Please share with the ConnectCarolina Finance users in your school/division. Updates are sent on an as-needed basis.
Top Issues
NEW! OSR Reports Webinar Online: OSR Invoice Listing Report & GL Expense and Budget Reports Webinar Recording now Available: The webinar held November 2nd discusses two new OSR reports for campus users. Learn about the OSR Invoice Listing report that lists all the invoices that have been provided to sponsors. This report helps you with award and contract closeout. We will also discuss the OSR Contract GL Expense and Budget report which shows the balance of a project based on approved, completed transactions. View the webinar.
NEW! Month-End Close Information:
November/December Month-End Close Deadlines: Validated campus journal entries and data collect batches (journal imports) should be received by Accounting Services by close of business (5 p.m.) on Wednesday, November 30 for November and Friday, December 23 for December. Please remember that accounting will not receive the journal entries until the journal has been budget checked valid and has passed through all required approvals (including OSR, if necessary).
It is critical that journal imports with state funds are submitted on or before this date. Valid entries received past deadline, including valid entries pending departmental approval or with error status, will be deleted from the system.
Month End Close Clarification: Accounting Services targets the fourth (and no later than the fifth) business day of the month for month-end close and submits data to the State. State funds data may be affected after the fifth business day. Final approval is announced regularly in ConnectCarolina Finance Updates and via the ConnectCarolina portal page. Final month-end close is announced after the State accepts the data and is certified by the Controller’s office.
Trust F&A and State Budget Transaction Guidelines:
- State: State fund budget transactions should be submitted to the Budget, Planning and Analysis Office one day prior to the end of the month to have sufficient time for posting in the month. Please be aware some State budget transactions do not route to Central Office for approval and posting: it will be up to you to monitor and see those approved and posted. With the closing of the month’s activity, budget transactions will be deleted on the first working day in the following month. An email will be sent to alert you of budget entries that have not posted.
- Trust: Trust budget transactions (journals/transfers) should be budget pre-checked, approved by department, and submitted to Accounting Services for approval one day prior to the end of the month. Please note that trust budget transactions not received by Accounting Services before month-end, will be deleted by Accounting Services.
- F&A: Please be aware F&A budget transactions do not route to Central Office for approval and posting, it will be up to you to monitor and see that transactions have been approved and posted.
Helpful Hint: Budget Pre-checking all budget transactions will catch errors and help Central Offices approve and post more efficiently.
Month-end close deadlines are continually updated on the Accounting Services webpage, so check there in between updates for the latest info.
REMINDER! 2-Step Verification and Online W-2 Access: A reminder that 2-Step Verification, a process to secure and safeguard personal information and vital University data and credentials, is now used for online W-2 access. More information about online W-2 access and other employee tax form info can be found on the Online Employee Tax Forms webpage.
REMINDER! Subscribing to Business Managers listserv: Finance and accounting personnel who would like to subscribe to the business managers listserv can do so by following the instructions at https://finance.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/298/2016/09/joinbusinessmgr.pdf.
REMINDER! UNC Print Stop and Copy Center Payments: Last week, we shared information about an upcoming change to the payment procedure for Print Stop and Copy Center. Effective December 1, UNC Print Stop and Copy Center will require a full chartfield string on all online and in store departmental orders for printing, copying, business cards, and stationery.
Questions
Users should utilize the Business Systems Help Desk when they are unsure who to contact for issue resolution. This is the fastest way to obtain assistance and allows the project team to be able to track issues to determine the scale of the impact to all users. Users can reach the Business Systems Help Desk at 919-962-HELP or via a remedy ticket submitted online at help.unc.edu (select ConnectCarolina > ConnectCarolina Finance > the appropriate area of concern).
Suggestions for content can be emailed to financecomm@unc.edu.