Manual Encumbrance Journals
Did you know that you can commit funds for a future expense in RIAS?
In budget planning there are times where you may want to allocate or put funding aside for a future expense. This can easily be done by preparing a Manual Encumbrance journal in RIAS.
What is a manual encumbrance journal?
Manual encumbrance journals (open commitments) are used to place funds aside for a future expense. Manual encumbrances do not affect your payments to date. As actual expenses occur for the manual encumbrance, you will need to manually create journals to adjust the manual encumbrances accordingly.
For example, in September you prepared a manual encumbrance debiting an account $1,500 for a future travel expense. In November, you incurred a $1,000 charge which was part of the manual encumbrance. To reduce the manual encumbrance, you will need to prepare a manual encumbrance crediting the account $1,000, therefore reducing the manual encumbrance to $500.
Will a manual encumbrance journal be reflected in my financial reports?
Yes, the encumbrance journals will be reflected in your financial reports and will be included in your account balance calculations.
There is also a report under the FD Encumbrance Detail report for Manual Encumbrances by Fund Source.What are the benefits of using a manual encumbrance journal?
Ensuring availability of funds when needed: When reviewing your financial reports, you will have already identified and allocated funds required for a future expense therefore ensuring availability of these funds when needed. For example:
Easily identify upcoming funding requirements: You can easily identify upcoming funding requirements by using the FD Encumbrance Detail report – Manual Encumbrances by Fund Source.
Bottom line balances: If manual encumbrance journals are used for all future expenses, it helps provide a more accurate bottom line account balance in the summary reports.
How do I create a manual encumbrance journal?
