HR Expense Adjustments

HR Expense Adjustments is a module in the FTS system that allows you to change the chartfields of an issued payroll check, as well as the percentage distributed to each chartfield. College and division offices will determine which employees should be granted access to this module.

Please note that even if access is granted, you can only adjust paychecks within your assigned Dept ID(s) that have an accounting date between July 1st and June 30th of the current fiscal year.

What You Need to Know

• How do I get access?

  • HR Expense Adjustment access is usually restricted to one or two individuals in a college or division. This is because paychecks can only be corrected one time. After the first correction, the HR system will not allow you to process a second correction.

    If you are assigned HR Expense Adjustment responsibilities, then you must sign up for FIN108 HR Expense Adjustment training. Please check with your College or Division Budget Officer to determine if this training is appropriate for your position.

    Once you have completed training, you can submit a Finance System Access Request for HR Expense Adjustment access.

• What information do I need to process an HR Expense Adjustment?

  • In order to process an HR Expense Adjustment, you will need the following information:

    • Department ID (Dept ID)
    • Employee ID
    • Employee Record (Rcd) Number
    • Charge Period
    • Check Number
• How do I retrieve the necessary information?

  • In most cases, you will need to run LCD (Labor Cost Distribution) reports to identify payroll discrepancies. We recommend following these steps:

    1. Login to SJSU@Work.
       
       
    2. Run LCD report - By Account Period Paid
       
       • Locate the discrepancy.
       • Identify the month and year of the discrepancy.
       • Convert the month and year to a corresponding CSU Payroll Tape Period. For example:
         • July 2022 = CSU Payroll Tape Period 202207
         • January 2023 = CSU Payroll Tape Period 202301
           
           
    3. Run LCD report - Monthly Pay Check Report
       
       • Enter the appropriate CSU Payroll Tape Period.
       • Identify the specific check number that needs adjusting. You will want to review:
         • Employee Name
         • Earnings
         • Percent
         • Distributed Amount
         • Chartfields
         • Charge Period
           
           
    4. Once you’ve identified the check that needs adjusting, you should record the following information:
       • • Dept ID
         • Employee ID
         • Employee Rcd #
         • Charge Period
         • Check Number
           
           
    5. Process the HR Expense Adjustment
       (see instructions below.)
• How do I process an HR Expense Adjustment?

  • HR Expense Adjustments can usually be processed in FTS. However, they must meet the following criteria:

    • Pay period must be within the current fiscal year.
    • The account code must stay the same.
      • EXCEPTION: Users can move Work Study (602001) expenses to the Student Assistant account code (601303) in FTS.

    
    If you don’t have access to the HR Expense Adjustment module in FTS, you should reach out to your College or Division Office for guidance.

• I can't process my request in FTS

  • The following HR expense adjustments cannot be completed using FTS:

    • Changes to the account code.
    • Changes to the department, for Work Study expenses.
    • Changes to prior fiscal year paychecks.
    • Moving the expense to a department outside of your authority.

    
    For these situations, you can submit an Manual HR Expense Adjustment Form. Please refer to the scenarios below to determine who is the appropriate recipient to process your request:

    1. Prior Fiscal Year Adjustments

       If the charge period falls within a prior fiscal year, then we will need to verify that the journal date is July 1st or later of the current fiscal year. You will need to submit an Manual HR Expense Adjustment Form to FinanceConnect.

    2. Moving Student Assistant Expenses to Work Study
       
       If you want to move expenses into a Work Study account, you will need to submit an Manual HR Expense Adjustment Form to the Accountant who has HR Expense Adjustment responsibilities in Accounting Services.
       
       Accounting Services will work with the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office to determine if the adjustment can be made and document it in the student’s records.
       
       

    3. Changing the Department for Work Study Expenses

       If you want to move a Work Study expense to a different department, you will need to submit an Manual HR Expense Adjustment Form to the Accountant who has HR Expense Adjustment responsibilities in Accounting Services.

    4. Adjustments Outside your Authority
       
       If the expense needs to be charged to a department outside your authority, then you will need to submit an Manual HR Expense Adjustment Form to Budget and Financial Management.
       
       For example, a department admin might be trying to split the cost of a paycheck between two departments. They want to charge 80% to the employee's home department and 20% to a different department outside their authority. They will need assistance to process the request since they cannot charge the expense to the second department.
• Can I correct a prior year payroll expense?

  • You can correct a prior year payroll expenses if the paycheck was processed in the current fiscal year. This means that the journal date must be July 1st or later of the current fiscal year.

    You can search for this information using SJSU@Work Query: SJ_FS_LCD_DETAILS.

    If the HR Expense Adjustment meets these criteria, you can submit an Manual HR Expense Adjustment Form to FinanceConnect.
    
    Unfortunately, we cannot correct prior fiscal year accounting transactions once the fiscal year has been closed in early July.

• Why can’t I use an Expense Transfer or Manual Journal Entry?

  • Paychecks are divided into multiple account codes for salaries and benefits. In order to correct a paycheck, you need to reverse all of those accounting lines and repost them to the appropriate account codes. In order for this to be successfully implemented, you need to use the HR Expense Adjustment process.

    HR Expense Adjustments will also update the LCD (Labor Cost Distribution) data records for the impacted employee, which will be reflected in your LCD reports [pdf].

You can also review Labor Cost Distribution to learn how payroll expenses are distributed and managed.

For additional questions, please contact FinanceConnect.