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Commitments Application - Best Practices

This document provides a list of best practices for the Commitments Application.
  • Commitments should only be created by the committing unit to avoid double entry.
    • Receivables should only be created for units not in the Commitments application or if the obligating unit does not intend to create a Commitment.
    • Commitments should only be made for obligations from your unit.
  • Substantiate commitments by attaching documentation, including a robust description, and noting any helpful instructions or comments.
    • Utilize comments when possible so the netID and timestamp are recorded.
  • Add as much detail possible to both commitments and sub-commitments, including Status, Category, Keyword(s), Contacts, Description, Comments, Default Funding Source, etc.
  • Be cognizant of how your sub-commitments will appear on the Receivables side.
    • Use descriptive, meaningful sub-commitment titles.
    • Put attachments and comments that should be visible on the Receivables side in the public sections of sub-commitments.
  • Organize multi-year/ongoing commitments with multiple FYs instead of re-creating a new commitment each year.
  • Create transfers in the fiscal year they should count against.
  • External approval of transfers should occur at the college level.
  • Routinely update commitment and sub-commitment statuses.
    • Utilize the “Processed Transfers” report to check sub-commitment statuses. Once sub-commitment obligations have been fulfilled, change their statuses to “Complete.”
    • Once all sub-commitments of a commitment have been fulfilled, change its status to “Complete.”
    • For “Pending” commitments and sub-commitments, try to update them to “Active” once the obligation becomes firm–i.e., proposal matches are awarded, retentions are successful, etc.
  • Transfers should not be initiated and verified by the same person; at least two people should be involved in the transfer workflow.


Keywordsmou ovcri obligations   Doc ID142471
OwnerLearning Systems SupportGroupUI Training and Development Resources
Created2024-09-17 13:14:45Updated2024-09-30 09:14:43
SitesUniversity of Illinois Training and Development Resources
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