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Transitioning from the Paper 55302

This message is intended to address concerns arising out of the recent discontinuation of distribution of paper copies of the PPP5302 report.
It will answer questions concerning the PageCenter web view of the PPP5302 as well as provide information regarding other tools for verification and reconciliation available in BAIRS. We apologize for the length of the message; we feel that full descriptions of the tools available should be offered to campus staff who work with payroll data, either for reconciliation or analysis.

Access to PageCenter

PageCenter is a web-based tool used for viewing the PPP5302 in an on-line format identical to that of the printed paper report. It is intended for inquiry only. PageCenter is accessible only by holders of a mainframe ID.
Therefore access is available only to staff with OPTRS access at this time. A web form is under development and will be posted for use by departments until such time as access can be requested through SARA. We will notify the campus when the web form is available. In the meantime, MSOs and CAOs should request access for their employees directly by e-mail to Peter Young (pgyoung@berkeley.edu), providing OPTRS ID and the list of processing units whose payroll information should be viewable by the employee. Processing unit/home department is the smallest unit for which a PageCenter user may have access. These requests for PageCenter access will be turned around rapidly by Payroll, typically within one day.

Access to BAIRS

Information on individual pay and benefits in a data format based on
PPP5302 is available in BAIRS in a recently re-designed report called BIS_PPS_Expense_Detail_Curr. As BAIRS users know, a report containing individual pay information (but summarized benefits information) has been in existence for some time (the GL Customer Report). Access to both of these reports is obtained by requesting the subject area "Payroll" on the BAIRS and BIS request page in SARA (http://fbaccess.berkeley.edu/users/logon/logon.cfm).

If you are new to BAIRS, you should also check the box labeled "Standard Reports--Dashboards" in the "Type of Report" section and indicate the org level for which you require access.

If you are a current BAIRS user but are not able to see the new report, you need to adjust your access through SARA. Once on the BAIRS and BIS Request page, check "Payroll" under "Type of Data." Your access to "Dashboards" or "Metatopics" must be consistent across subject area ("Type of Data"). So, if you have "metatopics" access in BAIRS financial and/or budget subject areas, you should also select "metatopics" for the payroll subject area. Likewise, if you have "dashboard" access and/or "metatopics and dashboard" access your payroll request must match.

If you are unsure about your current access, please call the BFS/BAIRS help desk (3-4250) for help.

Printing from PageCenter

To ease this transition, departments may request single paper copies of the PPP5302 by sending an e-mail to Allen Lee in Payroll (aolee@berkeley.edu).
This interim option will be discontinued in the future following further review of the process. Departments are not required to print the PPP5302 for reconciliation or any other purpose, including documentation of expense transfers (more discussion of this issue follows below).

Printing from BAIRS

There are no new issues with respect to printing reports from BAIRS.
However, users should be aware that the PPS Expense Detail Report in its generic form contains too many columns to fit on a single landscape 8-1/2 x 11 sheet. It may be easier to export the report to Excel and manipulate the columns to suit your formatting needs before printing the sections of payroll data you need. The BFS/BAIRS help desk is available for help exporting reports to Excel, but cannot answer questions about Excel use.
Excel classes are available on campus through Cal Pact (http://calpact.berkeley.edu/).

Important Information from the Controller's Office Regarding Documentation and Reconciliation

Reconciliation: In accordance with UCOP policy, departments need to perform a monthly review of the legitimacy of salaries paid and to correct any errors. To assure that all payroll charges are appropriately reviewed, departments are expected to establish necessary internal control procedures. In order to ensure proper separation of duties, departments should assign responsibility for reviewing payroll data to someone other than the OPTRS or HRMS preparers, or the employee who distributes payroll checks or earnings statements. Departments are responsible for documenting that the monthly review has been performed by requiring the assigned staff member to initial and date a log (such as the SAS 112
checklist found at http://controller.berkeley.edu/SAS112/index.htm). We
encourage departments to use the detailed payroll reports accessible via PageCenter and BAIRS that provide the data in the format in which you can best review it. Departments do not have to print and keep these reports for audit purposes, because the reports can always be re-run. The data contained in the electronic system is the official record for the campus.

Payroll Transfers: Documentation to support the cost transfer must include a full explanation of the reason for the transfer and reference the original charge. Departments can document their rationale for the payroll adjustments by writing it on a departmental form, printing the PAN notification including the description, or through some other mechanism that can be provided upon request. It is not necessary to print excerpts from the reports in PageCenter or BAIRs to show the original payroll charge and the correction, since the electronic data can be obtained in the future if needed.

We hope that this information will be helpful to campus departments in determining what tools can best serve them. We encourage everyone to attend the forums currently in progress, in which PageCenter is demonstrated and the PPP Expense Detail Report in BAIRS is explained (please go to http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/ice/home/ and look for the course entitled "PageCenter/BAIRS training for Expense Distribution reports").

If you have any questions regarding PageCenter, payroll expense transfers, or other payroll issues, please send an e-mail to payhelp@berkeley.edu.
If you have questions or comments regarding other matters related to this transition and are unsure whom to call, please send an e-mail to Linda Fitzgerald (fitzgerald@berkeley.edu), Manager of ESS User Support, and your question will be routed to the appropriate resource. Payroll, the Controller's Office, and ESS User Support (BFS, BAIRS and HRMS) are standing by to assist departments with the transition from paper PPP5302s to the on-line tools available for payroll expense review.

Last updated: June 18, 2007