Sometimes a department receives request for an emergency check, sometimes called an on-demand check or warrant. On-demand checks are usually issued immediately, when the recipient of the check or warrant cannot wait for the normal disbursement. In Advantage Financial, the above situation can be handled in two ways: issue an on-demand check from the system or manually write/type a check. Manually writing/typing a check can be handled with one transaction, the Manual Disbursement transaction.
The Manual Disbursement transaction can be used to do the following:
To record manually written checks or warrants in the system after they have been written. In this case, the Manual Check flag must be selected, the Bank Account must be populated with appropriate bank account, and check number must be populated with appropriate check number on the MD transaction.
To enter the Manual Disbursement first then submit the check data to be printed on the physical check. In this case, the Manual Check flag must be unchecked, the Bank Account must be populated with appropriate bank account, and check number must be left blank on the MD transaction. The Check Number will be assigned based on the Next Alternate Check Number or Next Check Number of respective Bank Code on the Bank table when the MD transaction is submitted.
Setting up the Manual Disbursement (MD) transaction is similar to setting up the Automated Disbursement transaction. Setup should follow the same guidelines as the AD regarding the Transaction Control (DCTRL) table, System-wide Options and Controls (SOPT) table, the Bank Account (BANK) table, and if the vendor is reportable, the 1099 information on the 1099 Information (1099I) table. A difference between the AD transaction and the MD transaction is that the MD Transaction can be processed without any reference. The MD transaction won’t perform any amount calculation as the AD process does. The MD transaction verifies the eligibility of the various dollar amounts such as Discount, Interest Penalty and calculates Backup Withholding and Contract Withholding. Also, MD transactions have the option of excluding the Retainage, withheld during the Payment Request transaction, from the disbursement. If the Exclude Retainage flag is selected on the MD transaction, no retainage will be taken from the disbursement.
The following sections are discussions related to Manual Disbursement:
For MD transactions used to record and issue checks in the Advantage system, the setup of the Check Number on MD and Check Stock Type associated with corresponding Bank Account on the Bank table will determine the source and assignment of check numbers.
If the Check Number on MD is set to Next Check Number, then the check number will be assigned according to the Next Check Number on the Bank table. If the Check Number on MD option is set to Next Alternate Check, then the check number will be assigned according to the Next Alternate Check Number on the Bank table.
If the Check Stock Type is set to “Plain”, then only one check number will be assigned for the processed MD transaction irrespective of the number of associated stub lines. If the Check Stock Type is set to Preprinted, a Check Number will be assigned for every 35 stub lines associated with the MD transaction. However, only the first Check Number will be considered the official Check Number and will be posted to the Check Reconciliation table as Disbursed or Paid (if the Check Net Amount is $0) whereas other Check Numbers will be posted to the Check Reconciliation table as Voided.
On validate, the MD transaction executes logic to assign the Check Number. To save check numbers for preprinted check stock when overflow checks are not to be printed, the check number assignment processing logic in the manual disbursement transaction will perform the following:
If the Print Overflow Check Stubs For Preprinted Stock (APPCTRL) equals Yes, the process shall void additional check numbers for any overflow stubs used on preprinted check stock. For plain check stocks, additional check stubs will be printed without any need to void any check numbers.
If the Print Overflow Check Stubs For Preprinted Stock (APPCTRL) equals No and the Check Stock Type for the Bank Account Code of the disbursement equals Preprinted, the process shall only assign one check number for the disbursement, including the overflow check stubs. All accounting lines must use the same Bank Account Code as the Bank Account Code on the MD header
When recording a Manual Disbursement with the Adjusting Entry field set to No, the transaction is recording a disbursement and the bank account is a required attribute with great significance. When doing an adjusting entry, a bank account is only necessary if cash is impacted. Ultimately, the event type drives the requirement when doing an adjusting entry.
As a manual disbursement is a banking transaction, it is important that the same Bank Account exists on all accounting lines and that same account is on the Header. At the accounting line, the bank will first come from any referenced transaction that updated the Disbursement Request. If there is no referenced transaction, the Fiscal Year and Fund values from the accounting line are used to infer a bank. When there is no reference and the default for a fund is not desired, a different bank can be used. As the Bank Account field on the accounting line is a protected field, the only way to get a value other than the default is to use the Bank Account field on the Header to push down to accounting lines.
The Always Use Fund Bank Account Code on Disbursements parameter on the Application Parameter (APPCTRL) page exists to control that override of the default for a Fiscal Year and Fund combination whether from a referenced transaction or using the Header field. When set to Yes, only the default Bank Account from the Fund reference page is allowed. If accounting lines exist where not all fund codes have the same default Bank Account, the transaction must be broken up so that a single bank is used throughout the transaction.
Backup Withholding can apply to most kinds of income that are reported on IRS Form 1099. These include: interest payments, dividends, patronage dividends, rents, profits, gains, commissions, fees, independent contractor income, royalty payments, and payments by brokers. When a vendor is subject to backup withholding, the check amount is reduced by the amount of the backup withholding. The MD validates the taking of backup withholding on the transaction based on several setup and criteria. The MD performs calculation for eligible vendors for the ‘Backup Withholding Line Amount’ field and issues a warning if the calculated value does not equal the Backup Withholding Line Amount value. Please refer to the Tax Reporting User Guide for more general discussion of "Backup Withholding ".
On each validate/submit, the MD calculates Backup Withholding for eligible vendors. The calculation and criteria for Backup Withholding is discussed in the Automated Disbursement section. The MD has an additional criterion in order to automatically calculate withholding. The MD will look up the Calculate MD Backup Withholding flag on Transaction Control (DCTRL) for the Transaction Code specified on the MD header.
If the flag is true, the MD will verify criteria and calculate backup withholding. Refer to Backup Withholding and 1042S Backup Withholding in the Automated Disbursement section for criteria.
If the flag is false and the Backup Withholding Line Amount is neither zero nor blank, the MD will verify criteria for backup withholding. Refer to Backup Withholding and 1042S Backup Withholding in the Automated Disbursement section for criteria. If the amount is blank or zero, no further validations will occur on the Backup Withholding Amount.
The MD determines if the disbursement is eligible for Contract Withholding.
A standalone accounting line is exempt from Contract Withholding if Contract Withholding Exempt is selected on the Header, Vendor, Object, Sub Object, Program, Appropriation, Balance Sheet, or Sub Balance Sheet.
A referencing accounting line is exempt from Contract Withholding if Contract Withholding Exempt is selected on the Header, DISRQ, Vendor, Object, Sub Object, Commodity (if DISRQ Commodity Code is specified), Program, Appropriation, Balance Sheet, or Sub Balance Sheet.
An accounting line is not eligible if any of the following is satisfied:
Accounting line is exempt from Contract Withholding
Backup Withholding is nonzero
Contract Withholding is not in use on 1099P
DISRQ has Procurement Card Payment set to Yes and Apply Contract Withholding to PCard Payments is not selected on 1099P
The MD determines the total line amount less discounts and retainage for a vendor line and uses it to determine if the Contract Withholding Threshold is met.
The MD allows you to manually enter the Contract Withholding Amount on the accounting line, or infer it if a user blanks out the value. The inference logic calculates the Contract Withholding Amount as (Line Amount – Discount) * 1099P Contract Withholding Rate if the accounting line is eligible for Contract Withholding and the Contract Withholding Threshold is met:
Contract Withholding Amount = (Line Amount – Discount – Retainage + Penalty + Interest – Use Tax) * 1099P Contract Withholding Rate when Exclude Retainage = No; Contract Withholding Amount = (Line Amount – Discount + Penalty + Interest – Use Tax) * 1099P Contract Withholding Rate when Exclude Retainage = Yes;
Otherwise, the calculated value is $0.
The MD issues an error if the Contract Withholding Amount does not have the same sign as the accounting line amount, or differs from the amount that would have been inferred. The system also issues an error if the user enters the Contract Withholding Amount when Contract Withholding is not in use for the system or is exempt for the vendor.
Eligibility evaluation, threshold comparison, and calculation of contract withholding is performed during each validate and submit action. For example, if a user deletes lines from the MD transaction, the threshold amount must be re-evaluated the next time the transaction is validated/submitted.
The “Payment Printing” feature of the Advantage Manual Disbursement (MD) transaction has the capability to produce a check file per MD transaction, which is automatically Ftp'd onto the BIRT Print Server. The BIRT Print Server picks up the check file and merges the data into a form design as specified in the instruction (json) file, which is FTPed along with the check file. The check is then routed to the printer specified on the “Payment Printing” page of the MD transaction. Only processed MD transactions with the Manual Check flag not selected will be eligible for printing.
When a user clicks on the Payment Printing link, which is located on the Header tab of the MD transaction, the “Online Printing Batch Parameters” page will be opened. This page contains the following parameters, which are setup manually prior to printing the check:
Print Job Code: Valid print jobs are defined on the Print Job Setup (IPJB) table in the Advantage Administration application. A print job tells the BIRT Forms software what to do when handling the forms printing request.
Print Resource ID: Valid print resources are defined on the Print Resource Setup (IPRS) table in the Advantage Administration application. A print resource is the destination of a print job (for example, PDF file or a printer).
Payer Department, Unit and Contact Codes: These fields are used to print the return address of the agency on issued online checks.
Output Directory: This parameter is used to define the path location on the application server where generated check files are posted before being Ftp'd to the BIRT Form Server.
Payer Name 1 and Name 2: Specified information on these fields is printed on the top of the check stub.
Stub Bottom Message Text: Specified information on this field is printed on the bottom of the check stub. Up to 120 characters of text can be entered. However, the message will be truncated to 60 characters when checks are printed by the Disbursement Printing job.
Overflow Message Text: Text entered in this field allows for sites to have this information printed on the check stub should an overflow condition occur. The Overflow Message Text field will be included on the printable (.xml) file, but will not be included in the XML file that the checks are printed from. If your site would like to have the Overflow Message Text printed on the check stub, modifications to the printing process is necessary.
Skip Printing Mailing Address: Valid values are Yes and No. This parameter allows printing online checks with or without the vendor’s mailing address on the back of the check. When it is set to No, the Payer Department Code, Payer Unit Code, and Payer Contact parameters are required. When it is set to Yes, then these fields will be optional.
Reprint: Valid values are Yes and No. This parameter allows reprinting online checks when needed. It is applicable to Plain Check Stock only.
The setup of the parameter “Consolidate Check Stub at the Vendor Invoice Line Level” on the Application Parameter (APPCTRL) table determines how the stub lines will be printed as explained under “Disbursement Printing Process”.
Generally, the check printing of the MD transaction utilizes the same form generation logic check layout used by the Advantage Disbursement Printing batch process.
Online Printing Parameters Default (OPRNDFLT) page can be used to define default values for the parameters on the Online Printing Batch Parameters page for printing checks based on Transaction Code.
On transition to the Online Printing Batch Parameters page from the manual disbursement transaction using the Payment Printing hyperlink action, the corresponding field values will be inferred from the OPRNDFLT table to the Online Printing Batch Parameters page, using the Transaction Code of the manual disbursement transaction. If default values have not been defined for the Transaction Code, you must manually enter the required fields.
Stub Summarization for Manual Disbursement
Manual disbursement Accounting Lines can be summarized and sorted based on the summarization and sorting parameters specified on the DISF table for the Disbursement Type of the manual disbursement. The Stub Summarization process will not be invoked if the Transaction Type is MD and if any of the following are true:
If the Adjusting Entry flag equals ‘Yes’; or
If the Manual Check flag equals ‘Yes’ and the Transaction Function is ‘New’, ‘Modification’, or ‘Cancellation’; or
If the Manual Check flag equals ‘No’ and the Printing Status Indicator equals ‘Printed’ or ‘Re-Printed’ and the Transaction Function is ‘Modification’.
If the Stub Summarization process is invoked, the process will perform the following:
If the Transaction Function is ‘Modification’ or ‘Cancellation’, the process shall delete the STUBDET records associated with the transaction.
If the Transaction Function is ‘New’ or ‘Modification’, the process shall perform the following:
Summarize the manual disbursement transaction Accounting Lines using summarization parameters specified on the DISF for the Disbursement Type specified on the MD transaction and write the summarized records to the Disbursement Stub Detail (STUBDET) table.
Recalculate the Stub Detail Line Count field on the MD header setting the value equal to the number of records written to the STUBDET table.
For more detailed information, see the "Disbursement Stub Summarization Process" topic in this guide.
Disbursement cancellation/reclassification cancels or reclassifies checks, warrants (including warrants with clearing funds) or electronic funds transfers (EFT), and provides the flexibility to perform one of four cancellation Actions (reschedule, hold, close and PR Cancellation) or performs the following reclassification actions ( Warrant Reconciliation, Stale or Escheat individual disbursements, or entire disbursement runs, Cancel).
When a Disbursement transaction has been processed and it needs to be changed because of data entry errors or incorrect information, you can perform one of three actions. Each action will result in different results:
Modify Action - If the check has not yet been printed, a Manual Disbursement transaction may be modified like all other transactions. The Manual Disbursement should only be modified if the data on the transaction is wrong. If you want to increase, decrease, or change fields on the Manual Disbursement transaction, this option may be used. Because it represents an actual check, once the check has been printed, the ability to modify the transaction is limited to a few fields.
If the Transaction Function is equal to Modification, Payee information may not be changed from the previous finalized version of the transaction.
If the Transaction Function is equal to Modification and the Manual Check is equal to Yes and the Printing Status Indicator is equal to Not Ready to Print, all fields on the Header are displayed as protected fields, except for Transaction Name, Record Date, BFY, FY, and Transaction Description. All fields on the Vendor Line will be protected from user update. The value in the Check Amount field cannot be changed.
If the Transaction Function is equal to Modification, the Manual Check is equal to No and Printing Status Indicator is not equal to Printed, all fields on the Header are displayed as protected fields, except for Transaction Name, Record Date, BFY, FY, and Transaction Description. All fields on the vendor section will be protected from user update.
If the Transaction Function is equal to Modification, the Manual Check is equal to No and Printing Status Indicator is equal to Printed, then all of the fields on the MD transaction will be protected.
When editing an MD transaction, if the Transaction Function is equal to Modification, the Manual Check flag is equal to No and the Printing Status Indicator is equal to Ready for Original Printing, the system shall protect the Adjusting Entry flag on the MD Header.
Cancel Action - If you need to Reschedule, Reschedule and Hold or Close the original disbursement, a Manual Disbursement transaction can be cancelled by using the cancel action (See Understand Disbursement Cancellation for more information). When the transaction is cancelled, all applicable tables are updated to reflect the cancellation. When cancelled, the entry on the Check Reconciliation (CHREC) table is removed, not marked with the status of Cancelled.
Disbursement Cancellation Transaction - When the Manual Disbursement transaction is Stale Dated, Escheated, or Cancelled, this can be done using the Disbursement Cancellation transaction (See Understand Disbursement Cancellation for more information). The Disbursement Cancellation transaction is used to cancel all types of disbursements (checks, EFT's, manual checks). When this method is used, it will update the appropriate table to indicate that the physical check has been cancelled such as updating the Check Reconciliation (CHREC) table with the status of Cancelled.