OVERVIEW

The Relational Statewide Accounting & Reporting System (R⋆STARS) is a comprehensive financial management information system designed to meet the accounting and reporting needs of the State. In addition to providing standard accounting functions, R⋆STARS provides specialized functions, such as budgetary and encumbrance accounting and allocation of indirect costs. R⋆STARS also provides comprehensive and flexible reporting capabilities, including on-line inquiry, standard and ad hoc reporting.

R⋆STARS is flexible. It may be used by agencies with basic accounting and reporting needs, as well as by agencieswhich have more sophisticated requirements, such as project and grantaccounting and billing.

The R⋆STARS user documentation is divided into several manuals. These Guides and Manuals do not cover subsystems which Oregon did not choose to use – i.e. the R⋆STARS Fixed Assets Accounting Subsystem and the R⋆STARS Document Tracking Subsystem. Though Oregon does not choose to use the R⋆STARS Fixed Asset Accounting Subsystem, agencies are responsible for their Capital Assets Accounting.

The manuals are listed below. It is not intended that every user should read the content of all these manuals.

◾ R⋆STARS Training Manual – provides training in the basic system features. This manual is given to students taking the R⋆STARS training classes.
http://www.oregon.gov/DAS/Financial/AcctgSys/Pages/trngmanual.aspx

◾ R⋆STARS Data Entry Guide (DEG) – includes instructions for performing day-to-day accounting entries and inquiries.

◾ R⋆STARS Report Guide – includes instructions on how to order R⋆STARS reports. The guide details each available report and the special selects available to customize each report.
http://www.oregon.gov/DAS/Financial/AcctgSys/Pages/ reportguide.aspx

◾ R⋆STARS Security Manual – includes detail information on the security profile screens

◾ R⋆STARS Reference Manual – presents higher level information regarding the capabilities and features of R⋆STARS. It describes the overall design of the system and each of its components.

◾ R⋆STARS System Management Guide – describes the overall control and reconciliation procedures for R⋆STARS. This manual is distributed to system management personnel responsible for the administration, processing and control of R⋆STARS.

◾ R⋆STARS Technical Manual – provides a high-level description of R⋆STARS applications.

Other useful manuals include:

◾ SFMS Desk Manual – published by Statewide Financial Management Services (SFMS), includes further detail on entering transactions.
http://www.oregon.gov/DAS/Financial/AcctgSys/Pages/deskmanual.aspx

◾ Oregon Year-End Closing (YEC) Manual – published by Statewide Accounting and Reporting Services (SARS), includes detailed information to help with the annual year-end closing.
http://www.oregon.gov/DAS/Financial/Acctng/Pages/ Yr-end-cls.aspx

◾ Oregon Accounting Manual (OAM) – published by SARS.
http://www.oregon.gov/DAS/Financial/Acctng/Pages/OAM.aspx

CONTENTS OF THE DATA ENTRY GUIDE

Below is a description of the remaining chapters in the updated DEG.

Ch.	2	–	Systems Processing Overview	–	This chapter provides a high-level overview of R⋆STARS’ functional accounting capabilities, systems profiles, and major processing subsystems used by Oregon.
Ch.	3	–	On-line Procedures	–	This chapter discusses on-line procedures for entering transactions and making inquiries.
Ch.	4	–	Error Correction Procedures	–	This chapter contains the procedures needed to correct errors made either through the on-line process or through the nightly batch update cycle.
Ch.	5	–	Descriptive Profile Maintenance	–	This chapter provides system users with profile maintenance instructions for core descriptive profiles. Descriptive profiles provide titles, accounting classification, and other information for many of the codes used in R⋆STARS.
Ch.	6	–	Non-Descriptive Profile Maintenance	–	This chapter provides system users with profile maintenance instructions for Non-descriptive profiles.
Ch.	7	–	Budgeting	–	This chapter provides the user with an understanding of the budgeting procedures and instructions on how to enter each of the budget types.
Ch.	8	–	General Accounting	–	This chapter encompasses a number of independent areas, which do not conveniently fall into one of the other accounting subsystems. They include:
						▸ General Ledger Accounting ▸ Recording Journal Entries ▸ Recurring Transactions and Fund Splits ▸ Operating Transfers ▸ Cash Control
Ch.	9	–	The Expenditure Cycle	–	This chapter presents procedures for recording expenditure cycle transactions, including:
						▸ Pre-Encumbrances ▸ Encumbrances ▸ Accounts Payable Transactions
Ch.	10	–	The Revenue Cycle	–	This chapter reviews standard procedures for entering data for revenue cycle transactions.
Ch.	11	–	Reporting	–	This chapter provides system users with an understanding of the reporting options and procedures.
Ch.	12	–	Month and Year-End Processing	–	This chapter describes the manual and automated procedures for closing prior months and years.
Ch.	13	–	Project Accounting	–	This chapter covers the procedures for establishing billable and Non-billable projects and the use of project budgets.
Ch.	14	–	Grant Accounting	–	This chapter describes the procedures for establishing Federal, State and other grants and for accumulating and reporting budgets, revenues, and expenditures.
Ch.	15	–	Cost Allocation	–	This chapter provides an overview of the procedures for defining the cost allocation methods to be used by each agency to allocate indirect costs. Refer to R⋆STARS Reference Manual, Chapter 14 for more detailed information.
Ch.	16	–	Fixed Assets	–	This chapter gives an overview of the Fixed Asset Subsystem (FAS) processes and procedures. This subsystem is not currently used in Oregon. Refer to R⋆STARS Reference Manual, Chapter 15 for more detailed information.
Ch.	17	–	Document Tracking	–	This Chapter provides system users with an understanding of the document tracking processes and procedures within R⋆STARS (Currently, the 37 – Document Tracking Inquiry* screen is the only functional part of this subsystem used in Oregon.*)

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