This guide explains several common scenarios for using the Budget Overview feature in NUFinancials to find project budgets and actuals.
Navigate to the Budget Overview Search
- Login to NUFinancials: nufin.northwestern.edu.
- From the Main Menu, click on the Navigator compass > Navigator > Commitment Control > Review Budget Activities > Budget Overview.
Create a new Budget Overview Search
- Click the Add a New Value tab.
- Each subsequent time you return to the Budget Overview, you can find the searches that you created with the Find an Existing Value tab.
- Type an Inquiry Name.
- There are 10 characters maximum.
- Do not use spaces in the name. You may use the underscore _ instead (shown above).
- Do not use symbols.
- Click Add. Result: the Budget Inquiry Criteria page appears.
Complete the Budget Inquiry Criteria page in seven steps that vary per your search scenario. Explanations follow below.
Search 1: Grant Project Actuals by Account Code
This search answers the question "What were the expenses for an account code on a grant?" Beginning on the Budget Inquiry Criteria page, complete the following steps.
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Field / Function
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Step
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1
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Description
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Enter a description to help you recognize the search in the future.
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2
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Ledger Group
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Type or select KK_DETAIL.
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3
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Type of Calendar
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Select Detail Accounting Period to enter a customized date range (grant budget year), or select Detail Budget Period to search by fiscal year.
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4
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Budget Period
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Year / Accounting Period
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Enter a date range corresponding to the Type of Calendar.
- If selecting Detail Budget Period, leave the defaults in the From Budget Period and To Budget Period fields.
- If selecting Detail Accounting Period, in the From Year and From Period fields, enter the fiscal year and month that coincide with the beginning of the grant budget year. In the To Year and To Period fields, enter the fiscal year and month that coincide with the end of the grant budget year.
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5
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ChartFields
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Enter your chart string search criteria.
- Delete the % sign in the Account fields, and type the account number to view expenses. Or leave the % sign in the Account fields to view all expenses for all account codes.
- Delete the % sign in the Project fields, and type the project number in both Project fields. Only those budgets you have permission to view appear.
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6
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Save
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Click Save. NUFinancials validates the search criteria.
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7
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Search
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Click Search. All budgets that meet your search criteria appear. If you do not see all your budgets, enter a higher number in the Max Rows field and then click Update. At the bottom of the page, click Return to Criteria to go back to the search criteria page. Click any hyperlink to see what transactions make up that total.
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"Why should I use this search instead of running a Cognos report?"
This search is useful because Cognos does not currently have a report that limits expenses by account code. You can also use this search to limit the data to a specific timeframe within a single grant activity period.
Search 2: Grant Project with a Custom Date Range
This search answers the question "What were the expenditures for a specific period of time?" Beginning on the Budget Inquiry Criteria page, complete the following steps.
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Field / Function
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Step
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1
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Description
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Enter a description to help you recognize the search in the future.
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2
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Ledger Group
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Type or select KK_PRJ_DT.
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3
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Type of Calendar
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Select Detail Accounting Period.
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4
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From / To
Year / Period
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Enter a date range corresponding to the Type of Calendar.
- In the From Year and From Period fields, enter the start fiscal year and month. In the To Year and To Period fields, enter the end fiscal year and month. This is the stop date for the data results.
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5
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ChartFields
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Enter chart string search criteria.
- Delete the % sign in the Project fields, and then type your project number in both Project fields.
- Only those budgets you have permission to view will appear.
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6
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Save
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Click Save. NUFinancials validates the search criteria.
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7
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Search
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Click Search. All budgets that meet your search criteria appear.
- If you do not see all your budgets, enter a higher number in the Max Rows field and then click Update.
- At the bottom of the page, click Return to Criteria to go back to the search criteria page.
- Click any hyperlink to see what transactions make up that total.
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"Why should I use this search instead of running a Cognos report?"
- The Cognos GM045 provides data summarized by inception-to-date, fiscal year, or activity period. However, it cannot limit the data to a specific time period within a single activity period for sponsored projects.
- Note that the Budget Overview data does not include F&A on encumbrances. It must be manually calculated.
Search 3: Grant Project and Activity Period
This search answers the question "What are the expenditures during an activity period of the grant?" Beginning on the Budget Inquiry Criteria page, complete the following steps.
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Field / Function
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Step
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1
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Description
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Enter a description to help you recognize the search in the future.
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2
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Ledger Group
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Type or select KK_PRJ_DT.
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3
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Type of Calendar
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Select Detail Budget Period.
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4
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Budget Period
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Don't change anything in this area. The values are auto-populated.
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5
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ChartFields
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Enter your chart string search criteria. Only those budgets you have permission to view appear.
- If a project has only one activity period, then search results are inception-to-date. Delete the % sign in the Project fields, and then type your project number in both fields. Project is the only required ChartField.
- If a project has more than one activity period, results include data for the activity period(s) you specify. Delete the % signs in the Project fields, and type the project number in both fields. Type the 2-digit activity code(s) in both Activity fields. You may enter the same activity code or a range of activity codes.
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6
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Save
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Click Save. NUFinancials validates the search criteria.
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7
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Search
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Click Search. All budgets that meet your search criteria appear.
- If you do not see all your budgets, enter a higher number in the Max Rows field and then click Update.
- Click Return to Criteria to go back to the search page.
- Click any hyperlink for additional detail.
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"What is the difference between this search and Cognos report GM045?"
- Budget Overview data does not include F&A on encumbrances. This data is current as of the moment you search.
- The Cognos GM045 does calculate F&A on encumbrances. This data is current as of the night before.
Search 4: Designated Projects and Associated Revenue
Designated projects without revenue budgets may occasionally bring in revenue. With this search, you can see Associated Revenue and check balances on designated project budgets. Beginning on the Budget Inquiry Criteria page, complete the following steps.
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Field / Function
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Step
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1
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Description
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Enter a description to help you recognize the search in the future.
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2
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Ledger Group/Set
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Select Ledger Inquiry Set from drop-down menu then click magnifying glass next to Ledger Inquiry set field. Choose EXP_REV_DT for detail level inquiries or EXP_REV_PR for summary level inquiries. Associated Revenue is represented in the Recognized Revenue field on Inquiry Results page
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3
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Type of Calendar
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Select Detail Budget Period.
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4
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Budget Period
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Don't change anything in this area. The values are auto-populated.
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5
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ChartFields
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Enter your chart string search criteria. You can search for projects using Department IDs, Project IDs, or both. Only project budgets included in your row level security will appear.
- Delete the % sign in the Fund, Dept, and Project fields.
- Type 171 in both Fund fields.
- Type one Department ID into both Dept fields, or type a range.
- Or type one Project ID into both Project fields, or type a range.
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6
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Save
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Click Save. NUFinancials validates the search criteria.
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7
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Search
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Click Search. All budgets that meet your search criteria appear.
- If you do not see all your budgets, enter a higher number in the Max Rows field and then click Update.
- Click Return to Criteria to go back to the search page.
- Click any hyperlink for additional detail.
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Ledger Inquiry Sets allow Expense and Revenue data to be viewed in parallel within same search. All details about the revenue transactions that comprise Associated (Recognized) Revenue are accessible in search results.
Appendix A: Totaling Budget Categories in Excel
The Budget Overview enables you to export data to Excel and manipulate the data just as you would any spreadsheet.
In order to see totals by budget category, export the result of your search to Excel. Then sort the data by the Account column. Total the Budget, Expense, Encumbrance, Pre-Encumbrance, and Available Budget columns.
A sample is shown below.
For additional assistance please contact the IT Support Center at 847-491-4357 (1-HELP) or email servicedesk@northwestern.edu.