Chartfields

San José State must track and report its revenue and expeditures for each fiscal year (July to June). We track these monetary transactions using the California State University's Chart of Accounts, which includes six chartfields.

Introduction

• What are chartfields?

  • Chartfields are system codes that allow the university to report on its fiscal activities to the CSU Chancellor's Office.

    Campus departments will use the following chartfields to manage their budget, revenue, and expenses:

    • Account
    • Fund
    • Department
    • Program
    • Class
    • Project

    
    These codes will be discussed in detail below.

• How are chartfields used?

  • Required Chartfields

    Most transactions require three chartfields.

    • Account - Fund - Department ID

    
    These required codes tell us the nature of the transaction, the funding source being used, and the department that it belongs to.

    Optional Chartfields

    Departments might also use optional chartfields to track unique activities, such as:

    • Program - Class - Project

    
    These optional codes allow the campus to add additional levels of reporting for unique campus activities, such as SJSU Online, SJSU Cares, construction projects, and many other types of university activities that are not already covered in Account, Fund, and Department ID.

• Where can I find chartfields?

  • FTS

    You will see chartfields in our FTS system when you are processing financial transactions, such as requisitions, reimbursements, and transfers. You can search for appropriate codes before you submit a transaction.

    CFS

    You will see chartfields in CFS when you run reports or reconcile a ProCard/GoCard statement.

    CFS Data Warehouse

    CFS Data Warehouse is a reporting system that shows you transaction details based on your chartfields. This is a powerful tool for understanding your department's financial activities.

• How can I request a new chartfield?

  • The campus can request new chartfields when needed

    • Account: Email FinanceConnect
    • Fund: Email FinanceConnect
    • Department ID: Department Organization Change Request [DocuSign]
      
    • Program: Chartfield Code Request [DocuSign]
      
    • Class: Chartfield Code Request [DocuSign]
      
    • Project: Chartfield Code Request [DocuSign]
      

Chartfield Codes

• Account

  • The account code tells us whether the transaction is an expense or revenue. It also identifies spending categories, such as payroll, equipment, travel, office supplies, software, etc.

    The account code is six digits long. The first digit informs us about the nature of the account activity:

    • 1: Assets
    • 2: Liabilities
    • 3 & 4: Equities
    • 5: Revenues
    • 6: Expenses

    Most departments will have a wide range of expense activity. An example of this is expense account 660003. Some departments will collect revenue. An example of this is revenue account 502804 Special Session Registration Fees.

    For expense activity, we encourage you to review and select account codes from our Account Definitions page. Using accurate account codes will help you to to better understand your financial activity.

• Fund

  • The fund code tells us the funding source, such as state support, donor scholarships, or ticket sales. The fund code is five digits long. Some funds will collect revenue throughout the year, while other funds will receive a budget allotment each fiscal year.

    Keep in mind that each funding category has its own set of rules as to its purpose, what can be purchased/paid, and the type of revenue that can be collected.

    For more information, see Fund Types. 

• Department ID

  • The department id code (or DeptID) identifies a department or unit that has financial activities. Departments include academic, administrative, and student services.  The Dept ID is four digits long.

• Program
  • The program code is used to define on-going general activities which need to be tracked for reporting purposes or campus policy. An example of this are program codes that identify a semester: 100 fall and 103 summer.  The program code is three digits long.
• Class
  • The class code allows us to track any special cost reporting needs a campus department or other organizational unit may have that are not met by the other chartfields.  The class code is four to five digits long.
• Project
  • The project code is used to identify activities that have strict start and end dates, such as construction projects. It is also used to identify expense transactions that should be automatically invoiced to auxiliary organizations; this is known as Cost Recovery. The project code has five to eleven alphanumeric characters.

How to use a Chartfield

• Example 1 Office Supplies

  • The College of Social Science is buying printer paper for their copiers. The expense will be charged to 660003 – 70000 – 1124.

    They are going to use:

    • Account 660003 Supplies and Services
    • Fund 70000 CSU Operating Fund
    • Dept ID 1124 College of Social Sciences
• Example 2 Construction Project

  • Facilities is purchasing supplies related to renovations in the Spartan Stadium. The expense will be charged to 660916 – 70000 – 1172 – 10025.

    They will use:

    • Account 660916 Building Maintenance and Repair
    • Fund 70000 CSU Operating Fund
    • Dept ID 1172 Facilities Development & Ops
    • Project 10025 Spartan Stadium Lighting Project 
• Example 3 Faculty Research

  • A faculty wants to buy specialized equipment in support of their research. Their expense will be charged to: 
    619001 – 70031 – 1607 – A1867 – R04. 

    They will use:

    • Account 619001 Non-instructional Equipment
    • Fund 70031 Research Scholarship and Creative Activities
    • Dept ID 1607 Biomedical Engineering
    • Class A1867 Dr. Chen
    • Program R04 RSCA Seed Grant
• Example 4 Course Fee Revenue

  • The College of Health & Human Sciences is offering special session courses for their Master of Science, Nursing, Concentration in Family Nurse Practitioner program.  The registration fees collected will post to 502804 – 48110 – 1118 – 100.

    They will use:

    • Account 502804 Revenue Dist Special Session
    • Fund 48110 PaCE Health & Human Sciences
    • Dept ID 1118 Nursing
    • Program 100 Fall