Overview of PeopleSoft General Ledger

PeopleSoft Financials for Public Sector is a powerful and flexible financial application that provides users with a variety of processes to meet their needs. The current PeopleSoft General Ledger system has been designed specifically to meet the process and information needs of Georgetown University staff who rely on accurate and timely financial information.

Peoplesoft General Ledger was designed to support multiple business functions such as expense reporting, project accounting, allocations, consolidations, financial forecasting, and more.

Peoplesoft applications store information in tables. There are two types of tables used by Peoplesoft:

Transaction Tables store information (or data) about day to day business activity. Transaction data will vary depending on the Peoplesoft application. For example, the General Ledger application will record journal entries as day to day activity. The number of transactions recorded in any Peoplesoft application can be very large and require that transactions be subdivided into Business Units. Business Units gather transactions in logical groupings that reflect how your business operations are subdivided. Georgetown University will use a single business unit "UNIV" to track general ledger transactions.

Control Tables store information that defines accounting structure and processing rules that are used when a business transaction is recorded. This includes Chartfield values, calendars, ledgers, timespans, etc. The information in a control table is used to build the transactions recorded by Peoplesoft. For example, the General Ledger application would use the chart of accounts (Chartfields) listed in control tables to record journal entries in the transaction tables. Most data recorded in control tables are stored by SetID. A grouping of data that is keyed by the same SetID is called a Tableset.

Control Hierarchies

PeopleSoft uses a tool called a Control Hierarchy to enter default values. The Control Hierarchy is set up during system installation with pre-determined values that will be entered in various fields in the GL system. These fields can be updated if necessary by authorized users of the system. The biggest asset for using control hierarchies is the reduction in time for both user input and system errors.

The GL system consists of three hierarchical levels in PeopleSoft. The system uses the information specified at the highest level in the hierarchy, the business unit, unless you override it at other lower levels in the application.

Business Units (GU GL will use UNIV as business unit) sit on top of this control hierarchy to facilitate both journal entry and journal processing. Values entered at the business unit level default to the transaction level, unless you override the defaults with values stored at the intermediate level. Intermediate levels include Ledger and Source.

Business Unit – When a Business Unit is defined, a determination is made how a journal entry with errors for that business unit will be processed. Peoplesoft GL allows for these options to also be specified at the Ledger and Source level. Error processing options defined for a Ledger override those defined for a business unit, and options selected for Source override both a ledger and a business unit.

Signing onto PeopleSoft

To begin using the PeopleSoft system, double click the Peopletools icon on your desktop, as shown below:

The Signon dialog box appears. To gain access to PeopleSoft, you must enter a valid Database Name (Defaults), Operator ID (Defaults), and Password.
 
 

Once you enter the required information and click the OK button, the SQL symbol appears indicating that the system is initiating your request for access. If the information you entered is correct, the main PeopleSoft window appears.

Understanding Set IDs/Window Elements
 

SETID – What does that mean?

Setid is one of the features that makes PeopleSoft a powerful and flexible financial package. A SETID defines the accounting structure and processing rules for a business unit. The data within a SETID can be grouped into categories as follows:

Þ Descriptive Information
Þ Structures and Relationships
Þ Processing Rules
Þ Codes

Information that is stored by SetID includes:
 

SETID

A SetID is a group of tables that contain a complete set of control information for a business unit. A SetID owns and maintains a subset of data, which may be used by one business unit or shared by multiple business units.

As you enter and maintain general ledger information in PeopleSoft you are prompted to select a SetID so that transactions can be processed according to the correct set of rules or controls.

Example: All GU chart of account information is located in SetID – GUNIV

Using PeopleSoft Applications

PeopleSoft applications follow basic Windows standards for moving around, or navigating, within the application. If you have used other Windows applications, you will find it easy to open menus and windows, enter and save data, and select toolbar buttons.

PeopleSoft windows share many of the same characteristics as other Microsoft Windows applications, such as a Title Bar, Menu Bar, Toolbar, Status Bar, Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons.

Example:

Using PeopleSoft Applications

What those window elements mean from previous page:
 

Understanding Menus/Panel Groups/Action Types
 

Using Menus and Menu Items

Menus are similar in operation to toolbar icons in that they provide access to commands or functions. Using the mouse pointer to select a menu bar item is one way to view a pull-down menu. The other way to access a menu item is to hold down the ALT key and press the underlined letter of the menu you want. Once the menu is activated, use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move to the desired command, or you can use the underlined letter in each menu item. These letters are hot keys, meaning you only have to type the letter without holding the ALT key.

PeopleSoft applications, like all Microsoft Windows applications, are menu driven. Menu bar items are displayed below the title bar. Options in the menu bars vary with the application or PeopleSoft Window.

There are five menu items common to every PeopleSoft window:
 

Accessing Windows with the Start Menu

You can access any window from another window using the Start menu. If more than one window is associated with a group a cascading or hierarchical menu, also known as a sub-menu or child menu, will be attached to the right of the menu item. Menu items associated with sub-menus are marked with a small black triangle after the menu item name.

When you click a menu item, a list of choices appears. These choices are the panels and panel groups associated with the menu item. On-line panels allow you to manipulate data in the application database. Panel groups guide you to related types of activities. For example, the Process Financial Information group could lead you to as many as ten panels, as shown below.

Understanding Panel Groups

The PeopleSoft menu structure is organized around business processes to facilitate workflow and enterprise-wide solutions. From the Start menu, you select a process that reflects the activities associated with a subset of PeopleSoft application functions. For example, you choose a set of activities to Process Financial Information so you can Adjust budgets, Process Journals, Maintain Ledgers and Review Financial Information among other general ledger activities. PeopleSoft organizes data into Panels and Panel Groups. Like information can be accessed easily through the menu structure or by using the toolbar buttons.

The panel items on menus can be one panel or a set of panels, which is a panel group. Panel groups should typically be processed as if they were one item. Panels in a group are treated as a single entity when you try to save data. When you click the Save button from any panel in a panel group, data on all of the panels is committed to the database. If the system encounters a required field that you have not completed on any panel group, an error message is displayed. If you click the Cancel toolbar button, all data on all panels in the group is cleared.

Action Types

In order to display a panel, an Action Type must be specified. When you select a panel from a menu list, a cascading menu of action options for the panel appears.

The action you select tells PeopleSoft the type of activity you want to perform on the database. For example, in many windows, your choices are ADD and UPDATE/DISPLAY. Other panels, however, include historical or effective-dated information. These panels offer two additional actions: Update/Display All and Correction.

The type of actions you can perform on rows of data depend on the data row type. When you retrieve, modify, or insert rows on a table, the Update and Correction actions apply specific rules based on the effective date:

Add – Displays blank screen for use in entering new data.

Effective Dating

All critical tables within PeopleSoft GL are keyed to an effective date, i.e., date the information goes into effect. This enables you to store a history of journal information as well as enter information for future changes before they become effective.

How effective dates work; many panels in PeopleSoft contain date-sensitive information. When you enter or update the information on these panels, you must set the effective date field to reflect when you want the data to go into effect. Otherwise, the Effective Date field defaults to the current date.

Effective Date fields permit you to keep historic, current, and future information. PeopleSoft categorizes effective-dated rows into these basic types:

Future Data rows that have effective dates later than the system date.

Swap Files or Cache Files

The database server stores master copies of all the on-line elements such as panels, fields, and menus. As you work with PeopleSoft, the system copies replicas of these objects to your local workstation. By working with local replicas, database response time is quicker.

The PeopleSoft on-line system creates these swap files when you first access panels or other system objects. The next time you access the same panel, instead of accessing the database server again, the system uses the local swap file.

A swap index is used to ensure that your system always has the most up-to-date objects from the database server; this index constantly updates or refreshes swap files on your workstation as needed.

You will notice that when you access some panels, characters flash in the title bar. That means that swap files are being created. If it is the first time you have accessed the panel, or changes have been made, swap files are created.

Sometimes you will hear the terminology "Client/Server". The client is your PC and the server is the computer where the database is stored.

How to Clear Cache Files

The database server stores master copies of all the on-line elements such as panels, fields, and menus. As you work with PeopleSoft, the system copies replicas of these objects to your local workstation. By working with local replicas, database response time is quicker.  These files are stored on your local drive in a cache folder.  Occasionally a cached file can become corrupted, or out of sync, with the database file.  When this occurs you will receive a PeopleSoft error message when attempting to access or save the panel, field, or menu.  To correct this problem you need to clear the cache files on your local drive so that new cache files may be built from the server.

To clear the cache files from your local drive:

1. Logout of the People Tools application.
2. Navigate from your Windows Start button: Start > Programs > Windows Explorer.
3. Within the C: drive navigate to the following folders:  C:  > ps > cache > fsprod (double click on each folder to drill down to the folders within).
4. Double click your mouse on the fsprod folder to display these files in the right window.
5. Using your mouse, place your cursor on the top file found in fsprod in the right window (the file name should be highlighted).
6. Hold down the SHIFT key.
7. Using your mouse, go to the right window scroll bar and scroll down to the last file (still holding down SHIFT).
8. Using your mouse, place your cursor on the last file in the list (all files should now be highlighted).
9. Release the SHIFT key.
10. Using your mouse, select from the top menu:  File > Delete.
11. Select YES to confirm the file deletion (the files on the right should disappear).
12. Close Windows Explorer.

NOTE: although your cache files have been cleared, the deleted files have been moved to your recycle bin on your local drive.  If the recycle bin is not cleared periodically or becomes to full, you may need to empty the recycle bin as well.  Click on your recycle bin icon and click your right mouse button.  Select the option to empty the recycle bin.  This will remove all the files in the recycle bin.

Using Peoplebooks

Peoplebooks is a powerful tool created by Peoplesoft to assist users with answers to numerous questions that they face with a new system. Peoplebooks can be used as an assistant to your training manual. If you need additional information on fields or searching for the Peoplesoft definition of a term using Peoplebooks may be your answer. One of the valuable assets of Peoplebooks is when searching for information relating to a panel.  If you are in the panel and wish to use Peoplebooks, it will retrieve only the information related to the panel you are currently working on.

1. The navigation illustrates how to access Peoplebooks.

 

 

Example 1: Entering a journal entry and you want more information related to the fields on the header panel.






2. Click Help – Contents – Application Help as shown:






3. The Peoplebooks panel will appear allowing you to view a detail description of the journal header panel. Notice that a new icon appears at the bottom of your panel called "Folio Views" indicating that Peoplebooks has been opened.

 

 

Using the scroll bar located on the right side of the Peoplebooks panel you can review additional information related to the journal header panel.






4. After completing your research just click on the 

Example 2: You’re not in a panel but would like to find out how the journal editing process works within Peoplesoft.

Navigation: Click Help – Contents – Application Help
The Peoplebooks panel will be displayed defaulting to General Ledger.

To begin your search you must click on the binoculars located on the bottom left of the panel.

Search Key
The result of your previous action will be the display of the Advanced Query panel as illustrated below:
Your cursor will be placed in the open box with instructions to enter a key word to begin your search.

You are searching for more information on the journal editing process, therefore, type in those key words in the open box and Click Apply to All.

Selecting Apply to All will retrieve every record that matches that combination of words.

NOTE: Peoplesoft provides you with the number of matches that meet your criteria.

Peoplebooks panel will appear and where it finds the first match for your search criteria it will highlight the key word.

If the description isn’t appropriate please note that you may use the located on the bottom of the panel to continue your search. By clicking on the arrow it moves you forward to the next key word that meets your criteria. You continue this until you reach the appropriate description for journal edit processing.

To exit out of Peoplebooks, click on the X located in the top right hand corner of the panel.

NOTE: These are just two ways that Peoplebooks can be used to assist you in your daily work. To get more detailed information on Peoplebooks from any screen within Peoplesoft select Help – Contents – Application Help wait on the Peoplebooks main panel to appear and select "USING PEOPLEBOOKS" by double clicking on the words.

© Copyright 1999, Georgetown University