Module Interactions

This article is intended to provide a high-level overview of the different Florida PALM modules within the Financials and Human Capital Management (HCM) applications, highlighting how the modules share information with one another in support of the State’s financial management processes. 

For further details regarding the events occurring in each module, please refer to the Thursday (A.M.) Design Summary and Testing Preparation Workshop meeting video here.

1. General Ledger (GL)

The General Ledger is one of the two foundational modules within Florida PALM and interacts with all Source Modules. It establishes the Chart of Accounts (COA) for all Financials and HCM applications. The General Ledger also interacts with the Source Modules by summarizing their accounting entries via the Journal Generator (JGEN) process to the ACTUALS Ledger. For this process to occur, the Source Module transactions undergo the Edit Check process which verifies that ChartField values and their Combination Edits are valid, the related accounting period based on the journal is open, and that the GL Journal is balanced by Business Unit and Fund. Lastly, the GL module is where the system controls the opening and closing of operational and adjustment periods where agencies can create and modify Source Module transactions.

2. Commitment Control (KK)

Commitment Control is the second foundational module within Florida PALM and interacts with all Source Modules. It receives external data from the Legislative Appropriation System/Planning and Budgeting Sub-System (LAS/PBS) to establish the Appropriations, Releases, Reserves, Allotments, and Spendable Cash resources utilized by the Financial and HCM applications. These and other budgetary structures determine how financial transactions are tracked and recorded, and include the resolution of Budget Checking, Cash Checking, and Invested Balance Checking exceptions across Source Modules when they apply and occur. Finally, the Commitment Control module interacts with the Source Modules by supporting the close-out of appropriations, including carry-forward, certified forward, and continuing appropriations using budget period and date within their transactions.

3. Accounts Receivable (AR)

The Accounts Receivable module is used to manage and record customer AR items and deposits. AR items are created and approved, followed by edit and budget checks. Deposits are created within the AR module. They are then reconciled and verified within the Cash Management module. Deposits are then approved back in the Accounts Receivable module. After this, edit, budget, and cash checks are run from the AR module to the GL/KK modules. Ledgers are updated which generate GL Journals within the Project Costing (PC) module.  Similarly, refunds are processed through a Maintenance Worksheet in Accounts Receivable, with necessary checks in the General Ledger.

4. Purchasing Order (PO) and Receiving (RV) 

Purchasing encompasses multiple modules that support procurement and financial processes. Key modules include the Purchase Order module, used to track encumbrances, and the Receiving module, which facilitates the Carry Forward Payables process. These modules integrate closely with the Accounts Payable module processes, enabling budget checks, voucher referencing, and accurate financial tracking. The RV module is essential for recording transactions in the General Ledger through a receiver approval process, ensuring seamless updates between transaction details and financial records. 

5. Accounts Payable (AP)

The Accounts Payable module manages financial obligations by integrating with modules like Accounts Receivable, Purchasing, Receiving, Asset Management, Cash Management, Payroll, and Project Costing. It ensures budget compliance through encumbrances, tracks expenditures, and creates accounting entries for the General Ledger. AP handles employee reimbursements, supplier payments, and distinguishes between encumbered and unencumbered payables. It also supports flexible fiscal year management, allowing prior-year payables to be processed, and streamlines financial reporting for accurate budgeting and efficient transaction processing.

6. Asset Management (AM)

The Asset Management module is the repository for agency assets records that support agency operations. New assets are created through the Accounts Payable module. The Asset Management module uses financial details from AP, such as Asset Profile ID, acquisition date, and cost, to create asset records. Assets can also be created directly within the Asset Management module. Any Depreciation activities and accounting entries are all journal-generated and sent to the General Ledger. 

7. Inter/IntraUnit (IU)

The Inter/IntraUnit module, which is custom to Florida PALM, streamlines and manages financial transactions between state agencies and within a single agency. It handles processes such as encumbrances, accruals, expenditure/revenues, transfers, and reclassifications. The IU module integrates with the Commitment Control module for budget and cash checking, ensuring updates to the appropriate KK ledgers. Transactions that pass budget and cash checking are posted to the General Ledger. Additionally, project-related IU encumbrances, expenditures, and revenues are sent to the Project Costing module. It is also important to notice the modules with which IU does not integrate, such as AP, AR, and AM.

8. Payroll (PR) and ePay

The Payroll (PR) module includes functions that support the management of payroll lifecycle activities. For payroll processing, Payroll receives personal and earnings data from Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) such as People First. Payroll sends payment files to the bank, shares payment details with Cash Management for reconciliation, sends supplier payments to Accounts Payable, and sends payroll accounting journals to the General Ledger for budget checks and posting. Payroll SpeedKeys are created in the General Ledger module and sent to Payroll to be assigned to Position Funding. The Payroll module shares the employee’s personal data and direct deposit information from the ePay module to the Accounts Payable module to create employee suppliers. Conversely, Accounts Payable provides suppliers to Payroll for processing garnishments and deductions.

9. Cash Management (CM)

The Cash Management 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 generates Treasury Accounting entries to the General Ledger module for transactions such as Consolidated Revolving Account default accounting, Sweep accounts, Forced Reconciliation and Payroll Cash Clearing entries from bank statements. The Cash Management module interacts with the AP, AR, and PR modules to share bank data and reconciliation status to assist with managing the transaction lifecycle.

10. Project Costing (PC)

The Project Costing module is used to maintain Project information which results in a Project ChartField value through the General Ledger module for tracking related transactions. Project Budgets represent the estimated or planned costs associated with the Project and interact with the Commitment Control module. The recording of Project Budgets and accurate recording of Project commitments and expenses are required to support the FCO Certified Forward Request process. Transactions and monitoring of Projects mostly occur within the other modules in Florida PALM, including AP, AR, IU, and PO. Project Closeout occurs within the Project Costing module only.

11-12: Grants Management (GM) and Contracts Management (CT) (Custom Pages)

The Grants Management and Contracts Management pages are maintained by a FACTS interface or directly in Florida PALM (for exempt agencies) to add grant award information or contract information so that Grant and Contract numbers may be used as ChartField values. Grant and Contract ChartField values are maintained within the custom Grant and Contract pages through the use of the General Ledger module. Transactions and monitoring of Grants and Contracts happen within the other modules in Florida PALM, such as AP, AR, IU, and PO.

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