Research Financial Services Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is FRS and what kind of information can I access through it?
2. How do I gain access to FRS (Financial Reporting System)?
3. How do I determine my project start and end date?
4. How do I determine my grant balance?
5. How do I determine the total values of my transactions?
6. When are indirect costs applied?
7. How do I determine the time period for financial reporting? (Start/end date)
8. How do I complete a wire transfer?
9. How do I set up a research grant account?
10. How do I set up a General Purpose Account?
11. When can I move expenses or funds from my grant to my General Purpose Account?
12. How do I complete a purchase requisition?
13. What do I do if my project is overspent or under-spent?
1. What is FRS and what kind of information can I access through it?
FRS is the Financial Reporting System used by the University of Guelph that tracks the financial activity for all of the University’s internal accounts..
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2. How do I gain access to FRS (Financial Reporting System)?
To gain access to FRS, contact the Administrative or Financial staff of your Department or complete the following form and submit it to the Controller’s Office: http://www.uoguelph.ca/finance/sites/uoguelph.ca.finance/files/FRSApplic...
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3. How do I determine my project start and end date?
- Log on to FRS (Financial Reporting System) at https://frs.cs.uoguelph.ca:8001/pls/fmrt/f?p=600:1
- You must have access to FRS
- Your log-in information for FRS is not the same as your Central Login
- To gain access to FRS, contact the Administrative or Financial staff of your Department or complete the following form and submit it to the Controller’s Office: http://www.uoguelph.ca/finance/sites/uoguelph.ca.finance/files/FRSApplic...
- Hover over the “Actual” tab and a drop-down menu will appear
- From this drop-down menu, hover over “Grant” and another menu will appear
- From this menu, click “Summary”
- Under “Grant (Multiple)” type in the UoG account number given to your grant
- Click “Run”
- A summary of your grant will appear, including a row labeled “Start Date:” and a row labeled “End Date:”
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4. How do I determine my grant balance?
Follow steps 1 to 6 above. Once the summary of your grant has appeared, scroll down and you will find a line reading “_______ Balance (Commitments incl.) is _______.”
The first blank above will tell you if your account has a “Surplus” or a “Deficit” and the second blank will tell you the amount of your balance.
Note that a surplus balance is noted with a negative balance and a deficit balance is noted with a positive balance.
Also note that this method of determining your grant balance is not applicable for CFI grants. FRS does not track in-kind contributions, whereas a true CFI balance does. As such, contact the Manager, Infrastructure Programs in Research Financial Services or the Program Officer in Research Financial Services to determine your CFI balance.
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5. How do I determine the total values of my transactions?
Follow the steps 1-6 mentioned above to reach your grant summary in FRS.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “O” under Drill. This will take you to the next, more detailed page.
Here you will see your transactions separated by “Revenue” and “Expenses.” The “Header Total” row under each of the two sections will tell you the total value of transactions related to “Revenue” and “Expenses,” as separated by three columns: “Mtd Act” (Month-to-Date), “Annv TD Act” (Year-to-date), and “Total Act” (Total activity). The “Grand Total” at the bottom of the page will tell you the summed value of the transactions.
To determine the total value of your Revenue transactions, see the “Header Total” for “Total Act” under the “Revenue” section.
To determine the total value of your Expense transactions, see the “Header Total” for “Total Act” under the “Expenses” section.
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6. When are indirect costs applied?
Indirect costs are applied differently for each account depending on when revenue is received. It is applied by Research Financial Services’ Financial Officers. However, the indirect cost rate is determined by the Office of Research in the pre-award stage. As such, any questions regarding this matter should be forwarded to the Office of Research.
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7.How do I determine the time period for financial reporting? (Start/end date)
For CFI grants, the time period for financial reporting is usually April 1 to March 31.
For Tri-Council grants, there are two periods (and thus two sets of reporting) required: one for the Finance department at the Tri-Council agencies and one for the Programs department at the Tri-Council agencies. The Finance department requires reporting as per the fiscal year April 1 to March 31. The Programs department, however, can set any reporting time period relevant to your award. As such, to determine what this time period is, refer to your award notice.
For private business and industry grants and contracts, the time period for financial reporting will be determined by the donor and is often outlined in the agreement. Contact the donor if it is not stated in the agreement.
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8. How do I complete a wire transfer?
In order to complete a wire transfer or for more information regarding wire transfers, please review the following instructions: http://www.uoguelph.ca/finance/uploadFiles/Wire%20Template%20Letter%20Ma....
Once you have reviewed the instructions, please complete the following form and submit it to Revenue Control (University Centre, Level 4): http://www.uoguelph.ca/finance/sites/uoguelph.ca.finance/files/Wire%20Tr....
Any questions regarding wire transfers should be forwarded to Revenue Control.
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9. How do I set up a research grant account?
After you have been awarded a grant from a public or private organization, the Office of Research will set up a research grant account for your award(s) and notify you of the University of Guelph account number that it is given.
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10.How do I set up a General Purpose Account?
If you are interested in having a General Purpose Account setup for yourself, please request your departmental staff to contact Research Financial Services. The points of contact in the department will be the Financial Officer(s), who will set up the account and allocate a University of Guelph account number to it.
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11.When can I move expenses or funds from my grant to my General Purpose Account?
Expenses can be moved from a grant to the General Purpose Account at the researcher’s discretion. Generally, this is done when a researcher over-spends a grant from a public or private organization or if the researcher makes a purchase that is deemed ineligible by the funding agency.
Funds transfers vary:
For Tri-Council grants, refer to the Tri-Council section of questions, specifically the diagram under the “How do I receive an extension on a Tri-Council grant?”
For private sector grants and contracts, your agreement with the organization should outline whether a residual balance must be returned or can be kept.
For CFI grants, funds cannot be transferred from the grant to your General Purpose Account. Any excess funds must either be spent on budgeted items, items outside of the initial budget that the CFI pre-approves at a date later than the application process, or must be returned to the CFI.
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12.How do I complete a purchase requisition?
Contact Purchasing Services for information related to purchase requisitions, systems contracts, or purchase orders (both low-value and otherwise).
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13. What do I do if my project is overspent or under-spent?
Please note that different funding agencies have different rules – make sure to follow these rules or the additional expense may be deemed ineligible. See the specific funding agency’s guidelines or your agreement with the donor for policies regarding extensions, residual balances, and additional or new expenses.