02 - 020 Definition of a Banner Fund

A. DEFINITION OF A BANNER FUND

Fund is the "F" in "FOAPAL"-- the set of elements that makes up an accounting string in Banner.

A Banner Fund IS:

A Fund is a self-balancing set of accounts, grouped by major purpose in accordance with current accounting standards. The major fund groups are classified in accordance with activities or objectives, which include funds for university system operations--unrestricted and restricted--loan funds; endowment funds; plant funds and agency funds.
- These fund groups are similar to distinctions you may make in your personal financial management--such as a checkbook for your regular income and operating expenses such as rent, food, gas; a savings account for accumulating money for big-ticket items such as furniture or a new car; an investment portfolio for longer-term items such as retirement.
A Fund maintains a Fund Balance, which is a cumulative record of the monies that have flowed in and out of the fund--like your checkbook balance after you have recorded your paycheck and deducted the checks you have written.
Funds are organized in Banner by "Fund Type” (general, internally designated, auxiliary, etc.). Fund types allow various processes to include or exclude major groups of funds. Banner’s rule codes also use the fund types to appropriately generate accounting entries.
One use of fund can be to designate grant or other multi-year operations – each grant and each R&R project must have at least one fund unique to that grant or R&R project.
Individual funds will be used for all grant and contracts, plant fund projects, and buildings.

A Banner Fund is NOT:

An event is not a Fund. This may be an activity within a fund-org.
A department is not a Fund. This is represented by an ORGN code in Banner.

B. QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE REQUESTING A NEW FUND CODE:

Do the related activities need to maintain their own unique fund balance? (Example 1: Each UNH RC Unit has it own general operating fund in Banner. Example 2: Each grant must have at least one unique fund, and may have more than one unique fund in Banner).
Is this a source of funds?
Does this represent a one time or recurring event? If so, perhaps it is more appropriately represented as an Activity Code in Banner.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.