Oracle Inquiry Tools Home
Oracle Financials Inquiry Tools provide lookups to information stored in Oracle applications that is live or in the case of pending transactions refreshed hourly.
Select the links below or tabs above to jump to pages describing the reporting available for each inquiry tool.
| Click this link... | ...for reports about | |
|---|---|---|
| Expenditure Type Query | Details about expenditure types and object codes | |
| Fund Title Query | Details about funds (awards) and their projects and tasks | |
| Requisition and Purchase Order Query | Details about requisitions, purchase orders and invoices Includes information about closing POs and seeing commitments |
|
| Financial Approval Authority Query | Find the people who can approve transactions based on award or project/task as well as by authority privilege (grant) | |
| Vacation Query | For a particular approver, find who can act as their delegatee to approve transactions through either Vacation delegation or granted worklist access, includes historical delegations Provides a list of transactions with delegated approvals |
|
| Supplier Query and Request | Find suppliers by different characteristics | |
| Labor Distribution User Query | Find the people who can enter a labor schedule or create a labor distribution adjustment transaction for a specific Stanford employee. | |
| Pending Transactions | Show information about all of your specific purchasing and business expense transactions pending for any reason (requiring processing, approval by you or others, pending payment, pending supplier setup etc). |
Expenditure Type Query
Access the Expenditure Type Query from the SU Inquiry Tools and Forms folder of Oracle Financials in order to look up expenditure type codes, including transaction usage and full description, in order to make the best choice to properly record expenses. For additional information refer to Topic Overview: Purpose and Use of Expenditure Type Codes.
Data Selection and View Options
Use the first entry field to search for Expenditure Type codes by entering any part of Expenditure Type Name or Number or any word(s) in the Description (e.g., 53101 or 531 or 3101 or Equipment or Equip). Sometimes entering a shorter string is better as "Equipment" returns fewer results than "Equip" due to some descriptions not containing the full word.
You can further refine your results by creating additional filters by clicking the Actions button, selecting Filter and then choosing specific columns to search.
Report Views
Results display in a table consisting of 14 columns, and include usage rules and full descriptions. Refer to the section below titled Understanding the Data for column definitions.
Only 50 rows will display at a time but clicking the Actions button reveals a Download option which will include the full search result as well as a rows per page option to show up to 1,000 rows per page.
Understanding the Data
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Expenditure Type Code | A five digit number, the Expenditure Type Code is a representation of Expenditure Type. |
| Expenditure Type Name | Brief textual representation of the Expenditure Type, which is the identification of the kind and/or purpose of every expenditure recorded on the university's books. |
| Expenditure Category Code | A five digit number, the Expenditure Category Code is a representation of Expenditure Category. |
| Expenditure Category Name | Brief textual representation of the Expenditure Category which is a roll-up of Expenditure Types and provides identification of the kind and/or purpose of every transaction. |
| Salary Code |
Classified as salary? Y/N "Y" indicates this is a salary related code and is only visible in OBI Financial Reporting to those with authority for Salary Data. Adjustment to transactions charged to these codes must be made using System: Labor Distribution Adjustments. |
| Natural Account | High level value of the natural accounting hierarchy (Asset, Liability, Revenue, Expenditure) |
| IJ Public | Available for entry in iJournals with authority level iJournals Public |
| IJ Special | Available for entry in iJournals with authority level iJournals Specialist |
| IJ Central | Available for entry in iJournals with authority level iJournals Central |
| iPO | Available for use in Internet Procurement module of Oracle |
| PCard | Available for use in PCard module of Oracle |
| ET Start Date | Date first available for entry in transactions |
| ET End Date | Last date available for entry in transaction |
| Expenditure Type Description | Explanation of typical usage, guidance on how to use and not use and pointers to other related expenditure types |
Additional Resources
When no results are displayed (i.e. before entering a query or after clicking the Reset button) an Additional Resources section appears showing a:
- Link to this same report displaying all Active Expenditure Types
- Link to this same report displaying all Active & Inactive Expenditure Types
- Link to Expenditure Type Mapping Resource listing which Expenditure Types can be used in the Expense Request System depending on various parameters
- Link to the Burden Expenditure Mapping Schedule listing the expenditure types subject to fringe and/or indirect cost rates
- Link to Stanford direct and indirect Cost Rates
Fund Title Query
Access the Fund Title Query from the SU Inquiry Tools and Forms folder of Oracle Financials in order to look up attributes of funds, aka awards, and their PTAs and determine if it is appropriate to use the fund for a specific purpose.
Sample Business Questions
- What are the PTAs and their details associated with a specific award?
- Which awards have a specific character string in their award number or fund title (name)?
- What is the fund purpose of a particular award so I can determine appropriate uses of the funds?
- Within the PTAs of an award, which are the PTAs matching a certain field value, e.g., Task Type = STUDENT_AID?
Data Selection and View Options
Find fund(s) based on a search of the fund title (Award name) or number. The search is not case sensitive, and does not need to contain the whole title, just a word or partial word.
Report Views
See information about a fund, including the fund purpose and the Project-Tasks linked to the fund (Award) and a variety of attributes.
Initial screen shows only awards, with 8 columns of data, in batches of 50 rows.
- Drilling on Award # produces a table with 35 columns of data about the PTAs of award and has its own filter to reduce results further.
- Drilling on the words “Fund Purpose” returns the Fund Background and Purpose.
Screens of tabular data can be exported to Excel and include all rows, not just visible rows.
Requisition and Purchase Order Query
Access the Requisition and Purchase Order Query (a.k.a. Web Inquiry) from the SU Inquiry Tools and Forms folder of Oracle Financials in order to search for requisitions, purchase orders and invoices by a variety of search parameters, and do the following:
Initiate Actions:
- Upload an Invoice for Payment Processing
- View and Suppress Commitments
- Initiate Finally Close Process
View information in the following sections:
- Addresses (Supplier and Ship to)
- Requestor Information
- PO Line Details
- PO Approval List
- Requisition Details
- Contracts Status
- Invoice Payment Details
- Status of Uploaded Invoices Associated with a PO
Sample Business Questions
- What are the details of a specific Requisition or Purchase Order number?
- What are the outstanding commitments?
- What invoices have been uploaded against this Purchase Order number?
- What POs and Requisitions have been created for criteria like PTA, date range, expenditure type and suggested supplier?
Data Selection and View Options
Refer to How To: View Requisitions, Purchase Orders or Invoices for more information.
Tips for using the Advanced Search:
- Enter multiple fields in order to narrow your search.
- Using the Task field will require first entering a Project number in the Project field.
- The Creation Date Range uses a combination of the "From" date and the "To" date. The default values define a range from 180 days ago to today, but can be changed to suit your search.
- Dates must be accompanied by at least one other field.
Report Views
A returned search for a specific PO or Requisition number or drilling on the number in an advanced search list opens the details screen which has details as well as links for the three actions listed in the introduction above.
Commitments and invoice line matching are not revealed until the Show Commitments button at the bottom of the screen has been selected.
After clicking the Show Commitments button the following additional detail is displayed:
Financial Approval Authority Query
Access the Financial Approval Authority Query from the SU Inquiry Tools and Forms folder of Oracle Financials in order to find authorized approvers for a Project and Task or an Award including type of approval authority, scope, limits and contact information.
Other methods of viewing authority assignments include using the Authority Manager system; refer to How To: View Authority Assignments and OBI Authority Dashboard for more information.
Sample Business Questions
- For a particular award or project and task who can approve financial transactions?
- What is the GL Journal dollar limit for each approver?
- Which transaction types can the person approve?
Data Selection and View Options
Select a radio button for either A Project and Task or An Award; when you choose a project you must also select a task.
Transaction type choices depend on the radio button selected:
| Award or Project and Task | Transaction Type choices |
|---|---|
| Award | All Budget Control Gl Journal |
| Project and Task | All Expense Journal Labor Distribution Requisitions |
The query returns results including the authority scope, limits and contact information for the approver(s). The results are sorted by Transaction Type and within type they are ordered by the "lowest level" of authority granted. When Oracle Financials selects an approver, it looks for the person with the lowest level of authority first, with a sufficient dollar amount in the Approver Limit column for the transaction in question. For example, if a transaction of $900 requires an approver, it would select an individual with a $1,000 Approver Limit before selecting an individual with a $5,000 Approver Limit. Similarly, it looks for the individual with the lowest level of Auth Scope for the transaction in question. Another way of thinking of this is the approver who is "closest" to the transaction. For Project-Task based authority, the order is Task, Project, Principal Owner, Task Org and Parent Org. The query brings the results back in this authority scope order.
Understanding the Data
Use the table below to map the transaction types to authority privileges and to which systems those approvals apply.
| Authority Privilege | Approval of |
|---|---|
| Budget Control | iBudgets |
| Expense Journal | iJournals for PTAEO transfer of expenditure types |
| GL Journal | iJournals for PFOO transfer of object codes |
| Labor Distribution | Labor distribution adjustments |
| Requisitions |
Expense Requests (which includes Expense Reports, Digital Payments, TCard, Advances, Non-PO Payments and Petty Cash) PCard Approval Requisitions (which includes iProcurement non-catalog requests, SmartMart Catalog Suppliers and Amazon Business) |
Vacation Query
Access the Vacation Query from the SU Inquiry Tools and Forms folder of Oracle Financials in order to see vacation delegations (workflow directed to a different person to approve transactions) and worklist access (someone given authority to open someone else's work list of transactions requiring approval and approve them). The tool also provides an audit history of delegations of the transactions handled on someone's behalf.
Sample Business Questions
- Who was given vacation delegation and for what date range?
- Who was given worklist access and for what date range?
- Which transactions were handled on behalf of the selected person?
Data Selection and View Options
- Enter a SUNet ID and select Search.
To determine a person’s SUNet ID, view the details returned by the Stanford people search at Stanford Search or go directly to the Stanford Directory. Select log in to see non-public information.
- The query returns the person's Vacation Delegation history and their Worklist Access history (with active delegations sorted to the top).
- Select the link Show the transactions handled on behalf of (SUNet ID) to see the list of transactions (with most recent transactions sorted at the top) approved by a delegatee. Transaction information includes the transaction type (e.g., PCard, Expense Requests, etc.), Oracle transaction ID, approval action, SUNet ID of the person who took the action and date action taken.
Supplier Query and Request
Access the Supplier Query and Request from the SU Inquiry Tools and Forms folder of Oracle Financials in order to look up details about existing suppliers, request new supplier setup and view pending requests.
Options in the left page navigation are:
- Search/Maintain Payees (includes link to request supplier information update and link to Supplier and Payee Registry)
- Request New Payee/Supplier
- View your Pending Request
Refer to:
Data Selection and View Options
Enter a name or payee/supplier number and select Search. Names can be partial and use wildcards. To search using wildcards (%), enter: %search term%.
Labor Distribution User Query
Access the Oracle Financials Labor Distribution User Query in the SU Inquiry Tools and Forms folder to find people who can enter a labor schedule or create a labor distribution adjustment transaction for a specific Stanford employee.
Find a Labor Schedule Updater
An employee's assignment Labor Schedule record is “owned” by an organization. A person must have the proper authority to access the employee’s assignment record in the Oracle Labor Schedule system. Labor Schedule authority is granted in Authority Manager at the Organization level (a child or parent org).
You can access the Labor Distribution User Query directly from the Labor Schedules system by clicking the Labor Schedule Authority link in the Resources section.
In the Labor Distribution User Query tool, select the Employee Labor Schedule Updater radio button. You may search for a specific employee by either name or employee number using the entry field lookup (automatically uses wildcard). The search results will display all Labor Schedule Updaters in the employee’s assignment Organization per Authority Manager. Contact one of these individuals to request a labor schedule update.
Find a Labor Distribution Adjuster
An employee's assignment Labor Schedule record is “owned” by an organization. A person must have the proper authority to access the employee’s assignment record in the Oracle Labor Schedule system. Labor Schedule authority is granted in Authority Manager at the Organization level (a child or parent org).
You can access the Labor Distribution User Query directly from the Labor Schedules system by clicking the Labor Schedule Authority link in the Resources section.
In the Labor Distribution User Query tool, select the Employee Labor Distribution Adjuster radio button. You may search for a specific employee by either name or employee number using the entry field lookup (automatically uses wildcard). You must also specify the earnings date range and in the returned report note the valid start and end dates (a blank end date means through current date). The search results will display all Labor Distribution Adjusters in the employee’s assignment Organization per Authority Manager. Contact one of these individuals to request a labor distribution adjustment.
Pending Transactions
Pending Transactions, powered by Incorta, provides a consolidated, integrated tool where users can obtain information in one place about all of the pending purchasing and business expense transactions related to them and in certain situations, click to take action. It’s useful for Preparers, Verifiers and Approvers of transactions. The tool displays status in Oracle and is refreshed from Oracle Production (PROD) every 60 minutes.
It provides status on the users' pending transactions:
- Expense Requests Transactions (ERS): Expense reports, visitor reimbursements, digital payments, advances, and non-PO payment requests
- Credit Card Transactions: PCards and TCards
- iProcurement Transactions: Requisitions & requisition change orders
- Supplier and Payee Requests: Pending completion
- Supplier Invoices: Pending payment, on hold...
For details on access, refer to System: Oracle Financials Inquiry Tools.
This tool, which is not part of OBI Reporting, is designed to show only pending transactions before approval is completed. Once approved, view the status of these transactions in the appropriate Oracle application.
Tool Interface
Choosing Pending Transactions from the list of Oracle inquiry tools opens a view with information pulled automatically for your perspective and displayed in four sections:
- Pending My Approval
- Pending with Others
- Uncleared PCards, TCards and Advances
- Other Pending Transactions
Last refreshed time shows on top left. Pending Transactions is updated frequently from Oracle (usually <60 minutes).
Transactions can be displayed in more than one section.
Click on a transaction count number or pie wedge to open the navigation dialog for a section.
In the displayed dialog, click the link under "Go to" to display transactions for that section. If you click a pie wedge, you can instead filter the display to the selected transaction type.
After reviewing transactions, go back to the Pending Transactions home by clicking the box to the left of the title and select Pending Transactions.
Other tool options include: Bookmarks, Search Field, Filters to refine your search, Hide filters and Clear all as shown in the following two screenshots.
There are also controls to:
- Pop-out Table: Entire table visible on page for easier viewing of up to 5 lines at a time.
- Export CSV or xlsx file for this table.
Pending My Approval
Pending My Approval opens showing a list of all transactions which are in your Oracle workflow approval queue awaiting your action:
- Expense Reports, Visitor Reimbursements and Advances
- Non-PO Payment Requests
- PCards
- Requisitions
- Change Order Requisitions
- Supplier Invoices on Hold; over Dept Approval Hold or Subaward Hold
In this section, clicking on a transaction number opens a new tab in Oracle Workflow Notifications Approval where you can approve or reject. For instructions, refer to the Oracle Workflow Notifications How tos section.
Following are two examples:
Requisitions
- Click on a requisition number
- System opens a new tab, Oracle Notification Details (Approval), where you can Approve or Reject.
- Once approved or rejected, Oracle Workflow: Notifications ( Worklist) page opens with any remaining Transactions /Requisitions needing approval.
Expense Request System (ERS) Transactions
- Click on an ERS Number like an advance or an expense report.
- System opens a new tab, Oracle Notification Details (Transaction Approval), where you can Approve, Request More Info or Reject.
Once approved or rejected, Oracle Workflow Notifications (Worklist) page opens with any remaining Transactions/Requisitions needing approval as seen above.
Transactions will still show unapproved in INCORTA Pending Transactions until next update (<60 minutes). Transactions will show as approved in Oracle immediately.
Pending with Others
Pending with Others opens showing transactions created by you awaiting approval by someone else:
- Expense Reports, Visitor Reimbursements and Advances
- Non-PO Payment Request
- PCards
- Requisitions
Clicking on a transaction displays summary information in Oracle applications as follows:
- Selecting Expense Reports, Visitor Reimbursements, Advances, and Non-PO Payment Request
Opens a new tab, View Summary, like Full View from ERS (can Print or Attach/View Receipts only). - Selecting PCards
Opens a new tab, View Summary (view only overview) - Selecting Requisitions
Opens a new tab, Requisition and PO Query showing this Requisition
For example, you can click on an expense report transaction number to see the transaction Summary.
The transaction summary displays and you can print the page or attach/view receipts.
Uncleared PCards, TCards and Advances
Uncleared PCards, TCards and Advances opens showing transactions created by you, or where you are the verifier, that have not been cleared yet.
Clicking on a transaction displays summary information in Oracle applications as follows:
- Selecting PCards
-Opens a new tab, View Summary (view only overview) - Selecting TCards
-Does not open another view - Selecting Advances
-Opens a new tab, View Summary, like Full View from ERS (can Print or Attach/View Receipts only).
For example, click on a PCard transaction number to display details.
Transaction Review is display only, you must go to Oracle transaction system to revise.
Other Pending Transactions
Other Pending Transactions opens showing all pending transactions:
- Expense Reports, Visitor Reimbursements and Advances
- Non-PO Payment Request
- PCards
- TCards
- Requisitions
- Unreleased Invoice Holds
- Supplier/Payee Requests
Clicking on a transaction displays summary information in Oracle applications as follows:
- Selecting Expense Reports, Visitor Reimbursements, Advances or Non-PO Payment Requests
-Opens a new tab, View Summary, like Full View from ERS (can Print or Attach/View Receipts only). - Selecting PCards
-Opens a new tab, View Summary (view only overview) - Selecting TCards
-Does not open another view - Selecting Requisitions
-Opens a new tab, Requisition and PO Query showing this Requisition - Selecting Unreleased Invoice Holds
-Does not open another view - Selecting Supplier Request number
-Opens a new tab, Supplier Query and Request (where you must look up your pending requests)
