Optional FAU Elements

Sub Accounts

Sub-Accounts are a 5 character optional part of the accounting string that allows tracking of financial activity within a particular account.

Instead of associating budget, actuals and encumbrances with an account, you can specify a sub-account within that account to apply these entries. Sub-accounts are often used to help track expenses when several different activities may be funded by the same account.

For example, a large organization may have money in a general account that is used by several different areas of that organization. The organization might segregate the budgets for each of the areas into Sub-accounts such as 'Marketing,' 'Research,' and 'Recruitment. When expenses are applied to the account they can be applied to the sub-account level, allowing direct comparisons between the budget and the actual income and expenditures of these smaller categories. Because all of the activity is still within a single account, it is still easy to report on the finances of the overall account.

To establish a Sub-Account, users can initiate a Sub-Account eDoc.

Sub-Object Codes

Sub-Objects codes are an optional part of the accounting string that allows the departments or units to create further distinction within objects on an account. Departments will have the opportunity to create their own sub-object(s) for their internal tracking.

For example, there may be an object code for 'in-state travel' but users would like to track travel expenses at a greater level of detail. Users could create sub-object codes to reflect 'faculty travel,' 'staff travel,' 'student travel,' or any other designation required.

A Sub-Object Code is specific to an account and object, and assumes all attributes of the object it reports to and it is three alphanumeric characters.

To establish a Sub-Object Code, users can use the Sub-Object document or Sub-Object Global document. The Sub-Object Global document allows users to assign Sub-Object Codes to multiple object codes and accounts.

Project Codes

Project Codes are a 10 character optional part of the accounting string that allows you to assign an identifier to a particular transaction that might span multiple accounts or organizations. Because Project is not specific to an account or organization, it can be used to track project activity that is shared across multiple accounts and organizations.

To establish a Project Code, users can create a Project Code document in the Project Code Lookup, or edit/copy an existing Project Code.