General ledger allocation
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) manages its General Ledger (GL) allocations through the Banner financial system using indexes, department codes, and ledger groupings. Financial allocation guidance at VCU dictates how transactions are distributed, reconciled, and moved across different institutional accounts.
Key general ledger components
VCU tracks financial activity using specific ledger definitions that dictate fund rules:
Education and general funds
(state-appropriated funds)
Allocation & transaction guidance
- Procurement card (P-Card) allocation — When reconciling monthly department transactions, users must allocate charges to the correct 6-digit index and 6-digit account codes. If purchasing for multiple units, delete the default GL 02: Index line and enter the correct 4-digit department code in GL04: Department to auto-populate permissible indexes.
- Multi-department splits — If your department shares resources, expenses must be systematically divided and journaled to appropriate departmental indexes before the closing of the monthly billing cycle.
- Budget reallocations — Temporary or permanent budget adjustments to cover payroll, staffing, or operational costs are processed through Banner using entries that generate a document number starting with “B”.
- Journal vouchers (JV) — To move existing allocations or correct errors between funds, users access Banner form FGAJVCM. VCU policies strictly prohibit transferring revenue between Ledger 1 and Ledger 2 organizations.
Sponsored programs (Ledger 5) restrictions
⚠ No pooled methods — Administrative or clerical support service costs cannot be charged to sponsored agreements using a general pooled allocation method. They must be directly tracked or handled as an indirect cost.
⚠ Cost transfers — Any expense re-allocation or cost transfer shifted onto a sponsored 5-ledger fund more than 90 days after the month of the original charge requires explicit pre-approval using the VCU Cost Transfer Request Form ↗.
Monthly reconciliation requirements
According to the VCU Fiscal Handbook, all unit accounts must undergo standard monthly reconciliation:
▶ Personnel expenses (posted in accounts starting with 5) must be cross-verified against actual payroll using detail logs via the VCU Reporting Center.
▶ Revenue items (posted in accounts starting with 4) must match official deposit receipts or corresponding Banner journal entries.
▶ Administrative staff perform standard reconciliations, while Principal Investigators (PIs) must utilize the PI Dashboard monthly to digitally certify reviews of active grant accounts.