Contents
Welcome to REX
Setting Up REX for Your Department
Account Security
Getting Help
Accessing REX
Logging in to REX
Navigating REX
Parameter, Information, and Messages
The Parameter Chooser
The Information Bar
The Message Bar
Editing Parameters
Organizations Parameter
Principal Investigator Parameter
Account (Fund Source) Parameter
Resetting your Account Parameters
Working with Forms in REX
Selecting an existing record (Edit Mode)
Creating a new record (Create Mode)
Deleting form data from the database
Saving the form data to the database
Account Summary
Review of Account Summary Screen
Commitments – Salary, Fringe and F&A
Adjustments
Adjustments – Salary
Adjustments – Fringe and F&A
Adjustments – TABER’s and Salary Reallocations
Adjustments – Manual Commitments
Show Cents
Notes
Excel
Account Summary – Reconciliations
Account Summary – Drill Downs
Details for Budget Awards
Details for Actual Expenditures
Details for Committed Expenditures
Details for Adjustments
Adjustments
Add Accounts
F&A
Salary Commitment
Salary Reallocation
Sub Code
TABER
Reports
Grant Account Reports
NonGrant Account Reports
All Account Reports
TABER Reports
User and Organization Configuration
User Configuration Page
Org Configuration Page
RIAS and REX Help Resources
Notes
Welcome to REX
REX is the RIAS Extension system. It is a shadow system for departments that is supported by Rutgers Central Administration. REX is a tool for departments to track expenses, salary reallocations, and TABERs, and to deal with Fund Source issues.
REX has financial information going back to FY 2003. However, Oracle still remains the official books for the University.
As REX is a Departmental tool, any suggestions for improvements or for new reports ormodules should be communicated via the REX User Group (which is planned on being formed by December, 2008).
Setting Up Your Department
In order to gain access to REX, one employee in each area (such as the Business Manager), will be designated as the Main Accountant, and must complete the “REX Departmental Access Request Form”, available from the Forms Repository. The Main Accountant is responsible for providing access to other employees within the department. The access options are Grant, Non-Grant, or TABER. Within these, further options are either Accountant (full access), PI (view only) for the Grant and NonGrant modules, and accountant or basic preparer for the TABER module. For more information on setting up departmental user accounts, see the User Configuration Page section.
RIAS Forms Repository:
Account Security
As in oracle, access to accounts in REX is secured by EBRC. Before setting up your department with REX, it is important that you ensure that your accounts and users have been assigned appropriate EBRCs as your users will only be able to see and work with accounts that fall under their EBRCs. Also, Main Accountants will only be able to add users who have EBRCs which are partially or completely overlapped by their own (see the User Configuration Page section for more information).
Unlike Oracle Discoverer, REX does not have the option to exclude Payroll access at this time.
EBRC assignment and change requests should be made via the “RIAS Access Request Form”, available from the Forms Repository.
RIAS Forms Repository:
Getting Help
The REX Helpdesk is the same is the same as the Helpdesk for Financial and General Ledger Accounting, and Data Warehouse and Financial Reporting. It can be reached at (732) 445-2100 or mail to: RIAS Help Resources page is included in the back of this manual.
Accessing REX
The URL for REX is
If you prefer, you can also reach REX via the RIAS Gateway page.
Logging in to REX
Clicking on the Login boxwill bring you to a Central Authentication Service (CAS) page where you can login with your NetID and password.
After you log in via the CAS screen, the Welcome to REX Screen is brought up. From here you can choose from any of the tabs (Grant, NonGrant, TABER, Reports, User Configuration or Org Configuration) to navigate through REX – RIAS Extensions.
Navigating REX
The menu for navigating REX is located in the header of each page. It is split into two parts:
- The upper bar of the menu has one tab for each REX module: the REX Home Tab, the Grant Accounts tab, the NonGrant/State accounts tab, the TABERs tab, and the Reports tab. It also contains links to log out or to jump to the RIAS Gateway on the right-hand side.
- The lower bar of the menu contains the pages specific to the REX module you are currently working with.
Depending on your access level, you may not see all of the tabs on the top or bottom bar. For instance, users who are configured with ‘No Access’ for the TABER module will not see the TABER tab on the top bar. Users who have PI (read-only) access to the Grant module will see the Grant tab on the top bar, but will not see all of the pages for that module in the lower bar. Access levels are controlled by the Main Accountant for each organization through the User Configuration page, outlined in the User and Organization Configurationsection of this guide.
Note the similarities between the Grant and NonGrant modules. Since the account summary, adjustment, add accounts, salary commitment, and salary reallocation sections of the site are very similar, they will be covered together. Any differences between the two versions will be noted.
Parameter, Information, and Messages
The Parameter Chooser
Below the menus are the parameter chooser and the parameter information bar. The contents of these bars will vary between modules and pages based on the specific functionality of the page. However, the behavior is consistent throughout the site.
The dark gray bar above is the parameter chooser. The arrow on the left-hand side of the parameter chooser expands and collapsesthe chooser and allows you to modify the parameters of the page.
Once expanded, you can change any or all of the parameters on the page. Your parameter selections are saved in your profile and will be restored whenever you login to REX.
The ‘Change’ buttons will allow you to modify the value(s) for any of the parameters shown.
The Information Bar
Below the parameter chooser is the parameter information bar. This contains static information about your parameters, typically drawn from the Chart of Accounts (COA).
Note:When drilling down into your account activity, you will not be able to change your parameters without returning to the account activity page. You will notice that your Organizations, PI, and Account selections appear in the information bar and not the parameter chooser. This is because the links that you followed to arrive at that page are too specific to be applied to a different account (fund source). As a convenience, the site will keep a cookie trail to allow you to backtrack.
The Message Bar
The message bar will occasionally appear directly below the information bar and above the actual body of the page.
- Error Messages
- Warning Messages
- Informational Messages
- Application Errors
Hopefully you never see any of these.
Editing Parameters
The first time you access REX, your account will not have any parameters set. When you enter the Grant, NonGrant, or TABER modules, or when you attempt to generate a report, you will need to specify some basic information about the data you would like to work with.
If you click on the Grant tab, you will start out on the Account Summary screen. On that particular page, you will need to specify which Organization(s), Principal Investigator, and Account (Fund Source) that you would like to work with. By selecting which organization(s) you would like to work with, you will filter the list of Principal Investigators visible in the following step. Similarly, by selecting a Principal Investigator, you will filter the list of accounts visible in the account selection step. The filtering behavior flows from top parameter to the bottom. On the NonGrant module, you will also be required to specify a Fiscal Year. The list of Fiscal Years is filtered to include only years that are relevant for the account that you’ve selected.
Organizations Parameter
The organizations listed in the check box list are based on your EBRCs. Scroll through the list of organizations and check whichever organization(s) you would like to work with. Then click the down-arrow button to the left of ‘Organizations’ () to advance to the next parameter (Principal Investigator).
Note:If you do not see your organization(s), it is likely due to one of the following reasons:
- your EBRCs were not coded properly
- your accounts (fund sources) don’t have the correct EBRC coding
- your EBRCs have not yet been processed and/or updated in REX
Principal Investigator Parameter
Choose a Principal Investigator from the drop down menu. Note that you can now click either the up () or down () arrow to return to the Organizations chooser or to proceed to the Account (Fund Source) chooser respectively.
Note:If you are looking for an account (Fund Source) that does not include a Principal Investigator’s name in the Chart of Account (COA), then you should select “Dept.” as the Principal Investigator.
Account (Fund Source) Parameter
Once you have selected your Account (Fund Source), you can complete your selection by clicking on the check mark (). Alternatively, you can modify your Principle Investigator or Organizations selections by clicking on the up arrow (). Once you click on the check mark (), the parameter chooser will collapse, the error messages will disappear, and you will be able to see the body of the page.
Resetting your Account Parameters
Although rarely necessary, there is a link at the footer of the home page that will allow you to reset your profile.
You may find this useful while familiarizing yourself with REX as it will allow you to run through the exercise of initializing your parameters again.
Working with Forms in REX
Many of the pages in REX are forms. They all have a very similar layout and behavior. It is important that you understand this behavior when working with REX.
The Account Summary - Reconciliations form is one of the most basic forms in the system.
When you first arrive at pages such as these, the page will be in one of the following two states:
-If there are existing records (reconciliations, in this case), the form, ‘Update’, ‘Cancel’, and ‘Delete’ buttons will be disabled. You will need to either select an existing record or create a new one in order to unlock the form.
-If there are no existing records (reconciliations), the page will automatically be ready to create a new record. The form will be unlocked and the ‘Add’ and ‘Cancel’ buttons will be unlocked.
Selecting an existing record (Edit Mode)
To select an existing record, choose an option from the dropdown box and click the ‘Select’ button. This will populate the form, unlock the ‘Update’, ‘Cancel’, and ‘Delete’ buttons, and displays the user that last modified the record.
Creating a new record (Create Mode)
To create a new record, simply click the ‘New’ button. This will unlock the form and enable the ‘Add’ and ‘Cancel’ buttons. The ‘Last Modified By’ field will be populated with your name.
Remember, if there are no records (reconciliations), the form will automatically allow you to create a new one.
Deleting form data from the database
In order to delete a record, you must first locate it in the dropdown and click ‘Select’. This will unlock the ‘Delete’ button. Then click on the ‘Delete’ button and confirm the request.
Saving the form data to the database
When you click on the ‘Add’ or ‘Update’ button in Edit or Create Mode, the system will perform various checks to ensure that your input is valid.
You must resolve all of the error ()messages and click the ‘Add’ or ‘Update’ button again or the form will not be saved.
In some cases you will see warning () or informational () messages in the message bar. Unless the content of the message indicates otherwise, these messages will prevent the form from saving.
Special BehaviorsAny form in REX that deviates from this behavior will be explained in the section that details that page.
Account Summary
Grant and NonGrant
Review of Account Summary Screen
The first column in the table, Category, is made up of groups of related sub-codes (Natural Accounts). You will see later the various options to get the sub-code detail.
Columns 2, 3 and 4, Budget Award, Actual Expenditures and Committed Expenditures, are fed directly from the FDW and cannot be changed. The Budget Award column includes both Budget and Revenue data.
Differences between Grant and NonGrant:The Grant and NonGrant Account Summary screens, all of the drill down screens, and the reconciliations screens are essentially the same. The only difference between the account summary behaviors in the two modules is that the NonGrant account summary has a Fiscal Year parameter, causing all data to be shown for the selected fiscal year only. The Grant account summary screen shows all data for the selected account since the project start date.
Commitments – Salary, Fringe and F&A
With the exception of salary commitments for the State Fund Sources (20-XXXX to 24-9999) REX does not import the Salary, Fringe and F&A commitments. The system allows you to create your own more accurate commitments. You’ll see how this is done later.
Adjustments
The types of Adjustments are Salary Commitments, Fringe and F&A Commitments, TABER and Salary Reallocation and Manual adjustments.
Adjustments – Salary
The Adjustments column allows you to post Salary Commitments for the entire Grant Project Period on an employee by employee basis. The salary adjustment calculations process will be discussed later.
Adjustments – Fringe and F&A
The Adjustments column automatically includes Fringe and F&A commitments. For example Fringes are automatically posted in the Adjustments column for the entire Grant Project Period. Also F&A is recalculated and updated nightly based on data in the Actuals, Committed and Adjustment columns.
Fringe Note:In REX, fringe is calculated on all Salary transactions, including salary commitments, reallocations and adjustments. The actual fringe benefit expense posted to date is then subtracted to arrive at the commitment.
F&A Note:In REX, F&A is calculated on all transactions, including items in the Adjustments column. The actual F&A expense posted is then subtracted to arrive at the commitment.
Adjustments – TABER’s and Salary Reallocations
REX includes TABER and Salary Reallocation forms. These forms are generated by REX in Microsoft Excel format. Once these forms are filled out they are automatically posted to the Adjustments column. The form can then be printed and submitted to Payroll / Disbursements. Once the TABER and/or SRF are processed by Payroll / Disbursements, and are posted to the G/L, they are matched and automatically cleared from the REXAdjustments Column. (This will be discussed in more detail later).
Adjustments – Manual Commitments
The user can enter Manual Commitments (one sided adjustment entries) for any foreseen expenditure. The user must be sure to manually delete these commitments at the appropriate time.
There are four other functions on the Account Summary Screen: Show Cents, Excel, Notes and Reconciliation. These are discussed below:
Show Cents
Toggles the display of cents in the table.
Notes
You can enter any notes related to the account and click ‘Update’.
Excel
On the Account Summary Screen click Excel. All balances by Natural Accounts show in Excel formats to be saved.
Account Summary –Reconciliations
In the lower-right hander corner of the account summary page is the Reconciliations list.
To add, update, or delete a reconciliation, click the ‘Update’ button. This will bring you to the Reconciliations page for the currently selected account.
Here you can review or record new account reconciliations. To enter a new reconciliation, click the ‘New’ button and enter the As of Date and the Reconciliation Date. Then click ‘Add’.