United States Department of Agriculture

Research, Education, and Economics

ARS CSREES ERS NASS

Bulletin

Title:	Error Correction and Management of the Document Suspense File (SUSF) in the ARS FFIS Application

Number:	01-312

Date:	October 12, 2001	Expiration: October 12, 2002

Originating Office:	FFIS Operations Branch, Financial Management Division

Distribution:	Area Administrative Officers, Area Budget and Fiscal Officers, Location Administrative Officers, AFM Division Directors, Budget and Program Management Staff, and Reporting Section No. 4, National Finance Center

All transactions entered in the feeder systems (PCMS, PRCH, TRVL, etc.) as well as those direct-entered into the ARS Foundation Financial Information System (FFIS) application will go through a series of edits at various levels of transition before they are successfully shown in FFIS. As a result, transactions that are generated may result in an error or a "reject" status within the feeder, in the feeder-to-FFIS interface, or directly in the FFIS application. All administrative offices have a role and responsibility for ensuring transactions entered in feeder systems or directly into the FFIS application, either by administrative office personnel or another office on their behalf, such as Reporting Section #4 (RS4), pass through edits at these various levels.

This bulletin provides guidance on roles and responsibilities for correcting errors in the feeder systems, the feeder systems to FFIS interface, and within the FFIS Document Suspense File (SUSF) for both feeder-system generated and direct-entered documents. The originating office is determined by the type of spending activity (agreements, training, construction, purchase orders, travel, etc.) and business processes within each SEC1 code (Enclosure 1). For instance, a direct-
entered document such as an M1 may be entered by RS4 or the pilot sites: the Pacific West Area Office (PWA), the Southern Plains Area Office (SPA), the Facilities Division (FD), and Financial Management Division (FMD), depending upon the type of spending and business process. Alternatively, a purchase order may originate in the PRCH feeder system at the location, Area, Headquarters, or it could be direct-entered by National Finance Center (NFC). NOTE: For the purpose of this bulletin, the originating office is defined as the office that enters documents/transactions either in a feeder system or directly into the ARS FFIS application.

The originating office that enters transactions within a feeder system at the location, Area, National Agricultural Library (NAL), Administrative and Financial Management (AFM), RS4, and the National Finance Center (NFC) shares the responsibility for ensuring all edits within these feeders as well as FFIS have been satisfied. The following guidance is provided to ensure transactions pass successfully through all edits at the following levels:

1.	Within the Feeder

Primary Responsible Party: Originating Office

As is current practice, the originating office continues to have the primary responsibility for ensuring transactions generated in a feeder system (PRCH, TRVL, PCMS) are accurately entered. The originating office is also responsible for verifying that batch files transmitted by PC-TRVL and PC-PRCH are received correctly by NFC. If transactions are posted to suspense accounts, NFC will research the error and make the necessary corrections. If they are unable to do so, they will contact the originating office or the designated point of contact to take the appropriate action.

There are special circumstances when the originator may not be able to make the correction within the feeder system. For instance, if a PCMS transaction is locked due to invalid accounting data, the Servicing Budget Fiscal Office (SBFO) will work with the originating office to correct the program code in FFIS and a backfeed will be generated during the nightly cycle to unlock the PCMS transaction (Enclosure 2).

Documents generated by feeder systems will derive a SEC1 code based on the accounting associated with the transaction. For instance, if a transaction is entered into PRCH with a program code of 2011901915, FFIS will derive a SEC1 code of 19 for the North Atlantic Area (NAA).

2.	Feeder System to FFIS Application Interface (OPAC, ABCO, PRCH, TRVL, PCMS)

Primary Responsible Party: NFC

Due to technical problems, some transactions that pass from the feeder to FFIS may not be able to update the ARS application. They are considered "above the line" and will appear on various offline error reports generated during the nightly cycle for review by NFC personnel. NFC will take the appropriate action to ensure these transactions update the ARS application. For issues they are unable to resolve, they will work with the Functional Administrator, FMD to resolve the issue(s).

3.	FFIS Application (SUSF Management)

Primary Responsible Parties: BPMS, SBFO, Location, RS4, NFC, FD, FMD

All transactions directly entered into the FFIS application or emanating from a feeder system will create a document that will end up on the SUSF table. This table stores and maintains all documents entered at all stages of their life cycle including:

1) Held and pending documents for further data entry, processing, or approval;

2) Accepted and deleted documents which remain on SUSF for a period of three to five days; and

3) Rejected documents maintained for correction or approval.

On a daily basis, the SBFO will monitor all documents shown in a "reject" status on SUSF. They will work with the locations and administrative offices in the procurement, travel, personnel, contracting, etc., to ensure all documents within their SEC1 code are processed in a timely manner. If they are unable to make corrections to rejected documents, they will contact the originating office for additional information or request that the transaction be corrected within the feeder system, as applicable. Please review rejected payment-related documents (PV and NO) first to avoid interest penalties which may be incurred.

Since RS4 will provide direct-entry services on behalf of the agency, they will be responsible for correcting rejected documents they enter and the originator of the transaction may be contacted for additional information in order for the document to process successfully. They will also have an agency-wide role in monitoring all rejected documents to ensure these are processed in a timely manner. We are in the process of developing these policies and procedures and additional information will be forthcoming.

A list of Transactions by Responsible Office (Enclosure 3) identifies those offices that
are responsible for specific document types. The document type is determined by the

type of transaction generated within the feeder system or directly entered in the FFIS application. For instance, a V5 is generated by the PCMS-FFIS interface and a M1 or PV document is used for direct-entry. Keep in mind that each feeder system interacts with the FFIS application differently and the process for resolving errors and correcting rejected documents will vary.

The SBFO's and RS4 may view rejected documents by SEC1 code, via the Document Processing Report (RGSGDP2) or directly on the SUSF table. Therefore, documents must be entered with a SEC1 code that reflects the applicable allocation so they will be reflected on the Area RGSGDP2 report and be recognized more readily on the SUSF table.

The RGSGDP2 report will be available to the SBFO's and RS4 via the Electronic Information Distribution System (EIDS). Instructions and access will be provided shortly. This report is produced by SEC1 Code and within each SEC1 Code, by Document Type and the error message(s) for each document. It will allow the Areas to identify the feeder system in which documents originated along with the document ID. For documents that are directly entered, the document ID can be used to identify the type of spending and location code, as applicable, to facilitate research. See the Spending Chapter of the Learner's Guide for guidance on document numbering.

To summarize, on a daily basis, the SBFO will:

•	Print the RGSGDP2 report or view the SUSF table for rejected transactions within their SEC1 Code;

•	Evaluate error messages associated with payment-related documents in a "reject" status (PV and NO) to avoid interest penalties which may be incurred;

•	Work with the originating office to make the appropriate correction either in a feeder system or directly in the FFIS application, as appropriate, to allow the payment to attain an "accepted" status as soon as possible.

•	Evaluate error messages associated with all other documents in a "reject" status (M1, RQ, V5, etc.);

•	Work with the originating office to make corrections either in the feeder system or directly in the FFIS application, as appropriate, to allow the document(s) to attain an "accepted" status.

The originating office will:

•	Work with the SBFO to make corrections to feeder system and/or direct-entered documents on a daily basis;

•	Continue to ensure that documents entered in a feeder system are accurately entered and are correctly received by NFC;

NFC will:

•	Evaluate transactions that are posted to suspense accounts and make the appropriate corrections;

•	Contact the Functional Administrator for issues they are unable to resolve;

•	Take corrective action on transactions which appear on various offline error reports;

•	Ensure transactions update the ARS application.

For guidance on common errors messages that may be encountered refer to the SUSF chapter of the Learner's Guide. In the event the SBFO is unable to resolve the error, refer to guidance published in Bulletin 01-309, ARS Foundation Financial Information System (FFIS) Support Help Desk Procedures for assistance.

If you have any questions, please contact Jenny Dubbs on 301-504-4844.

/s/

S. M. Helmrich

Director

Financial Management Division

Enclosure 1

SEC1 Codes Used in the ARS FFIS Application

Responsible

SEC1 Code	Allocation	Office

01	Program Management	FMD

03	Administrative and Financial Mgmt	FMD

40	International Research Programs	FMD

05	Salary Lapse	FMD

07	Special Projects	FMD

FD	Major Construction	FD/FMD

12	Beltsville Area	SBFO

19	North Atlantic Area	SBFO

36	Midwest Area	SBFO

53	Pacific West Area	SBFO

54	Northern Plains Area	SBFO

62	Southern Plains Area	SBFO

64	Mid South Area	SBFO

66	South Atlantic Area	SBFO

82	National Agricultural Library	NAL

R4	n/a	RS4

LOC*	n/a	RS4

MISC	n/a	NFC

*Letter of Credit

Enclosure 2

Cardholders can only purchase on behalf of one agency using one purchase card or associated convenience checks. Any cardholder purchasing on behalf of multiple agencies, must have individual purchase cards and associated convenience checks for each agency serviced. This is required, because each agency has a separate FFIS application. If an FFIS document is created and the accounting has different agency codes, it will cause the document to reject in FFIS.

1.	Monday through Friday new transactions from the bank are loaded into PCMS between 11:30 am

and 12:00 pm CST. Once a transactions is loaded, the cardholder has seven calendar days to

reconcile it before it is sent to FFIS. It is very important that cardholders reconcile transactions

weekly; it is recommended that one day be selected to routinely reconcile on a weekly basis.

Reconciliation involves the following:

a.	Accepting the profile accounting code and budget object code (2670) as is, or changing the code(s), and;

b.	Inputting a Document Control Number for each transaction into the "Agency Reference Number" field of PCMS to enable the Servicing Budget and Fiscal Officer (SBFO) to validate PCMS transactions that appear on the Agency's FFIS Transaction Detail Listing. Use of the Agency Reference Number (ARN) was previously optional, but is now mandatory. In order to be consistent in assigning the Document Control Number, the cardholder will input their first initial, last name, followed by their sequentially assigned document control number; e.g., D Jones 0001. Only the first 20 characters of the ARN will be passed to FFIS.

2.	After a new transaction has been in PCMS seven days, the interface runs that sends it to FFIS to be paid. The interface locks every transaction sent to FFIS to prevent further changes and possible out-of-balance situations. When a cardholder tries to change the accounting on a locked transaction, the following message appears: "Accounting changes cannot be made until this transaction completes the FFIS/PCMS reconciliation."

3.	When transactions have been accepted by FFIS, they are sent back to PCMS and PCMS unlocks the transactions. Thus, the cardholder could change the accounting on the transactions, if required. The account description field next to the accounting will say "Accepted by FFIS." During a normal cycle where a file is passed to FFIS and FFIS returns a file to PCMS, the transactions would be locked until the next day. If a file is passed from PCMS to FFIS and FFIS does not process the file, the file will not be picked up until the following day. The transactions would remain locked until they are successfully processed and accepted by FFIS. Bottom line is it could be between 36 and 48 hours or more depending upon the completion of the FFIS processing before the transaction is unlocked and available for reconciliation or adjustment by the cardholder.

4.	If the transaction rejects in FFIS, the transaction will remain locked until the SBFO clears the rejected status and FFIS subsequently sends the acknowledgment back to PCMS. Cardholders (non-SBFO staff) do not "fix" rejected transactions in PCMS. Cardholders may need to provide information about the transaction to the SBFO if required to make the correction. The name of the cardholder is part of the transaction file that passes to FFIS.

5.	Cardholders can run the cardholder report in PCMS, which has been updated to include the accounting status that indicates whether the transactions are locked. The following alpha characters are used to indicate the accounting status: O = Obligated; P = Paid by FFIS;

L = Locked; N = New (not obligated and not paid).

Enclosure 3

Transactions by Responsible Office

Direct-Entered and Feeder System Generated

Responsible Office	FFIS Document Type	Document Name	Feeder System
Direct-Entered Documents:
BPMS	AA	Appropriation/Apportionment
BPMS	BE	Allocation Budget Execution
BPMS	PA	Apportionment/Approval
BPMS	TA	Transfer
BPMS	TC	Transfer Approval
Location, SBFO, RS4	B2	Standard Voucher
Location, SBFO, RS4	RQ	Commitment
Location, SBFO, RS4	YE	Standard Voucher
NFC	CX	Cancellation
NFC	DD	Direct Disbursement
NFC	NC	No Check
NFC	O2	Standard Voucher
NFC	RN	Recertification
NFC	WR	Write Off
NFC/RS4	ND	Direct Disbursement
NFC/RS4	SV	Standard Voucher
PWA & SPA Area Offices and RS4	NO	No Obligation Payment Voucher
PWA & SPA Area Offices, FD, FMD, RS4	M1	Miscellaneous Order
PWA & SPA Area Offices, FD, FMD, RS4	MO	Miscellaneous Order
Responsible Office	FFIS Document Type	Document Name	Feeder System
PWA & SPA Area Offices, FMD, RS4	PV	Payment Voucher
SBFO	BL	Allotment Budget Execution
SBFO	SA	Suballotment
Feeder System Generated:
NFC	A0	ABCO Standard Voucher - Standard Voucher Document	ABCO
NFC	A1	ABCO Billing Document - Billing Document	ABCO
NFC	A2	ABCO Cash Receipt Document - Cash Receipt Document	ABCO
NFC	A3	ABCO Voluntary Collection - Cash Receipt Document	ABCO
NFC	A5	ABCO Refunds - Payment Voucher	ABCO
NFC	A6	ABCO OPAC Reversal - Standard Voucher Document (SV)	ABCO
NFC	A7	ABCO Bank Deposit - Cash Receipt Document (CR)	ABCO
NFC	A8	ABCO Suspense Postings - Standard Voucher Document	ABCO
NFC	A9	ABCO Unapplied Postings - Standard Voucher Document	ABCO
NFC	AG	ABCO History/Closed - Standard Voucher Document (SV)	ABCO
NFC	AH	ABCO History/Closed - Standard Voucher Document (SV)	ABCO
NFC	DF	FTSP OPAC Disbursement	FTSP
NFC	DM	MPOL OPAC Disbursement	MPOL
NFC	DV	PROP Standard Voucher	PROP
NFC	FO	FEDS Obligation	FEDS
NFC	FV	FEDS Payment Voucher	FEDS
NFC	KA	PRCH Type 40 OPAC Disbursement	PRCH
NFC	KB	PRCH Type 41 OPAC Disbursement	PRCH
NFC	KD	PRCH Type 43 OPAC Disbursement	PRCH
NFC	OD	FEDS OPAC Disbursement	FEDS
NFC	RV	PRCH Foreign Currency Payment Voucher	PRCH
NFC	OS	OTRS Standard Voucher Document	OTRS
NFC	SF	FEDS Standard Voucher	FEDS
NFC	SP	PRCH Standard Voucher	PRCH
Responsible Office	FFIS Document Type	Document Name	Feeder System
NFC	VF	FTSP Accrual/Suspense	FTSP
NFC	VM	MPOL Suspense	MPOL
NFC	WR	ABCO Write Off Document - Write Off Document	ABCO
RS4	V2	PCMS Payment Voucher	PCMS
SBFO	SU	UTVN Accrual Document - Standard Voucher Document	UTVN
SBFO	SW	CAPS Payment Voucher - Payment Voucher Document	CAPS
SBFO	UV	UTVN Payment Vouchers - Payment Voucher Document	UTVN
SBFO/Card Holders	V5	PCMS Standard Voucher - Cardholder Modification	PCMS
SBFO/Card Holders	V8	PCMS Standard Voucher - Cardholder Details	PCMS
SBFO/Human Resources	GP	PACS Liability for Employee Withholding	PACS
SBFO/Human Resources	GS	PACS Default Accounting for Salary and Expense	PACS
SBFO/Human Resources	GW	PACS Default Accounting for Withholding	PACS
SBFO/Human Resources	GX	PACS Liability for Employee Withholding	PACS
SBFO/Human Resources	MP	PACS Self Reversing for M-cycles	PACS
SBFO/Human Resources	MS	PACS Self Reversing for M-cycles	PACS
SBFO/Human Resources	MT	PACS Self Reversing for M-cycles	PACS
SBFO/Human Resources	MW	PACS Self Reversing for M-cycles	PACS
SBFO/Human Resources	PY	PACS Standard Voucher	PACS
SBFO/Human Resources	TW	PACS Liability for Employee Withholding	PACS
SBFO/Human Resources	YA	PACS End of Period Accruals	PACS
SBFO/Procurement	EA	PRCH Type 40 Receiver	PRCH
SBFO/Procurement	GA	PRCH Type 40 Obligation	PRCH
SBFO/Procurement	GB	PRCH Type 41 and 41P Obligation	PRCH
SBFO/Procurement	GC	PRCH Type 42 Obligation	PRCH
SBFO/Procurement	GD	PRCH Type 43 Obligation	PRCH
SBFO/Procurement	VA	PRCH Type 40 Payment Voucher	PRCH
SBFO/Procurement	VB	PRCH Type 41 Payment Voucher	PRCH
SBFO/Procurement	VC	PRCH Type 42 Payment Voucher	PRCH
SBFO/Procurement	VD	PRCH Type 43 Payment Voucher	PRCH
Responsible Office	FFIS Document Type	Document Name	Feeder System
SBFO/Procurement	VE	PRCH Type 45 Payment Voucher	PRCH
SBFO/Telecommunications	SE	TELE Accrual	TELE
SBFO/Telecommunications	VT	TELE Payment Voucher	TELE
SBFO/Travel	G1	GVTS Payment Vouchers - Payment Voucher Document	GVTS
SBFO/Travel	G2	GVTS Travel Invoice - Travel Invoice Document	GVTS
SBFO/Trave	G3	GVTS Standard Voucher - Standard Document	GVTS
SBFO/Travel	XA	TRVL Advance	TRVL
SBFO/Travel	XC	TRVL Cash Receipt (Advance Collection)	TRVL
SBFO/Travel	XD	TRVL Dummy Advance	TRVL
SBFO/Travel	XE	TRVL HIT/OASDI Matching Agency Expense	TRVL
SBFO/Travel	XG	TRVL Guest Treasury Symbol Voucher	TRVL
SBFO/Travel	XN	TRVL Standard Voucher	TRVL
SBFO/Travel	XO	TRVL Travel Order	TRVL
SBFO/Travel	XP	TRVL Payment Voucher (Relo)	TRVL
SBFO/Travel	XT	TRVL Travel Voucher (TDY)	TRVL
SBFO/Travel	XV	TRVL Travel Voucher (Relo)	TRVL
SBFO/Travel	XW	TRVL Withholding Tax Voucher	TRVL
SBFO/Travel	XZ	TRVL Payroll Zap	TRVL
SBFO/Travel/Procurement	T1	TRAN Invoice	TRAN
SBFO/Travel/Procurement	T2	TRAN Third Party Payment Voucher	TRAN