Article Intended For
All university faculty, staff, researchers using Penn State Research Information Systems - SIMSbudgets
Introduction
On March 28, 2023, a new enhanced version of the SIMSbudgets - Budget Locator will become available for use. The Budget Locator displays and allows navigation between user budgets. The Budget Locator has been enhanced to improve the ability search and filter results. These enhancements are listed in sections below.
With the initial launch of the enhanced version, in order to give users an opportunity to familiarize themselves and provide feedback, users will be able to toggle between the old and revamped Budget Locator. Details related to the toggle and feedback functionality can be found in the SIMSbudgets: Revamped Budget Locator - Initial Launch.
The navigator displays both General Ledger and Object Code budgets, and is sometimes referred to as the Universal Budget Locator as it replaces the Object Code Budget Locator. Clicking on an Object Code budget will take the user to the Object Code Budget Explorer. Clicking on a General Ledger budget will take the user to the General Ledger Budget Explorer.
Article Body
Icon Menu
Icon | Icon Name | Description |
New GL Budget | Opens a new GL budget parameters page to start the creation of a new general ledger budget | |
New OC Budget | Opens a new OC budget parameters page to start the creation of a new object code budget | |
Previous Budget | Go to the last reviewed budget | |
College Control Panel | Available to college AORs to manage faculty budget access | |
Cayuse 424 | Link to the Cayuse 424 system | |
Help |
The help key was moved to the upper right hand corner Clicking this link will take you to the Knowledge Base (KB) article for the SIMSbudgets Support Home |
Search Options
After search criteria is updated, a user can select "Search" or hit ENTER on their keyboard in order for locator to perform search and display results. The search options available are listed in the table below.
Option Type | Description |
Budget Type |
|
Access Limits |
NOTE: A basic user will not see "Access Limits" on the search panel. This search option only displays for AORs. Default for a basic user is only "Created by Me", therefore it is not visible. |
Budget Sharing |
|
Budget State |
|
Search Text |
|
Search by Date Created Range |
Note: Previous OC Budget Locator did not have ability to search for records prior to the previous 18 months unless you knew the Budget Key. |
Reset |
|
Search Results
A list of budgets that you can have access to are returned based on the search criteria listed under Search Options. A maximum of 500 search results can be returned. They system will return a warning banner if your results exceed 500.
When viewing the search results, when "not validated" appears next to a sponsor name in the table, this signifies that the sponsor still needs to be validated within the budget parameter screen for that specific budget. Example:
Graphics:
The graphics/icons are shown in the search results for easy identification of budget state and the type of budget (OC vs GL):
Locked Budgets
Deleted Budgets
Archived Budgets
Private Budgets
General Ledger Budget (Prefixes the Budget ID); Applicable to the Universal Locator only
Object Code Budget (Prefixes the Budget ID); Applicable to the Universal Locator only
When hovering over a budget, a pop-up window displays with additional budget details and graphics.
- Unit
- Sub Unit
- F&A
- Start/End Date
- Created By
- Current state of the budget if it is Private, Locked, Deleted, or Archived
Filtering Search Results
Displayed budgets can be filtered by any of the columns that appear in the table, as well as by sponsor abbreviation and information that appears when you hover over a record. To filter for specific budget detail, use the text box to the top-right of the records.
- Budget ID
- Budget Key
- Primary PI
- Sponsor
- Title
- Sponsor Abbreviation
- F&A Basis
- Unit
- Sub Unit
- Last Updated Date
- Create/End Date
- Created By
NOTE: When filtering for any date, do not use preceding zeros for month or day. For example, enter 1/1/2023 (in place of 01/01/2023).
Sorting Search Results
Search results can be sorted by any of the column labels in the search results table. To sort, click on the column name. Arrows to the right of the column name will display up when sorted in ascending order and a down arrow will display if column is sorted in descending order. The default sort on initial search results is by budget create date in descending order (most recent date first).
The columns in search results are:
- State
- Primary Investigator
- Sponsor
- Title
- Budget ID
- Last Update
NOTE: Create date is not visible in the search results table.
Links
SIMSbudgets: Revamped Budget Locator - Initial Launch