.. Financial Operations Labor Distribution System LDS/Payroll Variance: Weekly Work Hours and Vacation Credits Contents Update Weekly Work Hours Variance Processing for Vacations Update Weekly Work Hours Overview The appointment header and salary variance process is the same for support & service staff (pay categories 1005 & 1006) as described previously. However, the variance process for distribution data for weekly appointments is different. The month end process carried out by the LDS staff copies Payroll's normal weekly appointment distribution data into the LDS record. Whereas the user's variance process titled 'Update Weekly Work Hours' initiates a program that copies Payroll change-in-hours data directly into the correct LDS records. The program generates messages if it encounters certain problems. Note Voucher payroll records are not loaded into LDS. However, since projecting personnel costs is an essential function of LDS, it is important to note that you can use LDS to create Voucher and Weekly appointments to project their costs even though these appointment types will not be reconciled in the variance process. Display the Update Weekly Work Hours screen You must have completed the three previous variance steps (header, salary, and distributions) before you choose to run this program. Run the program separately for each organization ID (home department and transfers-in's) that you maintain. Use the following navigation path from the SAP User Menu screen or type in the transaction code from any screen. Navigation Path: - User Menu - Role ZMIT - Budgeting/Planning - LDS - Tools - Variance Analysis - Update Wkly Wrk Hrs Transaction Code: /nzlvc   Field Name What to Enter From Date Pre-filled with a Monday date of the first weekly payroll period covered by this month's process, which is usually the fourth week of the previous month. To Date Pre-filled with a Sunday date, the week ending date of the last weekly payroll period covered by this month's process, which is usually the end of the third week of the month. Organization Enter the eight-digit Organization ID number if it is not already present in the field. Process Batch Selection box This box is automatically checked by LDS. If LDS finds any weekly Payroll change-in-hours data from the previous four weeks, the system will insert the correct data into the appropriate LDS appointment in the change-in-hours table. Click the Execute button . a) If there were no Payroll system changes for the current month, a message reports that no salary records were found and no 'changed hours' information was updated. Click on the Back button to return to the LDS Main Menu. b) If 'changed hours' records are found, the program runs automatically in the background. The job status is reported and a job number is displayed at the bottom of the screen that includes the number of records updated. Other messages may appear. One is a notice if the header, salary, or distribution variance processing hasn't been completed. Another indicates that there were no changes to process for a given appointment ID. If the status message reports a serious error, contact your LDS team representative. top Variance Processing for Vacations Overview It is an MIT rule that appointments whose pay category is 1004, "sponsored research staff," or whose pay category is 1002, "other academic," and who are paid on sponsored research cost objects cannot have vacation time charged to sponsored research cost objects. LDS offers sponsored research departments the ability to track such vacation usage and to credit the research cost object or proposal cost object for the cost of vacations. The adjustment for a large research department can have a substantial impact on the research cost object. LDS vacation tracking provides an excellent planning tool, if it is kept up to date. It is also possible to track vacation on other cost objects for appointments with these pay categories but no credit will be calculated. Vacation can be recorded as staff actually uses the vacation or anticipated vacation can be entered for the entire length of the grant. In the latter case, one month's vacation cost is allocated to each month of the date range. In this manner, all the vacation credit can be calculated in advance, providing a more accurate current picture of funds available for other purposes. Vacation variance processing compares Payroll's actual vacation pay against the vacation time recorded in the employee's LDS appointment record. The vacation variance process offers you the opportunity of carrying forward unused vacation credit. It is important to note that vacation commitments and pay are liquidated differently from salary. Vacation taken in August, for example, will not show up in Payroll records until October. Vacation Variance Processing Use the following navigation path from the SAP User Menu screen or type in the transaction code from any screen. Navigation Path: - User Menu - Role ZMIT - Budgeting/Planning - LDS - Tools - Variance Analysis - Vacation Variance - Vacation Variance Transaction Code: /nzlv7 1. Enter your department number in the Organization field. The Payroll Category, Appointment Type, and Appointment ID are optional. You should enter information in these fields only if you want to limit the number of records displayed. 2. Click the Enter button . a) If there were no variances, the message "No vacation variance needs to be processed..." is displayed in the Status Bar. You are returned to the LDS Main Menu.   b) If variances are found, the "Vacation Variance" screen is displayed.   The fields are described below: Field Name What to Enter U Name User's name. Last name, first name, and middle initial. MIT ID MIT identification number. Ty LD Object type: PR for Project LD Object The LD Object number is the cost center, internal order, or WBS element appearing in the distribution section of the appointment record. Cost Elem Displays the six-digit cost element appearing in the distribution section of the appointment record for the vacation period effected. Start Date The beginning date of the vacation period. End Date The ending date of the vacation period. LDS Loaded Vac. Dollar amount paid for vacation taken, according to the LDS record. Payr Loaded Vac. Dollar amount paid for vacation taken, according to the Payroll record. A minus sign "-" means a debit adjustment; "+" means a credit adjustment. CFwd Loaded Vac. Dollar amount for vacation taken ("+" or "-") carried forward. Vacation Variance buttons You can use the following buttons as shortcuts to perform common tasks and to scroll through the screen. Goes to the first page of the screen. Goes to the previous page of the screen. Goes to the next page of the screen. Goes to the last page of the screen. Permits you to see the Vacation Variance Detail screen. Click on any field in the line item, then on the button, or double click on the line item. Displays the Appointment Vacation screen for review only. Click on any field in the line time then on the button. Permits you to change the vacation information on the Appointment Vacation screen. Click on any field in the line time then on the button. If the LDS record is correct, carry the credit amount forward to the next month. 3. Click in the box to the left of the record. (See the screen pictured above.) 4. Click on the Save button. Result: The commitment is posted to SAP.   If the Payroll record is correct, that is to say it represents all the vacation that the employee will take, you don't have to do anything to that record.   When you have finished resolving individual LDS records, proceed to complete the vacation variance process described below. 5. Return to the "SAP R/3" screen and follow the menu path or use the fastpath from the current screen. Complete Vacation Variance When you have finished all six variance processing steps you should complete this final step, whether you track vacation in LDS or not. Use the following navigation path from the SAP User Menu screen or type in the transaction code from any screen. Navigation Path: - User Menu - Role ZMIT - Budgeting/Planning - LDS - Tools - Variance Analysis - Vacation Variance - Complete Vac. Var. Transaction Code: /nzlv8   Result: The Organization field is pre-filled with the department you just completed. 1. Click the Enter button . 2. Click the Select All button to select all the records. 3. Click the Save button . Variance Processing complete You have now completed all the variance processing steps for the month. top Copyright 2001 © Massachusetts Institute of Technology SAP for MIT Documentation on the Web Valid From: 02/28/2001