iJournals is an Oracle Financials system that allows users to transfer money or expenses from one account to another or across Expenditure Types or Object Codes.
Effective Feb. 5, 2024, a new authority and access model was implemented for new users of the iJournals system. For more information, please see the Fingate announcement.
About
iJournals is a web-based interface to Oracle Financials that allows users to initiate transfers among PTAs or across Expenditure Types or Object Codes. Journal transfers are used to record transfers of money from one account (PTAEO or PFOO) to another, including intercompany transfers to the hospitals, for example:
- "Sale" of office supplies to another (New Journal)
- Correction of errors on Expenditure Detail Report (New Journal)
- Charge for services provided to other departments (Allocation Journal)
- Funding of a Cost Sharing Award from a gift fund (Fund Transfer)
- Charge or pay Stanford's hospitals (Intercompany Journal)
Journal Types
iJournals is used to originate various types of transactions.
| Types | Transaction Types |
|---|---|
| New Journals | Used for most standard transfers of expenditure/expense or transactions related to assets, liability or revenue objects. Also used for intercompany transfers to charge or pay a hospital department for services. Refer to: Policy: Recording Transactions between Stanford University and Hospitals. |
| Allocation Journals | Used to allocate service center charges and other expenditure allocations. |
| Fund Transfer Journals | Used by Central and designated iJournals Specialist users, with an appropriate iBudgets role, to transfer funds from one fund or award to another. |
| Accrual Journals | Used by Central and designated iJournals Specialist users to recognize revenues and expenses that have been earned or consumed, respectively, and for which the related cash amounts have not yet been received or paid out. |
| Upload Journals | Users may upload journals from an Excel spreadsheet to the iJournals database using a preformatted template. Upload journals may be used for any of the journal types. |
| Feeder Journals | Used to do allocation journals to distribute charges from independent systems into Oracle Financials. Feeder journals typically charge other departments based on usage or services provided at specific rates. Feeder Originators can use the iJournals Upload Template to create files in Excel containing the header and detail lines, which upload and validate in the iJournals system. A feeder should only be uploaded when a file contains:
|
To request a new Feeder ID, use iJournals New Feeder Request Form.
Policy
- All use of funds is guided by a common set of principles found at Proper Use of Funds.
- For information on university policy for expense transfer journals, refer to Administrative Guide Policy 3.2.2: Cost Transfers.
- For information on Feeder and Allocation journals, refer to Administrative Guide Policy 3.2.3: Allocations and Offsets.
Visit the Newsroom for recent announcements, and subscribe to receive future iJournals updates and enhancements.
Access
The role and associated privileges assigned to you in Authority Manager determine the tasks you can perform in iJournals The three levels of iJournals access are:
iJournals Public
This level of access enables users to perform standard iJournals activities. Some expenditure types and object codes are not eligible for use in iJournals Public journals.
New iJournals Public users will need to:
- Have your school/department grant you "SU iJournals Public" authority privilege using Authority Manager. For help determining who can grant authority in your organization, refer to Topic Overview: View Financial Authority Assignments.
- Complete required training including any prerequisite courses not previously taken.
iJournals Specialist
iJournals Specialist users are primarily financial staff in service centers and auxiliaries or senior financial staff in operating units who need to perform specific tasks related to their areas. Specialists can:
- Use restricted expenditure types and object codes
- Upload batch files
- Initiate fund transfers (for a subset of specialists with additional responsibilities). Fund transfers also require an iBudgets authority.
- Enter accrual journals (for a subset of specialists with additional responsibilities)
- Be designated as a feeder owner with feeder management privileges (based on job functions and department requirements)
iJournals Central
iJournals Central access is reserved for central office users in Fund Accounting, Capital Accounting and the Office of Sponsored Research. It allows access to additional Expenditure Types and Object Codes. Based on job functions and department requirements, iJournals Central users may also be designated as Feeder Owners with feeder management privileges.
Requesting iJournals Specialist or iJournals Central Access
To request iJournals Specialist or iJournals Central authority, download and complete the iJournals Responsibility Request form, including an appropriate authorization signature. You can manually sign or use e-signature for the request form. If you are not set up for e-signature, refer to Adobe Digital ID. Send the completed and signed form to Systems and Reporting Operations (S&RO) to process the authorized request.
For any attribute changes for a feeder journal, such as Feeder Owner, Business Owner, Feeder Contact, or Force PTA change, use the iJournals Feeder Update Request Form.
For help determining the appropriate iJournals responsibility, refer to Resource: iJournals Responsibility Matrix.
Learning
iJournals learning content is for individuals who create expense or revenue journals in iJournals.
Online training is available in STARS. Click the course link below to learn more.
- FIN-PROG-0020: Financial Stewardship Expectations
- Required for all Oracle Financials system users.
- FIN-0102: Using Stanford Chart of Accounts
- Prerequisite to enrolling in FIN-0210 (below) and other financial training courses in STARS.
- FIN-0210: Introduction to iJournals
- Required for new iJournals Public, iJournals Specialist, and iJournals Central users.
Learning supplements are available for just-in-time learning following course completion.
- Creating Journals Learning Supplements
- Provides examples of completed journals and detailed instructions for creating New and Allocation journals
How tos
| Category | How-to Instructions |
|---|---|
| Oracle Basics | |
| For iJournals Users |
|
| For iJournal Approvers | |
| For Feeder Owners and Business Process Owners |
Use iJournals New Feeder Request Form to request a new Feeder ID. |
| Tasks Requiring Special “iJournals Accrual" Responsibility |
Use iJournals Responsibility Request Form to request authority for accruals.
|
| Tasks Requiring Special "iJournals Bulk Fund Transfers" Responsibility |
Use iJournals Responsibility Request Form to request authority for bulk fund transfers. |
Reporting
iJournals Reports
For information about iJournals, use:
- OBI Consolidated Expenditure Reporting Dashboard.
- To view iJournals details including approvals, refer to the OBI Consolidated Expenditure Reporting Dashboard: iJournals Report.
For information about OBI, see OBI Financial Reporting.
iJournals Inquiries
iJournals Users may use Public Inquiry within iJournals to access and print individual journals.
Protected journal entries (e.g., human subjects) may only be viewed by the originator and Central Office users.
Feeder Owners (a subset of iJournals Specialists) may use Feeder Inquiry within iJournals to:
- Select specific feeder files based on criteria entered
- Access and open a feeder file via an Excel icon
- View last Status Date column for timestamp of last action performed on a feeder
