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SWIFT Update May 21, 2020


Negative Encumbrances on Purchase Order Lines

Purchase order lines with negative encumbrance balances create unauthorized spending authority in appropriations. This unauthorized spending authority can lead to appropriations being over-obligated or over-expended once budgets are closed.

Please make every effort to close any unneeded negative encumbrances. Users can search for negative encumbrances using the M_PO_GBL_NEG_ENCUMB_KK query in SWIFT's Query Viewer. Minnesota Management and Budget’s Accounting Services recommends that buyers and budget staff review this query frequently and remedy negative encumbrances as needed as the end of the budget year approaches.

Negative encumbrances generally fall into three categories:

1) The purchase order line is originally established as a positive encumbrance, but now has a negative encumbrance balance.
The purchase order currently has a negative encumbrance balance and is in "Valid" Budget Check status. If the encumbrance is in the current budget period, increase or close these lines immediately to eliminate the negative encumbrance.

2) The purchase order line is closed, but the negative encumbrance balance remains.
The purchase order has a negative encumbrance remaining and is in “Error" Budget Check status. Make sure to check that there are funds in the budget to close this type of negative encumbrance. If the encumbrance is in the current year, agencies may need to adjust budgets for the budget check to succeed. If the encumbrance is in a closed budget period, please contact the SWIFT Help Desk.

3) The agency created a valid negative purchase order line.
Agencies may have intentionally entered the purchase order line as a negative value. Please review and verify that these lines are still needed. Also make sure that there is an offsetting positive encumbrance on the same purchase order. If there is not an offsetting encumbrance, the appropriation budget may be over-obligated upon budget close at fiscal year-end.

Please contact the SWIFT Help Desk with any questions or requests for assistance.


Help Desk Hot Topics

Help Desk Hot Topics feature Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) answered by the SWIFT Help Desk. Use these as a friendly reminder of a process or as an opportunity to learn something new!
Q. How do I create an expenditure correction in the Accounts Payable module in SWIFT?
A. Use a Journal voucher to adjust accounting entries for vouchers that have been posted and paid. The most common use of a journal voucher is to change the funding string on expenditure entries that were entered into SWIFT incorrectly or need to be updated.
See the Journal Vouchers reference guide for additional information.


Reminder: The SWIFT Help Desk Remains Open

Please contact the SWIFT Help Desk for any questions, concerns, or issues you have with SWIFT.

SWIFT Training and Resources 

The SWIFT training team is following the guidance from the Governor’s office on Supporting State Workforce through COVID-19. We are offering online training through webinars, one-on-one sessions, and video tutorials.

  • Webinars: We are offering modified online versions of our classroom training. They are shorter and meant to provide basic demonstrations of the SWIFT modules. If you are newer to SWIFT, please consider taking the Introduction to SWIFT: Navigation webinar before enrolling in a module-specific webinar.
  • One-On-One Sessions: If you would like one-on-one training on a SWIFT module not offered through a webinar, please email SWIFT.Project@state.mn.us to request a one-on-one session.
  • Training Guides and Video Tutorials: Please check the SWIFT Training Guides and Resources page for training guides and video tutorials. You will find training guides covering each module on SWIFT. We will add video tutorials to this page in upcoming weeks.

To find and enroll in SWIFT webinars, open the Self Service or Administrative Portal and select the ELM tile. On the Learning Management page, select Find Learning on the left menu. On the Find Learning page, enter “SWIFT” in the Description field and choose Search. Seats are available in the following webinars: 

Module

Webinar

Date 

Time 

Intro

Introduction to SWIFT Webinar (Navigation)

June 3, 2020

9:30 am to 11:30 am

Intro

Introduction to SWIFT Webinar (Navigation)

June 17, 2020

9:30 am to 11:30 am

Intro

Introduction to SWIFT Webinar (Reporting Tools)

May 27, 2020

9:30 am to 11:00 am

Intro

Introduction to SWIFT Webinar (Reporting Tools)

June 10, 2020

9:30 am to 11:00 am

Intro

Introduction to SWIFT Webinar (Reporting Tools)

June 26 2020

9:30 am to 11:00 am

PO

SWIFT Overview on Purchase Orders Webinar

June 2, 2020

8:30 am to 10:00 am

SC1

SWIFT Create a Contract Shell Webinar

June 16, 2020

8:30 am to 10:00 am

SC2

SWIFT Overview on Creating Contract Documents Electronically Webinar

May 26, 2020

8:30 am to 10:00 am


SWIFT Training Guides and Resources

You can find reference guides on all modules in SWIFT on the Training Guides and Resources page.


SWIFT Help Desk

Contact the SWIFT Help Desk for any questions, concerns or issues you have with SWIFT:
651-201-8100, option 2 or by email  SWIFTHelpDesk.MMB@state.mn.us Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday; closed holidays. When emailing the SWIFT Help Desk, be sure to include all details regarding the issue. 

Information to include with your message:

  • Issue Description
  • Business Unit
  • Module (Accounts Payable, Purchase Orders, etc.)
  • Transaction ID (Voucher ID, PO ID, etc.)
  • Error Message Print Screen
  • Additional assistance can be found on the SWIFT Training Guide page.

SWIFT Update Mailing List

The SWIFT Update is sent to the SWIFT Newsletter subscription list. Use the links at the bottom of the page to subscribe or unsubscribe to the SWIFT Newsletter subscription list.


Printing the SWIFT Update

  • If you are experiencing issues printing this update, download a PDF version and print that version
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