Frequently Asked Questions

What is Quantum Financials and when can I start using it? 

Quantum Financials is the name that the campus selected for UMB’s Oracle cloud financials system. The system replaces eUMB Financials and RAVEN Financials Inquiry. The target go-live date for the Quantum Financials system is October 2019.

When will eUMB Financials and RAVEN Financials Inquiry go away?  

The project timeline has an anticipated go-live date of October 2019. UMB does not plan to run eUMB Financials or RAVEN Financials concurrently with Quantum Financials. When Quantum Financials goes live, eUMB Financials and RAVEN Financials Inquiry will exist with view-only access for data they contained at go-live and will no longer be updated with new transactions.

Will I still use RAVEN Financials Inquiry to retrieve my financial data?  

Once Quantum Financials goes live, eUMB Financials and RAVEN Financials Inquiry will no longer be used to access current data. You could still use RAVEN to access historical transaction data that existed at go-live.

Will we still use Project IDs in Quantum Financials?  

Project ID is an integral part of the accounting string and will remain in some form. The project team anticipates that grants, capital projects will retain "Project" as part of the accounting string. Other sources of funds will use a combination of segments that will be the equivalent of today’s Project ID.

How will users be supported during the transition to Quantum Financials? 

The project team is planning for demonstrations, training, and ongoing support before and after Quantum Financials goes live. More details will be shared as they become available.

What is the role of a Change Champion? 

A Change Champion will be an employee from a central office or a school or department who will be engaged for advice to the project team, support of the project across campus, and assistance with business process changes and user testing.

What is the role of a Change Agent? 

A Change Agent will be an employee from a central office or a school or department who wants to know more about Quantum Financials and will be engaged to disseminate information to the larger campus audience and build awareness.

Will we still need to use our shadow systems? 

We hope to reduce the reliance on shadow systems across the campus by providing a system that has more robust reporting and analysis functionality built in. However, we understand that the continued use of shadow systems will be a user’s decision.

When we implemented PeopleSoft, HR was changed first. Why is HR not being included this time and how will that affect users? 

eUMB HRMS and Financials are two different systems, but regardless of which one is upgraded first, the integrations that exist between the systems will be addressed. Users will need to be aware of the changes coming with the Quantum Financials chart of accounts because that will carry over into how expenses are reflected in HRMS.

Is the effort reporting system changing? 

No. The effort reporting system will not be changing as part of the Quantum Financials project, but users should be aware of how the chart of accounts changes affect HRMS because that will impact the effort reporting system.

My school uses IT Works. Will that be going away? 

Whether or not schools or departments continue to use their shadow or supplementary systems after Quantum Financials goes live will be a decision for each school or department to make. The hope is that with the improved functionality that Quantum Financials will offer, schools and departments will be able to reduce their reliance on such systems.

Will HRMS query reports and the eUMB Portal be changing? 

HRMS query reports and the eUMB Portal will not change as a result of the Quantum Financials project, but users should be aware of how the chart of accounts changes affect HRMS because that will be reflected on HRMS query reports.

Moving forward and post-go live, how will users be informed of the changes they will experience when upgrades are implemented? How will you make sure users aren’t surprised by the changes? 

Although with a cloud system there will be more frequent upgrades and potential changes to functionality, those changes will not be rolled out until after they are sufficiently vetted and tested and the user community informed. In addition to the Quantum Financials website, we likely will use similar methods of communication post-go live as we are now (e.g., The Elm Weekly and The Elm website, distribution lists, announcements at standing meetings).

How does all of this affect Kuali Research? 

Kuali Research is on its own implementation schedule, in coordination with the University of Maryland, College Park, with a go-live date of May 2018. That is not affected by the Quantum Financials implementation schedule.

Will Quantum Financials and Kuali Research “talk to each other”? 

The two systems should communicate similarly as they do today.

Will there be any changes to the student dashboards? 

No. Student dashboards will not be changing as part of the Quantum Financials project.

Will any software on our workstations need to be updated to accommodate Quantum Financials? 

No. Quantum Financials will be accessible with any browser and no special software will be need to be added to workstations.

Will departments be able to see sponsor invoices and payments? 

We are working toward the goal of providing departments with the ability to see both sponsor invoices and payments, but that will depend on certain security decisions.

Will the state be improving its processes to match our new system? 

We would like to be able to answer yes, but the state has not committed to any improvements at this time. We will continue to work with the state control agencies and push for more modernization of their systems and fewer paper-intensive business processes.

What is the training schedule? 

We do not have a set schedule for training at this time but will plan to roll out training closer to go-live so that users will learn what they need to know to navigate through Quantum Financials closer to when you will need it. We might introduce smaller training segments in advance of the larger training rollout. Stay tuned to the Quantum Financials website for any updates on training offerings.

We have heard there will be demos and expos. What will they be like? 

We anticipate offering demos and expos of Quantum Financials functionality. Demos will consist of project team members demonstrating functionality to a group of users in a larger setting and being available for questions. Expos will consist of project team members being available to help users navigate through specific functionality, in a more hands-on format. 

The new chart of accounts contains nine segments and 42 characters. That is a lot to remember. Will we have to type all that in every time we code a transaction? 

No. Some segments will prepopulate based on what you start to enter and some segments you will leave as the default of all zeros.

Will anyone be able to charge anyone else’s account? 

Yes, as you do today. However, the system will give you more information than you get now, which should cut down on errors by entering the wrong numbers.

Won’t the required approval process stop incorrect account charges? 

Yes, as long as approvers look at and understand what they are approving.

Will we be able to access history in eUMB Financials or RAVEN Financial Inquiry after go-live? 

Yes. Historical data in eUMB Financials and RAVEN Financial Inquiry will be available for view-only purposes to the general University population for three years after Quantum Financials goes live. If there is a departmental need for access to historical data for a period longer than three years, departments will be able to make a request through the appropriate central office. More details on that process will be provided after go-live.

Some departments use shadow systems to record transactions that we know will not be reflected for some time in the systems of record. Will Quantum improve on that delay and reduce the need for shadow systems? 

We are working to minimize the length of time between a transaction and its reflection in the system. We also are looking into expanded reporting functionality that might help those who need to reflect additional encumbered transactions for analysis purposes. The vision is that over time, Quantum Financials will reduce the need for shadow systems.