Labor Ledger FAQ
What data exists in the Labor Ledger?
The payroll encumbrance and expenditure detail by employee (salary and fringe) exists in the Labor Ledger.
Nightly, the detailed information is summarized by account and object code and fed into the KFS General
Ledger.
How do I access the Labor Ledger data?
To view the detailed payroll information, 3 main inquiry screens are available. They are located on the KFS Main
Menu under Labor Distribution and listed below. (In any screen in KFS, when a dollar value is under-lined, you
can click on the value to drill-down and retrieve further detail about the transaction).
- Account Status (Current Funds): This inquiry is performed at the account level. It lists all employees charged
to a particular account. - Employee Funding: This inquiry is performed at the employee number level. It lists all accounts and amounts
for a particular employee. No drill-down is available on this inquiry. - Labor Ledger View: This inquiry is also performed at the employee number level. It lists all accounts and
amounts for a particular employee. It also displays the amount information by month and has drill-down
capabilities.
How do I re-code Student Payroll expenditures?
Grant related accounts: Please contact the Office for Sponsored Programs. They will initiate the student payroll
change.
All other accounts: You should use the Salary Expense Transfer (ST) edoc. It is found on the Main Menu under
Transactions, then Labor Distribution. Enter the student’s employee ID and select search. All of the student’s
current expenditure information (salary, fringe, and workers comp) will appear by month. Choose the
expenditures that should be moved, and then “return selected”. Dollar amounts can be adjusted as needed.
Select “copy” to fill in the debit side of the transaction, then submit.
How do I re-code regular payroll expenditures?
Complete a SmartHR template. This will adjust future payroll to come from the new account. Based on the
effective date on the SmartHR template, if any pay was already distributed from a different account, the Payroll
department will be notified and will create a journal entry to move the past payroll expenses.
How do I clear out a small remaining encumbrance on my account, once the employee is no longer getting
paid on that account?
Occasionally an account ends up with a small negative or positive salary and fringe encumbrance after the
employee has been fully paid out, due to rounding or miscalculation. When there is a small salary and fringe
encumbrance balance, amounts will be cleared biweekly, so please wait 1 – 2 pay cycles. In rare cases, due to
rounding, small fringe encumbrance balances may remain with no related salary encumbrance balance. These
will automatically be cleared out prior to the year end close. If you prefer to have the fringe encumbrances
cleared during the fiscal year, these small balances can be zeroed out by sending an email to the appropriate
office (see below) with the employee name, employee number, account number, amount to be cleared, and
type of position (classified vs. professional vs. student, etc)
Grant related accounts: Please contact the Office for Sponsored Programs.
All other accounts: Please contact your assigned Budget Analyst within the Budget Office.
Why do I see “Unknown Name” for some transactions on the inquiry screens?
The Labor Ledger transactions always contain the employee number. KFS displays the name by performing a
look-up to a server based on that employee number. The server contains only the active employees from the
University ID system, therefore once an employee is inactivated from that system (potentially immediately after
they leave the University), they can’t be found on the look-up. Occasionally payroll adjustments occur (especially
retro journal entries) after an employee has left.
I think my payroll encumbrance amounts may be wrong. What should I do?
First, verify that the amount you expected to see encumbered is only through the end of the fiscal year, not the
end of a grant or project timeline. Second, ensure the employee does not have an incorrect end date in Core by
running the Filled Position Detail report (excel option) in KFDM. If you still believe the encumbrance amount is
incorrect, review the below link, or contact the Office of Budget and Planning. Encumbrance quick guide link.