Kicking Off a New Planning & Budget Cycle

Happy New Year!

Spring semester usually means kicking off a new planning cycle and preparing the operating budget for the upcoming academic year. There are several tasks that must completed in SPOL in preparation for the work ahead.

1.  Add New Planning Years

We often make future planning years available to users to support their planning for future projects. You might check your planning years to see how far into the future they go, and add any if necessary.

Instructions:

1.1      In the Admin module, System section, click on <Planning Years> to display all of the planning years in your system.

1.2      If you need to add more years, click on the <New Planning Year> button.

1.3      Enter the details of the planning year on the Planning Year Detail page:

Field	Type	Content Description	Example
Planning Year	text	The name of the planning year	2009-2010
Start Date	date	The first day of planning year	07/01/2009
End Date	date	The last day of the planning year	06/30/2010
Current	check box	Check to make this year the default planning year, so that the records associated with the year will be automatically displayed	P
Active	check box	Check to indicate that this year is available for use	P

1.4      Click on the <save> icon.

2.  Add Planning Years to Institutional Goals

The Institutional Goals are planning year-specific, so the next planning year must be added to each record that you wish to make available to users in the coming planning year.

Instructions:

2.1      In the Admin module, Planning section, click on <Institutional Goals> to display all of the records for a specific year.

2.2      Select the next planning year from the <Planning Year> drop-down and click on the <Search> button to see the records that are already tied to that planning year.

2.3      If no records are displayed, select the current planning year from the <Planning Year> drop-down and click on the <Search> button to display all of the records for the current year.

2.4      Click on a record to navigate to the Institutional Goal Detail page.

2.5      Toward the bottom of the page, click on <Add Planning Year> to navigate to the Planning Years Search page.

2.6      Click on a planning year to add it to the goal. (See image under 1.1 above.)

2.7      Click on the <save> icon at the top of the page to return to the Institutional Goal Search page. You may also click on the <back> icon, since the new planning year has already been saved to the goal.

2.8      Repeat steps 2.3 – 2.7 to add the next planning year to all of the appropriate goals.

2.9      If the goal has changed in any way, it is best to not edit the existing text of the goal if it has been used in prior planning years, because it will change the goal for all of those years. Instead, click on the <New College Goal> button to add a new goal. (See the image in 2.4 above.)

2.10    Enter the details of the institutional goal on the Institutional Goal Detail page:

Field	Type	Content Description	Example
Goal Number	numeric	Determines the order in which the records will be displayed	1
Goal Category	text	If your goals fall into categories, enter the name of the category – if not, repeat the Goal Title	Operational
Goal Title	text	A short title for the goal – this will be displayed on the Objective Detail Page to identify the institutional goal(s) selected	Access to Learning
Goal Description	text	The complete text of the goal	Provide the necessary land, facilities, information technology resources…

2.11    Click the <save> icon.

2.12    If you wish to enter sub-goals for this goal, click the <Add Sub Goal> icon to expand the page and display the edit fields.

2.13    Enter the details of the sub-goal:

Field	Type	Content Description	Example
Sub-Goal Number	numeric	Determines the order in which the sub-goal records will be displayed. NOTE that your sub-goals are numbered 1.1, 1.2, etc., simply number them in the system as 1, 2, etc. They are going to nest under the goal, which has the number before the decimal point.	1
Sub-Goal Title	text	A short title for the sub-goal. This will be displayed on the Objective Detail Page to identify the institutional sub-goal(s) selected.	Access to Learning
Sub-Goal Description	text	The complete text of the sub-goal.	Provide the necessary land, facilities, information technology resources…

2.14    Click the <Save> button below the sub-goal detail.

2.15    Repeat steps 2.12 – 2.14 to add another sub-goal to this goal.

2.16 To add the coming planning year to this goal, follow steps 2.5 – 2.8 above. If this goal is going to be in effect for a number of years in the future, you might add planning years beyond the upcoming year.

2.17    If you have any new goals for the coming year, begin at step 2.9 above to add a new goal.

3.  Add Planning Years to Objective Types

The Objective Types are planning year-specific, so the next planning year must be added to each record that you wish to make available to users in the coming planning year.

Instructions:

3.1      In the Admin module, Planning section, click on <Objective Types> to display all of the records for a specific year.

3.2      Select the next planning year from the <Planning Year> drop-down and click on the <Search> button to see the records that are already tied to that planning year.

3.3      If no records are displayed, select the current planning year from the <Planning Year> drop-down and click on the <Search> button to display all of the records for the current year.

3.4      Click on a record to navigate to the Objective Type detail page.

3.5      Click on <Add Planning Year> to navigate to the Planning Years Search page.

3.6      Click on a planning year to add it to the objective type. (See image under 1.1 above.)

3.7      Click on the <save> icon at the top of the page to return to the Objective Type Search page. You may also click on the <back> icon, since the new planning year has already been saved to the record.

3.8      Repeat steps 3.3 – 3.7 to add the next planning year to all of the appropriate objective types.

3.9      If the objective type has changed in any way, it is best to not edit the existing text of the record if it has been used in prior planning years, because it will change the objective type for all of those years. Instead, click on the <New Objective Type> button to add a new record. (See the image in 3.4 above.)

3.10    Enter the details of the objective type on the Objective Type detail page:

Field	Type	Content Description	Example
Objective Type	text	A short title for the objective type. This will be displayed on the Objective Detail Page to identify the objective type(s) selected.	Accreditation Compliance
Description	text	A description of the objective type. This might explain why a user would select this particular objective type.	This objective supports an accreditation mandate or consists of strategies designed to address compliance…

3.11    Click the <save> icon.

3.12 To add the coming planning year to this objective type, follow steps 3.5 – 3.8 above. If this objective type is going to be in effect for a number of years in the future, you might add planning years beyond the upcoming year.

3.13    If you have any new objective types for the coming year, begin at step 3.9 above to add a new record.

4.  Add Planning Years to Planning Priorities

The Planning Priorities are planning year-specific, so the next planning year must be added to each record that you wish to make available to users in the coming planning year.

Instructions:

4.1      In the Admin module, Planning section, click on <Planning Priorities> to display all of the records for a specific year.

4.2      Select the next planning year from the <Planning Year> drop-down and click on the <Search> button to see the records that are already tied to that planning year.

4.3      If no records are displayed, select the current planning year from the <Planning Year> drop-down and click on the <Search> button to display all of the records for the current year.

4.4      Click on a record to navigate to the Objective Priority Detail page.

4.5      Click on <Add Planning Year> to navigate to the Planning Years Search page.

4.6      Click on a planning year to add it to the planning priority. (See image under 1.1 above.)

4.7      Click on the <save> icon at the top of the page to return to the Planning Priorities Search page. You can also click on the <back> icon, since the new planning year has already been saved to the record.

4.8      Repeat steps 4.3 – 4.7 to add the next planning year to all of the appropriate planning priorities.

4.9      If the planning priority has changed in any way, it is best to not edit the existing text of the record if it has been used in prior planning years, because it will change the planning priority for all of those years. Instead, click on the <New Planning Priority> button to add a new record. (See the image in 4.4 above.)

4.10    Enter the details of the planning priority on the Planning Priority Detail page:

Field	Type	Content Description	Example
Planning Priority	text	A short title for the planning priority. This will be displayed on the Objective Detail Page to identify the planning priority(s) selected.	Efficiency
Priority Number	numeric	Determines the order in which the records will be displayed.	1
Description	text	A description of the planning priority. This might explain when an objective would fit within this particular planning priority.	Operating at a more efficient level in order to maximize available resources.

4.11    Click the <save> icon.

4.12 To add the coming planning year to this planning priority, follow steps 4.5 – 4.8 above. If this planning priority is going to be in effect for a number of years in the future, you might add planning years beyond the upcoming year.

4.13    If you have any new planning priorities for the coming year, begin at step 4.9 above to add a new record.

5.  Import Budget Data

Budget data must be imported to initialize the budgets for the coming year and to provide users information upon which they can base their budget request decisions.

Instructions:

5.1      In the Admin module, System section, click on <Data Import> to navigate to the SPOL Data Importing page.

5.2      Under the Budget section, click on <Budget Data> to navigate to the Upload CSV File to Import page.

5.3      Click on the <download file format> button to open the document download window. This is a pop-up, so if the window doesn’t open, check your pop-up blockers. The Internet Explorer pop-up blocker will display a yellow banner across the top of the window, just beneath the toolbars. Right click on this banner and select “Always allow pop-ups from this site.” Be sure to also disable any other pop-up blockers, such as might be found on a Google or Yahoo toolbar.

5.4      Once the document download window opens, Internet Explorer will block the download. You will see a yellow banner at the top of the window as shown below. Click on the banner and choose “Download File” to begin the download.

5.5      When the file download dialog box opens, click on <Save> to save the Excel file to your computer.

5.6      Download the appropriate data from your finance system, manipulate the data as needed, and then copy it to the ImportBudgetData.csv file you downloaded from SPOL. Follow these guidelines:

·         Do not change the column headings.

·         Do not rearrange the order of the columns.

·         Do not use any punctuation – all money values must be rounded to whole dollars.

·         The account number columns should be in text format so that leading zeroes are not dropped.

·         Save the file as a .csv file.

·         You may change the name of the file, but keep the .csv extension.

The data to be imported is described in the following table. Refer to the image of the Budget Detail page below to see how the data is used by SPOL in the budget module.

	Column	Content Description	Example
u	Acct_Number_1	The number used to identify a cost center is called an account number in SPOL. Account numbers can extend over three fields, which are separated by hyphens. Your account numbers are broken into some combination of these three fields.	11110400
	Acct_Number_2		141040
	Acct_Number_3		41
v	GL_Code	The number used to identify the object code or expenditure code. The GL code, together with the account number, creates a line in your chart of accounts	625
w	Initial_Budget	The budgeted amount at the beginning of the fiscal year. The % change is going to be calculated against the values in this column, so it should not be left blank. If your finance system does not preserve the original budgeted amount, repeat the modified budget in this column. You may want to populate this column with the a modified amount if you received budget cuts during the year that will not be recovered in the coming year. This column sets the baseline for % increase or decrease in the new budget requests.	10000
x	Modified_Budget	The current budget, which reflects any budget transfers made during the year.	9800
y	Total_Expenditures	Total expenditures for last year, which would be the last fiscal year ended.	10251
z	YTD_Obligations	The total of all encumbrances, expenditures, and obligations (funds in the requisition process that have not yet been encumbered or expensed).	4756

5.7      Click on the <Browse…> button and use the dialog box to find your saved .csv file. Click on filename, and then click the <Open> button to enter the filename and location in the <CSV File name> field. Click <Next>.

5.8      From the drop-down box, select the planning year that represents the next fiscal year – the year for which you will be preparing the budget.

5.9      If the file contains any new budget accounts that are not currently in SPOL, you will be given a list of these exceptions. Click on each record to provide any missing data and add the budget account to SPOL. If there are no exceptions, you will see no records in the list. Click <Next>.

5.10    If the file contains any new GL codes that are not currently in SPOL, you will be given a list of these exceptions. Click on each record to provide any missing data and add the GL code to SPOL. If there are no exceptions, you will see no records in the list. Click <Next>.

5.11    Select the fields that you are updating by clicking on the check boxes. If this is the first data import for the year and you have data entered in all money columns on the spreadsheet, you should select all of the fields. Click <Next>.

·         If you have already initialized the budget and are simply updating the YTD Obligations and/or the Modified Budget, select those fields to overwrite the existing data.

·         If you are adding more budget accounts, select all fields. The new data will be added to the budget accounts without overwriting any existing data.

5.12    The next page will display any data that currently exists in SPOL for the account numbers in the file. To continue and update this data, click <Next>.

5.13    The next page will list all of the data to be imported. Click <Next> to complete the import.

6.  Lock Prior Year Budget

The budget should be locked for all prior planning years to ensure that users enter their budget requests in the correct year. The budget may already be locked from the end of the previous budget cycle, but it’s a good idea to check to be sure.

Instructions:

6.1      In the Admin module, Budget section, click on <Budget LockOut> to display all of the planning years and the locked status of the budget for each year.

6.2      In the <Locked Out> column, click on the current planning year and all previous years to lock the budget to users. If you had previously locked future planning years, click on the coming year to remove the check, opening it for the users to develop their budget requests.

6.3      Click on the <save> icon.

7.  Change the Default Planning Year

Typically the current planning year is set as the default so that users will see current data when they login to SPOL. Because the system gets a lot of traffic during budget prep, and to ensure that users are inputting their budget requests correctly, you should change to default planning year to the coming planning year when you kick off the budget prep cycle.

Instructions:

7.1      In the Admin module, System section, click on <Planning Years>.

7.2      Click on the planning year that you wish to make current.

7.3      Click the <Current> check box, and then click on the <save> icon.

7.4      Notify your users that you’ve changed the default planning year so that they can find their current objectives.

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