Accounting

Chart of Accounts Account Codes New DeptIDs DeptID Tracking Expense Transfers Fiscal Year End Close

Chart of Accounts

The Friedman School chart of accounts is organized based on the structure outlined in the following table. Revenue and expenses are allocated to the appropriate DeptID within one of the following DeptNum categories. Budget Managers have access to the DeptNum and/or DeptIDs for which they are responsible. Annual operating fund DeptIDs are structured as NXXX1XX and multi-year DeptIDs are structured as NXXX2XX so that they are easily identifiable on the School's financial reports.

DeptNum	Description
N110	Dean's Office
N120	EAD's Office
N130	Business Operations
N140	Communications
N150	Student Affairs Office
N160	Faculty Affairs Office
N180	Career Services
N202	Student Support & Scholarships
N203	Professorships
N210	Instruction
N211	Tuition
N221	Annual Fund Revenue
N3XX	Faculty Research and Gift Funds
N4XX	CO180 Research and Gift Funds
N5XX	Feinstein Center Research and Gift Funds
N601	John Hancock Gift Funds
N900	Student Agency Fund

Account Codes

To streamline transaction reconciliation and to facilitate reporting and analysis, the Finance Office created a table of account codes to be used when reconciling Apptricity, pcard, Marketplace, eReq or other financial transactions. (Please make sure you are signed into Box when attempting to view the account code table). If these account codes do not meet your needs, please contact Courtney King.

Requesting a New DeptID and/or Grant Number 

New DeptIDs are generated when a new endowment, unrestricted gift, annual fund, or operating fund is identified. Please submit new DeptID requests to Courtney King. Please work with your SRA for all new grant numbers.

DeptID Tracking

The Finance Office uses Excel reports within shared Box folders to monitor and track financial activity on the school’s deptIDs. These reports are updated monthly or bi-monthly to reflect year-to-date activity and relevant notes. Budget Managers have access to the appropriate DeptID report folders on Box. If you have any questions about any transactions you see, or those you don’t expect to see, please contact Sharon Grant or Kenji Thrash-Correia based on their portfolio assignments.

​Expense Transfers

Expense transfers are used to move an expense(s) from one DeptID to another and/or from one account code to another. Post Award refers to sponsored research related expense transfers as cost transfers. Expense transfers are used to move expenses to the correct funding source after being posted to an incorrect funding source or account code. Please work with Sharon Grant should there be an expense that needs to be moved within DeptIDs. Please work with your SRA for all sponsored-related expense transfers.

Fiscal Year End Close

The fiscal year runs from July-June. All transactions charged to operating and/or gift funds must be submitted to TSS prior to June 1st to ensure they are processed by June 30th. Transactions submitted after June 1st will be charged to following fiscal year's budget. Expenses that need to move between a grant and a deptID must be submitted to Post Award by June 1st. Please contact the Finance Office or the Research Administration team with questions.

Travel, Purchasing, and Payments

Travel Pcard & Travel Cards Purchasing Overview Vendor Setup Purchase Orders Consultant Agreements Invoicing Other Payments

Travel 

Questions about the University's international travel policies? Find your answers and links to relevant resources here.

Pcard and Travel Cards 

Requests for a Pcard and/or a Travel Card are routed for approval through AccessTufts. Please be sure to review the Pcard and Travel card policies on AccessTufts and the Friedman School's finance policies before making purchases. Cardholders are responsible for abiding by the policies, even when delegating surrogate access to an administrative contact, and are responsible for confirming the funding source prior to making a purchase.

Each transaction needs to be reviewed for accuracy by the cardholder to ensure it is valid, then redirected to the appropriate funding source(s) and account code, add a justification statement and upload a receipt. Passively letting transactions sweep to the pcard default coding is not proper reconciliation.

Pcard transactions must be reconciled within 21 days of the purchase date.

Travel Card transactions should be reconciled within 30 days of the purchase date.

Please contact the Finance Office or the appropriate SRA should you have questions.

Purchasing Overview

Review the purchasing of goods and services flowchart for details on the purchasing process.

Vendor Setup

Vendors are set up in PeopleSoft via PaymentWorks. Please work with the finance office to initiate a PaymentWorks invite as needed. Purchase orders cannot be generated and invoices cannot be processed if the vendor is not set up in PeopleSoft.

Contract Setup

Contracts, agreements, statements of work, etc. must be reviewed, approved, and signed by the Purchasing office. Please submit all contract requests related to operating and/or gift funds through Jaggaer. Please work directly with your SRA on contracts supported by sponsored researching funding.

Purchase Orders

Purchase orders are required for all goods and services purchased via an invoice. Purchase orders are generated through the eReq module in PeopleSoft. A quote, agreement, and/or proposal is required for a purchase order to be processed and approved by the central university Purchasing office.

A purchase order must be set up prior to a purchase being made. Please work with purchasing to ensure that they have reviewed and approved agreements, SOWs, proposals, etc. prior to engaging the vendor(s) services. Make sure to confirm that funds are available in your budget for the expense prior to requesting a purchase order.

Purchase Orders Under $5k

• Submit the Under $5k Purchase Order Request form directly to TSS
• TSS will generate a purchase order on you behalf
• Please refer to the purchasing of goods and services flowchart for additional details

Purchase Orders Over $5k

• Submit a contract request directly to Purchasing via Jaggaer
• Submit a purchase order request via the link below
• Please refer to the purchasing of goods and services flowchart for additional details

Purchase Order Requests

Purchase order requests over $5k will be submitted by the finance office within 7 days of the request. Please contact our office with questions. 

Please work directly with your Senior Research Administrator on purchase orders funded from sponsored research funds.

Invoicing

All invoices must reference a purchase order number for payment to be processed by TSS. Invoices should be sent directly to TSS by the vendor for processing. Tufts uses Medius, an electronic invoicing platform to process invoice approvals and payment. Details on Medius and the invoicing process are outlined on AccessTufts. Vendors should be directed to TSS for payment inquiries. Please work with the Friedman School finance office should you require assistance with an invoice.

Check Vouchers

Check voucher requests are processed via PeopleSoft Financials. One staff member from each office or research team should have access to submit check voucher requests. Please be in touch with the Sharon Grant to determine if you need access.

Check Voucher Processing Steps:

• The requestor will initiate the check voucher request in PeopleSoft Financials.  
• TSS will review the check voucher request and send a PaymentWorks invitation to the person to be paid.
• Once the person to be paid has completed their PaymentWorks registration, TSS will approve the check voucher. Both the person to be paid and the requester will receive confirmation emails.
  • If the person to be paid does not respond to the PaymentWorks request, TSS will reach out to the payee.  If there are continued delays, the requestor may be asked to reach out as well.
• TSS will issue payment in the next available check run. Check Voucher payments are typically issued on Thursdays each week.  

Review the check voucher workflow for additional details.   

Please note the following:

• Please refer to the TSS Check Voucher Guidance for information on when to process payment via check voucher for an employee, student, or outside party. Details on payment type, account codes, and supporting documentation are also included in the guidance.
• Approval and payment status can be reviewed via the payment detail tab in the check voucher inquiry module within PeopleSoft.
• Check voucher recipients can indicate their preferred method of payment (direct deposit or check) during PaymentWorks registration. Please refer to the PaymentWorks FAQs for additional guidance.
• Please be sure to attach an Nonresident Alien Payment form to the check voucher request for international payees. 
• Please attach a wire transfer form to the check voucher request as applicable.

Student Payments

Stipends Scholarships Hourly Workers Reimbursements

Stipends

PhD and Masters student stipends are awarded at the time of acceptance to the Friedman School. The Office of Student Affairs provides stipend recipients with a letter outlining the details of their award. Courtney King manages the pay records for all student stipends. Incoming students who have been awarded a stipend will receive a message from Courtney prior to the start of their first semester outlining the documentation required to initiate payment and providing the details of when to expect payment.

The FY22 stipend rate is $30,000 per academic year for PhD students. Stipend payments are processed semi-monthly on the 15th and 30th of every month.

Scholarships

Tuition scholarships are typically awarded to PhD and Masters students at the time of acceptance. The Office of Student Affairs provides scholarship recipients with a letter outlining the details of their scholarship award. Scholarships are typically applied to student SIS accounts prior to the start of each semester. Courtney King works with the Office of Student Affairs to manage scholarships. 

Hourly Workers

See the Hiring, Payroll, and HR Processes page section on Student hires to learn more about hiring a student on an hourly basis.

Reimbursements

Whenever possible, it is recommended to work with a pcard or travel card holder or with TSS so that a student does not have to pay expenses out of pocket. When this situation does arise, students can be reimbursed through the student/non-employee reimbursement process. Faculty coordinators and certain research project staff members have access to do so, as does Sharon Grant.

Payroll, Hiring, and Time Off

Payroll

Please refer to the Hiring, Payroll, and HR Processes page section on Timesheets and Time Submission for details about payroll processes. 

Hiring

Please refer to the Hiring, Payroll, and HR Processes page section on Hiring for details about hiring options and processes. 

Time Off

Please refer to the Hiring, Payroll, and HR Processes page section on Time Off for details about time off management and related processes. 

Training

Systems Training Sessions

TSS offers training sessions on many of the systems used for financial transactions. Check the AccessTufts Finance Training page for details and upcoming sessions.

Friedman School 101 Series

Finance trainings are offered through the Friedman School 101 series. 

lease refer to the Administrative Initiatives page for a full listing of the Friedman School 101 sessions. Questions and feedback can be directed to Courtney King.

Research Administration Training

See the Sponsored Research Administration training section for additional resources on research administration-related training.

Other Training

See the HR training and development section for additional resources on research administration-related training.

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Hiring and Onboarding Students Temps Who to Contact Check Vouchers Purchasing and Invoicing Pcards and Travel Cards

Hiring and Onboarding Hourly Students and Hourly Direct Temporary Workers

1. Where do I begin?

Please visit the Hiring and Appointments tab on the Hiring, Payroll, and HR Processes administrative webpage. The processes for hiring students and temps are outlined in detail. The recording of this year's student employment session led by Courtney King and Sharon Grant is also available for viewing.

 

2. How many hours can a student work during the academic year v. the summer?

It's recommended that students do not exceed 20 hours per week during the academic year and 40 hours per week during the summer months. Students should discuss working opportunities with their academic advisors to ensure that academic milestones continue to be met while working International students should consult with the International Center to review visa working requirements and/or restrictions before accepting employment.

 

3. What is the turnaround time for hourly student and direct temp hiring?

It can take up to two weeks to onboard students and up to four weeks to onboard direct temps. Please allow for ample lead time to ensure the student and/or temp request is processed prior to the start date. Additional details are outlined in detail on the Hiring and Appointments tab on the Hiring, Payroll, and HR Processes adminstrative webpage.

 

4. I'm an international student/temp and need guidance completing payroll related documentation. Who should I contact for assistance?

Please contact the International Center.

 

5. How do I submit retroactive payroll hours?

Please submit hours via the timesheet portal and email Sharon Grant with the following information. Retroactive hours will not automatically be paid.

• Total number of retroactive hours
• Pay Period(s) (Ex. 8/1-8/6)

How long will it take for my request to fully process?

HR/Finance Transactions	Friedman School Finance Office Turnaround Time	Estimated Overall Turnaround Time
Hiring Hourly Students	up to 7 days*	up to 2 weeks (not including onboarding)
Hiring Hourly Direct Temps	24-48 hours	up to 4 weeks (not including onboarding)
Hiring Teaching Assistants	2 weeks prior to the start of the semester	up to 2 weeks (not including onboarding)
Processing PhD Stipend Payments Via Payroll	2 weeks prior to the start of the semester	up to 2 weeks (not including onboarding)
Vendor Setup-Purchase Orders Under $5k	N/A	up to 7 days (contact TSS directly)
Vendor Setup-Purchase Orders Over $5k	3-7 days	3 to 7 days (dependent on vendor completing PaymentWorks process)
Vendor Setup-Check Vouchers	N/A	up to 7 days (contact TSS directly)
Purchase Orders	3-7 days	up to 4 weeks (depending on purchasing negotiations)
Invoice Processing	N/A	net terms are 45 days from the invoice date (direct all inquiries to TSS)
Check Vouchers	3-7 days	up to 7 days (contact TSS directly)
Non-sponsored Expense Transfers	3-7 days	between 5 and 7 days

*Please allow for additional time at the start of each semester due to high volume.

Do I contact TSS or the Friedman School finance office?

Issue	Who to Contact
I never received the pre-provisioning onboarding email from TSS.	TSS
I am unable to access Eserve.	TSS
I am unable to sign in or log into the timesheet portal.	Friedman School Finance Office
I was not paid for hours I submitted in the timesheet portal.	Friedman School Finance Office
It's been two weeks and I haven't received an update on the status of my student hire.	Friedman School Finance Office
I'm a direct temp hire and I haven't received the background check email from Infomart.	TSS
It's been four weeks and I haven't received an update on the status of my direct temp hire.	Friedman School Finance Office

 

Check Vouchers

1. Are check vouchers issued via check or wire payment?

Check voucher payments are issued via check unless payment is being issued to an internationally based payee. Payments for internationally based payees are issued via wire payment.

 

2. What's the turnaround time for a check voucher payment? How long is the turnaround time after Sharon submits the request to TSS?

Sharon submits check voucher requests to TSS for processing within seven days. TSS can process the payment as quickly as two to three days upon receipt of the submission from Sharon if the payee has completed the PaymentWorks vendor onboarding process. Payment cannot be processed if the PaymentWorks process is incomplete.

 

3. Who may submit a check voucher request?

Faculty and/or staff can submit check voucher requests. Students and temp workers cannot submit check voucher requests.

 

4. What supporting documentation is needed for a check voucher request?

• For awards, prizes, fellowships & scholarships: a letter to the student.
• For an honorarium: an invitation or acceptance letter, syllabus, or advertisement of visitor.
• For study participants: a listed study name or IRB number with other documentation maintained in school/research program.

 

Purchasing and Invoicing

1. Where do I begin?

Please refer to the Purchasing of Goods and Services workflow on the Finance administrative webpage. Additional details are highlighted on the webpage.

 

2. What's the turnaround time for a purchase order to generate?

A purchase order cannot be approved without a fully executed agreement or a quote and/or a proposal. It can take several weeks for purchasing to fully execute an agreement. Please allow significant lead time to ensure the agreement is approved prior to the time of purchase so that a PO can generate and the invoice can be processed timely. POs can take one to two weeks on average to route through the approval process for purchases over $5k. POs under $5k will be processed within one week of the request.

 

3. Who needs to complete the PaymentWorks process?

New vendors need to complete the PaymentWorks process. The finance office will initiate the PaymentWorks invitation for the vendor. A PO will not be generated until the vendor completes the PaymentWorks process.

 

4. A vendor is asking me for a payment update. What should I do?

Please refer the vendor to TSS for the status of payment.

 

Purchasing Cards and Travel Cards

I'm having trouble remember to reconcile my Pcard transactions by the cutoff date. Any suggestions?

We recommend using calendar reminders in Outlook to ensure expenses are reconciled by the cutoff date(s). Please refer to the Finance webpage for more details about purchasing card and travel card reconciliation.

Additional FAQs regarding purchasing and travel cards can be found on the Sponsored Research Administration webpage.