format_list_bulleted Topic Overview

Organization Suspense Accounts (OSA)

An organization suspense account (OSA) is a PTA assigned to an organization (org) to capture payroll transactions when they fail to post successfully to their original PTA. (By contrast, Accounts Payable (AP) default PTAs are PTAs assigned for an organization (org) to capture non-salary transactions when they fail to post successfully to their original PTA.)

Departments requesting a new org through the Organization Code Hierarchy Tool must supply the designated OSA PTA as well as an OSA sweep PTA, typically an operating budget PTA, to capture suspense transactions included in a periodic sweep. For details on OSA sweeps, view the Identifying and Clearing OSAs section below.

To identify the OSA PTA or OSA sweep PTA for an org or make subsequent changes, use the Suspense Account Query Tool.

  • A labor schedule does not exist for an employee that should have one. This excludes students in the Graduate Financial Support (GFS) systems and employees submitting timesheets.
  • Labor schedule lines total less than 100 percent. The remaining earnings are charged to the OSA PTA.
  • The PTA assigned in the Labor Schedules system, Axess Timecard, paper timesheets, PeopleSoft Supplemental Pay Web Form, or GFS was not valid when payroll was posted in Oracle Financials.

Charging instructions which were initially successful can fail over time. Requirements for a charge to post are:

  • Award status is active or at risk.
  • Project status is active.
  • Task is chargeable.
  • Expenditure type is allowable on the project or task.
  • Transaction Expenditure Item Date (EID) is within the most restrictive PTA start and end dates of each PTA segment.

    Use the PTA Inquiry report in the OBI Reference Data and Inquiry Dashboard to view these values.

The OSA Clearing Policy requires departments to clear suspense transactions soon after the payroll posts in Oracle Financials or by the published OSA clearing deadlines. Subscribe to the LD Adjuster email list to receive biweekly email notifications of payroll postings in Oracle Financials and other important communications.

  • All payroll transactions posted to the OSA PTA reflect the 51610 suspense expenditure type and are burdened at the highest rate.
  • Suspense transactions post to the OSA PTA associated with the employee’s Assignment Org.

To review and clear transactions charged to the OSA, refer to How to: Identify and Clear Organization Suspense Accounts (OSAs) for Labor for step-by-step instructions. (You will need access to the Labor Distribution Adjustments (LDA) system or OBI Financial Reporting system for Payroll and Labor Management. If you do not have access to the LDA system, notify the appropriate person to enter the distribution adjustment(s); to find an LD adjuster based on the person being paid, refer to Oracle Financials Inquiry Tools: Labor Distribution User Query.)

If departments do not clear suspense transactions by the OSA clearing deadlines, the OSA Clearing Policy specifies a periodic sweep to move suspense transactions from the OSA PTA to the OSA sweep PTA.

  • The sweep imposes a fee on the OSA sweep PTA for each payroll line in the sweep (effective FY24, the fee is $35).
  • All sweep transactions on the OSA sweep PTA reflect the 51610 suspense expenditure type and are burdened at the highest rate.

Taking action before payroll runs will prevent expenditures from posting to the OSA PTA. Here are some of the most common actions a user can take to prevent future payroll transaction errors:

Last Updated: Mar 7, 2024