Accounting Basics
Reed uses a fund accounting system that uses fund, organization (orgn), account, and program codes to record financial transactions. Nonprofit organizations, governments, and institutions of higher education use fund accounting because it emphasizes accountability on how money is spent.
- Organization (orgn) numbers are five digits in length and are assigned to departments (e.g., biology or student engagement office) or special funds (e.g., faculty research funds or conferences).
- Account numbers are four or five digits in length and are used in recording transactions.
Reed’s accounting cycle is a fiscal year and it starts July 1 of one year and ends June 30 of the next year.
IRIS Budget Information
Individuals can view budget and expense activity in IRIS, which stands for Integrated Reed Information System. If someone needs access to the budget for your office, your finance manager both approves and determines the type of access an individual may have. Access is requested through the Etrieve Budget Access Form. Instructions for using the form can be found on our policies page.
View Your Operating Budget Status
- Log in to IRIS.
- Click on “Departmental Budgets” under the Departments heading on the home page.
- Select Fiscal Year Search.
- Leave the account code blank and click “Search.”
On this screen, you can sort by any of the four column headings simply by clicking on the header. If you click on any of the hyperlinked amounts, you will be redirected to the Detail Transaction Activity Screen, which outlines every transaction made to this line item.
- Documents that start with I are invoices paid.
- Documents that start with F are cash transactions, accounts receivable transactions, and payroll transactions.
- Documents that start with J are journal vouchers, or manual entries by the business office in Banner.
If you click on the document numbers that begin with I, it will take you to the Invoice/Credit Memo screen. This detail will show the invoice date of the transactions and the actual date the check was written to the vendor.
3050 Balance Forward for Prior Year
Restricted organizations will show a line item of 3050 Balance Forward for Prior Year, which is the amount of funds you have at the beginning of the fiscal year. If this number is in brackets, this is money available to spend. If it is not in brackets, then you have a deficit balance.
Do not use the account code 3050 on transactions. If the Annual Budget column is showing all zeros, then you can use any appropriate account code for expenditures, such as 5210 for Supplies, 5310 for Fees and Services, and 5410 for Travel.