Understanding PeopleSoft ChartFields

In PeopleSoft applications, the fields that store your charts of accounts and provide your system with the basic structure to segregate and categorize transactional and budget data are called ChartFields. Each ChartField has its own attributes for maximum efficiency and flexibility in recording, reporting, and analyzing its intended category of data. While a particular ChartField always represents only one category of data, it stores many values that you use to further categorize that same data.

In addition to this basic categorization of a transaction amount using the account ChartField, you can simultaneously record the same transaction by product, project, fund, or any number of categories by using other ChartFields with appropriate values. This creates additional subsets of that same transactional data.

PeopleSoft delivers a set of ChartFields and associated functionality that fully covers most accounting and reporting requirements. ChartFields are designed to be configured by you to meet your specific requirements.

Note: For customers integrating with PeopleSoft 8.4 Financials or higher, most of the components described in these topics are display only.

This table describes the delivered ChartFields:

Label Long Name

Label Short Name

ChartField Name (Field Length)

Component Name

Description

Account

Acct

ACCOUNT (10)

GL_ACCOUNT

Classifies the nature of a transaction. This field is required. Use it for corporate accounts.

Department

Dept ID

DEPTID_CF (10)

DEPARTMENT_RO

Tracks information according to a divisional breakdown of your organization. Can be used to indicate who is responsible for or affected by a transaction.

Project/Grant

Project

PROJECT_ID (15)

PROJECT

Captures additional information useful for grant and project accounting. The Project/Grant ChartField does not have effective dating.

Product

Product

PRODUCT (6)

PRODUCT

Captures additional information useful for profitability and cash flow analysis by product sold or manufactured.

Fund Code

Fund

FUND_CODE (5)

FUND_DEFINITION

The primary structural units of Education and Government accounting.

Program Code

Program

PROGRAM_CODE (5)

PROGRAM_DEFINITION

Tracks expenditures for programs within or across your organizations. Can be used to identify groups of related activities, cost centers, revenue centers, responsibility centers and academic programs.

Class Field

Class

CLASS_FLD (5)

CLASS_PNL

Can be used to identify specific appropriations.

Affiliate

Affl

AFFILIATE (5)

N/A

Used to map transactions between business units when using a single interunit account.

Operating Unit

Operating Unit

OPERATING_UNIT (8)

OPERATING_UNIT

Can be used to indicate a location, such as a distribution warehouse or a sales center.

Alternate Account

Alt Account

ALTACCT (10)

ALTACCT

Classifies the nature of a transaction for regulatory authorities. Use it for statutory accounting.

Budget Reference

Budget Ref

BUDGET_REF (8)

BUDREF_PNL

Use to identify unique budgets, when individual budgets share budget keys and overlapping budget periods.

ChartField 1

Chartfield1

CHARTFIELD1 (10)

CHARTFIELD1

Generic expansion ChartField.

ChartField 2

Chartfield2

CHARTFIELD2 (10)

CHARTFIELD2

Generic expansion ChartField.

ChartField 3

Chartfield3

CHARTFIELD3 (10)

CHARTFIELD3

Generic expansion ChartField.

Activity ID

Activity

ACTIVITY_ID (15)

N/A

Activities are the specific tasks that make up a project. The Activity ChartField captures additional information useful for Project Costing. This ChartField does not have effective dating. It is delivered as inactive.

Business Unit PC

PC Bus Unit

BUSINESS_UNIT_PC (5)

N/A

Used as an operational subset of an organization to organize project activity independently of the constraints of the standard accounting procedures for the financial posting and reporting of the organization.

Resource Type

RsrcType

RESOURCE_TYPE (5)

N/A

Source types identify the purpose or origin of a transaction. Captures additional information useful for Project Costing. This project costing ChartField does not have effective dating. It is delivered as inactive.

Resource Category

Category

RESOURCE_CATEGORY (5)

N/A

Captures additional information useful for Project Costing. This project costing ChartField does not have effective dating. It is delivered as inactive.

Resource Sub-Category

RsrcSubCat

RESOURCE_SUB_CAT (5)

N/A

Captures additional information useful for Project Costing. This project costing ChartField does not have effective dating. It is delivered as inactive.

Fund Affiliate

Fund Affil

AFFILIATE_INTRA1 (10)

N/A

Use to correlate transactions between funds when using a single intraunit account. It is delivered as inactive.

Operating Unit Affiliate

Oper Unit Affil

AFFILIATE_INTRA2 (10)

N/A

Use to correlate transactions between operating units when using a single intraunit account. It is delivered as inactive.

Note: N/A means not applicable.