Introduction and Overview

Local Checks ...................................................................................................................... 6

Interagency JV Payments (Non-IAP) ................................................................................. 6

General Guidelines

Internal Control and System Security ................................................................................. 7

AFRS System Security and Related Payment Functions ................................................... 8

Batch Verification .............................................................................................................. 8

Information Sent to Vendor ................................................................................................ 9

Batch Type ........................................................................................................................ 15

Payment Documents & Master Inquiry for Payments

Payment Registers ............................................................................................................ 17

Vendor/Employee Remittance Advices ........................................................................... 17

Employee Email Remittance Advices ....................................................................... 18

Reprint Remittance Advices ............................................................................................. 19

AFRS Daily Reports ......................................................................................................... 19

Inter-Agency Billing Payment Display ............................................................................ 20

Missing or Incorrect ACH Remittance Advices ............................................................... 24

OFM Assistance ............................................................................................................... 24

AFRS Return Address Form – Appendix A ..................................................................... 25

Common Terms and Acronyms – Appendix B ................................................................ 26

There are several methods of paying obligations using the Agency Financial

 Interagency JV Payments (Non-IAP)

Also included in this document is the Inter-fund Transfer (IFT). While not a payment option, the

forms and process are similar enough to describe them here.

The purposes of this document are to:

 help users understand each of the payment options

 educate users about AFRS system features related to payments so these features can be

utilized effectively

 explain the benefits of each payment method so users can make informed choices

This process works exceptionally well for payments to statewide vendors who request this

method of payment from the state and for employees who receive their payroll by direct deposit.

OFM establishes and maintains a vendor record on the statewide vendor file for each vendor

who has indicated they prefer payment by ACH. For employee reimbursements agencies will

enter banking information into HRMS. The information will go through a 5 day PRENOTE

process. Once it has cleared and the employee has “Allow EFT” set to Y-yes in AFRS,

employee reimbursements will be paid by EFT. New employees in AFRS will be set to the

agency’s default value for “Allow EFT” on the Agency Vendor Number Edit screen (TM.3.2.B).

The agency can request this value be overridden on individual employee records on the VE.2

documents between state agencies and Office of State Treasurer (OST). Per SAAM 85.36.10:

Payments are to be made in the most effective and economical manner possible, so IAP and

other electronic methods are the preferred choice of payment. For a listing of IAP TCs, select

 A Statewide Vendor Number (SWV) is required to process an IAP to another state

agency. The SWV table is maintained by OFM and has special fields to facilitate IAPs.

 Special IAP transaction codes (TCs) are used to create an IAP (select Report K from the

TC decision table - AFRS TM.1.2.A screen). Payments made to agencies will be

converted into IAPs (both on-line and batch) as long as an SWV record created for IAP

transactions is used.

 An e-mail notification is sent to the billing agency showing which agencies have paid

IFT transactions automate the transfer of cash between accounts within the same agency.

Special TCs are used to create an IFT. The IFT process eliminates the transfer of paper

documents between state agencies and OST. Therefore, it is the preferred choice for transferring

cash between accounts within an agency.

Below is a table developed for Inter-fund Transfer (IFT’s) transaction codes (TC’s). V indicates

variable GLs.

wish to view/edit

The following screen will display:

transactions can process; errors will not be processed

control in Chapter 20 of the SAAM (http://www.ofm.wa.gov/policy/20.htm)

There are a number of fields in AFRS security that control portions of the payment functions.

For complete information, refer to Systems Security Manual at:

be used to verify input at the level of detail you choose. Type the appropriate letter in the space

to the left of batch to be reviewed and press Enter.

vendor information and coding elements so that they can be checked. In addition, transactions

can be changed, added or deleted on the Browse screen.

The benefit of using the vendor record to determine the payment type is that you do not have to

separate payments into different batches based on the type of payment you want. All invoices

can be processed within a single batch even though the output may include ACH, IFT, IAP,

Inserted Warrants, and Regular Warrants.

The Warrant Type Override field allows Agencies the ability to Request Regular Warrant and is

used in conjunction with a Statewide Vendor number or Statewide Employee number. There are

3 options available with this field:

1. “Blank” = Default and will use either the Statewide Vendor Payment Type or the Batch

Type

to your agency you will need to make sure that your Batch Type is an “R” for Regular on the

If the payment type has not already been determined by the TC or vendor record, AFRS will

check to see if the Batch Type used indicates the payment type. This is for one-time payments

using an exception code. This feature is maintained on the Payment Process Controls (VE.6)

 If the Pay Type Switch for this batch is R, AFRS will create a Regular Warrant.

It also gives you the ability to create a generic message regarding the type of payment, or

information about year-end cutoffs.

NOTE: The Contact Phone Number listed on the VE.6 screen is included on the vendor’s

remittance advice but the Name field on the same screen does not print anywhere. A name does

help OFM staff when calling regarding an issue on a particular batch type.

When determining the payment type the AFRS system goes through the following logic:

2. Agency Payment Register Summary Flexible – This summarizes up to the Fund or

Program level.

3. Official Agency Payment Register – This is the document that is used to verify the

payment transactions and is filed with the original documentation.

4. OST Warrant Register – This register is used by the State Treasurer for its verification

process.

Some of the options agencies have are:

 Set the report up to run automatically and be emailed to staff for the verification process.

 You can run by batch type

All remittance advices are printed on a standard 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper. OFM created

warrant is requested and is sorted numerically by warrant/payment number.

There is no requirement to print and retain RAs, but some agencies keep a copy in their

Advice for these secondary copies. You have the following sorts available:

 Vendor Name (Default)

 Payment number

 By Batch and Vendor Number

 By Batch and Vendor Name

Employee Email Remittance advices will be available for employees who receive payments by

Agencies who would like to have their employees receive the email Remittance Advice will

2. You can narrow your search to a specific option of:

b. Payment Number

d. Vendor Number

3. Or, you can simply change the Sort Order to one of the following:

b. Payment Number

d. Batch and Vendor Number

the receipt. OST sends a file to OFM on a daily basis that provides information about the

N = Next which allows you to see the next batch type address.

B = Back which allows you to see the previous batch type address.

The screen will show you the date of when the Agency Address was CREATED and LAST

UPDATED.

batch type and all your payments will have this return address on the remittance.

Return Address.

The usual cause is an incorrect or incomplete address. To avoid delays and returns, agencies

should ensure that when vendor information changes that they request the vendor to send an

updated form to the Statewide Payee Registration Unit as soon as possible. Agencies should

notify the Statewide Payee Registration Unit to let them know that the address is invalid and that

When ACH vendor remittance advices are returned, OFM checks the vendor number. If it is a

statewide vendor number, OFM works with the vendor to update their address information and

the remittance advice is forwarded to the vendor.

PAYEE RA FROM EMAIL: ________________________________________

(Complete the form on page 25, Appendix A)

If the employee email in HRMS is undeliverable, the RA emails will be sent back to the

email added on the AD.7 screen. It is then the agencies responsibility to resolve the

with the agency responsible for the payment.

If an agency has problems with a vendor not showing ACH payments posted to their accounts,

they may call the OFM Statewide Payee Registration Unit at 360-407-8180 or by email at