Completed forms should be emailed to General.AR@carleton.ca.

A few highlights from the form

1. Enter the name of the department that has provided the good or service.
2. Fund / Org / Account are mandatory fields that must be filled in. Note that the Account must be a revenue account. Revenue accounts always begin with a 5.
3. Activity codes are optional.
4. Describe the good or service. This is important because it helps us in GAR determine if the taxes you’ve identified are correct. As an example, your description could be ‘three parking passes for lot 6’ or ‘five thousand letterhead envelopes’.
5. Taxes differ depending on the good/service and geographical location. If you are unsure about whether HST/GST applies, review the or contact us at General.AR@carleton.ca.

One very important thing to remember …

If the external party sends you a cheque for services rendered, the cheque MUST to be forwarded to 301 Pigiarvik, Receipt Accounting. This is because you have already received payment from GAR.

Where to find out more

If you’d like to find out more, email General.AR@carleton.ca.

Invoicing for some enterprise funds is handled by the Controller’s Office. If you have previously had invoices for your enterprise fund issued through the Controller’s Office or if you were instructed at the time of fund opening, then you should continue to contact your fund administrator for Accounts Receivable inquiries.

General Accounts Receivable, part of Financial Services, prepares invoices for goods provided or services performed by the university community for external parties.

General Accounts Receivable is usually referred to by its acronym, GAR.

Let’s use an example to illustrate what this means

ABC Company (i.e. an external party) contracts the School of Industrial Design (i.e. a ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ department) to build a panel display.

In order for the department to receive compensation, the Industrial Design administrator must request that GAR prepare an invoice for ABC Company.  This will  ensure the university is meeting its sales tax obligations and will allow GAR to follow up if the invoice is unpaid.

Here’s how it works …

1. YOU initiate the request by filling out an invoice requisition form.
2. YOU email the completed form to General.AR@carleton.ca.
3. GAR reviews the completed form to ensure that it has been filled out correctly (read next week’s tip to find out more) and will create your invoice in FAST.  The invoice will be e-mailed to the customer and the requestor (i.e. ABC Company and the School of Industrial Design administrator).
4. Once the invoice has been created, funds will be automatically transferred to the revenue that you specified on the invoice requisition form.  This typically takes 2 to 3 business days.
5. GAR takes care of the collection and deposit of receivables (i.e. payment from ABC Company).

One very important thing to remember …

In this process you receive payment for your services directly from GAR (step 4 above). If the external party (e.g. ABC Company) sends you a cheque for services rendered, the cheque MUST to be forwarded to 301 Pigiarvik, Receipt Accounting. This is because you have already received payment from GAR.

Where to find out more

If you’d like to find out more, email General.AR@carleton.ca.

Invoicing for some enterprise funds is handled by the Controller’s Office. If you have previously had invoices for your enterprise fund issued through the Controller’s Office or if you were instructed at the time of fund opening, then you should continue to contact your fund administrator for Accounts Receivable inquiries.

Completed forms should be emailed to General.AR@carleton.ca.

A few highlights from the form

1. Enter the name of the department that has provided the good or service.
2. Fund / Org / Account are mandatory fields that must be filled in. Note that the Account must be a revenue account. Revenue accounts always begin with a 5.
3. Activity codes are optional.
4. Describe the good or service. This is important because it helps us in GAR determine if the taxes you’ve identified are correct. As an example, your description could be ‘three parking passes for lot 6’ or ‘five thousand letterhead envelopes’.
5. Taxes differ depending on the good/service and geographical location. If you are unsure about whether HST/GST applies, review the or contact us at General.AR@carleton.ca.

One very important thing to remember …

If the external party sends you a cheque for services rendered, the cheque MUST to be forwarded to 301 Pigiarvik, Receipt Accounting. This is because you have already received payment from GAR.

Where to find out more

If you’d like to find out more, email General.AR@carleton.ca.

Invoicing for some enterprise funds is handled by the Controller’s Office. If you have previously had invoices for your enterprise fund issued through the Controller’s Office or if you were instructed at the time of fund opening, then you should continue to contact your fund administrator for Accounts Receivable inquiries.

General Accounts Receivable, part of Financial Services, prepares invoices for goods provided or services performed by the university community for external parties.

General Accounts Receivable is usually referred to by its acronym, GAR.

Let’s use an example to illustrate what this means

ABC Company (i.e. an external party) contracts the School of Industrial Design (i.e. a ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ department) to build a panel display.

In order for the department to receive compensation, the Industrial Design administrator must request that GAR prepare an invoice for ABC Company.  This will  ensure the university is meeting its sales tax obligations and will allow GAR to follow up if the invoice is unpaid.

Here’s how it works …

1. YOU initiate the request by filling out an invoice requisition form.
2. YOU email the completed form to General.AR@carleton.ca.
3. GAR reviews the completed form to ensure that it has been filled out correctly (read next week’s tip to find out more) and will create your invoice in FAST.  The invoice will be e-mailed to the customer and the requestor (i.e. ABC Company and the School of Industrial Design administrator).
4. Once the invoice has been created, funds will be automatically transferred to the revenue that you specified on the invoice requisition form.  This typically takes 2 to 3 business days.
5. GAR takes care of the collection and deposit of receivables (i.e. payment from ABC Company).

One very important thing to remember …

In this process you receive payment for your services directly from GAR (step 4 above). If the external party (e.g. ABC Company) sends you a cheque for services rendered, the cheque MUST to be forwarded to 301 Pigiarvik, Receipt Accounting. This is because you have already received payment from GAR.

Where to find out more

If you’d like to find out more, email General.AR@carleton.ca.

Invoicing for some enterprise funds is handled by the Controller’s Office. If you have previously had invoices for your enterprise fund issued through the Controller’s Office or if you were instructed at the time of fund opening, then you should continue to contact your fund administrator for Accounts Receivable inquiries.

Today is the day! The final tip in the ‘Did Somebody Say FOAPAL?’ series is finally here. Are you ready for the surprise ending?   We don’t put the L in FOAPAL!

The L stands for location and here at ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ we don’t bother with it. You’re welcome!

iFOAPAL?

In the fall we’ll begin using indexes. An index is used as a shortcut which ties FOAPAL elements together. We’ll be issuing a follow up tip about iFOAPALs in the coming months. Unlike the release of a new apple device, we won’t make you wait in line or mortgage your home for it.

Wrapping up

We’ve heard you loud and clear that FOAPALs can be confusing. We certainly hope that this tip series has clarified

• what FOAPALs are used for, and
• the elements that they are made up of.

As always, please send any feedback or anything that still requires clarification to facts@carleton.ca.

Next week, we’ll be moving on to a series of tips from Procurement.

Links to Related Tips:

We are back with the second last tip in this series. You won’t want to miss the surprising final chapter next Tuesday!

What is an Activity Code?

It is the fifth element in a FOAPAL.  This code can made up of four to six digits and/ or characters (e.g. 6213, ESHOP, RCF103).

Activity Codes are user driven and therefore optional. They can be used to provide further detail/ breakdown for transactions in a fund or as a method to group transactions over a range of funds.

How do Account Codes and Activity Codes differ?

Both Account Codes and Activity Codes can be used to describe the nature of a transaction.

• HOWEVER, Account Codes are prescribed by Financial Services to describe the nature of transactions for Financial Services’ reporting purposes. They are a required portion of the FOAPAL (e.g. 716800 ‘Networking/ Reception Expenses’).
• Activity Codes are a customized list of codes which provide more detail for your reporting purposes (e.g. 1037 ‘Graduate Student Conference’).

If you combine both the example Account Code and Activity code above, you can tell that the transaction was for reception expenses related for a graduate student conference.

Why is the Activity Code important?

The Activity Code is there to help you with your reporting needs.

What else is it called?

• ACTV

Where do I find more information?

• A complete Activity Code listing can be accessed in by selecting the drop down arrow adjacent to ‘ACTV’ on the main page after you log in.
• You can also contact your research administrator or the Controller’s Office  if you have questions about which Activity Codes are used for your department or fund.

Links to Related Tips:

We are back with the fifth tip in this suspenseful series. Watch out for the cliff-hanger at the end!

What is a Program Code?

It is the fourth element in a FOAPAL.  It is four to six digits in length.

The Program Code represents the functional use of each transaction (e.g. Instruction, Research, Administration).

What else is it called?

We believe that we are consistent in our use of the term ‘program code’.  Have you heard us call it something different?  Let us know (facts@carleton.ca)!

Why is the Program Code important?

As a university, we are required to report in a standardized way to both provincial and national associations that provide oversight. The program code is used by the Controller’s Office to prepare financial reports that compare ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´â€™s use of funding to other universities.

Most of our financial systems either hide this element or provide a default value for this code.

The Take Away?

Apart from the Controller’s Office, most of the university does not use this FOAPAL element. For this reason, we recommend that the default values be left alone when entering a transaction.

Where do I find more information?

For questions related to Program Codes, please contact the Controller’s Office through financial_services@carleton.ca.

Will we be back with a new tip next week? Yes! Next week, we’re putting the second ‘A’ in FOAPAL.

Links to Related Tips:

We are back with the fourth tip in the series, which has been described as a “rattling good read’.

What is an Account Code?

It is the third element in a FOAPAL.  It is six digits in length.

Account codes represent the nature of each transaction (e.g. revenue, expenditure, salaries, or budget).  In addition, they provide detail about the ‘nature of the transaction’ (e.g. 710000 is an account code that tells us that expenditures were made on office supplies).

Tip: The first 3 numbers of the code are always consistent within an account category (e.g. Part time salaries all start with 611, Supplies start with 710, Travel start with 719).

What else is it called?

We believe that we are consistent in our use of the term ‘account codes’.  Have you heard us call it something different?  Let us know (facts@carleton.ca)!

Why is the Account Code important?

The account code tells us, and our stakeholders (e.g. the Board, the government, the ‘public’), what we have spent our money on.

The Take Away?

Account codes contain many different revenue and expense codes.  Care should be used in choosing the appropriate code.

Where do I find more information?

• A list of commonly used account codes can be found …
• The entire account listing can be accessed in FAST Finance Reporting using the FOAPAL codes reports option
• You can also contact your Fund Administrator for assistance

Next week, we’re putting the ‘P’ in FOAPAL.  Stay tuned!

Links to Related Tips:

We are back with the third tip in this wildly popular ‘Did Somebody Say FOAPAL’ tip series.

What is an Organization Code?

It is the second element in a FOAPAL.  It is typically three or four digits in length.

The organization code is used to indicate ‘ownership’ of the transactions in a given fund, whether recording revenues or expenses.  In plain language, it represents the department or unit responsible for the fund.

In the case of research grants or contracts, the organization code is derived from the department of the Principal Investigator or research unit for which the Fund was opened.

What else is it called?

• Org code
• Orgn code
• Org
• Orgn

Why is the Organization Code important?

It is used for tracking and reporting departmental transactions.

The Take Away?

Departments generally do a great job getting their organization code correct.  Keep up the good work!

For the trivia lovers in the crowd, a little known fact about Organization Codes …

Organization code is the one set of numbers that was retained from the pre-banner system.

Where do I find more information?

A complete list of organization codes may be accessed by selecting FOAPAL codes from the main menu in FAST finance.

Further information on funds contact financial.services@carleton.ca .

Next week, we’re putting the first ‘A’ in FOAPAL.  Stay tuned!

Links to Related Tips:

While a little longer than we like our tips to be, we’ve done what we can to use plain language. As always, please let us know where we can do a better job (facts@carleton.ca)!

What is a Fund?

The term fund comes from accounting terminology for fund accounting. It is a segregated pot of money set aside for a specific purpose.

In relation to the FOAPAL, it is called a ‘’. This term is used when referring to the first 6-digit element of a FOAPAL.

What else is it called?

As with any profession, we accountants struggle with jargon, acronyms and nicknames. Jargon, acronyms, and nicknames are a bad habit which hampers our communication with the rest of the campus community. This is a bad habit that we are trying to break. While we work on this, here are a few other fund-related terms that you might run across.

Fund Number: This is a term that we in Financial Services use instead of Fund Code. They mean the same thing.

Account: Term misused by the campus community instead of Fund Code. An example of this is “My research account number is xxxxxx”. Account is one of the ‘A’s in FOAPAL, which we’ll cover in the upcoming weeks.

Why is it important?

Financial Services will specify the type of Fund you require and will provide you with a Fund Code (i.e. 6-digit number). This Fund Code identifies which fund (i.e. pot of money) that related transactions belong to and the policies and laws that govern the use of that money.  For example, if you have authority over both an operating fund and a research fund the rules governing each of these funds may differ.

ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ has over 6000 individual Funds that are grouped into common categories:

• Operating (100000) – Where we, as a university, record all transactions associated with our main function of instructional teaching. Consists of just 1 fund which is shared by over 120 departments.
• Ancillaries (12xxxx) – Where we, as a university, record all transactions that are supportive of but not directly related to our primary function of teaching (e.g. Athletics, Housing, Parking).
• Endowments (6xxxxx) – Where we, as a university, record all transactions associated with donated funds that must be held in perpetuity; only the annual income earned is available for distribution in the form of scholarships and bursaries.
• Scholarships (2xxxxx) – Where we, as a university, record all transactions associated with donated or endowment generated funds that are restricted for student aid (i.e. scholarships and bursaries)
• Plant & Capital Projects (9xxxxx) – Where we, as a university, record all transactions associated with funds expended on fixed assets (e.g. equipment, buildings) and major renovations/repairs.
• Special Purpose (26xxxx) – Where we, as a university, record all transactions associated with donations or interest earned on Endowments for specific endeavors, other than those noted above (e.g. lecture series).
• Funds in Trust (FIT) (8xxxxx) – Where we, as a university, record all transactions associated with funds created when an outside organization provides money to be administered by ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University on their behalf.
• Externally Sponsored Research (3xxxxx) – Where we, as a university, record all transactions associated with research activities that are funded by external granting agencies (e.g. NSERC, SSHRC)
• Internally Restricted Research/Enterprise (18xxxx) – Where we, as a university, record all transactions associated with research related activities that are funded by the university’s own funds as well as various commercial activities.
• Restricted Non-Research Grants & Contracts (7xxxxx) – Where we, as a university, record all transactions associated with externally sponsored non-research activities, such as professional development

The Take Away?

It is important to get your Fund Code right and know the policies and/or laws that apply to your fund!

Where do I find more information?

Further information on funds contact financial.services@carleton.ca Ěý´Ç°ůĚýaccounting@carleton.ca.

Next week, we’re putting the ‘O’ in FOAPAL. Stay tuned!

Links to Related Tips: