April 2025

OMES Central Accounting and Reporting (CAR) is pleased to announce the implementation of our service request platform within the state's work management system, ServiceNow.

About this transition: The Statewide Accounting and Finance Center of Excellence (FCOE) teams now offer ServiceNow catalog items for your agency's use. This replaces two department email addresses (accounting@omes.ok.gov and  dcarcore@omes.ok.gov), enhancing our ability to efficiently track and manage every request submitted to our office. The platform also offers metrics to help us continuously improve our service quality. If you email the decommissioned email addresses, you will receive an automated reply directing you to the ServiceNow portal.

Using ServiceNow to engage the CAR team: 

For employees of most state agencies:

• Log in to ServiceNow using your employee ID number; no registration is needed. Navigate to the catalog and select Central Accounting & Reporting.
• The catalog items available are:
  • Agency Contact Update.
  • Asset Management.
  • CAR Misc. Questions.
  • Finance Center of Excellence.
  • New Chartfield Values.
  • Submit a Form to CAR.
• Each catalog item has different required fields; some require an attachment (for example, Submit a Form to CAR) while others are open fields (including many fields under Finance Center of Excellence). 

For affiliate agencies and Higher Ed entities:

• Create an account in the ServiceNow government portal. Follow these step-by-step instructions on that process.
  • Note: A recent system change has taken place. If you experience login issues, try clearing your browser cache. If issues persist, call or email Bethany Patterson at 405-521-6289.
• When you are logged in, navigate to Browse Catalog and select Central Accounting & Reporting. 
• The catalog items available are:
  • Agency Contact Update.
  • Asset Management.
  • CAR Misc. Questions.
  • Higher Ed Payroll Taxes.
  • Submit a Form to CAR.
• Each catalog item has different required fields; some require an attachment (for example, Submit a Form to CAR) while others are open fields (such as fields under CAR Misc. Questions). 

Transaction Processing will be working on implementing their service request platform in the coming months. Until then, please continue to submit Transaction Processing forms directly to OMESTPAccountsPayable@omes.ok.gov, OMESTPTravel@omes.ok.gov, and OMESTPVouchers@omes.ok.gov.

The CAR teams appreciate your understanding and look forward to continuing our partnership with you!

Agencies are reminded to update the authorized signer(s) for their existing Repetitive Wires & Non-Repetitive Wires Authorizations forms when there are changes in administration and personnel. Affected agencies may send the updated forms with wet signatures to OST wire desk.

In addition, agencies should check for and request deletion of obsolete repetitive wires authorizations. Please contact OST wire desk if you have questions.

Beginning May 7, 2025, all travelers will be required to have a REAL ID or a passport in order to board domestic flights or access certain federal facilities.

We encourage travel arrangers to pass this requirement on to all travelers to ensure there are no issues with boarding flights or accessing federal facilities that require a REAL ID, paying special attention to travelers that will be in active travel status at the time the requirement goes into effect.

Because this is a license held by the general public, state agencies cannot reimburse travelers for the cost to obtain a REAL ID per Section 8.34.2.2 of the Statewide Accounting Manual.

Furthermore, failure to obtain a REAL ID could result in canceled flights and alternative travel arrangements, and any additional cost shall be borne by the traveler. For information on obtaining a REAL ID, please visit the Service Oklahoma website.

To expedite processing of Higher Ed payroll warrant cancellations, please include the PFT file or number with the MWC form when submitting the cancellation for processing. The PFT is required to transfer the funds from the cancellation back out of the 994 class fund; failure to submit the PFT with the MWC form will result in the warrant cancellation being delayed.

Adjustment vouchers, as referenced in the COR112 – Purchase Order Voucher Manual, are used to make an adjustment to a previously paid voucher. Adjustment vouchers should be used when an amendment needs to be made to a paid voucher, such as when a credit is issued for a paid invoice, or when an amended invoice is submitted and the agency needs to pay the difference between the amended invoice and the original invoice. Adjustment vouchers reference the original voucher for an audit trail, similar to the way the original voucher is referenced in a journal voucher. Adjustment vouchers should have a debit or credit amount on the voucher – these should not be $0.

OMES Form 77 is used to correct an encumbrance on a paid voucher. If a voucher was initially paid with the wrong PO, PO line, PO distrib line, or quantity, OMES Form 77 is used to correct the original entry. The corrections made by OMES when processing the form will result in a $0 net change to the original entry.

If an agency needs to correct an encumbrance on a paid voucher because the wrong PO information was used, the agency should submit OMES Form 77 for processing. Agencies should not attempt to make an encumbrance correction using an adjustment voucher. OMES will begin monitoring adjustment voucher creation and will reach out to agencies to discuss the proper use of this voucher style.

Historically, OMES Transaction Processing would notify agencies when a voucher did not process in a pay cycle due to a tax hold on a supplier profile. The tax hold process was recently updated, and there has been a higher volume of suppliers placed on hold due to tax warrants from the Oklahoma Tax Commission.

As a result, OMES Transaction Processing will no longer send rejection notices for vouchers that do not pay due to a tax hold. Agencies should know how to identify when there is a tax hold on a supplier file.

The COR113 – Accounts Payable Regular Voucher Manual references the Information Icon (i) on Page 26; this icon appears as a small blue circle with a white (i) next to the Remit Supplier name on the Payments tab of the voucher. If a user hovers their mouse over this icon, a pop-up stating the supplier is on hold will display, which means there is an active tax hold on the supplier’s profile.

Furthermore, agencies can review this tax hold information by looking at the Comments section under the location number on the Location tab of the supplier file.

When a deduction recipient is needed on withholding orders:

• Open a new Workday@OK tab and search: View Deduction Recipient. 
• Type in all or part of the deduction recipient’s name, then hit Enter on your keyboard (this may pull up several results). 
• Only view those results that have the Alternate Deduction Recipient Name field formatted correctly, including the PS supplier ID/location/address. Example: ABC Company – 0000123456-0001-1. 
• Select one result and review the full name and mailing address. Those results that are formatted correctly will also have an external entity ID. Continue with this process until finding the appropriate recipient, then enter the relevant details on the withholding order. If the recipient is not found, try another variation of the name and search again. If you know the vendor ID, that too (all 10 digits) can be entered to view the deduction recipient.

Note: Be certain the current status is Active. Inactive deduction recipients will not build vouchers in PS Financials.

• If the needed deduction recipient is not found or the address found does not match the order, a Garnishment Request service ticket will be required.
• After the vendor has been set up in PeopleSoft Financials, please submit a service ticket for the deduction recipient to be set up in Workday@OK. Request the ticket be assigned to the Human Capital Management-PATT group.
• Once set up in Workday@OK, the deduction recipient can be used on the withholding order.

Do not make any changes to or create deduction recipients in Workday@OK as they are set up in a specific way to integrate with PeopleSoft Financials. The Alternate Deduction Recipient Name field includes the PS supplier ID/location/address so agencies can easily identify the correct one to select. Any deduction recipients listed without this information or with DO NOT USE, DNU or Inactive in the name are not to be used. Deduction recipients used in the PY-to-AP process must include additional information, be correctly formatted and be included in the integration logic to process to PS Financials.

Use of an invalid or inactive deduction recipient will cause no payment to the vendor/supplier, may cause the amount to be included in payment to an incorrect vendor/supplier and may delay payment processing, which can harm the employee in additional interest due or penalties applied. Additionally, this may contribute to reconciliation issues in the 994 class fund.

The Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) is working on changes to the monthly report. Beginning July 1, 2025, each employee’s email, date of hire and date of termination will be required. We are working with TRS on these new requirements and will be updating the monthly report in Workday@OK to meet the new requirements. Additional information will be distributed to agencies that have TRS-reportable employees after Workday@OK updates have been made and tested.

The plan administrator has continued the extension for the State of Oklahoma to process employee payroll withholding 529 plan contributions by paper check instead of electronic funds transfer. Therefore, they are re-emphasizing the need to include the deduction register with the check. Each employee’s account number must be included on the register. To do this, agencies must manually add each employee’s account number to the Deduction Register 529 Plan page prior to sending it with the warrant.

Because they have been receiving warrants without the deduction details, the 529 plan has been calling agencies before rejecting checks, but this is a time-intensive process for them. Agency payroll and finance personnel should be communicating about these details so that when the warrant is received, it can be sent with the required documentation. Failure to do so may result in rejected warrants being returned to agencies, resulting in employee contributions not posting timely to their accounts.

As a reminder to agencies, certain types of earnings are eligible for deferral to SoonerSave while others are not considered eligible compensation.

Annual leave payout is generally eligible for SoonerSave deferral on termination of employment. However, payments on severance from employment do not qualify as compensation for SoonerSave deferrals. Therefore, payments under voluntary buyouts and reductions in force would be excluded from deferral consideration.

Only compensation from an agency that is attributable to services performed for the agency may be considered as earnings from which SoonerSave deferrals can be taken. This includes regular pay, overtime, shift differential and other similar payments based on employment. If an amount would have been paid had the employment continued, such as annual leave, then deferrals can be taken. 

Please advise employees that changes in deferral amounts must be submitted to the SoonerSave administrator and approved before processing through payroll.

For additional information, agency personnel should contact their SoonerSave coordinator or the SoonerSave administrative office at toll-free 800-733-9008 or 405-858-6781.

Agencies must notify HCM Central Payroll of any items that will affect the Oklahoma centralized child support payment. Items that could affect the amount to be paid include refunds to employees for amounts withheld in error and reversals of payroll warrants. If OMES is not notified and the centralized child support payment is processed, the agency will be responsible for contacting the Department of Human Services Child Support Services to attempt to get a refund. If the funds have already been disbursed to the recipient, the money might not be refunded back to the agency. Timely communication from agencies is critical in these situations.

Each Monday, HCM Central Payroll runs the HCM process to report and make payment to the OCSS/Oklahoma Centralized Support Registry, PS Vendor ID 0000190715. The process is run for payments with dates from the second previous Saturday through the previous Friday. For example: Paychecks with an issue date between March 8 and March 14, 2025, were processed to pay the child support withholdings on March 17, 2025. All payments going to the OCSS must be set up to use Vendor ID 0000190715. Payments to Vendor ID 0000000830 or Vendor ID 0000197419 for the OCSS are no longer allowed and will not be processed for centralized payment if used in error.  

In PeopleSoft Financials, a journal entry is created to remove the funds from the agency’s 994 fund. The agency will see a debit to the 633190 account and a credit to 101000. When balancing the 994 fund, we recommend running the Summary of Receipts and Disbursements report, the Tuesday after the week which included the pay date. This will allow time for our processing and removal of the amount from the agency’s 994 fund to aid in the reconciliation process.

For questions, please email payrollreporting@omes.ok.gov and a team member will assist you.

When an employee reimburses a payroll overpayment, please complete and submit the OMES Form 94P as soon possible after the reimbursement is made. Timely submission helps ensure corrections are reflected in the quarter in which they occurred for proper reporting and helps in the full recovery of OPERS retirement amounts. If the retirement system is not aware of an overpayment and the pending overpayment refund request, payouts to former employees may be incorrect, resulting in a loss to the agency. In addition, retirement calculations may be incorrect if the overpayment is not reported timely.

Please do not provide copies of personal checks or copies of the pay slip. The form allows the agency to enter the amount reimbursed. Additional backup data is not required.  

The form requires that the state employee ID (EmplID) be entered. For the privacy and security of the employee, do not submit with the SSN or any other number.

The HCM system correctly calculates taxes based on the current tax rates and an employee’s withholding certificates. Agencies should not override the taxes calculated. If the taxes appear to be incorrect, the employee's paycheck should be reviewed before continuing the payroll process. If the taxes prevent after-tax deductions from being withheld, the employee should be notified. Payment of items not withheld through payroll due to lack of net pay must be settled between the employee and the entity. 

Transparency (OpenBooks) file uploads will be transitioning from PeopleSoft (PS) HCM to PS Financials beginning May 1, 2025, for the April 2025 reporting. We are in the final stages of testing and developing the user guide. The file layout and requirements will remain the same, but the new process will now load the files in PS Financials instead of the PS HCM system. The process will be similar to that of PS HCM and the page will have a familiar look. Additional information will be distributed  as soon as it is finalized.

The Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) is working on changes to the monthly report. Beginning July 1, 2025, each employee’s email, date of hire and date of termination will be required. Institutions should be attending the Employer Advisory Group meetings to obtain all necessary information for these changes and other important updates.

The first quarter of the 2025 tax year is now complete. It is time for agencies to run the Miscellaneous 1099 Tax Information Report, which will include all transactions from Jan. 1-Mar. 31, 2025. This report can be found in PeopleSoft Financials at Accounts Payable > Reports > Payments > Misc Tax Information Report. Please review the following items in this report:

• The name and tax ID number (TIN) must match the information on the W-9 that the supplier provided. If the information does not match, please request an updated W-9 from the vendor/supplier.
• Pay attention to the 1099 flag: Y means the supplier should receive a 1099, and N means the supplier should not receive a 1099. A supplier does not need a 1099 if it is registered as a corporation, nonprofit or government entity (the exception to this is when the payment is for legal or medical services). State employees in most cases should have an N-1099 flag. If there are any questions about a supplier's 1099 status, please request an updated W-9 from the supplier.
• Address 1 in the supplier file is the supplier’s official address reported to the IRS and the designated address for 1099 reporting. If the supplier’s 1099 Flag is N, any new addresses provided will be added as a different location. Address 1 will not change.
• Review all vouchers that were processed for each supplier to ensure that the correct amount and the correct account code were processed for the payments to the supplier. (All voucher corrections must be made at the agency level.)

Any changes to the supplier profile (address change, name change, 1099 flag corrections, etc.) should be submitted to OMES Central Purchasing Support using the Central Purchasing Agency Registration Resources ServiceNow Catalog. An updated W-9 must be included with supplier profile changes. If you have questions, please contact Alicia Reel at 405-522-1099 or alicia.reel@omes.ok.gov.

The 2024 tax-filing season is now complete, and all 1099 files for 2024 have been filed for all state agencies with the IRS. To satisfy any future requests from suppliers and for record retention, agencies should retain PDF files provided in January 2025 – including any correction PDF files – for a minimum of three years. If you have any questions, please contact Alicia Reel at 405-522-1099 or alicia.reel@omes.ok.gov.

Note: This does not apply to Higher Ed institutions, which submit their own 1099 reporting.

TRS has scheduled Employer Services Webinars for:

 April 16, 2025
June 11, 2025

Agencies with employees enrolled in TRS are encouraged to attend the webinars to learn about portal changes and upcoming changes to reporting requirements. To register, please visit their website.

Accuracy to Security: Best Practice in Employment and Wage Verification

Friday, April 25, 2025, at noon

Presentation information can be accessed on their website.

2025 Annual Statewide Conference

Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, from 7:45 a.m.-5 p.m.

Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center
2501 Conference Drive
Norman, OK 73069

Conference information can be accessed on their website.

Live Online Seminars

Presented by Fred Pryor Seminars

For more information, please visit their website.