As the budget is developed in the budget module for the upcoming year, it goes through a series of iterations, such as when system members enter budgets, when amounts are negotiated and when budgets come in from different system members. So, for each set of each submission or time a budget is loaded or updated for a given account, a version is usually created. Note, budget versions can be updated by creating new versions if those versions have not been marked. A version is a given instance of a budget, which is a collection of categories for a given account.
Since multiple versions can be associated with an account, these versions are marked with the given name. The version that can be edited when the budget module is active is called the current version, so each time a budget version is saved, it usually becomes the active version.
During the budget season at specified, fixed times, the budget is marked and “snapshotted” to record where the budget is at the marked time. A process in FAMIS coordinated through the A&M System Budget Office creates this snapshot. FAMIS supports three marks in the budget:
- Board – a version of the budget that is frozen and submitted to the board, usually earlier in the summer or in the spring.
- Done – usually taken after the salary and merit work are folded into the budget.
- Fed – the version fed to FAMIS.
These marks are made at different times during the budget season, and those versions, or the status of those allocations and transfers at the time of the marking, become unchangeable.
Transfers and Allocations
Transfers and allocations in the budget module record the movement of funds between accounts. For example, legislative general revenue appropriated income is recorded as expected revenue, which is often a single account or a small set of accounts. That revenue is allocated to various departments and programs, specified in the budget module as SL or GL accounts.
Transfers and allocations are not associated with specific budget versions. They are managed centrally, and versioning these transfers and allocations is not part of the FAMIS budget module design. However, allocations and transfers are marked and approved; once marked and approved, they cannot be changed.