SFSU will be participating in this new agreement, which will replace the current contract with Corporate Express and the E-Way system for on line ordering of office supplies. Under the OfficeMax contract campus users will enjoy significant discounts as well as the continued benefits of on line ordering and next day desk top delivery.

Our transition "go-live" date is scheduled for October 25. All interested campus users are invited to a launch meeting on Tuesday October 12 from 10 to 12 at the Seven Hills Nob Hill Room. This will be a chance to meet our OfficeMax representatives, hear a presentation about the OfficeMax program and see a demonstration of the online ordering interface. Additional training sessions for online ordering will be held on October 17 and 18 in Admin 103. Sessions will start at 8, 9, 10 and 11 each day. Registration is required to ensure availability. Register online at the OfficeMax training link on the FMS webpage http://fiscaff.sfsu.edu/.

PROCUREMENT TIPS

The Procurement and Contracts department would like to remind users of some practices that will speed the processing of your purchasing requirements.

  1. When creating a requisition for a new vendor, enter it using vendor 0000006380, VENDOR-001 (Do a vendor search using vendor Short Name "VENDOR"). Type the vendor information (name, address, phone number and fax number in a Header Comment) so that Purchasing can obtain the 204 form and get the vendor record created, allowing the PO to be processed.
  2. DO NOT create requisition lines for shipping charges or tax. Put this information in a Header Comment. Freight and tax are added to the PO in a miscellaneous charge area and having these items as requisition lines causes extra work for Purchasing, Receiving and Accounts Payable.
  3. Since most furniture orders are delivered directly to the end user, it is important on furniture requisitions to include a Header or Line Comment with the contact person for delivery, phone number and the exact building and room for delivery, so this information can be conveyed on the PO.
  4. As most users know all IT related requisitions are routed to Cindy Reedy, regardless of department submitting. Please try to requisition IT items separately from other requirements.
  5. Use the Accounts Payable direct pay procedures and form for such things as subscriptions, memberships, registrations, etc. DO NOT enter a requisition for direct pay eligible expenditures.
  6. When submitting a requisition for services, always submit a proposal from the selected vendor describing the services that will be performed for the compensation received.
  7. When receiving proposals for supplies or services, DO NOT, no matter how much a vendor insists, sign an acceptance of the proposal. The terms and conditions of the proposal must be reviewed in purchasing and only purchasing staff have the authority to accept proposals and create contracts.

Travel

New Travel Agency

Fell Travel is San Francisco States University's new official travel agency. Reservations may be made by going to the Travel page on the Fiscal Affairs website http://fiscaff.sfsu.edu/, just click on the "SFSU Reservations" link. Direct any questions you may have to David Chelliah ext. 5-3693 or Wayne Kuhaupt ext 8-2367.

Mileage Reimbursement

The standard business private vehicle reimbursement rate has been increased from 40.5 cents per mile to 48.5 cents per mile. This increase is retroactive to September 1, 2005 and will be in effect until December 31, 2005. The IRS made this special adjustment for the remaining months of 2005 in recognition of recent gasoline price increases. The CSU has adopted this change. The standard mileage reimbursement rates are scheduled to return to 40.5 cents per mile, or 44.0 cents per mile with certification, in January 2006.

Relocation reimbursement mileage is now 22.0 cent per mile.

Training Schedules and tutorials

Schedule
Reporting
The limited schedule, every 3rd Monday and Tuesday of the month, is available through November 2005. This course is designed for staff that regularly reviews and analyzes departmental monthly reports and need to retrieve financial data from the FMS. The course takes approximately one hour and forty-five minutes. It will also allow those who have previously attended to review the materials or present questions from their experience with it.
Requisition
Due to low demand, requisition training classes are no longer available. However, one-on-one trainings are available by contacting Deanna Tam at (415) 405-3511.
On-Line Tutorials

The Financial Management System (FMS) Online Tutorial includes a new section called "Printing Requisitions". This section explains the steps necessary to print a requisition that has been submitted.

As you may know the FMS Tutorial is available online, from anywhere, when you need training or review in using the main General Ledger or Requisition features of the FMS.

Please remember, we recommend that new users of our Tutorial watch the brief "Tutorial Help" movie that shows how to use the Tutorial & its controls. You can view this movie by clicking the blue "Tutorial Help" button on the left-hand side of Tutorial webpage.

The FMS Tutorial is located at http://fiscaff.sfsu.edu/fms/training/tutorials/

Or by clicking the "Tutorials" link on the FMS main page (http://fiscaff.sfsu.edu/fms/).

We welcome your suggestions and appreciate any input you can give us. A link to our feedback line is available at the bottom of the FMS Tutorial page.

Tips and Tricks

Here are some shortcuts our staff uses to make routine computer tasks easier. They range from Windows customizations we have figured out to keyboard tips that you may have heard from ergonomics or other trainings.

Start menu: The Start menu is a great place to put important shortcuts to essential web-sites, programs, folders, or often used control panel options. For example to place an Add-Remove Programs shortcut in the Start menu. Click Start, go to settings and then click control panel. Drag (left click hold and move) Add-Remove Programs, or whichever you want, to the Start button and let go. The shortcut will automatically be placed in the Start menu. Now whenever you press Start it will be in the top selections. If there's more than one there, you can arrange the order by left-click-hold and move up or down.

Internet Explorer shortcuts:

Visit our web site at https://fiscaff.sfsu.edu/fms/ for more tips, processes, procedures and bulletins.

If there is a particular topic you would like addressed, please forward your ideas to Help Desk at http://fiscaff.sfsu.edu/helpdesk.

If there is a particular topic you would like addressed, please forward your ideas to our Help Desk

News Archive | User Bulletin Archive

Last Modified: Tuesday May 06 2008