MONITORING AND EXPENDING YOUR FUNDS
A “Mini-Workshop” memo for Collection Managers
August 5, 2003
Collection managers receive printed fund status reports, however, printed reports are quickly out of date. More current fund data is available on OSCAR. But even online fund data is not "real time." Data is updated once daily when financial transactions are posted. Posted transactions change funds due to encumbering orders, payment of invoices, cancelations, and movement of money between funds.
How can available funds drop so much from one day to the next?
A frequent reason is that people prepare multiple order requests at one time. Since ORTs are searched and vended in the order received, the ORTs in the batch tend to be encumbered one after the other. The following morning when financial transactions are posted, the fund may drop by hundreds, even thousands, of dollars.
Why did my funds drop so much when I haven't sent any ORTs recently?
Money is not encumbered until an order is actually placed. If there is a delay (vendor doesn't respond, need more info.), money won't be encumbered until the problem is resolved. Through-put time will vary. ORTs are collected in MOD once daily, Monday-Friday, and the serial ORTs are forwarded to SER. A rush request may be encumbered in as little as 24 hours. Typically, expect a delay of 2-3 weeks from keying an ORT to the time funds will be encumbered and appear online. The number of ORTs sent to the Monographs Dept. ranges from as low as 900 (July) to over 2200 (May). In months with holidays, illness/vacation, and high volume (Oct-Jan, May-June), it may take up to 3 weeks to process ORTs, encumber, and post funds.
How do I know if my ORT has been placed and encumbered yet?
View the Order Record on OSCAR.
- If Order STATUS is "1" (pending): order has not been released or encumbered
- If Order STATUS is "o" (on order): amount listed in EPRICE (estimated price) has been encumbered on the fund listed in the FUND field
Is there a strategy for which funds to encumber first?
Yes! Monitoring funds throughout the year is an art. Although situations vary, encumber funds with deadlines first, later moving to funds with more flexibility. Not all fund managers have all types of funds.
1. Research foundation funds must be expended (not just encumbered) by a deadline or the money is lost. As soon as you get RF allocations, begin to order on them, selecting items that have a good chance of being received before the end of the fiscal year around mid-June.
2. Endowments must be expended/encumbered by May when the free balance is returned to principal (see previous CM Upate). Begin ordering on endowments as soon as you receive notice of the interest posted to the fund in the Fall.
3. UNIT and FRIENDS funds are the most flexible and carry forward year to year. After encumbering research and endowment funds, begin to expend your "1" funds.
At what rate should funds be encumbered throughout the year?
1. Research and endowment funds should be encumbered/expended as early in the fiscal year as possible.
2. Unit and Friends funds ("1", "2" and "F" funds)
Review the allocation at the beginning of the year and divide by 12. Set yourself a target of encumbering that amount (1/12th) each month from July-June. If you are expending more than 1/12 of your approval funds per month, you will need to move money from your "1" funds to cover approval receipts for the rest of the year.
Although it may not look like it, additional money was added to "1" funds this fiscal year. This move depleted funds the CDO formerly retained to assist with special purchases. That means there is no extra money this year to "bail out" funds or provide much additional support for unexpected collection opportunities. As a result, careful planning is especially important this year.
How do I view funds on OSCAR?
Collection managers are passworded to view fund data. If you are not, contact Nancy Helmick. Log in OSCAR with a technical (non-public) login. At Main Menu, select:
M > MANAGEMENT information
F > FUND reports
Funds are arranged by individual name and by a combined FUNDS BY TYPE report. To view your funds, key the number by your name.
62 > HAMILTON, MARSHA
Displays will vary because not all collection managers have funds of each type. There are five types:
| APPROPRIATION | EXPENDITURE | ENCUMBRANCE | FREE | |
| BALANCE | ||||
| 1> UNIT | $7776.86 | $149.64 | $756.58 | $6870.64 |
| 2> ENDOWMENT | $1000.00 | $45.47 | $255.23 | $69.93 |
| 3> FRIENDS | $43.12 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $43.12 |
| 4> RESEARCH FOUNDATION | $4000.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $4000.00 |
| 5> CONTINUATION | $399.70 | $2000.00 | $12.59 | -$1612.89 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ||||
| TOTAL | $13219.68 | $3195.11 | $1024.40 | $9370.80 |
Select 1-5 to view individual fund names and balances within that type. For UNITS:
| UNIT | (2) APPROPRIATION | EXPENDITURE | ENCUMBRANCE | FREE BALANCE |
| 1> los1 | $6,776.86 | $128.88 | $756.58 | $5,891.40 |
| 2> los2 | $1,000.00 | $20.76 | $0.00 | $979.24 |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ||||
| TOTAL | $7,776.86 | $149.64 | $756.58 | $6,870.64 |
What do the headings mean?
Appropriation = Total of money allocated to you at the beginning of each year + positive or negative carry-forward (you under-spent or over-spent that fund the previous fiscal year) + money moved between funds (Ex: approval "2" funds remaining at the end of the fiscal year are moved to your "1" funds). You are notified in July of your allocations.
Expenditure = Amount actually paid for an item. This is the PAID field found at the bottom of order records. Can include discounts or extra charges; may end up being more or less than the encumbrance EPRICE (the estimate of cost at time of order).
Encumbrance = Money set aside to pay for an order that has been placed. This is the EPRICE found in order records. Money set aside may not be the exact price we eventually pay. For example: We encumber $29.95 for a book but the expenditure may be $32.94, which includes the $2.99 postage billed on the invoice.
Free Balance = Amount of money you have available to place more ORTs. [Note: Always view the FREE balance report. CASH balance is misleading because it only subtracts paid invoices from the allocation, not outstanding encumbrances.]
Can I view a fund that is not mine?
There are two ways you can view any active fund. Check under the fund manager's name or view all active funds in the system under:
22 > FUNDS BY TYPE
I don't have enough money to buy everything I need to support my areas. What can I do?
Most collection managers will need to make thoughtful collection decisions this year. There is not enough money to purchase everything we want or need to make OSUL's collections as comprehensive as possible. If you have concerns or questions, please talk with Jim Bracken. Also consider stretching your purchasing power by not requesting duplicate copies for OSU of titles available via OhioLINK.
I have too much in some funds and too little in others. Who do I contact to move money between funds?
Jim Bracken is the only person who can authorize movement of money between funds. Not all funds have that flexibility. Tschera Connell can answer questions on limitations of particular funds (endowments, research funds, etc.) and whether money can be moved from one to another. In general, money is usually moved between "1" and "2" funds. You can contact Marsha Hamilton if you want to discuss strategies for how much money to move to cover firm orders or approvals. However, only Jim Bracken can authorize transfers; requests must be placed directly to him.