Approving an AP Journal Voucher

   Overview   

Journal Vouchers (AP JVs) are submitted to adjust against payment requests and against purchase orders from UGAmart.

AP JVs must be budget-checked and have workflow completed by noon on the last business day of the same accounting period in which it was initiated. Any AP JVs not processed through all the approvals by the last business day of the accounting period will be deleted by Accounts Payable. This will cause the initiator to need to create new AP JVs for adjustments in the new accounting period. Timely processing is therefore essential.

AP JVs with a status of 'Valid' for budget checking impact (positively or negatively) the units' budget balance in the KK budget ledger, but will not impact the overall true fund balance in the general ledger until all approval levels are complete and the AP JV has posted. Therefore, the amount of time AP JVs remain in workflow needs to be minimized to increase efficiency and consistency across ledgers.

 

General Guidance for Approvers:

The approval step is not a rubber stamp.

  • Do not approve a transaction just because the person before you has approved.
  • As an approver, you are confirming to the best of your knowledge, that the transaction is appropriate, accurately classified with correct chartfields, and complete with respect to substantiating documentation (attachments).
  • Approvers should consult with their Chief Business Officer if they have questions about performing these responsibilities.

For further questions or more general best practices consult pages 2-3 of the Financial Review and Analysis Guide.

In this article, you will learn the steps to approve an AP Journal Voucher (JV) in the UGA Financial Management System.

JVs are posted against payment requests and charges coming from UGAmart.

1. Step 1

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First log into https://financials.onesource.uga.edu/

On the UGA Financial Management System Employee Self Service page, click the Approvals tile.

2. Step 2

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The Pending Approvals page is displayed. Transactions awaiting your approval are listed on the right side of the screen.

If you need to filter through several transaction types, click to select the transaction type on the left side of the screen.

Click Voucher to view all JVs awaiting your approval.

3. Step 3

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Click to select the JV that you want to approve.

4. Step 4

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The Payment Request page is displayed.

This page contains a summary of the transaction details, Line Details with accounting information, and any relevant attachments.

5. Step 5

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Click View Attachments.

6. Step 6

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The View Attachments pop-up window is displayed.

To view an attachment, click the file name in the Attached File field.

Example shown here: click the Close [X] button.

7. Step 7

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In the Line Details section, click to select the Voucher Line that you want to view.

Example shown here: select Voucher Line 1 .

8. Step 8

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The Distribution Lines are displayed.

Line 1 displays the amount being credited (a negative number) and its associated chartstring.

Line 2 displays the corresponding amount being debited (a positive number) and its associated chartstring

Note: The Line Details should balance to zero.

9. Step 9

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By scrolling to the right, you can view the rest of the chartstring(s).

Example shown here: you are fixing an issue with a chartstring, moving the amount from the original chartstring (Line 1) to the correct chartstring (Line 2). 

10. Step 10

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When you are done, click the Close [x] button.

11. Step 11

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In the Approver Comments field, you can see comments from other approvers associated with this JV.

12. Step 12

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Click the Approval Chain button.

13. Step 13

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The Approval Chain pop-up window is displayed. You can review the approvers at each level as well as the comments of any approvers before you in workflow. 

In the Spend Approval - Pool 1 section, click on the Multiple Approvers link.

14. Step 14

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The Approver Information window is displayed with the names of the approvers in the selected pool.

Click the Back [<] button in the top left of the window.

15. Step 15

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Click the Close [X] button to return to the Journal Voucher.

16. Step 16

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Click the More button to see more options available.

17. Step 17

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To place a payment request on hold, you would click the Hold button. This might be used if you need to obtain additional information from the initiator about the transaction. Hold will "lock out" other approvers until you make an approval decision.

Note: Pushback is greyed out because it is not available for Journal Vouchers.

Example shown here: you will be approving the Journal Voucher.

18. Step 18

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Click the Approve button.

19. Step 19

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A pop-up window is displayed. Enter comments in the Approver Comments field to support or justify your decision.

Enter "Approved" in the Approver Comments field.

20. Step 20

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Click the Submit button.
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