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August 2022 Newsletter

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August 2022 Newsletter 

Fiscal Reminders: 

  • Fiscal Year Transition/Updates
    • FY22 Hard Close
      • At this time the FY22 Hard Close date has not been confirmed.  We will provide more information when it is available  
    • FY23 – active fiscal year  
      • When viewing account balances in FY23, it is important to include ‘Pending Ledger Entry’ as the FY22 Hard Close has not occurred, and balances have not yet been carried forward
      • When viewing Sponsored Project Accounts balances (5L and many 6L accounts) in FY23 please note indirect costs (NOPX) will need to be manually deducted from the budget balance available 
  • FY22 2.5% Carry Forward
    • The CAHNR Carry Forward Policy allows departments to carry forward a maximum of 2.5% of the annual funding in their department 2‐Ledger operating account(s) from one fiscal year to the next.
    • The amount of carry forward is based on 2.5% of annual funding in a department’s operating account(s).  
    • Annual funding is comprised of permanent allocation plus/minus any permanent and/or one‐time funding adjustments in the current fiscal year.  
    • The BO will distribute all funds that are eligible to be carried forward after the university’s prior fiscal year hard close.  This transfer will be processed as a one‐time (1x) funding adjustment into the departments’ operating account.  
  • Faculty 2022 Summer Payroll Process – AAUP retro increases effective 8/23/2021
    • The Business Office processes Faculty Summer salary paid from start-up funding, grants/contract, and/or other Dean’s Office Commitments
    • Payroll, Sponsored Program Services, and Human Resources will not update summer salaries to align with recalculated August 2021 salaries 
    • The BO is reviewing the 2022 Faculty Summer Payroll and processing the appropriate adjustments
    • If your department has submitted a special payroll authorization (i.e., not processed by the BO) for a faculty member during Summer 2022, it is your responsibility to review and process any changes 
  • FY23 Monthly Department and Faculty Reports
    • *Reminder* FY23 Reports will continue to include sponsored project funded Fall ‘22 and/or Spring ‘23 GA pre-encumbrances
    • The September 1st reports will continue to capture the pre-encumbrance of GA’s who are coded to sponsored projects 
    • GA payrolls are scheduled to encumber on 9/2 or 9/3.  Once this occurs the BO will release the manual encumbrance previously entered to avoid overstatement on accounts
  • Start-Up Accounts
    • The BO will continue establishing all new faculty Start-Up accounts as new faculty continue to be hired
    • Reminder – Faculty (in most cases) will have three (3) 2-Ledger Start-Up Accounts:
    • Faculty Summer salary
    • No budget will be loaded.  The BO will fund this account after processing summer salary
    • GA Support 
    • Both salary and fringe benefits will be loaded to identify available funding
    • Equipment/Discretionary
    • All accounts are budgeted by the BO and all accounts are Fiscal Based Accounts and run from July 1st – June 30th
    • Funding will continue to carry forward until the timeframe in which these funds are to be used (noted in faculty Offer Letter)
    • For faculty in their first year of start up support – i.e., start date of 8/23/2022, only the first year’s budget will be loaded
    • For faculty in their second year of support – i.e., start date of 8/23/2021, any balance remaining in the prior year will be carried forward and added to any additional support committed in year two
    • The BO will serve as FO on both the Faculty Summer Salary and GA support accounts 
  • Federal Accounts (Smith Lever, SAES Capacity)
    • FY22 Accounts 
      • will remain open through 11/30/22 for expenses incurred by 9/30/22 
      • Please avoid last minute spending
      • After November 30th, no additional transactions will be allowed on these accounts
      • On December 1st the BO will begin the FY22 close out process
      • Please monitor your continuation accounts for timely cost transfer submission
      • Please contact the BO if you need any assistance
    • FY23 Accounts 
      • New Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) opens on 10/1/2022 (FFY23)
      • Your department budget was identified in your FY23 Dept. Budget Hearing Letter from the Dean 
      • *Reminder: Every expense must be categorized in 1 or more of the 5 areas strategic areas by the utilization of sub-accounts (only exception is Regular Payroll)
      • Sub-Accounts
        • Climate (CLIM)
        • Food (FOOD)
        • Health (HLTH)
        • Landscapes (LAND)
        • (MISC)
  • Upcoming Purchasing Training (September)
    • The Business Office is working with UBS to establish a training
    • Additional information will be distributed (via email) once confirmed.   

  

HR and Payroll Reminders: 

  • AAUP Payroll Black-out Period
    • August 6th – August 22nd
      • Blackout period for SmartHR transactions for all AAUP bargaining unit members
      • August 23rd – August 25th
        • Any Smart HR transactions for all bargaining unit members may be processed at this time to be effective by 8/23/22.
          • Non-Tenure Track (NTT) Faculty 8/23 Contract Renewals
            • Reminder – (if needed) please process any NTT Contract Renewals
            • PageUp Training Dates:
              • Regular Payroll
                • September 7, 2022 from 9 am to 12 pm (Register)
              • Special Payroll
                • September 8, 2022 from 10 am to 12 pm (Register)

            Special Payroll Update 

                • Adjunct Faculty Tutorial
                  • The Special Payroll Adjunct Faculty tutorial has been updated and now reflects the new AAUP Adjunct Faculty credit rates and other changes. 
                  • The tutorial provides an in-depth overview of policies and contractual obligations for Adjunct Faculty, including compensation, multi-year contracts, credit limits, offer letters, dual employment, flexible schedules, and conflicts of interest.
                    Employees can access the updated tutorial (and all Special Payroll tutorials) through Saba (https://hr.uconn.edu/learningatwork/) by searching “Special Payroll” after logging in. A link to the tutorials is also available on the Special Payroll Information website: https://hr.uconn.edu/special-payroll-info/. 

           Shout Out: 

              • Welcome:  
                • Laurie Norton, Financial Assistant 1 – ANSC
              • Farewells: 
                • Good Luck: Gulizar Er, Financial Assistant 1 – BO

           

          Reminder: The Business Office is always available to answer any questions or concerns you may have.  Please feel to reach out to the CAHNR BO via email (CAHNRBO@uconn.edu ), or submit any questions or comments via our anonymous form located on the BO website (https://businessoffice.cahnr.uconn.edu/admin-meeting-questions-2/) 

        July 2022 Newsletter

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        July 2022 Newsletter

        Fiscal Reminders:

          • FY22 and FY23 are both open in KFS
            • In KFS 2023 should be the default FY
          • Reports
            • FY22 Department and Faculty Reports FY22 yearend reports will run on July 1st.  These will be the last report distribution for FY22
            • FY23 Department and Faculty Reports: GOAL: batch the FY23 Faculty Reports by Friday, July 15th
              • As we move through the first couple of weeks, the Business Office will prepare account budgets and update all accounts to reflect the starting FY23 balances
              • *IMPORTANT* FY23 Reports will include Fall GA encumbrance – the BO will manually load the encumbrance and communicate with Faculty
          • Start-Up Accounts
            • The BO will be working to establish all new faculty Start-Up accounts (if not completed already)
            • Reminder – Faculty (in most cases) will have three (3) 2-Ledger Start-Up Accounts:
              1. Faculty Summer salary
              2. GA’ Support
              3. Equipment/Discretionary
            • The BO will serve as FO on both the Faculty Summer Salary and GA support accounts
          • CAHNR Awards
            • For those who received CAHNR Awards, the BO will establish new 6L RFNDO accounts and will manage any Foundation Disbursements by the end of FY23
            • These accounts will have the award recipient listed as the ‘Account supervisor’, and will be included in their monthly account statements
          • FY22 Carry Forward
            • If your department is scheduled to receive any carry forward funding, the transfer of funds will not occur until after the FY22 hard close, which will likely be at the end of August
          • Federal Accounts (Smith Lever, SAES Capacity)
            • Beginning this month (July), the BO will begin its annual review and establishment of the FY23 Federal Accounts
            • This will be an ongoing process until the new Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) opens on 10/1/2022 (FFY23)
          • Effort Reporting
            • The BO manages all effort reports, please remember all Fall 2021 Effort Reports are due back to the BO by July 6th to allow for final submission of reports to SPS by July 20th
            • Please direct any effort questions to the BO ASAP

         

        HR and Payroll Reminders:

        • Fall 2022 GA Smart-HR BO Deadline – Friday, July 1st
            • Attachments:
              • REQUIRED: Offer Letter (OL)
        • RECOMMENDED: Supplemental Description of Duties (SDD) * not required at time of submission, but will expedite the approval process (if not attached to Smart-HR email to Payroll GA coordinator)
            • Comments section: DEPT, Employee Name, Employee #, transaction description, and effective dates
            • University Deadline for Fall 2022 GA PA’s is Friday, July 15th
        • Fall 2022 Adjunct Smart-HR BO Deadline – Friday July 15th
            • Attachments:
              • REQUIRED: Offer Letter (OL)
            • Comments section: DEPT, Employee Name, Employee #, transaction description, and effective dates
            • University Deadline for Fall 2022 Adjunct PA’s is Friday, July 29th
            • Smart-HR Processing Schedule
              • UCPEA and Management/Confidential
                • The FY23 salary increases for UCPEA and Management/Confidential populations are being prepared and processed with an effective date of 7/1/2022
                • To accommodate these activities, until further notice please refrain from initiating Smart HR transactions for this population using effective dates of 7/2/2022 or later
                • The processing blackout is anticipated to run through mid-July
                • Additional correspondence will be sent when Smart HR processing for transactions dated 7/2/2022 and later may resume
                • Payroll will cancel transactions initiated and/or submitted during the blackout period. Processors will be notified of these cancellations and instructed to resubmit once the blackout has been lifted
        • PageUp Training Dates:
            • Regular Payroll
              • July 20, 2022 from 9 am to 12 pm (Register)
              • September 7, 2022 from 9 am to 12 pm (Register)
            • Special Payroll
              • July 21, 2022 from 10 am to 12 pm (Register)
              • September 8, 2022 from 10 am to 12 pm (Register)
        • Minimum Wage
            • The minimum hourly wage in Connecticut increases to $14.00/hr. July 1st
              • Payroll will increase the rates in CORE-CT for any students whose hourly rates are not at the minimum of their pay scale
                • This automatic update will occur during the 7/1/22-7/14/22 pay period
              • Payroll will not automatically increase the rates of those students whose minimum rates fall within their pay scale.  Each department will be responsible for submitting these increases

        (Ex. If a student is currently at Class II with an hourly rate of $14.25, they would not receive an automatic increase, as the new minimum of Class II will be $14.15)

                • Review and identify student employees in this situation to minimize inequities
                • Once identified, a manual increase must be processed in CORE-CT using the Student Payroll Data/Pay Change template: (UC_TBH_DC_STUD_DAT)

         

        OLD Pay Scale (August 1,2021-June 30,2022) Effective July 1, 2022
        Class I – $13.00 Class I – $14.00
        Class II – $13.15-$14.35 Class II – $14.15 – $15.35
        Class III – $14.40 – $16.35 Class III – $15.40 – $17.35
        Class IV -$16.40 – $31.70 Class IV – $17.40 – $32.70

         

         

        • NEW Graduate Employee Union (GEU) contract
            • Changes/updates to the GEU contract will go into effect: July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2026
            • There will be a presentation on Wednesday, July 13th.  Please visit the attached email for more information and a link to register

         

        Shout Out:

         

        • Welcome:
          • Sara Reichle – Admin Program Support 1 – ARE; Lena Knowles – Admin Program Support 3 – ARE
        • Farewells:
          • Retirements: Sheila Carroll – CAHNR BO; Lynn Zerba – Research Office; Kathy Wells – Academic Programs; Diane Labonia – Hartford EXT; Rachel Shore – Middlesex EXT
          • Good Luck: Laura Mlyniec-Beam – Academic Programs; Christina Tamburro – CAHNR BO; Anida Sundara – AHS; Nicole Jagielo – CAHNR BO

        Special Payroll Processing Deadlines

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        Dear Colleagues:

        We write to share the 2021-2022 Special Payroll processing deadlines and reminders about processing Special Payroll hire requests in PageUp.

        Special Payroll Processing Deadlines
        Due to the high volume of Special Payroll hire requests preceding academic semesters and intersessions, HR and Payroll provide processing deadline dates for PageUp and SmartHR. Special Payroll hire requests must be approved by HR in PageUp before departments may submit a SmartHR transaction, and it may take up to 4-6 weeks for a Special Payroll hire request to receive all required approvals. While HR and Payroll will make every effort to process in a timely manner, late submissions risk a delayed first paycheck for the employee. In addition, late submissions pose risk to the University if any employee begins working without a completed I-9 on file. Lastly, in compliance with state regulations, eligible employees (i.e., Adjunct Faculty) must make an irrevocable retirement election by the end of their first day of employment.

        The tables outlining the 2021-2022 processing deadlines are available on the Special Payroll Information website. Please note that the PageUp submission deadlines for faculty during Winter and Summer Sessions are only applicable to 11-month Faculty, as these requests must be processed through PageUp. 9-month and 10-month Faculty appointments are submitted directly in SmartHR and do not require submission in PageUp.


        10 Business Days
        To ensure that employees complete all necessary tasks and are compliant with all terms and conditions of employment prior to their start date, the request to hire on Special Payroll must receive final approval from HR ten (10) business days prior to the scheduled start date. If the start date of the appointment is less than 10 business days from HR approval, HR will either update the request directly or return the request to the hiring department to make necessary changes and resubmit through the approval workflow. Requiring 10 business days provides adequate time for candidates to complete or comply with:

        Monitoring Hire Requests
        We encourage departments to monitor hire requests once approved by HR to ensure timely acceptance of offers and adequate time for the candidates to comply and complete the requirements listed above. When HR approves a hire request, please extend the online offer by updating the status in PageUp to “Make Online Offer” as soon as possible. Once extended, departments should continue to monitor when the candidate accepts an offer. Departments who do not extend the online offer and candidates who do not accept their offer in a timely manner risk not completing all terms and conditions of employment prior to the start date, which may require HR to revise the start date to a later date.

        We appreciate your attention to these details in the Special Payroll hiring process, and we look forward to ensuring a smooth process for the upcoming year.

        Please reach out to the Special Payroll team (SPAR@uconn.edu) with questions.

         

        Sincerely,
        Heather Souer and Hannah Traynor

        Cash Handling Training FY22 is Now Live (From Daily Digest)

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        Training is now live on UConn – Learning@Work.

        Cash Handling Training is required for any employee in a financial role who requires access to depositing docs in KFS (i.e. Cash Receipt, Advance Deposit and Credit Card Receipt).

        Some of the topics covered:

        Proper Documentation
        Separation of Duties
        KFS e-Docs – What to use, When
        Reconciliation Basics

         

        Deadline to complete this training is 12/31/2021.  Access to KFS depositing docs will be revoked from any staff who have not completed the training by the deadline.

        Student employees will continue to access training on Husky CT.  Please email name and net ID of student employees to cashoperations@uconn.edu for enrollment.

        For more information, contact: Cash Operations at cashoperations@uconn.edu

        Relaunch of Travel (From Daily Digest)

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        Relaunch of Travel

        Dear Colleagues,

        Welcome back to Travel!

        The University of Connecticut recently lifted the restriction in place for Domestic Travel.

        In anticipation of the increase in travel activity, we have put together aPowerPoint presentationwith some useful information and helpful tips as you navigate the process and get back into the loop of all things travel.

        Please open the following link to the presentation for further information: Relaunch of Travel.

        For more information, contact: UConn Travel Team at travel@uconn.edu

        7-19-Relaunch-Travel-powerpoint

        Updated FY22 KFS Expense Object Code Description Guide (From Accounting)

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        Good Afternoon,

        The KFS Expense Object Code Description Guide has been updated for FY22. All object code description guides can be found on the Accounting Office website: https://accountingoffice.uconn.edu/oversight-of-kfs-object-codes/

        If you have any questions about object codes, feel free to contact me using email or Teams.

        Thank you,
        Annette

        KFS is now open for Fiscal Year 2022 Processing (From KFS)

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        KFS is now open for Fiscal Year 2022 Processing. Happy New Fiscal Year!

        As you begin to look at balances on your accounts in KFS, please note the following:

        1. Although Fiscal Year 2022 is the default on balance inquiries, you have the option to change the date to Fiscal Year 2021 by typing over 2022.

        2. When looking at Fiscal Year 2021 balances on the “General Ledger Balance” inquiry, there is an additional period called “Year End.” This is where you will see any activity posted after June 30, 2021 that relates to Fiscal Year 2021. On the General Ledger Entry inquiry, you will see these transactions in Fiscal Period “13.”

        3. Fiscal Year 2022 Budgets are loaded for all 2-ledger, 3-ledger, and Fiscal 4-ledger/6-ledger accounts. (Sub-funds OPTUI, OPOTF, OPAUX, RFNDO, RFNDA). Budgets for project accounts are scheduled to be updated overnight on July 1st as pending entries (see #4 below). Processing for all accounts should continue as necessary. 

        4. KFS has the ability to show the prior year balances carried over into the new fiscal year. Ending balances from Fiscal Year 2021, which are scheduled to be loaded overnight on July 1st as pending entries, will be regularly updated into Fiscal Year 2022 until the final close in August.

        5. Encumbrances:

        a. New Fiscal Year 2022 external encumbrances (Purchase Orders) are in KFS.

        b. Prior Year external encumbrances that are carried forward into Fiscal Year 2022 are also in KFS.

        c. Fiscal Year 2022 payroll encumbrances will be posted the night of July 7, 2021.

        If you have any questions, please contact Annette Pavone at Annette.pavone@uconn.edu.

        HUSKYBUY BROADCAST – New User Experience in HuskyBuy

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        Coming soon! New User Experience in HuskyBuy

        We’re pleased to deliver a updated look to the HuskyBuy experience in the coming weeks. Beginning Friday 6/25, you will find an option in HuskyBuy to toggle and explore the new look and feel to Shopping, Requisitioning, Approving, and Invoicing, and provide feedback for a period of two weeks; on 7/26, the new experience will become standard for all users. During the trial period, job aids for the new look will be available alongside our library of legacy job aids until the permanent transition occurs in July. Please find links below related to how to activate/inactivate the New User Experience beginning 6/25, as well to review the updated job aids for a sneak peak of the upcoming changes. Please reach out to the Procurement Solutions Center with any questions. 

        How to toggle the new experience during the opt-in period

        HuskyBuy New User Experience Job Aids

        Thank you,

        The Procurement Solutions Center

        huskybuysupport@uconn.edu