Maintaining Funds
Using the Funds function, you can track your library's finances, including appropriations, expenditures, and encumbrances. This function also allows you to maintain current funds and create fund hierarchies. Funds can optionally be divided into seven subfunds.
Sierra funds contain both system-maintained and user-editable fields. Funds do not use record numbers, but rather a unique fund code that you supply when creating the fund. Sierra enters information in the system-maintained fields through the order, invoice, and posting processes. These fields are not editable by the user, with the exception of the appropriation, encumbrance, and expenditure amounts which can be adjusted using the Fund Adjustment table. For further information on funds, see Fields in Sierra Funds.
Using the funds in your system, you can view and generate various reports, including the following:
Funds also can be deleted from the system provided that certain conditions are met. For instructions on deleting funds, see Deleting Fund Codes.
Subfunds in Sierra
The subfunds option allows you to divide the funds in your system into as many as seven subfunds to aid you in tracking expenditures. When you use subfunds, each order record is tied to a specific subfund (and thereby to a specific expenditure category) by entering the subfund code into one of the single-character fixed-length fields in the order record (in most cases, the ORD TYPE field is used).
Your library can define the number and names of subfunds in your system by altering the code meaning of the ORD TYPE field (or the field chosen for subfunds) via the Fixed-Length codes option. Subfunds should be given descriptive names to identify the expenditure category against which the expenditure is applied. Some examples of subfund names are "STANDORDS", "FIRMORDS", "SUBSCRIPTS", etc. If you define more than seven subfunds, Sierra groups all additional subfunds into the first subfund.
Once your system is set up with your subfunds, expenditures are automatically logged to the appropriate subfund (based on the ORD TYPE or other fixed-length field in each order record) as invoices are posted. The number of the subfund prints after the fund number on all invoice registers. When you print Fund Activity Reports, the system shows fund expenditures broken into subfunds. See Generating Fund Activity Reports for more information.
NOTE
Subfunds track expenditures only. Sierra does not track appropriations or encumbrances at the subfund level. Appropriations are made at the fund level.