Chart of Accounts

The Chart of Accounts (COA) is the foundation of the accounting system. It provides a unique numbering system for identifying transactions in UTShare. It consists of the following elements:

Fund - identifies the source of the funds such as state, federal, local, etc.

Account - identifies the nature of the transaction for expenditures and revenues

Function - used to group expenditures according to a specified purpose

Department ID - identifies the UTA department

Cost Center - Unique number used to track financial activities within a Department

Project ID - Unique number used to track financial activities for Grants and Plant Fund projects

Activity - Unique number used for Plant Fund projects to track specific activities. All grant projects use a value of 1 for this field

The different elements of the COA are used for budgeting, recording transactions, classification of transactions and for reporting purposes. The COA tells us where the money came from, what is the general purpose of the funds, and who is spending it. The COA values are entered into “chartfields” in UTShare. The grouping or combination of ChartFields is referred to as a “chartfield string”.

Understanding the chartfield structure helps you identify valid chartfield combinations for your transactions. Incorrect chartfield values will result in processing delays and inaccurate data.

Learn more about Managing Department Funds by visiting Knowledge Services website.