Schedule & Automate Acquisitions Workflows: Posting and Fund Activity Reports
Posting processes and Fund Activity Reports (FAR) are essential routine tasks for Acquisitions libraries, but manual execution requiring multi-step confirmations creates workflow bottlenecks, increases the risk of human error, and causes delays during staff absences. As a System Administrator for a 54-member consortium with 36 accounting units, I would like to schedule an auto-Posting and monthly FAR runs for all 36 units. Additionally, the FAR process should automatically clear payment history when funds are in balance, safely post valid encumbrances, and send email exception logs if it detects out-of-balance funds or active keying sessions.
Automating these processes reclaims valuable staff time, reduces errors, and maintains continuity during staff absences. Regular background execution enforces predictable reporting schedules, clears payment history files promptly, and keeps database performance optimized across standalone and consortiums.
Nicole Turzillo
shared this idea
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Jeremy Goldstein
commented
This would be amazing for so many of our libraries. These two processes are important for acquisitions staff to pay attention to in theory, but in reality they wind up just being a weird barrier for most of the staff working with the system. Acquisitions librarian are not accountants and the true accounting never takes place in Sierra anyway (that happens over in MUNIS or whatever system the municipality may be using to manage the real money). So something like the fund activity report often turns into that thing you only think about when you get an error message preventing you from paying invoices and just does not serve it's intended purpose.
It should still ultimately exist in the name of trying to encourage proper accounting practices if nothing else. But automating this would provide a nice option for those libraries where truly these features are nothing but an unwanted hassle.