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Manage a Soft Commitment for Goods and Services in CMS

This page provides instructions for creating Soft Commitments to project one-time and recurring purchases of goods or services, and to edit or delete a Soft Commitment for goods or services in CMS.

Create One-Time Soft Commitment in CMS

Defining a One-Time Soft Commitment will allow you to project a one-time purchase of goods or services. The One-Time Soft Commitment amount will roll forward from month to month until manually deleted. Burdening (IDC/Infrastructure) associated with the commitment is automatically calculated by CMS.

  1. Enter ofweb.stanford.edu in the browser
  2. Click Login
  3. As prompted, log in using SUNet ID and password

  1. Select the Goods and Services tab
  2. Enter account (PTA) search criteria from the Manage Goods and Services screen
  3. Select Go – Execute Your Search 

  1. Select Add Soft Commitment
  2. Select One-Time from the Add a Soft Commitment screen
  3. Add Soft Commitment details
    1. Enter a Description (maximum 50 characters) 
    2. Enter additional information in the Notes box, if desired
    3. Select a month and year from the Start Period drop-down lists to define when you want your Soft Commitment to occur
    4. Enter the forecasted amount in the One-Time Amt field 
      The One-Time Soft Commitment amount will roll forward from month to month until manually deleted.

  1. Select Add Line to open a PTAE distribution line
  2. Add account and expenditure type details
    1. Enter a valid Project, Task, Award and Exp Type for the projected expense
    2. Enter the percentage of the expense that you want forecasted against the PTA in the Dist % field
    3. Enter Notes (optional)
    4. If charging less than 100% of the expense to one PTA, add additional lines to distribute the full amount
  3. Select Save
What Happens Next?
  • You can now see the Soft Commitment from the Account Overview screen and view uncommitted account balances with or without CMS Soft Commitments.
  • Faculty will have the option of viewing Soft Commitment data in the Faculty Financial Inquiry Tool (FFIT) the day after the Soft Commitment is entered in CMS.

Create Recurring Soft Commitment in CMS

Defining a Recurring Soft Commitment allows you to project repeating purchases of goods and services over a specified period of time. Recurring Soft Commitments are cleared as forecasted dates arrive. They do not recur beyond the end date you specify. Burdening (IDC/Infrastructure) associated with the commitment is automatically calculated by CMS.

  1. Enter ofweb.stanford.edu in the browser
  2. Click Login
  3. As prompted, log in using SUNet ID and password

  1. Click SU CMS USER

  1. Select the Goods and Services tab
  2. Enter account (PTA) search criteria from the Manage Goods and Services screen
  3. Select Go – Execute Your Search 

  1. Select Add Soft Commitment
  2. Select Recurring from the Add a Soft Commitment screen
  3. Add Soft Commitment details
    1. Enter a Description (maximum 50 characters) 
    2. Enter additional information in the Notes box, if desired
    3. Select a month and year from the Start Period and Stop Period drop-down lists to define first and last occurrence of the recurring expense
    4. Enter the forecasted recurring commitment amount in the Monthly Amt field

  1. Select Add Line to open a PTAE distribution line
  2. Add account and expenditure type details
    1. Enter a valid Project, Task, Award and Exp Type for the projected expense
    2. Enter the percentage of the expense that you want forecasted against the PTA in the Dist % field
    3. Enter Notes (optional)
    4. If charging less than 100% of the expense to one PTA, add additional lines to distribute the full amount
  3. Select Save
What Happens Next?
  • You can now see the Soft Commitment from the Account Overview screen and view uncommitted account balances with or without CMS Soft Commitments.
  • Faculty will have the option of viewing Soft Commitment data in the Faculty Financial Inquiry Tool (FFIT) the day after the Soft Commitment is entered in CMS.

Edit or Delete Soft Commitment in CMS

Gather the account information and edits needed.

  1. Enter ofweb.stanford.edu in the browser
  2. Click Login
  3. As prompted, log in using SUNet ID and password

  1. Click SU CMS USER

  1. Select the Goods and Services tab
  2. Enter account (PTA) search criteria from the Manage Goods and Services screen
  3. Select Go – Execute Your Search 

  1. Find the Soft Commitment in search results 
    The Source column differentiates Hard "PO" Commitments from forecasted Soft Commitments which are labeled "CMS Recur" or "CMS 1-Time."
  2. Click Reference Number link to access the Edit Soft Commitment screen

  1. Edit the Soft Commitment fields:
    • Description
    • Notes
    • Start Period
    • End Period (for recurring Soft Commitments)
    • Amount
    • PTAE Distribution lines


    Or, click Delete Commitment to delete the entire Soft Commitment

  2. Select Save
Additional Information
Last Updated: Jul 25, 2023
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