Chart of Accounts

Fund - Organization - Account - Program - Activity - Location - Index

Fund Sources Specific to Academic and Instuctional Areas
Fund Sources Specific to Faculty

The Chart of Accounts (also known as COA) is a structure of codes used for the classification, budgeting, recording, and reporting of financial transactions. The chart code structure is classified by elements, defined by Fund, Organization, Account, Program, Activity, and Location;commonly abbreviated by the term 'FOAPAL' or 'FOAP'.

Each department on campus has ownership, or security rights, to view and enter specific FOAPAL elements in either Banner or eVA, dependent upon job function. Users (staff members who utilize Banner and eVA) share which functions of eVA and Banner Finance they require when they complete the University of Mary Washington Finance Security Request Form. Form assistance is provided in the Fundamentals of Finance class or by calling Training and Systems Support at 654-1155 or 654-1006.

The Office of Budget and Financial Analysis can assist with FOAPAL elements assigned to you and your department, and Accounting can assist with proper expenditure and revenue coding.

COA Elements can be printed at any time for those with security to do so. Review the Searches and Reporting in INB document for COA Element Report names.

Below defines the FOAPAL elements (the term elements and codes are used interchangeably) that make up the University's Chart of Accounts. With rare exception, each expenditure will require a combination of Fund, Organization, Account, and Program to correctly expense (buy something) or deposit money (a Cashier Transmittal form). Some departments also use elements called Activity and Location. Activity and Location elements further define the type of expense or revenue and may or may not be used within your department. (Campus Departments and Faculty have their own Organization codes, see below for more detail).

FOAPAL Descriptions and examples are listed below, in order of Fund, Organization, Account, and Program; as required on all financial transactions. A complete FOAP string looks something like this: 1111-209876-71268-10640.

Fund

Fund: A four or five character code that identifies the funding source. Funding sources describe where the money to run the program or department originated. For instance, did the Univeristy get the money from the State or from student tuition and fee? Some Funds are shared across departments, and some are for specific use only and belong in a combination with only one or two Organization codes. Below are some examples of Funding sources and specifics that are important for departmental purchasers and budget managers. Funds are by far the most complicated of all the chart elements based on the nature of their approval requirements and restrictions. Funds have a one-on-one relationship with Program codes, as described below.

Funds that start with a 11xx are called Education and General, or E&G. E&G money is provided by the State General Assembly each year and does not include student tuition or fees. Most departments share this Fund source. With rare exception, Funding that begins with a 11 will use a program code that begins with a 1. Which 1Program code is dependent upon your department, function and specific 11 Fund source. By far, the most wide-spread E&G fund is 1111.

Some Funds end with an alpha character. Examples are 1112B and 1112E. These are typically specific to a department and not shared across campus.

Funds that start with a 15 are considered Local. The most common Local Fund is 1551- called Comprehensive Fee, or Comp Fee General. This money is generated from student fees (paid along with the the tuition). Many departments share 1551. Other 155 Funds are more specific, such as 1556.

1556 - Student Clubs - Campus Recreation and Student Activities are the only areas using this Fund source. Funds are provided by the Honor Council each year. Examples of Student Clubs are Baseball, Football, Tennis, and Cheerleaders.

Fund Sources Specific to Academic and Instructional Areas:

1117 and 1554 are Funds related to specific academic equipment requests. Equipment requests are submitted in the Budget Request process around the March/April time frame. Funding source is determined and approved by Academic Affairs and management is coordinated with the Fixed Asset Accountant.

1117- Equipment Trust Fund- Funds are provided to Academic Departments for specific equipment use. Departments who receive this funding will be notified of proper use to include Equipment Account coding (accounts that begin with a 72xxF) and ETF Tracking numbers. All Account codes used with 1117 must use a 72 Account code ending in an "F", regardless of dollar value.

Fund 1117 should not be used with the SPCC.

1554- College Equipment- Funds are provided to Academic Departments for specific equipment use. Departments who receive this funding will be notified of proper use to include equipment Account coding (accounts that begin with a 72) and Tracking numbers, if applicable.

Note: State and Local funding sources combined within one Purchase Order or Direct Pay can cause complications in payment. State and Local funds must be on separate line items and separate FOAPAL within eVA and Banner Direct Pays (no "split-coding" allowed"). Contact Training and System Support, Purchasing or Accounts Payable for assistance.

Fund Sources Specific to Faculty:

1111-Department Funds- Beginning of each fiscal year, each Full time Faculty member is provided $500.00 in his/her Organization code in Fund 1111. The Program code is always 10460.

1552-Faculty Development Grants- Provided to Faculty upon special request through Academic Affairs. In most cases, the 1552 Fund source will be provided in faculty members Organization code. The Program code is always 10460.

1557-Undergraduate Research Grants- Funds awarded to the student and placed in the faculty sponsors Organization code. The Program code will always be 10220.

2xxx-Funds are Grants. Grant types vary (Federal, State, Local, and Private) and are usually sought by faculty members to fund a specific research activity or project. The money is provided for a specific use and time period. Grant money is placed within the faculty members personal Organization code. The Fund would be the name of the Grant, and the Organization code would be the name of the faculty member. Program codes begin with a 102xx.

For information related to Faculty grants, please view the Faculty Grant Information page from the Academic Affairs website.

3xxx-Funds are considered Auxiliary, meaning the Funding is used to support the enterprise functions on campus such as Food Services, Bookstore, Parking, Telecommuncation, and Health Center.

31xx-Funds are the revenue generated at the local level from our Auxiliary enterprises, such as Food Services, Bookstore, Parking, and Dorm Fees.

35xx-Funds are considered Local, or 'Comprehensive Fees', generated by student tuition and fees to support the Auxiliary enterprises.

Funds that begin with a 3xxx must always use a program code beginning with an 8xxxx, the area for enterprise functions.

8xxx Funds are considered Agency Funds; meaning they do not belong to the University. 8-Funded programs are those that are self supporting and generate revenue. An example of Agency Funds would be Men and Women's Basketball Camps, Softball Camps, a few Student Clubs, and residence hall programming. This funding comes from money raised through camp dues, membership fees, and team fund raising efforts. Funds that begin with an '8'xxx must always use the Program code 99950.

'8xxx' Funds do not get entered into eVA or are not allowed on the SPCC.

At Fiscal year end (June 30), the balance of 8xxx funds will be brought forward into the new Fiscal year.

9xxx Funds are called Plant Funds. Plant funds relate to our building projects on our campuses such as the new buildings at CGPS, building renovations and upgrades, and may include upgrades to infrastructure. 9-Funds are not shared across campus and are mainly used by Facilities. With few exceptions Funds that begin with a 9xxx use a program code 99800, Capital Outlay.

Shared or unshared, Funds are allocated into Organization codes. Organization codes can be a specific department or person on campus defined as a unit of budgetary responsibility.

Organization

Organization: Also referred to as an Org, A six character code that identifies a unit of budgetary responsibility and/or department within the University. All faculty have an Org code to track specific grant assignments. A faculty member can have several Funding sources and several Program codes, but will only have one Organization code. Examples of Org codes are:

Biology- 204101
Chemistry-204201
Mark Smith-303300

Account

Account: A five character code that identifies the purpose of the expenditure or revenue transaction. Transactions are postings shown on budget reports. Posting examples are the amount of budget allocated to each department for the Fiscal year, type of good or service the department purchased, the journal entry used to correct expenditure codes, and the type of payroll cost deducted each pay period. View the Account Code Cheat Sheet to help determine proper coding on eVA, SPCC, and Direct Pays.

Account codes that begin with a 5xxxx are Revenue (Student Dues, Fundraising Money, Membership Dues, etc.). Not all areas on campus generate revenue and restrictions apply for the Account code use.

There is a direct relationship between Funding source and proper Revenue codes.

If you have a need to deposit money into a Fund beginning with a 11 (E&G), you must have prior approval by the Accounting office.

Fund 3111 will code to Revenue Accounts beginning with 54xxx (Auxiliary Revenue). The Program code must begin with an 809xx.

Funds 1556 will code to Revenue Accounts beginning with 5640x

Funds beginning with 8xxx will code to Revenue Accounts beginning with 5640x

Account Codes that begin with a 6xxxx are Payroll expenses (FICA, Health Insurance, Payroll).

Account codes that begin with a 7xxxx are called Expenditure codes. They are used to designate what type of expense the Fund and Org has incurred. They are futher divided into 71xxx, Operational Expenses, and 72xxx, Equipment expenses.

71xxx Operational expenses are goods and services purchased in eVA or SPCC. The expense is deducted against the amount of Operating Budget you have. This money is placed into Account code 71000 or 72000 for specific equipment requests.

Examples of 71xxx Accounts codes:

71214- Postal Service
71215- Printing Services
71216- Telephone Charges

72xxx Equipment purchases are coded for computers, printers, faxes, and the like. 72xxx codes are duplicated with the duplicate ending in an F, signifying the purchase of a Fixed Asset. Fixed Assets are monitored by Finance for compliance and require special consideration when purchased in eVA and on the SPCC.

Examples of Equipment duplicates are:

72211 Desktop Computers under $2K or 72211F Desktop Computers $2K and greater
72212 Mobile Computers under $2K or 72212F Mobile Computers $2K and greater

Program

Program: A five character code that identifies the function or purpose of the Organization or function on campus.

Examples of Program codes are:

General Academic Instruction-10110
Research-10220
Financial Aid Administration-10550
Academic Museums and Galleries-10420

Activity

Activity: An optional six character code that can be used to capture the total costs of an activity across the entire University or further define Org. code expenditures. For instance, an event held on campus that involves many Orgs may consider capturing the cost each may incur by use of a shared Activity code. The cost of Hurricane Isabel was summed by the addition of a shared Activity code for those departments involved in the clean up and recuperation of supplies.

Examples of Activity codes are:

LTBULB-Light Bulb Trade in Project
XWALK-Crosswalk Modifications
PROJ- Project Course

Location

Location: A six character code that identifies physical locations. University internal offices use Location codes for Fixed Asset and specific expenditure tracking.

Index

Index: A six character code used to default FOAPAL codes and ease data entry. Index codes are not used by University departments.