Purpose of this Article: This solution article provides the content presented at the New User Budget Performance & Measurement System (BPMS) Refresh FY22 & FY23 held January 7, 2021. This article also includes questions and answers from the live event, and how to view the recording in SF Learning.
Audience: BPMS New Users
Author: Alexis Cruz Eusebio
Version/Update Date: 1.1 / 1/28/2021
The Office of the Controller’s Budget & Analysis Division held the New User Budget System Refresh FY22 and FY23 on January 7, 2021. The content presented is attached at the bottom of this solution article.
You can also enroll into the ‘CON0BS101-NEW Budget 102 - New User Budget System Refresh FY22 and FY23’ course to view the content, which is under the CONS-Budget Category of the Learning Catalog in SF Learning. For instructions, see the Searching for a class and course in SF Learning (2 methods to find a course and class) solution article.
Questions & Answers
Below are the questions asked during the live event and the responses BAD provided.
Q. Before asking for a new chartfield I would like to know if it hasn't been created already. How do I check for that?
A. All Chartfields are available to all departments in the budget. Many Chartfields exist in PeopleSoft that are not included in the budget, and would not be unless a department requests to "subset" the code into the budget. If you wish to see which Chartfields exist in your budget, you can either check an Chart of Accounts report, aka an "eturn," or you can look in the AllPhase tab of BPMS. If you enter a chartfield title in the AllPhase tab, it will appear if it already is available in BPMS.
Q. Will the equipment unit cost be adjusted anytime in the near future to be more than $5K including tax?
A. At this time we are not expecting that the equipment threshold $ amount will change.
Q. Would a Q position have effective payperiod 1? Understanding that we would need CON approval first.
A. Any position entry with any action or status indicator needs to have the effective starting pay period, starting year, and hours per week.
If a position was approved last year in FY21, or earlier, then yes, in BY (FY22) it would need a pay period 1 starting pay period for it to flow continuously between years.
Q. Is there a standard convention for reference number?
A. The first two digits of the reference number should correspond to the two-character department designation and the second two characters are a combination of numbers or assigned by the department (0 through 9, A through Z). If a department is unsure how to use reference numbers, please contact the Controller’s Budget Office.
Q. Does CON make any changes to the base amount once the department phase has begun?
A. We do not intend to make fringe or salary changes during department phase, as we did our best to get these into the budget in the base phase, before we open the system to departments. If we did need to make a salary or fringe benefit change during the depaartment phase, the changes would appear in every single phase, from base through department, Mayor, Finance Committee, and full Board. If we do make such a change during department phase, we will notify you ahead of time.
Q. When is the best time to run reports?
A. We recommend running reports first thing in the morning, daily.
Q. Can I view the experienced users live event?
A. Yes, presentation slides are attached to the Experienced User Budget System Refresh FY22 and FY23 solution article. You can also view the recording by self-enrolling into the ‘CON0BS102-EXP Budget 102 - Experienced User Budget System Refresh FY22 and FY23’ course under the CONS-Budget Category of the SF Learning Catalog. For instructions, see the Searching for a class and course in SF Learning (2 methods to find a course and class) solution article
Q. Why would you use an attrition entry and not a later Pay Period Effective Date?
A. Attrition does not apply to one position, just to all of the personnel budget in that part/node of a department's budget. A later pay period should only be used for a new position or an unfilled position. It the pay period is changed for an existing filled position, there will be that much less budget available for that position.
Q. Is BPMS ever closed?
A. During the department phase of the budget, departments can make entries anytime of the day or night. However, entries made after 7:00 PM won't appear in the next's days reports, and would not appear until two days after the entry. For that reason, to track entries, we recommend that entries stop by 7 PM each evening.
Q. What's the best way to easily see salary savings?
A. This depends on what you want to see. For the current year, departments use the budget vs. actuals labor report, which has three ways of projecting spending for the rest of the year.
In the budget, the total personnel budget is the sum of budgeted position costs + the negative savings from attrition and step savings. To isolate the savings portion, then you would sum the attrition and step savings salaries and benefits only. Please keep in mind that this "savings" is just reflecting a reduction to the budget. It is not the same as savings based on not spending the total approved budget.
Q. Can this presentation be shared with all training participants for future reference?
A. Yes, presentation slides are attached to the New User Budget System Refresh FY22 and FY23 solution article. You can also view the recording by self-enrolling into the ‘CON0BS101-NEW Budget 102 - New User Budget System Refresh FY22 and FY23 ’ course under the CONS-Budget Category of the SF Learning Catalog. For instructions, see the Searching for a class and course in SF Learning (2 methods to find a course and class) solution article
There is also a Budget Performance and Management System 101 course in SF Learning. In SF Learning, either search for "Budget Performance and Management System 101" or go to the Learning Catalog and look for "Budget Performance and Management System 101" under the CONS-Budget category. Finally, you can find this year's Budget Instructions by searching for "Budget Instructions" in the Reports section on the Controller website. The Budget Instructions have many of these same instructions contained in them, plus more.
Q. What fiscal year are we entering for in the department phase.
A. You will be making budget entries for two years, Fiscal Year 2021-22, which is referred to as budget year or "BY" in the budget system, and Fiscal Year 2022-23, which is referred to as budget year plus 1, or "BY+1" in the budget system.
In budget reports, the current year is referred to as "CY," which is Fiscal Year 2020-21. The prior year is referred to as "PY" in reports, which is Fiscal Year 2019-20.
Questions?
For more information about the content presented at the New User Budget System Refresh FY22 and FY23, please contact your department’s BAD Analyst.