FM 503
Date of issue: 11 October 2000

2.    PPARC has a computerised system, GASP, to manage Grants and Awards. Payments due are calculated by the GASP system and then transferred to the finance system to effect the payment. The interface is the mechanism of transfer. There is an interface in the opposite direction to notify GASP that payment has been made.

PROCEDURAL GUIDELINES

3.     Procedural guidelines for using GASP are contained in the annex.

QUERIES

4.    Any queries concerning the content or interpretation of this FM should be referred to Barbara Grundy, GASP Financial Maintainer, Current Support, Accounts Payable, PPARC Finance Division, Swindon Office, tel: 01793 442055, e-mail: barbara.grundy@pparc.ac.uk or Teresa Instone, Payments Manager, PPARC Finance Division, Swindon Office, tel: 01793 442148, e-mail: teresa.instone@pparc.ac.uk.

David Bennett
PPARC Finance Division

1.     All current planned payments on GASP are made available to budget holders by running the "Payment Post" (a GASP function).

2.     Budget holders authorise payments via "Modify Payments" (a GASP function).

3.     In order to generate the Research Grants quarterly planned profiled payments and Studentship payments including Maintenance, Fees and Ad Hoc Claims it is necessary to import a data file from GASP to PUFFS. Conversely, a file is exported from PUFFS to GASP to update the GASP system. Payment Post is run again. This creates the ".ajt" file to be imported to PUFFS on the R: drive.

4.     The ‘.ajt’ file eg 00000111.ajt is copied to the G: drive, making it accessible to PUFFS.

5.     File is imported to PUFFS using "Journal Import" (JI) via "Ledger Accounting" (LA).

6.     The Payments Manager generates payments. Payments on PUFFS are validated and the "Creditor Payment Report", which gives details of payments to be generated, is checked against a GASP generated report, which gives details of payments authorised for payment and included in the ‘.ajt’ file. Only when the data held on both reports has been reconciled are the payments generated.

7.     An "Export" is created on PUFFS using "Ledger Export" (LX) via LA. The file created is ".rsp" eg 00000111.rsp and is held on the G: drive. In order for Grants’ payments to be updated and acknowledged on GASP the file must first be copied to the R: drive.

8.     When payments have been made through PUFFS and acknowledgement is required to update the payment status on GASP to "paid" and "date paid" this is done through the "Payment Acknowledgement" module on GASP. In the process the file 00000111.rsp becomes 00000111.ack.

Last updated:    29 June 2001