Setting Up Refunding

This chapter lists prerequisites and discusses how to:

Set up your business unit to refund customers.
Set up accounts payable (AP) options.
Set up payroll refund options.
Create job data for payroll refunds.
Set up direct deposits for students.
Designate sponsors.

See Also

Prerequisites

To process refunds, first create refund item types. An item type defines how the item is applied to a student or corporate account within Student Financials. Use the SF Item Type component to define refund item types.

If you use the accounts payable method to create and distribute refunds, your accounts payable department must set up their system to recognize students and corporations as vendors to distribute refund checks to them.

If you use the payroll method to create and distribute refunds, your payroll department must use PeopleSoft Enterprise Payroll for North America to create a refund company that employs your students. This enables your payroll department to issue refund checks to students as if they were paychecks. Most of the setup for payroll refunds occurs in Payroll for North America. In addition to company and job data, you need to set up pay groups, run ids, and direct deposits for students. Finally, node definitions (for the HRMS node) need to be set up for any batch processing.

Enterprise PeopleTools PeopleBook: Internet Technology, Configuring the Portal Environment

PeopleSoft Enterprise Payroll for North America 9.0 PeopleBook, “Administering Interfaces with PeopleSoft HRMS and PeopleSoft Enterprise Expenses,” Administering the Interface with Student Financials

Setting Up Your Business Unit to Refund Customers

This section discusses how to:

Define basic refunding rules.
Define refund approval parameters.
Define default payroll interface parameters.

Pages Used to Set Up Your Business Unit for Refunding

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Refund Setup	BUS_UNIT_TBL_SF3	Set Up SACR, Product Related, Student Financials, SF Business Unit, Refund Setup	Define the rules governing how your business unit handles refunds.
Refund Approval	BUS_UNIT_TBL_SF20	Set Up SACR, Product Related, Student Financials, SF Business Unit, Refund Approval	Set refund approval levels.
Payroll Defaults	BUS_UNIT_TBL_SF4	Set Up SACR, Product Related, Student Financials, SF Business Unit, Payroll Defaults	Create default parameters for refunds that use the payroll interface.

Defining Basic Refunding Rules

Access the Refund Setup page.

Refund Method

Select from the following values:

A/P: Create the refund in Student Financials and have your accounts payable department produce and distribute the checks.

Other: Create the refund in Student Financials and produce a check using a third-party application.

Payroll: Use Payroll for North America to create refunds and produce checks. You can use this option for individual refunds only, not for refunds to an organization.

Allow Changes in Refund Method

Select to enable a user to switch between the AP, Other, and Payroll methods when processing online refunds. If you clear this check box, the user can only use the refund method specified for the SF Business Unit.

Refund Service Impact

Select the value to use to prevent or deny a refund.

Refund Debit Balances

Select to create refunds that exceed the available credit balance. For example, if a student has charges of 9,000 USD and an unapplied credit of 10,000 USD from a fellowship award, the system allows a refund of the excess unapplied credit even though the student’s account technically has a debit balance.

Ext Org Contact Type (external organization contact type)

Select the external organization contact type for processing batch refunds for external organizations.

Number of Days Between Refunds

Define the minimum number of days between the times refunds can be processed for a particular customer.

Note. These restrictions prevent refunds processed in batch mode, but only produce warning messages for online refunds.

Batch Financial Aid Only	Enter the minimum number of days between batch-produced refunds of excess financial-aid credits. This setting restricts refunds of financial aid item type credits only and does not affect batch-produced refunds of non-financial-aid credits. Note. Use this setting to specify a different interval between refunds for financial aid and non-financial-aid credits only.
Batch both FA and Non FA (batch both financial aid and non-financial aid)	Enter the minimum number of days between batch-produced refunds of all excess credits. Use this setting to process financial-aid and non-financial-aid credits the same way.
Batch Non Financial Aid Only	Enter the minimum number of days between batch-produced refunds of excess non-financial-aid credits. This setting restricts non-financial-aid credits only and does not affect batch-produced refunds of financial aid item type credits. Note. Use this setting to specify a different interval between refunds for non-financial-aid and financial aid credits only.
Online Refunds	Enter the minimum number of days between online produced refunds of all excess credits. Note. Because online refunds are usually produced for extraordinary reasons, this setting results in a warning message when you attempt to process refunds more frequently than the specified number of days. It does not prevent you from processing the refund.

Amount Controls Group Box

Minimum Refund	Enter an amount below which you do not want to produce refunds in batch mode. Refunds below this amount can be processed online. You receive a warning message, but you can override it.
Maximum Refund	Enter an amount above which you do not want to produce refunds. You cannot override this amount.

Defining Refund Approval Parameters

Access the Refund Approval page.

Refund approval controls determine whether approval is required before a refund can be issued. If approval is required, refund requests are routed to the appropriate approver’s worklist.

Approval amounts define a range. For example, if the approval 1 amount is set at 500 USD, the approval 2 amount is set at 1,000 USD and the approval 3 amount is set at 2,000 USD, all refunds under 500 USD do not require approval. All refunds between 500 USD and 999 USD require only level 1 approval, and so on.

Individual

Activate Online Approvals and Activate Batch Approvals	Select to require approval of online or batch refunds. If you activate approvals, you must establish roles and approval amounts.
Level 1 Role, Level 2 Role, and Level 3 Role	Select the appropriate role for the each level of approval.
Approval 1 Amt (approval 1 amount), Approval 2 Amt (approval 2 amount), and Approval 3 Amt (approval 3 amount)	Enter the refund amount for which the system requires each level of approval.

Organization

Establish approval parameters for corporate refunds. The fields in this group box are identical to those in the Individual group box, except that batch approvals do not apply for organization refunds.

Defining Default Payroll Interface Parameters

Access the Payroll Defaults page.

Note. Before entering data on this page, consult your institution’s payroll staff to determine the correct settings. Use Payroll for North America to set up and process payroll refunds.

Business Unit for HRMS (business unit for human resources management system)	Select the business unit that Payroll for North America uses to identify the refund company.
Company	Select the company code that has been designated for individual refunds.

Setting Default Withholding Amounts for Payroll Refunds

Default withholding amounts, as well as Federal, State, and company tax tables, are set up in Payroll for North America.

See Also

PeopleSoft Enterprise Payroll for North America 9.0 PeopleBook, “Maintaining Payroll Data”

Setting Up Accounts Payable Options

To set up accounts payable options, use the AP Business Unit component (BUS_UNIT_AP) and the AP Set Controls - Vendor component (SF_AP_VNDR_OPTIONS).

This section discusses how to:

Set up an AP business unit.
Set up AP set controls for vendors.

Pages Used to Set Up an Accounts Payable Options

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
AP Business Unit Options	BUS_UNIT_TBL_AP	Set Up SACR, Product Related, Student Financials, Refunds, AP Business Unit	Establish AP interface and voucher numbering parameters.
AP Set Controls - Vendor	SF_AP_VNDR_OPTIONS	Set Up SACR, Product Related, Student Financials, Refunds, AP Set Controls - Vendor	Define vendor information.

Setting Up an AP Business Unit

Access the AP Business Unit Options page.

AP business unit options control how Student Financials creates vendor and voucher file definitions. These definitions are used for transfer to PeopleSoft Enterprise Payables to create refund payments.

Note. The AP business unit options you define on this page should match PeopleSoft Payables definitions.

AP User ID	The Student Financials application refunding process populates each voucher it creates with the AP user ID you specify here. This ID must exist in PeopleSoft Financials.
Voucher Origin	The Student Financials application refunding process populates each voucher it creates with the voucher origin you specify here. This origin value must exist in PeopleSoft Payables.

Voucher Numbering

Voucher Sequencing By

Select how voucher numbers are assigned:

Automatic Sequencing: Assign voucher numbers starting with the number you specify in the Last Voucher Number field.

Use SF Refund# as Voucher#: Assign voucher numbers using the SF refund ID number.

Voucher Prefix

Specify an optional two-character voucher prefix to enable accounts payable staff to easily identify vouchers that originate in Student Financials. Voucher IDs are eight characters long. If you enter a prefix, a six-digit number is attached to create the voucher ID. For example, if you use the prefix SF, the refunding process will create the voucher ID SF000001.

Last Voucher Number

Displays the last voucher number used. You can override this value to establish a new starting point for numbering.

Voucher Group Numbering

Control Group Numbering	Select to assign a control group ID to each voucher that the Student Financials refunding process creates. If control group numbering is selected, the Group ID Last Used field is updated every time you run the refund process. (All of the vouchers created from one refund process run share a common Group ID number.)
Group ID Last Used	Displays the last group ID when the Control Group Numbering check box is selected.

Defining AP Set Controls for Vendors

Access the AP Set Controls - Vendor page.

Note. AP set controls insert information into vouchers produced for refunds using PeopleSoft Payables. Consult with your account payables staff to determine the proper settings.

Vendor ID Prefix	Enter an optional vendor ID prefix to be used with all vendor ID numbers. This prefix should describe the entity producing the voucher transactions. When you add a vendor ID prefix, the prefix replaces the first two characters of the vendor ID number.
Last Vendor ID	Displays the last vendor ID used by the system. Insert a new value to specify a starting point for new vouchers.
Vendor Pay Group	Enter an optional two-character vendor pay group code. This code may be used during payment processing to cause Pay Cycle Manager to pay only vouchers originating in Student Financials.

See Also

PeopleSoft Enterprise Payables 8. 9 PeopleBook, “Entering and Processing Vouchers Online,” General Voucher Entry Information

PeopleSoft Enterprise Payables 9.0 PeopleBook, “Establishing Pay Cycles”

Setting Up Payroll Refund Options

Use Payroll for North America to create and distribute refunds using the payroll method. There are a number of setup steps on the Payroll side, including generating a calendar, which designates pay period end dates that the Payroll system uses when generating refund checks. Most of the time you will create a calendar for every possible day of a given year. That way, whenever you want to create a payroll refund, a pay period end date has already been designated. You can also create calendars for specific days on an as-needed basis. Be sure to select the Off Cycle check box when creating calendars for Student Financials.

You will also use Payroll for North America to create pay groups, Pay Run IDs, Balance IDs and so on.

For refunding students via Payroll, Student Financials recommends the following settings in HRMS:

If assigned to an existing Benefit Record Assign Primary Job, select Make New Job Primary.

If the Primary Job terminates, select Re-Assign Primary Job Highest Active Job

See PeopleSoft Enterprise Human Resources 9.0 PeopleBook: Manage Base Benefits, “Setting Up Additional Base Benefits Features,” Setting Up Multiple Jobs

See PeopleSoft Enterprise Payroll for North America 9.0 PeopleBook: “Administering Interfaces with PeopleSoft HRMS and PeopleSoft Enterprise Expenses,” Administering the Interface with Student Financials

Creating Job Data for Payroll Refunds

To set up job data for payroll refunds, use the Create Student Job Data component (SSF_POIJOB_TEST) and the Request Student Job Data component (SSF_RUN_POIJOB).

This section discusses how to:

Create job data for a single student.
Create job data for a batch of students.
Create T4A tax job data.

Pages Used to Create Job Data

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Request Student Job Data	SSF_POIJOB_TEST	Student Financials, Refunds, Create Student Job Data, Request Student Job Data	Create a student job record.
Request Student Job Data	SSF_RUN_POIJOB	Student Financials, Refunds, Process Batch Refunds, Request Student Job Data	Create student job data in batch.

Creating Job Data for Payroll Refunds

Access the Request Student Job Data page.

Processing Options

The fields that appear on this page differ, depending on your processing population selection.

Processing Population	Select from the following options: Refund Batch: Enables you to select a specific Refund Batch ID. Refund Students: Creates job data for all students with a pending refund. Student List: Click the Student List link to input individual IDs. T4A Students: Creates job (tax) records for students receiving a T4A (Canadian tax form).
Batch ID	This field only appears if you select Student List for the processing population. Select the student IDs that you want to process.
Student List	This link only appears if you select Refund Batch for the processing population.
Commit Frequency	Enter a number for records committed to the database. Select this option to commit a specified number of transactions during background processing. For example, if you enter 100 in the Commit Frequency field, when you run a batch process the system processes 100 transactions and then commits them to the database until the batch is complete. At the end of a batch process, the system commits all remaining transactions even if the number of transactions is less than the number in the Commit Frequency field. See Defining Commit Levels.
Confirm Job Data Created	Select to create a record in the message log of the process monitor for every job record created.
Empl Rcd# (employee record number)	After the process is complete, Empl Rcd# is populated with a value of 0 for the primary job record. A secondary job will have a value of '1'. You might have a secondary job if you have a multi-institution environment and a student is enrolled in two institutions (and is receiving refunds from both of them).
Student Job Data	Click to access the Workforce Administration, Job Information, Job Data component.
Service Return Messages	Any messages, if there are problems, appear here.
Create POI Job	Click to create job data for the selected student.

Creating Job Data in Batch

Access the Request Student Job Data page.

The processing options on this page are identical to the previous page.

Creating T4A Tax Job Data

You may need to create T4A tax records for students.

See Creating POI Job Data for T4A.

Setting Up Direct Deposit for Students

If you use the payroll refund method and you want to distribute refunds through direct deposit, you must first set up direct deposit for each applicable student (for U.S. or Canadian students).

You set up direct deposits in Payroll for North America.

See PeopleSoft Enterprise Payroll for North America, Maintaining Payroll Data, “Setting Up Direct Deposits”

Designating Sponsors

Sometimes students and organizations with a negative account balance have sponsors that should be the refund recipient. You must designate a sponsor for those sponsored students and corporations.

This section discusses how to:

Designate sponsors for individual students.
Designate sponsors for organizations.

Pages Used to Designate Sponsors

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Individual Sponsor	REFUND_CUSTOMER_ID	Student Financials, Refunds, Designate Sponsor	Designate a sponsor for each credit on the student’s account.
Corp Sponsor	REFUND_ORG_SPONSOR	Student Financials, Refunds, Designate Corporate Sponsor	Designate a sponsor for each credit on the organization’s account.

Designating Sponsors for Individual Students

Access the Individual Sponsor page.

ID

Enter the ID of the student for whom you want to designate one or more sponsors.

Individual Sponsor

Sponsor ID	If the sponsor that you are designating is an individual, select the ID of the individual. When you select a value in this field, the Sponsor Org ID and Org Contact fields become unavailable.
Sponsor Org ID (sponsor organization ID)	If the sponsor that you are designating is an external organization, select the ID of the organization. When you select a value in this field, the Sponsor ID field becomes unavailable.
Org Contact (organization contact)	If you select an organization in the Sponsor Org ID field, select the contact for that organization.

Designating Sponsors for Organizations

Access the Corp Sponsor page.

With the exception of the External Org ID (external organization ID) field, the fields on this page are identical to those on the Individual Sponsor page.

External Org ID

Enter the ID of the external organization for which you want to designate one or more sponsors.

See Also

Designating Sponsors

Refund Method	Select from the following values: A/P: Create the refund in Student Financials and have your accounts payable department produce and distribute the checks. Other: Create the refund in Student Financials and produce a check using a third-party application. Payroll: Use Payroll for North America to create refunds and produce checks. You can use this option for individual refunds only, not for refunds to an organization.
Allow Changes in Refund Method	Select to enable a user to switch between the AP, Other, and Payroll methods when processing online refunds. If you clear this check box, the user can only use the refund method specified for the SF Business Unit.
Refund Service Impact	Select the value to use to prevent or deny a refund.
Refund Debit Balances	Select to create refunds that exceed the available credit balance. For example, if a student has charges of 9,000 USD and an unapplied credit of 10,000 USD from a fellowship award, the system allows a refund of the excess unapplied credit even though the student’s account technically has a debit balance.
Ext Org Contact Type (external organization contact type)	Select the external organization contact type for processing batch refunds for external organizations.