Process Considerations:

• Leave With Out Pay and Furlough Earnings Codes are not encumbered; the dollar amount tied to these Earnings Codes on an employee's paycheck will not be liquidated.
• The encumbrance process does not recognize an employees Expected Job End Date (EJED) entered in Job Data; however, the resulting/eventual Job Data termination row will trigger an encumbrance recalculation.
• If an employee termination is entered in Job Data retroactively, the encumbrance balance should zero out as expected. If the termination is future dated, the termination entry will trigger an encumbrance recalculation that will be liquidated by the employee's final paycheck(s); in this scenario, there is a possibility of a small amount still encumbered after the final paycheck liquidation. To zero out, see Completing Simple Encumbrance Maintenance - Close out in HRS .
• An employee with an FTE less than 0.10 (Standard Hours less than 4.0) will not encumber, resulting in the "Encumbrance Override” box automatically being checked in Job Data > Job Information tab > Standard Hours section.
  • If an employee experiences an FTE change in Job Data to 0.10 FTE or above, the Encumbrance Override box will need to be manually unchecked to allow encumbrance calculations to resume for the rest of the current next fiscal year for that Empl Rcd.
  • If an employee with below 0.10 FTE had an encumbrance balance at the time of their termination, the encumbrance calculation will not zero out until the Fiscal Year End (FYE) encumbrance clear.
• Summer Session (Pay Group BSR) and Summer Service (Pay Groups BVR or BVF) do not encumber in HRS.  Beginning 1/1/2020, three additional Summer Service and Summer Session Bi-Weekly Pay groups HMR, HVR & HVF were created as part of the FLSA changes. These new Pay Groups do not encumber in HRS as well.
  • For UWMSN Summer Session and Summer Service only, encumbrance balances are created in SFS/WISER, but are not tied to HRS.
• Questions regarding UW-Madison Summer Session and Summer Service encumbrance balances in WISER should be directed to uwsaproblemsolvers@uwsa.edu

Instructions

A. Review and Compare Encumbrance Balances

1. Identify the Employee Name, Empl ID, Empl Record and full funding string to review.

2. Log into WISER and select your Business Unit

• Navigate to: Main Menu > Payroll > Find Salaries & Encumbrances
• Search for the Employee Name or Empl ID, and Empl Record
• Note the encumbrance balance

3. Log into HRS

• Navigate to: Main Menu > Reporting Tools > Query > Query Viewer
• Search for and run the following public query:  UW_FI_ENCUMB_BYEMPLID_V2
  •  This query provides the HRS encumbrance balance

4. Compare the HRS encumbrance balance to the WISER balance and confirm that the balances match.

• Note – HRS encumbrance balance should always agree to WISER balance.

B. Encumbrance Balance Does Not Exist or Incorrect

1. Confirm Encumbrance Section information exists

• Navigate to: Job Data > UW Custom tab
• Verify Encumbrances section is populated for the current fiscal year

2. Confirm “Standard Hours” >= 4.0 hours and/or "FTE" >= 0.10

• Navigate to: Job Data > Job Information tab > Standard Hours section
• Note: HRS will not encumber for less than 4 Standard Hours and 0.10 FTE

3. Confirm “Encumbrance Override” box is not checked

• Navigate to: Job Data > Job Information tab > Standard Hours section
• If checked, Get help from UW-Shared Services Support Team and request that the Encumbrance Override box be unchecked; encumbrance will recalculate in WISER 1-2 business days after check is removed.
• Note: If Standard Hours are less than 4.0, the Encumbrance Override box is automatically checked and cannot be unchecked.

4. If everything above looks okay, enter a new funding row using the same Effective Date and funding source as the most recent entry.

• Navigate to: Set Up HCM > Product Related > Commitment Accounting > Budget Information > Budget Funding Data Entry
• Check WISER after 1-2 business days to see if balance has been created or corrected.
  • If the balance is not created or corrected, Get help from UW-Shared Services Support Team and request a review.

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C. How to Manually Calculate Encumbrances

1. Obtain the following information from Job Data and Budget Funding Data Entry, using the following HRS navigation paths:

• Navigate to: Workforce Administration > Job Data
  • FTE:  Job Information tab, Standard Hours section
  • Pay Basis: Job Information tab, Job Information section
  • Compensation Rate: Compensation tab, Compensation section

• Navigate to: Set Up HCM > Product Related > Commitment Accounting > Budget Information > Budget Funding Data Entry
• Accessible from the Finance WorkCenter found at Payroll for North America > Payroll Distribution > Commitment Accounting USA > UW Finance WorkCenter. For more information about the WorkCenter, see KB Setting Up a WorkCenter in HRS.
  • Review funding string

2. Determine how many calendar days remain to be paid in the current fiscal year for the employees Pay Group.

• Start counting the number of calendar days remaining in the fiscal year from the day after the most recent pay period end date.  This is found in HRS on the “Review Paycheck” page, searching for Empl ID and selecting the most recent paycheck.
• Navigate to: Payroll for North America > Payroll Processing USA > Produce Payroll > Review Paycheck
• Accessible from the Finance WorkCenter found at Payroll for North America > Payroll Distribution > Commitment Accounting USA > UW Finance WorkCenter. For more information about the WorkCenter, see KB Setting Up a WorkCenter in HRS.
  
  

• BAR & BAF, Salaried Bi-Weekly ( formerly A-Basis) and H-Basis end dates will vary by fiscal year, ranging from approximately June 18th through June 29th.
• In the above BAR Paygroup employee example, there would be 322 days remaining in the fiscal year (31 -Aug. + 30-Sep. + 31-Oct. + 30-Nov. + 31-Dec. + 31-Jan. + 28-Feb. + 31-Mar. + 30-Apr. + 31-May + 19-June) = 322.

• There are a total of 364 days in an A-Basis year.
• C-Basis end dates vary by institution and year, ranging from approximately May 17 through June 5.
  • Academic year calendars for all institutions can be found here:  https://uwservice.wisc.edu/calendars-schedules/academic-payroll/; click on the institution and year; scroll to the bottom of the page and note the last day in the bottom row of dates for that institutions end date. 
  • Academic year end dates can also be verified on an employee's Job Data page, UW Custom tab, in the Encumbrances section.
  • There are a total of 273 days in a C-Basis year.
  • H-Basis end dates will vary by fiscal year, ranging from approximately June 24 through July 6.
    • Payroll calendar:  https://uwservice.wisc.edu/calendars-schedules/; the H-Basis end date for fiscal year 2017 was June 24, 2017.
    • There are a total of 364 days in an H-Basis year.

3.  Encumbrance Calculation Formulas

Note: These formulas always use the Comp Rate on Job Data on the bottom of the page. Do not use the Compensation Rate that is calculated at the top of the page.

3a. A-Basis

Annual Comp Rate (pay groups BAR, BAF)

{[FTE x (Annual Comp Rate) / 364] x Calendar Days Remaining in FY} x % Funding Dist

Hourly Comp Rate (pay groups HFR, HFF)

{[FTE x (Hourly Comp Rate x 2,080) / 364] x Calendar Days Remaining in FY} x % Funding Dist

Example:  An employee with 0.50 FTE and an annual full-time Comp Rate of $56,564 is funded 75% to one source and 25% to another, with 322 remaining calendar days:

{[0.5 x ($56,564) / 364] x 322} x 0.75 = $18,764.02

{[0.5 x ($56,564) / 364] x 322} x 0.25 = $6,254.67

Example: An employee with 0.50 FTE and an hourly Comp Rate of $35.00 is funded 75% to one source and 25% to another, with 259 remaining calendar days:

{[0.50 x ($35.00 x 2,080) / 364] x 259} x 0.75 = $19,425.00

{[0.50 x ($35.00 x 2,080) / 364] x 259} x 0.25 = $6,475.00

3b.  C-Basis

Annual Comp Rate (pay groups BCR, BCF)

{[FTE x (Annual Comp Rate) / 273] x Calendar Days Remaining in FY} x % Funding Dist

Hourly Comp Rate (pay groups HCR, HCF)

{[FTE x (Hourly Comp Rate x 1,560) / 273] x Calendar Days Remaining in FY} x % Funding Dist

Example: An employee with 0.50 FTE and an annual full-time Comp Rate of $55,123 is funded 75% to one source and 25% to another, with 266 remaining calendar days:

{[0.5 x (55,123) / 273] x 266} x 0.75 = 20,141.10

{[0.5 x (55,123) / 273] x 266} x 0.25 = 6,713.70

Example: An employee with 0.50 FTE and an hourly Comp Rate of $35.00 is funded 75% to one source and 25% to another, with 259 remaining calendar days:

{[0.50 x ($35.00 x 1,560) / 273] x 259} x 0.75 = $19,425.00

{[0.50 x ($35.00 x 1,560) / 273] x 259} x 0.25 = $6,475.00

Note: for Calendar Days Remaining in FY, if calculating encumbrance effective 1/1/20XX, there are 144 calendar days through the end of the academic year ending on 5/24/20XX.  Academic end dates vary by institution. You can verify an employee's end date on the UW Custom tab on Job Data.

3c.  H-Basis (pay groups HPR, HLR, HAR)

{[FTE x (Hourly Comp Rate x 2,080) / 364] x Calendar Days Remaining in FY} x % Funding Dist

Example: An employee with 0.50 FTE and an hourly Comp Rate of $35.00 is funded 75% to one source and 25% to another, with 259 remaining calendar days:

{[0.50 x ($35.00 x 2,080) / 364] x 259} x 0.75 = $19,425.00

{[0.50 x ($35.00 x 2,080) / 364] x 259} x 0.25 = $6,475.00

4. HRS encumbrance calculation formulas vs. user expectations

HRS calculates encumbrances using a formula different from most user’s expectations, which may be addressed as UW-Shared Services resources become available.

Example: A 1.0 FTE A-Basis employee with a monthly compensation rate of $5,000.00 charged 100% to UWSYS-136-601000-1 would have encumbrance calculated as follows as of 7/31:

HRS Balance - {[1.00 FTE X ( ($5,000.00 *12)/365 )] x 334} x 100% Funding = $54,904.11

Actual Balance - At the end of July, the employee was only paid $5,000.00, resulting in an encumbrance balance of $55,000 ($60,000 annual encumbrance - $5,000 of actual pay).

Difference between Actual ($55,000.00) and HRS ($54,904.11) balances = $95.89.  Throughout the year, the difference between Actual and HRS will change based on the number of days remaining (instead of months remaining).

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Additional Resources

Related KB's:

• Adding or Changing Appointment Level Funding for Employee's Salary Expense in HRS
• Reviewing the Earnings Encumbrance Messages Report in HRS
• Finance Report List in HRS
• Fiscal Year End Considerations in HRS 
• Funding and Direct Retro Security by Campus in HRS
• Funding Checklist and Timelines in HRS
• Review of the Nightly Encumbrance Process in HRS 
• Completing Simple Encumbrance Maintenance - Close out in HRS
• Setting Up a WorkCenter in HRS
• Get help from UW-Shared Services Support Team

Related Links:

• UWSS Service Operations - Finance
• Academic Pay Calendars
• Calendars & Schedules