Glossary

The Account ChartField classifies the nature of a transaction by identifying the type of asset, liability, fund balance, receipt, expense, or transfer involved in a transaction.

An accounting entry represents the accounting of a transaction in Florida PALM. Accounting entries are double sided entries containing a debit and credit and must be balanced. Accounting entries can be directly created and posted within the General Ledger, these entries update the ledger balances within the ACTUALS ledger which is used for financial reporting. 

An accounting period indicates the specific time frame a transaction is recorded, posted, and stored.  In Florida PALM the accounting period will represent a month within the fiscal year.

Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) - Official annual report prepared in conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles as prescribed by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board; audited; and published. This report contains, at a minimum, three sections: 1) introductory, 2) financial, and 3) statistical. The financial section of the report provides information on each individual fund and component unit.

The main repository for all financial transactions for the State of Florida. It contains summarized revenue, expense, asset, liability, and equity balances by ChartField string. This ledger is the primary ledger and book of record in the General Ledger.

The Asset Management (AM) module is where we will manage agency property over the lifecycle of the asset, establishes the security controls, and performs month and year-end closing activities.

Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) - Official annual report prepared in conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles as prescribed by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board; audited; and published. This report contains, at a minimum, three sections: 1) introductory, 2) financial, and 3) statistical. The financial section of the report provides information on each individual fund and component unit.

The Accounts Payable (AP) module is responsible for tracking and managing suppliers, voucher invoices and payments. Some users will enter data into the module, while others will check on a status in the module.

The Accounts Receivable (AR) module is used to manage and record customer AR items and deposits.

Bureau of State Payroll (BOSP) within DFS. They ensure payments are processed accurately and timely, while verifying the payments follow applicable laws, rules, and regulations. They maintain all state employee payroll records, manage all payroll deductions, process adjustments, control payroll system access, and conduct payroll related audits. They are also responsible for properly reporting and remitting tax and retirement contribution withholdings to all regulatory agencies.

Business Unit (BU) defines a unit in an organization that is an independent entity for accounting purposes and maintains its own set of accounting books.

Date used to budget check the transaction against the appropriate budget period (i.e., fiscal year). For newly created transactions, the Budget date will default to the current date and does not need to be changed for current fiscal year appropriations. Agencies using Fixed Capital Outlay and/or Continuing Appropriations, should update the budget date to 06/30/XXXX, where XXXX is the budget period (i.e., 06/30/2022 = Budget Period 2022 = FY 21/22).

The Budget Entity ChartField represents organizations and/or functions to which appropriations are made and typically represents a program. A budget entity can be a department, division, program or service.

The process to transfer files or data from LAS/PBS (an external system) into Florida PALM.

Represents the State of Florida’s fiscal year (FY) that runs from July 1 through June 30, i.e., appropriations year.  It is a four-digit value that is the last year of the designated fiscal year, i.e., FY 23/24 will be budget period 2024.

Budgetary codes are developed and published in the Legislative Appropriations System/Planning and Budgeting Subsystem (LAS/PBS). These codes are setup or updated in Florida PALM for budgeting and transactional use.

Fund Chartfields are classified as either a Budgetary Fund or Transactional Fund. Budgetary Funds are used on budgetary transactions only to store appropriations, releases, and reserves budget.

A Bureau within the Department of Financial Services. They ensure payments are processed accurately and timely, while verifying the payments follow applicable laws, rules, and regulations. They maintain all state employee payroll records, manage all payroll deductions, process adjustments, control payroll system access, and conduct payroll related audits. They are also responsible for properly reporting and remitting tax and retirement contribution withholdings to all regulatory agencies.

Includes all forms of receipt (e.g., checks, ACH, credit cards, and cash).

Catalog of State Financial Assistance (CSFA) is a comprehensive listing of state projects.

The Category ChartField is a dual purpose code that either sub-defines appropriations or defines a revenue source.

A combination of ChartField values used to process entries within Florida PALM.

The ChartField Structure Request is a system feature which supports the initiation/request, routing, and establishment of ChartField values in Florida PALM. The ChartField Structure Request allows designated users to provide required information related to the ChartField request and systematically route for approval within the agency and to DFS. Upon approval the ChartField value will be systematically configured.

The Cash Management (CM) module is used to manage banking relationships, support bank and general ledger reconciliation, support cash transfers between bank accounts, and maintain revolving fund and clearing fund accounts.

Cash Management Improvement Act (CMIA) of 1990 prescribes the regulations for the exchange of federal funds between the U.S. Department of Treasury and the State Treasury.

Chart of Accounts (COA) is a compilation of uniform data codes that are used for reporting governmental assets, liabilities, equities, revenues, and expenditures to the CFO. Uniform data codes capture specific details of the assets, liabilities, equities, revenues, and expenditures that are of interest to the public.

Consolidated Revolving Account (CRA) is a single bank account managed by the Treasury with sub-accounts for individual agencies that is used by the agencies as a revolving fund to make direct payments and is replenished with General Revenue or a Trust Fund.

Conversions refer to the activities of transforming legacy data and loading it to Florida PALM. Florida PALM will use legacy data from FLAIR and agency business systems to populate opening balances in the General Ledger and the data needed to support operations.

Consolidated Revolving Account (CRA) is a single bank account managed by the Treasury with sub-accounts for individual agencies that is used by the agencies as a revolving fund to make direct payments and is replenished with General Revenue or a Trust Fund.

Catalog of State Financial Assistance (CSFA) is a comprehensive listing of state projects.

The Custom Contract Page is specifically designed for Florida to provide functionality via a Custom Contracts Information Page.

The Custom Grant Page is specifically designed for Florida to provide similar functionality to the FLAIR Grant information screen.

A Data Warehouse is a central repository of data, reports and reporting tools available to meet the State’s information needs.

Check, credit card, and ACH payment types not paid by the financial institution (e.g., insufficient funds, credit card chargebacks, and closed accounts).

The Department of Financial Services (DFS).

A transaction to record deposits in the AR module.

Document360 is a cloud-based help desk solution that enables users in businesses across various industries to create, collaborate and publish self-service knowledge bases for their products. Features include content management, guided problem solving, discussion boards, product cataloging, and more.

The Department of Revenue.

Transactions that contain errors in Florida PALM where the data was interfaced from Enterprise Systems will be deleted in Florida PALM. The error must be corrected in the Source System and resubmitted to Florida PALM within the appropriate interface for processing.

The Executive Office of the Governor/The Office of Policy and Budget

The employee Self Service Portal in Florida PALM allows employees to add/modify their W-4 form, add/modify their direct deposit information, opt-in to receive their W-2 form electronically, view/print W-2 forms and view/print earnings statements (check stubs/advices).

Is a term used for stale payments where the warrant was not cashed within 12 months of issuance, and those funds are transferred to the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund. The Unclaimed Property Management Information System receives an interface file from Florida PALM with the associated payee information.

The Florida Accountability and Contract Tracking System (FACTS) provides a means to track state contracts by government agencies and gives the public access to contract information.

File errors that cannot be processed and will abend the load program if encountered. These may be data type errors, invalid formatting, and unique key constraints. The entire file will be rejected, and a new, corrected file must be submitted or transactions must be entered manually online. This type of error only applies to the 120.1.1 Interface File Error Handling process.

Florida Financial Management Information System (FFMIS) is a collection of information systems providing fiscal, management, and accounting support for state decision makers. FFMIS subsystems include:

• Planning and Budgeting Subsystem (LAS/PBS)
• Florida Accounting Information Resource Subsystem (FLAIR)
• Purchasing System (MyFloridaMarketPlace)
• Personnel Information System (People First)

Funding that supports agencies to carryout state and federal programs.

A tool that facilitates payment transactions between Florida PALM and the bank.

Any consecutive 12-month period designated as the official budget year of the financial reporting entity. The fiscal year for the State of Florida begins on July 1 and ends the following June 30.

The Florida Accountability and Contract Tracking System (FACTS) provides a means to track state contracts by government agencies and gives the public access to contract information.

Section 215.97, Florida Statutes, establishes state audit and accountability requirements for state financial assistance provided to nonstate entities.

Fund is a ChartField that segregates and captures specific activities or classifies certain objectives in accordance with special regulations, restrictions, or limitations. Fund can be classified as one of the following types:

• Budgetary Funds - used on budgetary transactions only to store appropriations, releases, and reserves budget. 
• Transactional Funds - used to record financial accounting entries or budget entries for allotments. 

The General Ledger (GL) module is used to establish the statewide accounting framework and agency-specific accounting and reporting needs, manage investments, manage interest apportionment, and support the forecast and management of agency cash balances.

Financial assistance that provides support or stimulation to accomplish a public purpose. Grant values can represent grant awards and other agreements in the form of money or property in lieu of money, by grantor to an eligible recipient.

Transaction errors that cannot be processed and will be rejected. These errors once corrected, will need to be resubmitted for processing by file, spreadsheet upload, or manual entry. These errors may include PALM-required fields that are missing, or contain incorrect ChartFields, and have monetary amounts that don’t total header and lines.

The Human Resource Information System that is used by the Legislature.

Human Resource Information System (HRIS) are software applications external to Florida PALM (e.g. People First, Highline) that manage human resources and related processes such as recruitment, performance management, time and attendance, learning and development and more.

Human Resource Information System (HRIS) are software applications external to Florida PALM (e.g. People First, Highline) that manage human resources and related processes such as recruitment, performance management, time and attendance, learning and development and more.

The Inter/IntraUnit (IU) module supports recording the movement or adjustment of financial resources between agencies (InterUnit) or within an agency (IntraUnit). IU transactions include encumbrances, accruals, expenditure/revenue, transfers, and reclassifications.  

Movement between two agencies. For example, a state agency may pay another state agency for services performed. 

Movement within the same agency. For example, an expenditure is reclassified to another fund within the same agency. 

The Inter/IntraUnit (IU) module supports recording the movement or adjustment of financial resources between agencies (InterUnit) or within an agency (IntraUnit). IU transactions include encumbrances, accruals, expenditure/revenue, transfers, and reclassifications.  

The Commitment Control (KK) module is used for control, management, and reporting of budget.  This module includes ledgers that maintain appropriations, releases, reserves, and Fund cash which controls and tracks budget, cash, expenses, and revenues.

A knowledge base is a self-serve online library of information about a product, service, department, or topic. The data in your knowledge base can come from anywhere. Typically, contributors who are well versed in the relevant subjects add to and expand the knowledge base. The content can range from the ins and outs of your HR or legal department to an explanation of how a product works. 

Acronym for Legislative Appropriation System/Planning and Budgeting Sub-system which are applications that manage the budget/appropriations preparation, approval, and execution process for the State.  The Executive Office of the Governor/Office of Policy and Budget (EOG/OPB) is required to develop the planning and budgeting system and to provide services to the Legislature for the support and use of the Legislative Appropriations System.

A permanent summary of amounts entered in supporting journals, which list individual transactions by date.

Legislative Appropriation System/Planning and Budgeting Subsystem (LAS/PBS) which are applications that manage the budget/appropriations preparation, approval, and execution process for the State. The Executive Office of the Governor/Office of Policy and Budget (EOG/OPB) is required to develop the planning and budgeting system and to provide services to the Legislature for the support and use of the Legislative Appropriations System.

A PO/Encumbrance where the generic Encumbrance Supplier is used because the specific supplier is not known at the time a PO/Encumbrance needs to be created. Memo Encumbrances cannot be vouchered against. The Agency Encumbrance Processor must change the generic Encumbrance Supplier to the actual supplier on the PO/Encumbrance before a voucher can be created referencing the PO/Encumbrance.

MyFloridaMarketPlace (MFMP).

A Managed File Transfer (MFT server).

Payroll processing that occurs outside of the regularly scheduled payrolls. In Florida PALM, off-cycle transactions can be processed to accommodate payments, adjustments, and/or reversals that are not able to be processed during an On-cycle Payroll.

Payroll processing that occurs on a regularly scheduled basis. In Florida PALM, scheduled payrolls include Monthly Payroll, Bi-weekly Payroll, Supplemental Payroll, State Active Duty/Florida State Guard Payroll.

The Payroll (PAY) module includes functions that support the management of payroll lifecycle activities.  This includes maintaining employee records, calculating and processing payroll, payroll deductions and remittances, tax reporting, and other related activities.

Consolidates a set of employees with the same earnings begin and end date, check date, and pay frequency. When the paysheet is created, the system processes one pay group at a time.

The instrument by which the payment will be issued to the supplier/payee. Valid Payment Method values in Florida PALM include System Check, EFT and ACH, Wire, and Manual.

Paysheets contain the data required to calculate employee pay for each pay period.

The Project Costing (PC) module is used to establish non-sponsored Project information which results in a Project ChartField value for tracking related transactions.

A purchasing Card (PCard).

The Purchasing (PO) module allows you to create an encumbrance based on information recorded on a Purchase Order and maintain and monitor encumbrances.

The Project Costing (PC) module is used to establish non-sponsored Project information which results in a Project ChartField value for tracking related transactions.

Florida Statutes establish processing time limits for paying supplier invoices to avoid interest penalties.

Interest penalties assessed on vendor/supplier invoice payments not made in compliance with the Prompt Payment Law processing time limits established within Florida Statutes.

The Receiving (RV) module allows you to create encumbered and unencumbered payables, using the purchasing receiving function, to support the annual Carry Forward process.

Regular Voucher are the most common voucher type which is used when making a standard invoice payment. This includes encumbered (PO) and unencumbered vouchers.

Is a document that is sent to the payee (supplier) along with System Check (Warrant) payments or separately via email for ACH/EFT payments to inform the payee (supplier) what goods or services the payment was processed for.

Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) is a financial statement schedule prepared by management that lists an organization's expenditures of federal assistance for the fiscal year by federal agency, grant number and amount.

Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) is a financial statement schedule prepared by management that lists an organization's expenditures of federal assistance for the fiscal year by federal agency, grant number and amount.

Stand Form 425 is the Federal Financial Report (FFR) used by recipients to record federal award financial information on a quarterly, semi-annual, or annual bases.

Transaction errors that occur downstream from the Inbound Interface Error Handling Process. These transactions cannot be processed but will be held in Florida PALM for correction. Errors at this stage will need to be addressed to move further into the transaction tables. Additional information can be found in the 120.1 Interface Error Handling Process.

A system other than Florida PALM where data resides and may need to be interfaced to Florida PALM for use within financial transactions.

Preconfigured ChartField combinations that can reduce the time required to enter ChartField values during transactional entry. SpeedKeys are established and maintained by each agency.

Special Purpose Investment Account (SPIA) is a Treasury operated special investment program for public entities such as agencies, component units, universities, or colleges.

A process to transfer data within a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet systematically into Florida PALM to create transactions.

All payments that exceed 12 months are stale-dated payments. These payments (all warrants) are then either returned to the originating fund or escheated to Unclaimed Property.

The State Travel Management System (STMS).

All individuals or entities receiving a payment are referred to as suppliers in Florida PALM. Also referred to as a vendor. 

The Treasury Management (TM) module includes a collection of business processes that manage banking relationships, investments, and interest apportionment for agencies and external entities.

Fund Chartfields are classified as either a Budgetary Fund or a Transactional Fund. Transactional Funds are used to record financial accounting entries or budget entries for allotments.

Treasury is a Division within the Department of Financial Services who ensures that cash and other assets held for safekeeping within the Treasury are accurately accounted for, effectively invested and competently protected.

Tools that provide the ability to organize ChartField values hierarchically and are mainly used in setting up security, in combination editing, and for reporting. They are used to summarize ChartField values so that the summary levels can be used in other areas of Florida PALM.

State account(s) established by the Legislature consisting of monies received by the State, which under law or under trust agreements are segregated for a purpose authorized by law.

Provides vendors/suppliers with a resource to make inquiries into payments made to them by the State of Florida.

Event of matching the cash deposited into the Concentration Account to the agency record in the accounting system to validate the amount and record the cash balance in the appropriate agency and fund. 

An official certificate, or legal security, authorizing a supplier to receive consideration (money). 

Workflow is a feature within Florida PALM that automates business processes by routing transactions, approvals, and notifications to the appropriate users. It integrates with various modules, enabling agencies to efficiently manage workflows, track the progress of tasks, and ensure that business rules and procedures are consistently followed.