PPS Glossary

The following glossary provides brief definitions of some of the most commonly used terms in the Personnel/Payroll system, manuals and classes. Additional glossaries/definitions available on the web include the following:

Data fields found in the various PPS sub-systems are described in the following manual sections:

AIS	Administrative Information Systems (AIS) is the custodian of many UCLA central administrative systems (including the PPS) and is responsible for the development, maintenance and security of these systems in coordination with the system "owners". More information about AIS is available at the AIS website (http://www.ais.ucla.edu).
Alien	An individual living in or visiting the United States who is not a citizen of the U.S. More information can be found at http://map.ais.ucla.edu/go/1004187.
APO	Academic Personnel Office. Information about APO is available at their website (http://www.apo.ucla.edu).
Appointment	Appointments define the terms and conditions of employment with the University. For example, the appointment contains the beginning and ending dates of the appointment, the department the appointment is in, the personnel program and job title, and the appointment type (limited, career, etc.).
ASAP	ASAP stands for Application System Authorization Process. ASAP was used prior to December 13, 2004 to send email notification(s) to the reviewers (from the preparers) that an update has occurred and to send additional notifications to other interested parties. ASAP can also be used to refer to the notice that is produced by the ASAP system.
Audit Log	A file that contains all the ASAP notices generated from transactions entered on-line.
Automatic Pay	Gross earnings generated by the system during the pay compute based on the information on the EDB at that time for employees paid on an exception time basis.
Bank Trace	An inquiry initiated by Payroll Services to verify that an employee's money was or was not deposited into his/her bank account on payday. The bank will normally respond within 24 to 48 hours.
BELI	Benefits Eligibility Level Indicator. For more information about the BELI code, refer to the EDB Manual, Section E4.0.
Biweekly Accrual	An accounting entry which estimates the wages and benefits for employees paid biweekly through the end of the month. More information on the biweekly accrual can be found in the PPS Manual, Section D1.
Blocked	A system message which indicates that a roster transaction will NOT be processed by the system during the pay compute. More information about blocked transactions can be found in the PTR Manual, Section C3.2.
Break in Service	A break in service is any separation from employment status. In addition, a break in service occurs, effective the last day on pay status, whether or not a separation form is submitted, when an employee is off pay status for four complete, consecutive calendar months without an approved leave without pay, furlough, or temporary layoff. A return to pay status from an approved leave without pay, furlough, temporary layoff, indefinite layoff during a period of right to recall and preference for reemployment, or on the next working day following a separation, is not a break in service. From: http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/employees/policies_employee_labor_relations/personnel_policies/spp02.html
Bundle	A bundle is a series of screens linked together in order for the user to process an action such as a hire, promotion, etc. A brief description of each of the bundles used in the PPS including the screens in the bundle can be found in the EDB Manual, Appendix VI.
Career Appointment	A career appointment is an appointment established at a fixed or variable percentage of time at 50 percent or more of full-time, which is expected to continue for one year or longer. In addition, a limited appointment shall be designated as a career appointment when the incumbent has attained 1,000 hours of qualifying service in any 12 consecutive months without a break in service of at least 120 consecutive calendar days. Qualifying service includes all time on pay status in one or more limited appointments. On-call and overtime hours shall not be included as pay status hours when computing qualifying service. Such career designation shall be effective the first of the month following attainment of 1,000 hours of qualifying service. From: http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/employees/policies_employee_labor_relations/personnel_policies/spp03.html
Casual/Restricted Appointment	A casual/restricted appointment is an appointment which is reserved for a regular student of the University of California. Such an appointment retains the designation casual/restricted regardless of the percent of full time or the duration of the appointment. From: http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/employees/policies_employee_labor_relations/personnel_policies/spp03.html
Check Disposition	How an employee's net pay is distributed to the employee (via direct deposit, etc.). Information on entering the Check Disposition codes on the EDB can be found in the EDB Manual, Section B4.
Check List	A list of employees in alphabetical order who are eligible to be paid for a selected pay period end date and pay cycle who have information on the EDB that matches a selected department, FAU, or cost center. More information on the check list is available in the PTR Manual, Section C1.1.
CHR	Campus Human Resources. Information about CHR is available at their website (http://www.chr.ucla.edu).
Consistency Edit	Consistency edits (or Con-edits) test the values of related data elements in the context of one another. During consistency editing the system examines the employee record, as it would look AFTER the application of the entered data, to detect inconsistencies among related groups of data elements.
Contribution	An amount paid by the University on an employee's behalf to cover the cost of an employee's health, dental, or vision plan.
CSC	Computer Support Coordinator is a person in an organizational unit who has been delegated the responsibility for the overseeing the computing resources in the unit.
DACSS (DACSS/ASAP)	DACSS (Distributed Administrative Computing Security System) is the security system used on campus to control access to the various campus systems.
Deduction	A flat dollar or percentage amount that is deducted from an employee's pay for taxes, credit union, parking, United Way, etc.
Department Adjustment Transactions	PTR transactions which departments use to make changes, corrections or adjustments to an employees pay. More information on processing Department Adjustment Transactions (EDAT) can be found starting in Section D1 of the PTR Manual.
Distribution	Distributions define how the employee is paid. For example, distributions contain information about the pay rate the employee will receive, the account number the pay will be charged to, and what type of pay it is, e.g. regular pay, shift differential, or a stipend.
DOS Code	A three character code used to identify a payment to an employee. All UCLA DOS codes (Description Of Service) codes are maintained in the DOS code table. Consult the DOS Code Table for more information.
DSA	The Department Security Administrator is a person in an organizational unit who is responsible for giving access to various systems on campus using DACSS.
EDB	The Employee Data Base contains information about University employees such as birthdate, hire date, address, benefits, W-4 exemptions, pay rate, etc. An overview of the EDB can be found in Section A of the PPS Manual. Section A4 of the same manual provides information on accessing EDB Inquiry (IDDB) and the EDB Manual provides information on EDB Entry/Update (EEDB).
Edit Messages	Messages displayed by the system when a user presses "Enter" or "Update" that may indicate a problem with the data entered by the user.
EDW	The Expense Distribution Workfile contains all transactions processed through the pay compute for a payroll month. The file is used to produce the Distribution of Payroll Expense Report (PPP5302), the TOE file, and the Expense Distribution Information in the PP QDB.
Employee Documents	Printed information that departments can provide to employees to notify them of changes to their employee record or keep in a Personnel file. More information on Employee Documents can be found in the PPS Manual, Section A3. Instructions for printing the documents can be found in Section A5 of the same manual.
Employee ID Number	The unique number which identifies an individual's employee record.
Employee Record	The set of data relating to an individual which is collected on the Employee Data Base (EDB).
Exception Time	A method of paying employees who work a standard number of hours each pay period based on the data on the EDB at the time of the pay compute. Entry of time worked is NOT REQUIRED in the PPS. Employees paid on an exception time basis are paid automatically by the system based on EDB data EXCEPT when the department processes an adjustment to their percentage of time.
FAU	Full Accounting Unit is made up of the Location, Account, Cost Center, Fund, Project Code and Sub Account. The format in the PPS is shown below: L-AAAAAA-CC-FFFFF-PPPPPP-S: L = Location (1 char) AAAAAA = Account (6 digits) CC = Cost Center (2 char) FFFFF = Fund (5 digits) PPPPPP = Project Code (up to 6 chars) S = Sub Account (1 digit)
FLSA	The Fair Labor Standards Act is a Federal law dating back over half a century which establishes certain minimum requirements for employees’ hours of work, wages, premium overtime and payroll records.
Flushed Transaction	PTR transactions which are not processed by the system because there are too many transactions or the total gross of the transactions is a negative number. These transactions which are not processed (flushed) are listed on a report reviewed by Payroll Services prior to each payday. Payroll Services works with the department to resolve the flush condition.
Function Code	A four-character code which corresponds to an individual screen or bundle.
Hand-Drawn	A check which is not calculated by the system. A hand-drawn check is normally calculated by a Payroll Services employee in order to process a correction or adjustment to an employee's wages. It may be processed with an overpayment.
HDB	The History Data Base contains historical personnel data for individual employees. More information on the HDB can be found in Section B of the PPS Manual.
Home Department	The department that the system derives as the primary employer of an employee.
Limited Appointment	A limited appointment is an appointment established at any percentage of time, fixed or variable, during which the appointee is expected to be on pay status for less than 1,000 hours in a 12-month period.
Logon ID	A unique alpha or alphanumeric ID assigned by AIS that is used to logon to the AIS maintained systems on campus.
Monthly Maintenance	The process of removing outdated information from the employee data base.
Navigation	The process of "moving" from one screen to another.
Nesting	The process of selecting a function outside of an entry/update subsystem, while retaining the data entered. For example, while entering data in a "new hire" bundle, the user may select an Online EDB inquiry function for another employee to compare data values before proceeding with data entry.
OASIS	The AIS online production environment is called OASIS. All the central administrative applications run within this mainframe environment.
OP	Office of the President, also referred to as UCOP. More information on the Office of the President is available at the UCOP website. (http://www.ucop.edu)
ORION	The UCLA Library's online information system which contains current campus information for all employees (including the Email address and employee ID number) and interfaces nightly with DACSS.
Overmax	An overmax condition occurs when an employee has been paid more than the standard number of regular hours for the pay period (over 80 hours biweekly or more than 1.0000% monthly). A report which lists the overmax employee records is reviewed by Payroll Services each payday. Payroll Services contacts the employee’s Home Department to resolve the overmax situation.
Overpayment	An adjustment which reverses all or part of a payment made to an employee due to an error. An overpayment is normally calculated by a Payroll Services employee in order to process a correction or adjustment to an employee's wages. It may be processed with an hand-drawn.
PAC	Purchasing and Accounts Payable System.
PAN	PAN stands for Post Authorization Notification. PAN is used to send notification(s) to the reviewers (from the preparers) that an update has occurred and to send additional notifications to other interested parties. PAN can also be used to refer to the notice that is produced by the PAN system. More information on PAN (including a link to the PAN logon page) is available on the PAN for Personnel Payroll Transactions page at http://map.ais.ucla.edu/go/1002885.
PAR	The Payroll Audit Record contains transactions that were processed through the pay compute process for an individual employee. Up to one year's worth of transactions can be found in the Payroll Audit Record. The function code IPAY is used by departments to access the Payroll Audit Record. More information on IPAY can be found in Section C2.1 and C4 of the PPS Manual.
Pay Compute	During the pay compute, the gross and net pay are calculated, pay checks and direct deposit transactions are produced, and all other transactions entered into the transaction holding file are processed. Pay compute dates can be found on the PPS Schedule.
Personnel Action Code	A code that indicates the type of EDB transaction processed. Some Personnel Action codes are system derived and others must be entered by the user at the time of the update. Refer to the Personnel Action Code chart in the UCLA EDB Manual for more information.
PIE	Period of Initial Eligibility for benefits. For more information about the PIE, refer to Chart 4.B in Section E4.0 of the EDB Manual.
Positive Time	A method of paying employees based on the hours or percent time reported via on-line Payroll Time Reporting. Entry of time worked on the Time Input Roster or a special adjustment screen is required in order for a "positive time" employee to be paid.
PP QDB	The Personnel/Payroll Query Data Base (QDB) is a "data warehouse" for Personnel/Payroll data. More information on the PP QDB is available in the PPS Manual, Section D3.
PPS	The Personnel Payroll System contains several databases or subsystems that departments can use in order to process personnel actions, generate pay for employees, and produce reports for employees or about the employees in the organization. An overview of the PPS can be found in the PPS Manual.
Pre-Notification	An electronic notice to an employee's bank from UCLA that direct deposit will start for an employee which specifies the employee's name, employee number, bank account number and the transit routing number for the employee's bank. The pre-note or pre-notification period starts on the closest pay compute after the bank information is updated on the EDB and lasts about 15 days.
Preparer	A trained person who is responsible for entering data into the Personnel/Payroll System in a manner consistent with campus policy.
Primary Pay Schedule	The employee's normal pay cycle, monthly (MO) or bi-weekly (BW), which is derived by the system based on the information entered on the appointment.
PTR	On-line Payroll Time Reporting is used to enter pay, leave, and payroll expense transfer transactions for employees.
RDS	The Report Distribution System provides departments access to PPS reports on-line. Section E1.1 of the PPS Manual provides instructions for obtaining access to PPS Reports on RDS.
Reduction	A flat dollar or percentage amount that is deducted from an employee's pay that also REDUCES the employees taxable gross such as Tax Deferred Savings, Depcare, or DCP.
Reviewer	A trained person who provides a secondary check for correctness and appropriateness of data entered into the Personnel/Payroll System and who also ensures against the possibility of entries that could result in fraudulent payments or loss of University funds.
Roster	The Payroll Time Reporting Roster is used to enter time and leave usage for all employees paid on a positive time basis. Adjustments to time and leave usage can also be entered for employees paid on an exception time basis. More information on the roster is available in the PTR Manual, Section C1.2, C2, and C3.
Scrolling	The process of moving to the next screen of data and back when there is more data than can fit on one screen.
START	The Staff and Academic Reduction in Time (START) Program is a tool that department heads can offer to their employees in order to help offset budget deficits. Under the program, eligible staff and academic employees can volunteer to reduce their time from a minimum reduction of 10 percent to a maximum reduction of 50 percent of full-time as long as participants’ work schedules are not reduced below 50 percent time in any given month of participation. Time reductions are made in monthly increments with a minimum reduction of one month and a maximum reduction of 12 months. Employees participating in the START program are paid using the DOS codes of RTS and RTP. They continued to earn full vacation and sick leave accruals and service credit. A START contract, UBEN 260, must be completed and signed by both the START participant and the department head to initiate a START contract. A START amendment, UBEN 261, is required if there are any changes to the START contract. The home department is the office of record for both forms. Forms are retained for 5 years after separation, except in cases of disability or retirement in which case such forms are retained until age 70.
Sub	Sub Account. For Payroll, the valid sub accounts are 0, 1, 2, 5, and 7.
Sub-Location	A code derived by the system from the Full Accounting Unit and the department code with which it is associated. This code indicates the pay plan structure which governs the pay rate for that appointment.
Surepay	Direct Deposit.
Suspense	A way of holding funding for a budgeted position because an employee has temporarily reduced his/her percentage of time, or been given a temporary promotion, or the department is temporarily paying an employee on a different FAU.
TOE File	The Transfer Of Expense file contains thirteen months of Payroll Expense Distribution Records sorted by a record key which facilitates the processing of on-line Payroll Expenditure Transfers.
Transaction Holding File	A storage area in the PPS used to "hold" updated pay, leave accrual, and expense transfer transactions for processing for a specific pay day.
UCOP	University of California Office of the President, also referred to as OP. More information on the Office of the President is available at the UCOP website. (http://www.ucop.edu)
UID	The Universal Identification Database generates ID numbers for several systems including the Personnel/Payroll system. UID is also used to refer to the number produced by the UID.
Update	The actual physical alteration of data in the PPS.

PPS MANUAL, REFERENCE

PPS GLOSSARY