How does Full Account Structure affect position funding distributions in PBS?
When your district has configured a Full Account Structure (FAS) in Fund Accounting, all organization and account codes used in PBS funding distributions must be valid within that account structure. PBS distribution lines reference expenditure ledger accounts — if an account code does not exist in the current-year Fund Accounting (FAM) expenditure ledger for the budget year, the distribution line is flagged in PBS distribution reports with an asterisk warning.
FAS affects PBS in the following ways:
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The organization codes, account codes, and fund codes you enter in funding distribution lines must match the structure defined in Fund Accounting.
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If your district uses project distributions, project codes must also exist in the project ledger.
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If your district uses FAS, the FAM profile must be configured for full account structure before PBS positions and pay rates are created.
Consult your system administrator to confirm that the FAM profile is correctly configured before entering funding distributions. Refer to Fund Accounting - Prerequisites.
What is the difference between position-level and pay-rate-level distributions?
Funding distributions in PBS exist at two levels:
|
Distribution level |
Where it is set |
What it controls |
|---|---|---|
|
Position-level distribution |
Position record on the Position Control page |
The default funding source for the position as a whole. Used as a reference and reported at the position level. |
|
Pay-rate-level distribution |
Budget pay rate record on the Employee Rate Information page |
The funding source for a specific employee's share of the position's salary cost. Governs how the employee's salary is charged to accounts. |
When both levels have distributions, the pay-rate-level distribution governs how the employee's salary is charged. Changing the position-level distribution does not automatically update pay-rate-level distributions for employees assigned to that position. If position-level funding changes, review and update the pay-rate-level distributions for all affected employee pay rate records.
For field-level details, refer to:
-
Manage employee pay rates for positions
Why do my distribution lines show asterisk warnings in the Distribution Detail Report?
An asterisk next to a distribution line in the Distribution Detail Report means the organization code or account code on that line does not exist in the current-year Fund Accounting expenditure ledger for the budget year. The asterisk is a warning — it does not prevent saving the distribution in PBS — but it indicates an account that may cause errors when the budget is posted to Fund Accounting.
Common causes of asterisk warnings include:
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The account code was entered incorrectly (typographical error).
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The account code exists in Fund Accounting but has not been set up for the current budget year.
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The organization code was changed in Fund Accounting after the PBS distribution was entered.
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The full account structure code segments in PBS do not match those in FAM.
To resolve asterisk warnings, verify the account codes against the current-year expenditure ledger in Fund Accounting and correct any invalid codes in Pay Rate Maintenance or Position Maintenance.
For report details and resolution guidance, refer to Distribution Detail Report.
What validation does PBS perform on funding distribution account codes?
PBS validates the following when you save a funding distribution on a position or pay rate record:
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Distribution percentages must total exactly 1.00 (100 percent) across all organization distribution lines. The system blocks saving if the total is less than or greater than 1.00.
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A single distribution line cannot have a percentage greater than 1.00 (100 percent).
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Project distribution percentages must also total exactly 1.00 if project lines are present.
PBS does not block saving if an organization code or account code does not exist in the Fund Accounting expenditure ledger. That validation occurs when you run the Distribution Detail Report, where invalid codes are flagged with an asterisk. Resolve asterisk-flagged lines before running the Post Positions and Load to Future Pay Rates routine or posting to Fund Accounting.
For distribution error descriptions and resolutions, refer to Funding distribution errors.
Do I need to update funding distributions when the chart of accounts changes mid-year?
Yes. If your district revises the Fund Accounting chart of accounts — for example, by adding, renaming, or inactivating organization codes or account codes — you must review and update PBS funding distributions to reflect those changes.
PBS distributions are not automatically updated when Fund Accounting account structures change. Distributions that reference codes removed or changed in FAM continue to display in PBS but generate asterisk warnings in the Distribution Detail Report and may produce errors when budget data is posted to Fund Accounting.
After a chart of accounts change:
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Run the Distribution Detail Report for the affected budget year to identify asterisk-flagged lines.
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Open the affected pay rate records in Pay Rate Maintenance and update the distribution lines with the correct account codes.
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Re-run the Distribution Detail Report to confirm all warnings are resolved before running the posting routine.
For report navigation, refer to Distribution Detail Report.
What is the difference between organization distributions and project distributions?
Organization distributions allocate an employee's salary cost to Fund Accounting expenditure ledger accounts identified by organization code and account code. Organization distributions are required on every pay rate record that participates in the PBS budget.
Project distributions allocate a portion of an employee's salary cost to project ledger accounts identified by project code and account code. Project distributions are optional. They are used when part of an employee's compensation is funded through a grant, a special project, or another project-tracked funding source.
Both distribution types must have percentages that total exactly 1.00 if they are present. Organization and project distribution percentages are independent — each set must independently total 1.00.
For field-level guidance, refer to Manage employee pay rates for positions.
Why does the system block saving my pay rate record with a distribution error?
The system blocks saving a pay rate record if the organization distribution percentages do not total exactly 1.00 (100 percent). The error message identifies the specific validation issue — either the total is less than 1.00 or greater than 1.00.
To resolve the issue:
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Review all organization distribution lines on the pay rate record.
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Adjust the percentages so all lines total exactly 1.00. Enter percentages as decimal fractions: for example, 0.50 for 50 percent and 1.00 for 100 percent.
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If project distribution lines are present, confirm they also total exactly 1.00.
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Select Save again after correcting the distribution.
For detailed error descriptions, refer to Funding distribution errors.
Does updating a pay-rate-level distribution immediately affect Fund Accounting budget entries?
No. Updating distribution percentages on a pay rate record takes effect immediately in PBS — the new distribution is saved and visible on the Employee Rate Information page and in distribution reports. However, the updated distribution does not automatically update Fund Accounting budget entries.
For updated distributions to appear in Fund Accounting, you must run the appropriate budget distribution application process within Personnel Budgeting after updating the pay rates. Additionally, if you need the updated distributions to flow into Future Pay Rate records in HRM, re-run the Post Positions and Load to Future Pay Rates routine with the Load pay rates to Future Pay Rates option selected.
For the post-update steps, refer to:
-
Manage employee pay rates for positions
How many distribution lines can a position or pay rate record have?
There is no system-enforced maximum on the number of organization or project distribution lines a position or pay rate record can have. However, all organization distribution lines combined must total exactly 1.00, and all project distribution lines combined must also total exactly 1.00 if project lines are present.
In practice, the number of lines reflects your district's account structure and the number of funding sources that share responsibility for the salary cost. Positions or pay rates with split funding across multiple departments or projects commonly have two or more distribution lines.