As you complete the end of fiscal year activities, utilize the School Accounting System to generate the annual report for your state and the GASB 34 reports, if applicable. The report options available for the various states are:
Tips:
For detailed instructions on the Annual Report and GASB 34 Reports, refer to the Annual Reports topic and GASB 34 Reports topic for your state in the Help File, and for Kansas, refer to the Kansas Budget Report topic.
On the topic of the Annual Report and GASB 34 Reports: Do you generate the Annual Report (or Budget Report for Kansas) from within the School Accounting System? If applicable, do you generate the GASB 34 Reports from within the School Accounting System?
Click the Survey Question link to participate in the survey.
Please be sure to submit your response. We look forward to your participation in all our surveys.
The Newsletter Survey questions for the March 2024 issue related to budgets. The survey questions and responses are shown below.
Thanks to everyone who participated in our survey!
In our December 2023 newsletter, we announced the commencement of the development of the next generation of the School Accounting System. We are overhauling the business layer (query logic), which will marry to an all-new, fully browser-based experience. The new web UI (user interface) will offer a modern, intuitive, and responsive user experience, accessible from anywhere, anytime, and on most devices.
Our initial focus is to migrate the current capabilities of the Web Link add-on module, beginning with the Requisitions feature. The beta testing phase will begin within the next couple of weeks with a small group of customers. The beta opt-in will allow us to collect real-time user feedback to fine-tune the user interface.
During the beta testing, each Web Link user will have a “Try Beta” toggle available if they would like to try the updated requisition workflow. While the new interface will boast a modern and intuitive design, the fundamental elements of data entry and approvals will remain similar, facilitating a smooth transition for end-users.
Do you have vendors that have not been used in a long time? Or do you have multiple vendor IDs defined for the same vendor? If so, use the following options to clean up the vendors in your Vendor File:
Inactivate Vendors: Use the Inactivate Vendors option to quickly inactivate a group of vendors based on a date range for the Last Check Date. For example, use the Inactivate Vendors option to inactivate vendors that have not been paid in the last five years. The Inactivate Vendors option is accessed under the Options menu within the Vendor File. Click here for step-by-step instructions on inactivating vendors, or click here to watch the Inactivate Vendors Tutorial demonstrating how to complete the option.
Combine IDs: Complete the Combine IDs option to merge two (or more) vendors into one record. With the Combine IDs option, the information and all history for the vendors are merged together. The Combine IDs option is located under the Options menu within the Vendor File. Click here for detailed instructions on combining IDs, or click here to watch the Combine IDs Tutorial.
When working on the end of fiscal year, be sure to follow the steps on the end of fiscal year checklists (below) to ensure all the appropriate tasks are completed within the School Accounting System.
Reminder, the end of fiscal year checklists for Accounts Payable, Payroll, and Fixed Asset Inventory (if applicable) must be completed before doing the end of fiscal year checklist for General Ledger.
To review and learn how to complete the steps on the end of fiscal year checklists, request the End of Fiscal Year Checklist Webinars for Accounts Payable, Payroll, General Ledger, and Fixed Asset Inventory from the Training Calendar on our website.
For organizations with Web Link, if employees who help manage Web Link, or employees who are approvers for Web Link, leave and are replaced by someone new, there are certain fields within the School Accounting System that need to be updated accordingly.
For a new employee who will manage Web Link, or manage a part of Web Link (such as manage requisitions or manage leave requests), first define a new user for the employee within the User Security option and then complete the steps outlined on the Checklist for New Users Managing Web Link (click here to access) in order to update the appropriate places in the software. When setting up the new user in the User Security option, select the Web Link Administrator field if the user should have access to the Web Link Setup Options within the School Accounting System, and also have limited access to the User Security option in order to add, view, edit, or inactivate Web Link users; for additional information on adding a new user with access to the School Accounting System, click here to access the FAQ on this topic.
For a new employee who will approve requisitions and/or leave requests, add the new approver as a user within the User Security option, and then edit the applicable approval trees within the Requisition Options and/or the applicable approval paths within the Leave Request Options to replace the new approver for the old approver. Also, be sure to complete the Reassign Requisition Approvals option and/or the Reassign Leave Request Approvals option to change the user who is assigned as an approver on previously submitted requisitions and/or leaves requests that are still pending approval. Click here to access the Training Tidbit on this topic for more information.
SAS-Online Backups Update
We are excited to announce upcoming enhancements to the database configuration for our School Accounting System-Online (SAS-Online) customers. These updates will be implemented in the coming months and are designed to enhance maintenance, management, and resource allocation. This initiative will improve your overall experience and performance within the online environment.
A significant change you will notice, post-update, is the elimination of the manual Backup option in the School Accounting System. Nightly backups are already managed automatically for you, and with the new configuration, point-in-time restores will become feasible. This advancement reduces the need for users to manually manage SAS backups, allowing users to stay focused on the most important tasks in the business office.
As we transition to the new database configuration, we will keep you informed about when and how these changes will be implemented. In the meantime, if you have any questions, contact Customer Support by submitting a support request through SAS, calling 800.756.0035 ext. 2 or by emailing support@su-inc.com.
Each quarter the Training Snippets tutorial covers topics for new options or changes included in recent updates, along with a quick tip for an option or shortcut. The Training Snippets tutorial for June 2024 includes the following topics: end of fiscal year report formats available for this year; Web Link being updated to allow beta testing of requisitions; new option for Kansas GASB 68 Report; new option for North Dakota Teachers Retirement Report – New Format; Backup Options section within Email Manager; upcoming changes for those using the School Accounting System-Online version with updated database configuration; and lastly an end of fiscal year reminder for the Cancel Outstanding/Rejected Requisitions option. Click here (or on the image below) to watch the 4-minute tutorial. To review all the changes and enhancements included in recent updates, click here to view the release notes.
It is time for another Software Unlimited, Inc. Trivia Challenge. In each newsletter, we will test your knowledge by asking a question on various topics ranging from options in the School Accounting System to information about the company of Software Unlimited, Inc. If you are up to the challenge, try to answer the question and you may be eligible to win a USB flash drive.
Q. Where do I enter the new fiscal year end so the correct year defaults in when creating batches in Payroll? Click to answer
A winner will be selected at random from the list of correct respondents. Don’t forget to read the Trivia Challenge article in the next newsletter to see the winner and correct answer. Good luck!
In last quarter’s newsletter, the Trivia Challenge asked, How do I access the feature to create a request for Customer Support for assistance with a question or issue? The answer is by clicking Request Support in the lower right corner on one of the main screens in the School Accounting System, or clicking the Create a Support Request link under the Help & Support section on the main screens. Congratulations to Kathy Arthur from Three Rivers Sp. Services Coop for being selected at random from the list of correct respondents and winning a USB flash drive.
Software Unlimited, Inc. will be closed on:
July 4 and July 5 for Independence Day
September 2 for Labor Day
Ben joined the Software Unlimited, Inc. team in 2022 after meeting one of the company owners on an airplane. He currently is working as the software architect of the new WebUI experience for our customers. Ben works remotely from North Dakota. He loves to spend his free time playing pickleball or enhancing his Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills.
Each quarter we are excited to feature one of our customers who was selected randomly to be highlighted in our Customer Showcase. The customer being showcased this quarter is Kris McMahon who is the Payroll Manager at Lead-Deadwood School District in South Dakota. We had these questions for her:
How long have you been using the School Accounting System?
• I have used the software for 15 years.
What module do you spend most of your time working in?
• My role in the district is to use Payroll primarily.
What is your favorite feature in the School Accounting System?
• I like Web Link for use with Leave Requests and Employee Options. It allows employees to do things on their own and saves me time!
What are three words you would use to describe the School Accounting System?
• Easy-to-use, user-friendly, and time efficient.
What is your favorite part of working at your organization?
• My co-workers.
What are your hobbies?
• Snowmobiling, side-by-siding, and camping.
If you could meet or interview one person (dead or alive), who would it be, and why?
• My great-great-grandpa, so he could give me history of the resort he built in Minnesota.
What is one piece of advice you would give someone who is new to using the School Accounting System?
• Attend in-person trainings. The hand-on aspect and hearing questions from others is helpful as a new user.
