Overview

This article covers how to enter additional Commitment Details via Task 7.3 Enter Commitment Details, which is the third step of entering a Commitment record in the Resource Commitment Tracking Tool (RCTT). The following steps are for users of Excel Smart View.

Essential Information

Please note, KB0033726: How to Enter Commitment Details and Review Calculations in EPBCS via the EPBCS Web Application is a separate article.
Task 7.3 Enter Commitment Details is a data entry form that captures additional details not entered on Task 7.2, such as Commitment Amounts, Start and End Dates, and Destination chartstring information.
This form displays details for a single record under a selected POV.
Data should only be entered on Source Commitment records (primarily Base Commitment, occasionally Reclass Commitment) - Destination (Transfer In) records are view-only.
Cell colors have meaning:
- Light orange fields indicate data has been entered but not saved - all data must be saved by clicking the Submit Data button in the Smart View Excel ribbon before proceeding to the next task.
- Pale yellow fields with data indicate data in the field has been saved and submitted to the database.
- Grey fields are view-only.
- Red fields require input before Commitment can be finalized.
The Commitment will automatically recalculate each time you click Submit Data.
Reviewing calculations allows a user to see the scheduled distribution of committed resources across a relevant time period, and is a necessary step in ensuring proper data flows.
Special characters can cause issues in databases, and should not be used in values or descriptions - for more information on special characters, see Oracle’s article on Naming Restrictions for Dimensions, Members, and Aliases.
Additional actions will be needed to process and finalize your Commitment record.

Next Steps

Navigating to a Commitment Record on Task 7.3 Enter Commitment Details from Task List

Open Excel workbook and connect to EPBCS Planning environment.
Login using Single Sign-On.
In the Private Connections Smart View panel, expand each node in the connection panel by clicking the ‘+’ symbols until you see the Task Lists folder, then click on the ‘+’ symbol next to Task Lists to populate the list of commitment tracking forms.
Double-click 7 - Create and Manage Commitments to expand the Task List - this will result in a new view in the panel.
Double-click task 7.3 Enter Commitment Details - this will automatically take you to a 3-Year Time Horizon view of the form.
Change POV selections for Financial Unit, Project, Fund, Function, Budget Type, Scenario, and Commitment ID and then click the Refresh button to retrieve detail tied to a specific CTID - each element must be specifically tied to a Commitment record to retrieve appropriate results (i.e., you must select the specific Financial Unit, and not a parent member).

-OR-

(PREFERRED METHOD) Navigating to a Commitment Record on Task 7.3 Enter Commitment Details from Task 7.2A Enter Basic Commitment Data - Simplified

Open Excel workbook and connect to EPBCS Planning environment.
Login using Single Sign-On.
In the Private Connections Smart View panel, expand each node in the connection panel by clicking the ‘+’ symbols until you see the Task Lists folder, then click on the ‘+’ symbol next to Task Lists to populate the list of commitment tracking forms.
Double-click 7 - Create and Manage Commitments to expand the Task List - this will result in a new view in the panel.
Double-click task 7.2A Enter Basic Commitment Data - Simplified to render the form in the active Excel sheet.
On Task 7.2A Enter Basic Commitment Data - Simplified, locate the active Commitment record for which you want to enter/view details - remember that you enter data on Base Commit/Reclass Commit records, while Transfer In records are view-only.
Right-click on the relevant CTID to activate the Action Menu, select Smart View at the bottom of the menu, and then select one of the Details Time Horizon views: 1 Year, 3 Year, 5 Year, or 10 Year - your selection should be dependent on the length of the Commitment.
This selection will generate a new sheet for Task 7.3 Enter Commitment Details, where you can enter additional information and take action on your Commitment.

Best practice is to use Steps #1-8 above to navigate to 7.3 from 7.2, as navigating directly to 7.3 will require you to manually select each individual dimension in the POV to generate details for the relevant record.

Enter Commitment Details - Descriptive Values

Within the No Year/Assumptions (or No Year/BegBalance) column:

If not already entered on Task 7.2A, select a value from CT Commitment Status.
Enter the start date of the commitment in CT Start Date- note that for prorated commitments, the value entered in this field will be used to calculate the prorated amount in the relevant fiscal year.
Enter the end date of the commitment in CT End Date.
Ignore the CT Pushed field for now - this is a read-only field, and values will be populated based upon running the "Approve and Push Commitment" action.
If the name was not already entered on Task 7.2A, enter it in CT Name.
Ignore the CT Budget Request Type field - this is used by the Campus Budget Office only to record information related to our annual budget process.
Select the reporting category of the commitment from the dropdown menu in CT Category.
Ignore CT Amount fields for now, those will be entered in another column in a later step.
Within CT Prorate, select a value from the dropdown menu - No indicates that a Commitment will receive the entire annual amount in the current fiscal year, and Yes indicates an amount to be received that is less than the annual amount but is commensurate with start/end dates.
Ignore CT Create Date - this is an auto-populated field, with the value based upon the date the CTID was activated.
Generally, you will not enter a value in CT Initiate Date - this field should only be populated if you are choosing not to lump sum your commitment in a specific month, and would like to specify a date to begin monthly distributions that may be different from the month of the Start Date.
Within CT Lump Sum Month, select the relevant month from the dropdown menu.
Ignore CT Approve Date, CT Push Date, and the CT Reclass Date fields - these are read-only and will be auto-populated based upon future actions taken on the record.
If you did not select your name in the CT Created By field on Task 7.2A, select it here now.
In the CT Approved By field, select the name of the approver - note that this selection is only used for reference/reporting, and this selection does not generate any approval automation, workflow, or notifications.
Within the CT Account Code field, select the relevant account code from the dropdown menu. Note that a handful of account codes with a "CBO" or "OP" prefix are available in this dropdown menu, but those account codes should not be used by anyone outside CBO.
Within the CT Destination Financial Unit field, select the relevant receiving Financial Unit - if the Financial Unit is not available in the drop-down menu, please request that it be added by submitting a ticket with the Destination Financial Unit Request Form attached via the Services & Support Portal.
Within the CT Destination Project field, select the relevant receiving Project.
The CT Destination Fund and CT Destination Function values are auto-populated to match the Source Fund/Function values selected upon activating the commitment, but you are able to change the values for these Destination fields if needed by selecting different values in the dropdown menus.
CT Destination Task is an optional field used for reporting purposes only - generally, you will want to leave this field blank as resources are not transferred at the Task level.
Ignore the CT Source Financial Unit, Project, Fund, and Function fields for now - those fields are read-only and will auto-populate once the record is calculated in a future step.
CT Source Task is an optional field used for reporting purposes only - generally, you will want to leave this field blank as resources are not transferred at the Task level.
If you did not enter or would otherwise like to revise your internal notes, you can enter/revise the text in the CT Source Notes field - remember that this field is visible only to those with access to the Base/Reclass record.
If you would like to record notes that are visible to the Destination, you can record them in the CT Destination Notes field - once the record is Pushed in a future step, these notes will be available to those with access to the Transfer In record.
Click the Submit Data button within the Planning ribbon to commit the details you just entered to the database - previously darker yellow cells should turn pale yellow after successful submission.

Enter Commitment Details - Commitment Amounts

Within the FYxx/Assumptions (or FYxx/BegBalance) column:

Within the CT Amount field, enter the amount committed in the relevant fiscal year.
Optional - within the CT Approved Budget Amount field, enter the approved amount in the relevant fiscal year. This field allows a user to store an initial approved amount, while designating a different amount to actually be transferred - if you do not enter a value in the CT Approved Budget Amount row, the current year CT Amount value will auto-populate in that field once you Push the commitment.
Click the Submit Data button within the Planning ribbon to commit the details you just entered/selected to the database, and to calculate the commitment - previously darker yellow cells should turn pale yellow after a successful submission.

Review Commitment Calculation

Use the scroll bar at the bottom of the screen to scroll to the right, so that you can verify that your Commitment was calculated as intended - keep in mind the following:
1. If you have selected a month in the CT Lump Sum Month field, the full annual CT Amount for the current year should appear within that month column in the current FY.
2. If you have not selected a month in the CT Lump Sum Month field, the RCTT will automatically calculate an even monthly spread of your full CT Amount based on your CT Start Date.
3. If CT Start Date = 07/01, then full CT Amount will be spread equally over 12 months.
4. If CT Start Date > 07/01, then partial CT Amount will be spread equally over remaining months in current FY, with proportion of annual CT Amount spread determined by CT Start Date.
5. You should see corresponding CT Amount Debit/Credit values in the months for which resource distributions are scheduled in the current year:
  - Debits are Expenses to the source, and are expected to appear as positive amounts.
  - Credits appear as negative Expenses.
If the commitment is a multiyear commitment, you can review that out-year amounts saved appropriately by scrolling to the right and expanding Year Total and Qtr sections by double-clicking on the plus sign (+) in those headers.
IMPORTANT: Commitments must be recalculated on an annual basis. While you should see the scheduled distribution of the commitment across the CT Amount row, you will not see CT Amount Debit/Credit values in future years.
If your Commitment is not calculating as expected, check your CT Amount value(s) and other relevant fields, including: CT Start Date, CT End Date, CT Initiate Date, CT Prorate, and CT Lump Sum Month - update values and click the Submit Data button to recalculate as necessary.
If any monthly adjustments (+/-) are needed, enter these amounts in the CT Monthly Adjustment row (or CT June Final Adjustment, for June adjustments to be tracked separately) under the relevant FYxx/Month column, and click the Submit Data button - note that these adjustments will not change the value captured in CTAmount/FYxx/Assumptions (or CT Amount/FYxx/BegBalance), but will generate debits/credits to be processed in the relevant month, and will update the value at CT Total Amount/FYxx/Year Total to capture the sum of CT Amount and CT Monthly Adjustments/CT June Final Adjustment in the relevant fiscal year.
Repeat Steps #1-4 to review and revise commitment calculations.

Questions?

If you need any additional assistance, please submit a ticket here.

How to Enter Commitment Details and Review Calculations in EPBCS using Smart View