format_list_bulleted Topic Overview

Accounts Payable (AP) Default PTAs

Accounts Payable (AP) Default PTAs are PTAs assigned for an organization (org) to capture non-salary transactions when they fail to post successfully to their original PTA.

When a new org is created, as part of the organization code hierarchy administered by the University Budget Office, the department must supply a PTA to be mapped as the designated AP Default PTA. To learn or change the AP Default PTA for an org, see Learn About: Suspense Account Query Tool

When non-salary transactions fail to post successfully to their original PTA, they are posted to the AP Default PTA. They can then be moved via the iJournals system to a valid PTA. If the AP Default PTA has award type "clearing," departments are required to clear balances back to zero in a timely manner (optimally this is every month or reconciliation cycle).

Typical Transactions Which Post to AP Default PTAs:

Charging instructions which were initially successful can fail over time. Requirements for a charge to post are:

  • Award status is active or at risk
  • Project status is active
  • Task is chargeable
  • Transaction Expenditure Item Date (EID) is within the most restrictive PTA start and stop date.
  • Expenditure type is not excluded via a transaction control on the project or task.

For AP Invoice transactions refer to Understanding PTA Status and End Date Validations for Invoice Processing for more information.

Identify and Clear Transactions

Use the OBI Consolidated Expenditure Reporting Dashboard > Home Tab to review all transactions that have been posted to the organization's AP Default PTA year to date. If the report shows transactions that have not been cleared, i.e., the summary section balance is not zero, then refer to the details section and use the iJournals system to move uncleared charge(s) to appropriate PTA(s).

Prevent Future Postings

Generally, it is best practice to keep transaction processing times short to avoid having PTAs become invalid during the approval process. Preventing future charges to the clearing PTA depends on the type of transaction that failed to post successfully. For each posting to the AP Default PTA, research the situation that gave rise to the posting.

Last Updated: Feb 28, 2024