FundWriter Setup
Overview of FW01
Configuring FundWriter Setup is the first step in preparing the FundWriter system for use. It enables you to indicate the basic account structure your business employs in its chart of accounts and to enable multi-company functionality, among other important settings.
Before your organization can begin using FundWriter, there are certain setup options that lay the foundation. Chief among these is the structure of your general-ledger account numbers: the number of segments and the length and alphanumeric make-up of these segments. FundWriter Setup can also be used to require approval of journal entries, to enable/disable prior-period transactions, and to customize descriptions of fund segments, among other important details.
NOTE: Certain portions of FundWriter Setup become disabled once your organization has established its general ledger and begun to record transactions against it. For example, you will not be able to easily switch the structure of your account segments (number, length, alphanumeric composition, etc.) after GL transactions have begun. Therefore it is critical to set up a stable account-segment structure from the beginning and stick with it wherever possible. DDI Support and development must assist where circumstances warrant a transition to a new account-segment structure
It is CRITICAL to understand that settings on this screen should not be changed in the middle of a year, as they can have negative consequences to your financial management and reporting. If you are considering making changes to these settings, please contact DDI Client Support prior to proceeding, especially if it is in the middle of your year.
- From the DDI Connect main menu, double-click FundWriter
- Double-click General Ledger Setup
- Double-click FundWriter Setup. You will see this screen:
Please note that what you see on this screen will depend entirely on what your organization has already configured for your FundWriter setup.
As you can see, there are three tabs available on this screen:
G/L Format
The following settings are available for configuration on this screen:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Number of G/L account segments | This is the number of alpha and/or numeric segments used to uniquely identify a category in your organization’s general ledger. The maximum allowed is six (6)
NOTE: When you establish the number of segments, the DDI Connect system will update the segment setup fields to reflect that number. For example, if you set 3 as the number of segments, you will have three rows to configure in the fields below |
| Type | This indicates the type of segment you are adding. Your choices are Fund, Acct or ZIP. This field is not required for the setup of the GL |
| Format | This indicates what character format the segment should be in. The choices are Alpha, Numeric, or Alpha/Numeric |
| Length | This field establishes the character length of the segment. Once entered, the system will not allow a segment to be entered that does not have this specific number of characters. If the character number varies, enter a V in this field |
| Link | If the values of the segment you are configuring are based on the previous segment’s values, you will want to link the segments using this option. Change the “no” to “yes” if that is the case |
| Global | This column/field will only display if your organization has multiple entities. If that is the case, setting this option to “Yes” indicates that the segment values and descriptions for this segment are shared by all entities |
| Description | Enter a complete, custom description for this account segment |
| Abbr. | Enter an abbreviation of the custom description for the account segment |
| Sep. | This is the character that separates account segments. You can enter a B to leave blank, if so desired |
| Number of spaces between account # and description | The system defaults this to 2. However, you can increase/decrease if desired |
| Enable support for multiple companies | Multiple companies can be used to differentiate business entities within your organization. If this is enabled, Entity Codes Maintenance (FW08) can be used to set up the companies (or whatever name your business assigns these entities) and determine which users can access them. This field is selected by default. Selection of this field enables the four fields immediately below it. For information on how to configure entity codes, reference this page: Entity Codes Maintenance |
| "Company" label | This is the term your organization uses for a business entity. “Company” is the system default. However, you may wish to assign a different word as this will be used in the “company” selection at the bottom of the DDI Connect workspace in the title to Entity Codes Maintenance (FW08), and in other places where this entity is identified |
| Abbreviation | This is a shortened version of the “Company” label above. The field maximum is four (4) characters |
| # of characters | This field notates the maximum number of characters to be used for the code identifying the company in Entity Codes Maintenance. The default is a four (4) |
| Separator character | This is the character used to separate the “company” from the general-ledger account number when a GL account number is displayed in FundWriter. The default is a colon (:) |
Chart Sorting
When you click the Chart Sorting tab, you will see this screen:
The following fields are available on this screen:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Automatically insert new G/L accounts into sorted position | If you select this option, the system will automatically apply your chosen sort order to new GL accounts, and place them in the correct location in your Chart of Accounts |
| G/L Account Segments | This option is only available if the "Automatically insert..." option is chosen. This column will display all of your GL account segments. To select a sort order, click the Move > button to move a segment to the Sort Order column |
| Sort Order | Displays the sort order you have chosen for your account segments. To move a segment up or down the sort order, click it once to highlight and then click either the Move up or Move down button. You can de-select a segment by clicking the <Move button to move it back to the G/L Account Segments column |
Other Settings
When you click the Other Settings tab, you will see this screen:
The following fields are available on this screen:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Default fiscal year | The default fiscal year is usually used only if no fiscal years have been defined in Fiscal Year Setup: FW04 or if multiple fiscal years are open. After you initially set this value, DDI-Connect maintains the default fiscal year by advancing it when the fiscal year is closed. For information on how to set up your fiscal year, please reference this page: Fiscal Year Setup |
| Name of fixed budget | This is the term that will be used to identify the fixed budget throughout the FundWriter system. The default is “Approved Budget. For information on how to upload your organization's budgets into the DDI Connect system, please reference this page: Load Budget Spreadsheets |
| Name of working budget | This is the term that will be used to identify the working budget throughout the FundWriter system. The default is “Working Budget” |
| Capitalize trial balance headers and totals | This option is selected by default. If checked, the system capitalizes the headers and totals on the trial balance report |
| Include closing amounts in the trial balance | This option is selected by default. You can uncheck this box if you elect not to include closing amounts on the trial balance report |
| Copy journal document number to "reference" if blank | This option is selected by default. If you do not wish to have the journal document number copied to the reference field (if reference is blank), you can uncheck this box |
| Post transactions into and out of allocation accounts | If your organization is utilizing allocation accounts, you would select this option. For information on how to use this feature, please reference this page: Account Allocation Setup |
| Require approvals of journals | Select this field when journal entries in your business require that journal entries receive approval before they can affect the general ledger. Selecting this checkbox enables the field immediately below it |
| Req. approval level | This is the approval level an individual will need to have in order to approve a journal entry. This field defaults to zero (0) and is active only when the Require approval of journals field is selected. This number corresponds to the security level that a user has for the functions FWAPPR and FWAPPROWN, within FundWriter Security. For information on how to establish security within DDI Connect, please reference this page: Security Function Maintenance |
| Restrictions on transactions for prior periods/years | This field defaults to “Prohibit all prior period transactions”. It can be modified as necessary. The field choices and explanations are listed below:
|
History
If you click the History button, you will be taken to the Edit History screen.
When you have finished making your changes, click the Save button on the toolbar.
