USL Financials

Public-Sector Solutions, through its financial ERP solution called USL Financials, the leading full encumbrance fund accounting system, offers all the enterprise financial management features needed today by government agencies and not-for-profit organizations. We are guided by our ‘virtual alliance’ with Microsoft strategy.

To that end we strive to maintain our seamless integration with Microsoft technology. Our core product is comprised of a suite of fund accounting financial and procurement enterprise management modules that are seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Office and Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft’s NT Terminal Server. USL Financials screens are ‘concise’, ‘well-laid out’, ‘easy-to-navigate’, ‘user-friendly’, ‘intuitive’.

Our product’s usability and interface standardization allows the end user to shorten his/her learning curve drastically.

Our USL Financials applications are installed across the United States in major government entities. There are over 600 users of these products worldwide. Our recent successes are the United Ways that have embraced our product.

On the other extreme, just to exemplify the scalability of the system, USA Hockey uses USL Financials on a standalone PC to manage their funds and the daily financial activities. Since the similar client references that are provided in this proposal are long time users of USL Financials, we would urge you to call them for their opinion of USL Financials as a product and Public-Sector Solutions as a company.

USL Financials is one of very few financial management packages in the market that utilizes only the user-friendly Microsoft platform and its scalable and flexible technology. The strength of USL Financials lies in the fact that it is built with a totally open architecture.

The plumbing is all Microsoft, which greatly facilitates implementation, training, and on-going maintenance. A very typical installation/cut over can be accomplished within 1-3 months from its start. Furthermore, all the applications within USL Financials incorporate the latest in user interfaces to make them easy to understand and easy to use.

The system is specifically designed to allow its users greater flexibility in information retrieval while, at the same time, meeting their long-term reporting requirements. The fully integrated report generator combined with the many standard reports to provide all the necessary information to satisfy federal and state reporting requirements, as well support day-to-day decision-making. Our suite utilizes only:

• Microsoft Access and Visual Basic on the front-end.
• Microsoft Windows NT/2000 on client/server platform.
• Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 / 2000 on the back-end.
• Microsoft NT Terminal Server 2000 & Citrix for the web front-end.

USL Financials integration with MS Office makes it even a lot easier for the end-user to work with Excel, Word, Access, and Outlook interactively with USL Financials.

Because USL Financials modules come with the source code, all the accounting software database tables are accessible and modifiable.

Public-Sector Solutions differentiates itself by providing an ‘out of the box’, total turnkey software and implementation solution that meets Insert Client’s immediate needs while also providing the flexibility to support tomorrow’s changes: changes in the organization’s environment as well as changes in technology.

A strategic partnership with Public-Sector Solutions is a ‘win-win’ for all parties. Public-Sector Solutions offers the organization the breadth of applications, robust functionality, current technology, implementation resources to insure a successful implementation delivered with fewer consultants, fewer customizations, in less time, and at a lower cost than otherwise would be possible.

Accounts Payable

Features Include:

• Allows numeric or alphanumeric vendor numbers up to 12 characters in length. Optional automatic numbering for new vendors entered into the system.
• Fast, on-line vendor account inquiry.
• Keeps a full vendor history showing the details of all entry and payment activity for as long as you want to keep it.
• Prints a vendor analysis report.
• Vendor purchasing addresses are maintained for use with USL Financials Purchase Order. These addresses are in addition to the vendor’s remittance address.
• Vendors can be designated as temporary. When printing reports from vendor history, the temporary vendor’s name will appear, however temporary vendors are easily purged from the system once payments have been made.
• Unlimited date and time stamped notes can be attached to vendor records.
• Vendor mailing labels can be printed and the label data can be exported to Microsoft Word to be used in mail merges and for other word processing functions.
• If the vendor is an individual, it is stored in an alternate format (last name, then first name) to allow look up by the vendor’s last name.
• An unlimited number of AP accounts and cash accounts can be defined.
• Supports entry and modification of new payable vouchers, open item adjustments and voucher cancellations.
• Payables distributions can be made by dollar amount or percentage.
• Distribution codes can be set up to automatically distributes payables by percentage.
• The purchase order number and invoice number can be up to fifteen alphanumeric characters.
• A twenty-five character reference description field is provided on the accounts payable transaction screen. This reference can be printed on check stub (optional).
• Produces a pre-posting edit list and an automatic posting register.
• Handles unlimited recurring payable entries.

Accounts Receivable

Features Include:

• Provides for complete customer maintenance.
• Handles numeric or alphanumeric customer numbers up to 12 characters in length.
• Maintains complete customer history, and offers fast, on-line customer account inquiry.
• Offers Open Item and Balance Forward methods of maintaining customer balances. Balance method can be individually selected for each customer.
• Maintains customer defaults for credit and shipping terms, sales taxes, and sales representative information.
• Unlimited date and time stamped notes can be attached to customer records.
• Prints customer labels: label data can be exported to Microsoft Word to produce mail-merged dunning letters and other word processing functions.
• Allows loading of current AR open items and balances directory into the open item table to facilitate a smooth transition from a previous AR system.
• Maintains an unlimited number of AR and Bank Accounts.
• Maintains default information for finance charges, commission rules, distribution (allocation) accounts, and open item aging.
• Provides for setup and maintenance of sales representatives, sales tax codes, customer credit term codes, and ship-via codes.
• Controls sales commissions due and prints a commissions due report.

Budgeting

Public Sector BEST Budgeting/Planning Module is a public sector-wide, purpose-built budgeting and planning application. With the Public Sector BEST Budgeting/Planning Module, you’ll make better, more informed decisions by shortening the budgeting and planning cycles. And, with a planning process that is easier and more efficient, you’ll be able to encourage collaboration across departments and tie budgeting activities to performance.

The Public Sector BEST Budgeting/Planning Module lets you take control of the Budgeting and Planning process. Free yourself from the time-consuming spreadsheet mechanics and focus on strategic budgeting and planning.

Cash Receipts

USL provides cash register and workstations functions to accept walk-in or mail-in type payments. USL CR allows users to easily create transactions that are automatically tracked and reported. A rich featured cash register/receivables system, USL CR also allows non-cash register workstations to receipt batch data. Password protected and menu driven USL CR is secure and easy to use.

The USL’s cash receipts system can link payment data and amounts, to selected Banks, Fund Accounts, G/L, FIS Accounts, Receivables Histories, Report Categories, and File Export Categories. Detailed transaction data can also be stored as an electronic journal.

Check Reconciliation

The USL Check Reconciliation module provides the means to carry out two accounting tasks that every business must perform accurately:

• Keeping checkbooks for money deposited and disbursed in Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable.
• Reconciling checkbooks periodically with bank statements.

Control System

The Control System module allows true integration of any USL Financials modules at any time. Because of USL Financials’ inherent client/server design and its Microsoft Access front-end, the software can readily be tailored to provide the kind of reports and functions specific to your needs. With its flexible account code, USL Financials can easily be set up to maintain records for multiple grants, projects and departments while automatically keeping track of interfund balances and streamlining accounting across funds. When needed, funds can be set up with their own unique year-end dates to facilitate cross fiscal year reporting and accountability

General Ledger

The General Ledger is the area of accounting where all sub-ledger records are brought to be classified and summarized.

In addition to an account structure that can accommodate up to 32 characters in nine segments, USL can utilize a feature called account attributes to further categorize accounts for other purposes. These attributes can be attached to individual accounts or groups of accounts normally unrelated except as required for this purpose. These attributes can be numeric, text, codes, dates, etc.

Our clients have many uses for them e.g., to classify a type of account (restricted on unrestricted for example), grant information (granting agency, begin-end, special requirements, principal investigator), percentage allocation values (to maximize the billing capability of the grant to grantor), etc. Their use can be more than simply categorizing accounts for a special report. They can be used to store information that is the basis of calculations and analysis.

Government Financial Reporting

Management Information Exchange (MIE) for USL Financials" gives you actionable information. MIE provides advanced business intelligence technology for:

• Budget Reporting
• Performance Measurement Reporting
• Financial, Managerial, and Cost Reporting
• Financial Statement Preparation

Inventory Control

This module may be used either independently or integrated with USL Financials General Ledger, Purchase Order, Purchase Requisitions, and/or Job Cost. It provides for inventory valuation by LIFO, FIFO, Average, or a modified Standard Cost Method, and supports multiple companies and multiple warehouses. It has an unlimited number of balance sheet inventory accounts that can be used.

These accounts can be classified as being for merchandise, finished goods, raw materials, work in process, etc. Inventory transactions for credit memos use the credit memo account contained in the item record. This allows reports to be stored on disk to save computer time, and then printed later at your convenience. You also have the ability to maintain item information and print item lists, keep inventory status and print status reports, and allows you to enter, change, delete, and post inventory transactions and to print an edit list and a transaction journal.

Labor Distribution

Labor Distribution Module (LDM) provides for an integrated interface between USL Financials, payroll service providers, and electronic clocks. The interface with USL Financials provides for employee level tracking of expenses by project, funding source, and expense category with encumbrances. In specific, the following functions are provided by LDM:

Maintenance: Employee master file, Enter employee raises, Pay types, Pay periods, Pay codes, Payroll expense distributions by distribution code, Effort expense, Distributions by distribution code, Define pay period dates, Benefit distribution by fringe codes, Control information, Job code.

Processes: User interface for entering payroll data. Excel interfaces for entering payroll data, Electronic time clock interface for entering payroll data, Prepare and validate payroll data for output (Run Payroll). Issue Payroll, Create output for payroll system (Abra, Ceridian, etc.), Create direct output to PRDIST, Process payroll system output, Calculate encumbrances, Create and process adjustments to payroll.

Utilities: Purge history, change passwords, view print spool file.

Reports: Provide various listings and error reports to ensure that all inputs have been provided for a payroll run, Provides analysis reports such as effective effort reports.

Performance Budgeting

Public Sector BEST Budgeting/Planning Module is a public sector-wide, purpose-built budgeting and planning application. With the Public Sector BEST Budgeting/Planning Module, you’ll make better, more informed decisions by shortening the budgeting and planning cycles. And, with a planning process that is easier and more efficient, you’ll be able to encourage collaboration across departments and tie budgeting activities to performance.

The Public Sector BEST Budgeting/Planning Module lets you take control of the Budgeting and Planning process. Free yourself from the time-consuming spreadsheet mechanics and focus on strategic budgeting and planning.

Point of Sale

Features Include:

• Visual point of sale display suitable for customer and cashier viewing.
• Several options to control every aspect of the system.
• Easy scanning with complete inventory control including serialized items.
• Complete error handling and correction.
• Mouseless interface uses scanner and keyboard only.
• Interface to light pole including many display options.
• Totally customizable interface - all source code included.
• The first point of sale system written for cashiers and customers.
• Visual display provides information for both cashier and customer.
• Completely customizable receipts, light pole display and hundreds of setup options let you control the way you do point of sale business.
• All source code included.

Project Accounting

Project Accounting is implemented via a single new module with associated interfaces in General Ledger, Accounts Payable, and Accounts Receivable. It interfaces with Purchase orders are Requisitions; consequently, encumbering at the project level. Project Accounting will provide detail for reporting at the account and journal level, and will also provide for account or net assets balances. Project information at the account level is included in all edit lists for posting and passed on with the posted journal entries.

The project posting process updates a subsidiary journal table that contains all transactions that have project activity. All journals that have project activity are added to this project subsidiary journal table. All project reporting that includes account level information is taken from the project subsidiary journal table.

Purchase Order

Features Include:

• Allows numeric or alphanumeric PO numbers up to 15 characters in length. Purchase orders can be posted in any sequence desired or can be automatically posted in sequence.
• Supports entry and modification of POs.
• Handles multiple-drop POs if you receive goods at more than one location. For any line item, allows up to four separate deliveries to the same or different locations.
• Handles blanket POs and their releases.
• Allows up to 999 lines per PO.
• Allows up to 200 characters of description for any line item.
• Up to 99 notes can be entered for every purchase order line item. Notes can be printed under each line item on the purchase order, or they can be used for internal purposes only.
• Handles order quantities as large as 10,000,000 or as small as 0.001.
• Permits different units to be used for stocking, ordering, and receiving.

Purchase Requisition

The Purchase (Online) Requisition Module by USL includes within it a user-defined workflow capability that lets you electronically route the approval of Purchase Requisitions through the steps you define. An ability to pre-encumber funds, which can be defined at various levels, can be made part of the approval process. Once a requisition is approved, it flows automatically to the Purchase Order module where it is matched with the invoice and receiving document. Budget checking is available throughout this whole process.