Lesson 1.1: System Navigation Lesson Overview

Objective: At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

Recall how to access and navigate IFMIS.

IFMIS Login Instructions: FEIMS Internal

From the FEMA Intranet Home Page, click on the FEIMS Internal option from the quick links to the right. FEIMS stands for the FEMA Enterprise Identity Management System.

FEMA resources icons and links from website home page with arrow pointing towards FEIMS Internal

IFMIS Login Instructions: FEIMS Menu

Select IFMIS by clicking on either the IFMIS icon or the “IFMIS” text link.

Screenshot of the FEIMS portal with arrow pointing to the IFMIS link

IFMIS Login Instructions: Connect to IFMIS

Ensure your user name and environment are pre-populated. Click on the Continue button to go to IFMIS.

Screenshot of the IFMIS login screen with username and environment fields

IFMIS Main Menu

The IFMIS Main Menu will appear.

Note: Your rights in IFMIS determine which folders and subfolders you can view.

Screenshot of IFMIS main menu with main folders identifying subsystems (funding, cost posting, disbursements, general ledger, and accounts receivable), utilities, environmental utilities, FEMA customized reports, and batch processing

Navigating the Menus

To navigate through the Main Menu, click once on the menu option or folder/record icon to open or close folders and records.

Note: Double clicking on a menu option may give you unexpected results.

When you select a menu option and return to the Main Menu, the last selected option is highlighted and marked with an asterisk (*).

The IFMIS Main Menu page has three features:

Screenshot of the main menu that shows the last selected option which is highlighted and marked with an asterisk

Expand All or Collapse All Menus

Links to expand or collapse all menus are shown in the upper right corner of the Main Menu page.

Toggle Console

From the Main Menu, click on the Toggle Console link in the Actions box to display and view recent console messages. To return to the Main Menu, click on the Toggle Console link again.

Find a Menu Item

An alternative to clicking through the Main Menu to get to a needed page is to enter a menu title or keyword in the Find a Menu Item text box. A list of related menu items will appear. When you select the desired menu item, you will be taken to the corresponding page.

For example, if you enter “Commitment” in the Find a Menu Item text box, the following items appear. Selecting “Vendor Documents/Enter Cost Posting Document/Cost Posting Subsystem Commitments” from the list will take you to the Commitment main screen.

Arrow pointing to commitments link, including path from IFMIS Main Menu (vendor documents/enter cost posting document/cost posting subsytem) included in search results for "commitments"; commitment main screen shows in front of the list, which would appear after clicking Commitments link

Cost Posting Subsystem

From the Main Menu, you may click on different levels of folders and subfolders to locate needed documents and reports.

Within IFMIS, click on the following subfolders in the Cost Posting Subsystem if available to you to preview the reports and documents within each:

Enter Cost Posting Document
Cost Reporting (Committed Document Report)
Cost On Hold Reporting
Travel Reports
Disaster Reports

Screenshot of the cost posting subsystem expanded menus

Enter Cost Posting Document

Cost Transaction Reporting

Screenshot of ifmis cost transaction folder structure

Cost On Hold Reporting

Travel Reports

Disaster Reports

Accounts Receivable Subsystem

From the Main Menu, click on the following commonly used subfolders in the Accounts Receivable Subsystem to preview the reports and documents within each:

Bill Processing
Receipt Processing
Non-Sufficient Funds Processing
Treasury Confirmation
Accounts Receivable Reports

Screenshot of ifmis bill processing folder structure

Accessing Main Screens

Within IFMIS, you will navigate from the IFMIS Main Menu to a main screen to post transactions.

For example, when posting a vendor commitment, you would click on each of the following to access the Vendor Commitment main screen: Cost Posting Subsystem>Enter Cost Posting Document>Vendor Documents>Commitments.

IFMIS main menu listings in order to complete a commitment transaction: Cost Posting Subsystem, Enter Cost Posting Document, Vendor Documents, and Commitments

IFMIS Transaction Data Entry Flow

Data Entry Transaction Flow

Main screens establish the key information for the entire transaction record in IFMIS.

The process by which you post transactions includes entering data in the Main, Comment, and Accounting Classification Code Structure (ACCS) screens.

Use the Tab key on your keyboard to navigate through the fields and buttons on the screens. Fields may be required, optional, computed, or read-only.

Main Screen

To post a transaction, you will navigate from the IFMIS Main Menu to a main screen.

The main screen includes summary information about the transaction, such as referenced document number, pertinent dates, total amount, and status.

This screen may also be referred to as the header screen.

Once all comments and ACCS lines are entered, the entire transaction is verified and saved from the main screen.

Comment Screen

Use the Comment screen to list goods/services being purchased and any comments relative to the transaction.

ACCS Screens

ACCS screens include detailed accounting information for each good or service included in the transaction. This information includes the line of accounting charged, the amount charged to the line of accounting, and the quantity and unit price of the goods or services.

ACCS screens may also be referred to as detail screens.

Note: The number of ACCS screens will depend on the number of goods and services being posted to the transaction and the number of lines of accounting used to fund the transaction.

All ACCS entries must be verified before clicking NEXT to add additional ACCS screens or MAIN to return to the Main screen and verify the entire transaction.

Commitment main screen with arrow pointing at ACCS button and the ACCS screen displayed in front of the main commitment screen

Main Screen Buttons

Main Screen Function Buttons

When posting transactions, you will perform several steps in the process using the main screen function buttons located at the bottom of the main screen.

Screenshot of IFMIS main commitment screen with squares around the buttons at the bottom of the screen

Comment Screen

Clicking the COMM button on the main screen brings you to the Comment screen.

The Procurement Data entered at the top of the Comment screen (Project Officer, Program Office, and Project Information Sheet) is key data for interacting with the acquisition system.
The first 60 characters of Comments entered at the bottom of the screen are copied to the main screen upon exiting the comment screen. The main screen comments do not appear on any reports.

Click on the MAIN button to return to the main screen.

Commitment screen showing and Comment screen open over main screen to show procurement data, comments, and MAIN button

Verify Data

Clicking on the VER button allows you to verify the data entered on the main and Accounting Classification Code Structure (ACCS) screens.

This verification checks that all data entries conform to the formats required for each field and that all required data has been entered.

If no errors are detected, the message “Document and line item(s) verified” appears in the top left corner of the main screen.
If errors are detected, an error screen appears. To correct an error:

Position the cursor on the line in front of the error message.
Click on the FIX button.
Make the correction where the system positions the cursor.

Click on the MAIN button to return to the main screen.

Commitment screen with VER button and error screen open in front of main screen with error message "At least one line required"

Review Hold

Clicking REVHLD allows you to review documents placed on hold. The hold screen appears summarizing data entered for each document in the hold file. From this screen:

Click on NEXT to view additional entries on hold.
Click on PREV to return to a previous hold screen (if any).
Click on APPLY to retrieve a document and display it on the main screen for additional processing or to save.
Click on MAIN to return to the blank main screen.
Click on DELETE to delete the item from the hold list.
Click on EXIT to return to the Main Menu.

If you exit out of a screen that was on hold, it will remain on hold until it is saved or deleted.

Commitment header screen and review hold screen open with open field for document ID

View Vendor Data

Clicking on ADDR allows you to view the vendor data associated with the vendor entered on the main screen.

The PAYEE button shows the payment address information (if different from the vendor address).

Click on the MAIN button to return to the main screen.

Commitment screen with vendor data screen open in front; shows no vendor details to display message, blank vendor data fields, and payee, vendor, and main buttons at the bottom

Save

Clicking SAVE ensures the transaction is saved. A message will appear at the top with the document ID Number and the statement "Document and line item(s) updated.".

Access ACCS Screen

Clicking on the ACCS button takes you to the Accounting Classification Code Structure (ACCS) screen, which captures accounting details for the transaction.

IFMIS generates the Sequence Number (No.) located at the top right of the ACCS screen and any sub-sequential ACCS screens associated with a transaction.
At least one ACCS entry associated with each line input, including dollar amount, must be entered.
Each unique item or commodity listed on the source document should be recorded in IFMIS as a separate line on the ACCS screen. There may be multiple ACCS entries having the same line number. Multiple line numbers may be assigned for the same item, where part of the item is funded by one source and part by another. Thus, there can be multiple ACCS screens each with a unique sequence number, but the line number can be applied to more than one screen.

The buttons located at the bottom of the ACCS screen include:

NEXT opens a blank ACCS line to post additional line items or allows you to scroll through existing ACCS lines.
PREV moves backwards to previous ACCS line.
VER prompts the system to perform edit checks on the ACCS line and display any errors.
COPY copies ACCS information from the previous line so you can apply it to another line and modify differing elements and amount.
MAIN returns to the main screen.
GOTO takes you to a designated ACCS line, useful when you have multiple ACCS lines.

Hold Data for Later Processing

You can place a form, record, or document on hold for processing later if you need to interrupt work for higher priority processing, be away from the computer for a while, or find additional information. Entries placed on hold have no effect on accounting records or fund balances (i.e., amounts aren't subtracted from fund balances for records placed on hold).

To place a form, record, or document on hold, click on the HOLD button at the bottom of the main screen. A message will populate in the top left corner of the screen with the document number and 'line item(s) held' message.

Screenshot of ifmis commitment with line item(s) held message in top left corner of screen; message includes document number

Exit

Click on the EXIT button to exit the current document and return to the IFMIS Main Menu.

Environmental Utilities

The Environmental Utilities menu option in IFMIS allows you to:

Set a network printer => Network Printer Selection
Set options for printing and viewing reports => Report Output Options

Screenshot of IFMIS main menu with Environmental Utilities selected

Report Output Options

From the IFMIS Reporting Options page, you can select from several report formats and delivery options. The options you select on this page will only be enforced for reports that you choose to print when prompted "Do you want to print this report?" and you enter "Y".

Report Format: Options are hypertext markup language (HTML) or portable document format (PDF).
Printed Output Delivery: You may select one or both of the options:

Send to Printer – this option produces a hard copy of the report from the printer set as the default in Network Printer Selection.
E-mail Report as Attachment – this option sends you an e-mail with the report as an attachment in the Report Format you selected.

E-mail Address: This information is required if you chose to e-mail your output as an attachment. This e-mail address is also used to send reports that are generated by background processing.

Once you have set your preferences, click on Save for them to be enforced, then click on Exit.

print report prompt in IFMIS; option Y/N for yes or no

IFMIS Sign Out Instructions

To properly sign out of IFMIS, you will need to be at the IFMIS Main Menu:

Click on Collapse All in the top right corner.
Click on Sign Out at the top right corner.
Close the browser window after you receive the message “You have successfully signed out.”.

Screenshot of IFMIS menu with arrows indicating where to click Collapse All and Signout

Lesson 1.1 Summary

This lesson covered:

IFMIS login and sign out instructions.
IFMIS Main Menu.
Navigating IFMIS menus.
Cost Posting and Accounts Receivable Subsystems.
Accessing the main screen.
IFMIS transaction data entry flow.
Main screen function buttons.
Environmental Utilities menu options.

The next lesson presents the background and organization of IFMIS.