An acquisition is the addition of a fixed asset to an agency. Assets are acquired either by purchase, e.g., in STARS or Payment Services, or by some non-monetary transaction (for example, self-constructing an item, acquiring a seized item, receiving a trade-in, or receiving a transfer from another fund or agency).
 

When entering a purchase transaction in STARS or Payment Services, etc., Capital Outlay subobjects (6000 - 6999) may require a Property and Component Number and the transaction may create a record in the FAS Hold File. Or, you may have entered the one-character Capitalization Indicator in STARS or Payment Services, etc. to create a record in the FAS Hold File. You then select the record and enter the Asset information in the STARS to FAS Data Entry Screen S033.

Payment Services and P-Card transactions are uploaded to STARS in a nightly process, so the STARS process described here applies to Payment Services and P-Card. An asset can also be purchased through the Purchasing application, and the Purchase Order imported into Payment Services, and that transaction will be uploaded to STARS.

• If the asset was not purchased through STARS or Payment Services, you can also enter an asset directly in FAS using the FAS Direct Data Entry screen S035.

• If you need inventory tags for your assets, click here to order inventory tags (CPIS Tags) from the State Records Center.

Select a Record from the Hold File

When an asset record is created, it will be in the FAS Hold File. You will need to select it from there and then enter asset information in a FAS Data Entry screen.

1. Enter 32 at the FAS Main Menu and press ENTER to open the Hold File.

2. Enter R in the FUNCTION field.

3. Enter the specific Property Number and Component Number, and then press ENTER. Or press ENTER to display a list of records, and then enter N in the FUNCTION field and then press ENTER to 'scroll' to the next page of records.

4. Enter an S in the FUNCTION field then press TAB until you reach the space in the S/X column, next to the record. (The SRC column will display an ‘S’ if the record came from STARS or an 'F' if the record was entered directly FAS.)

5. Enter either an S or an X in the space next to the record and press ENTER to open the S033 screen or S035 screen.

Figure 1 - S032 Example of records recalled (note the S/X and SRC columns)

Release a Transaction

When an asset record is complete, the agency personnel with release authority will need to do the following:

1. Enter 32 at the FAS Main Menu and press ENTER.

2. Enter R in the FUNCTION field

3. Enter the specific Property Number and Component Number, and then press ENTER. Or press ENTER to display a list of records, and then enter N in the FUNCTION field and then press ENTER to 'scroll' to the next page of records.

4. Enter S in the FUNCTION field then press TAB until you reach the space in the S/X column, next to the record you want.

5. Enter either an S or an X next to the record and press ENTER to display the record on the data entry screen.

6. Review the selected record.

• If the record is correct, Enter Y (Y = APPROVE) in the FUNCTION field and press F1 or ENTER. The POSTING STATUS on the record should reflect 'P' for posted.
• If the selected record is incorrect, exit the record. Notify the data entry person of the necessary changes. Once the changes are made, bring up the record and approve it as described above.

7. Press F3 to return to the Hold File, or press F2 to return to the STARS Main Menu. If you have more than one record to release from the Hold File, Enter N in the FUNCTION field and press ENTER for the next group of records to appear.

How to Look Up Error Message Descriptions

Error messages generally indicate data elements that are missing or incorrect. To look up an error message code to get a more complete explanation:

1. Make a note of the alphanumeric portion of the error message code, e.g., AE6P.

2. While on the STARS to FAS Data Entry screen, press HOME, then press SHIFT + TAB to move your cursor to the INTERRUPT field.

3. Enter 90 and press ENTER.

4. On the NEWS/HELP TABLE (S090) screen, Enter R in the FUNCTION field.

5. Enter the error code in the KEYWORD field, and press ENTER. The DATA ELEMENT name and EXPLANATION will be displayed.

6. Press F4 to return to the previous screen. If needed, correct the data elements and press F5 again to review your corrections.

Figure 2 - STARS News/Help screen example

Delete an Asset Record from the Hold File

The following are examples of when it might be necessary to delete an asset record that is in the FAS Hold File:

• The asset is less than the $2,000 inventorial amount.

• You inadvertently added a record twice for the same asset.

• The wrong funding sources were used when the transaction was entered into STARS or Payment Services and it needs to be deleted rather than processed.

• After the remaining amount is zero on a multiple asset process using STARS to FAS Data Entry Screen S033, you may delete the records you do not want to track in FAS.

To delete an asset record from the FAS Hold File:

1. Enter 32 at the FAS Main Menu and press ENTER to open the Hold File.

2. Enter R in the FUNCTION field.

3. Locate the asset record you need to delete. If necessary, enter N in the FUNCTION field and then press ENTER to 'scroll' through the records.

4. Enter an S in the FUNCTION field then press TAB until you reach the ‘_’ space in the S/X column, next to the record you want to delete. Notice that the SRC column will have an S if the acquisition came from STARS, Payment Services, or an F if it was entered directly in FAS.

5. Enter either an S or an X in the space next to the record and press ENTER.

6. Either the STARS to FAS Data Entry screen S033 or FAS Direct Data Entry Screen S035 will open, depending on if the acquisition transaction was created in STARS, Payment Services, etc. or entered directly in FAS.

7. If any asset information is on the record (property number, amounts, quantity, etc.), enter U (“undo”) in the FUNCTION field to undo that information, and then press F1 or ENTER.

8. Enter D in the FUNCTION field and then press F1 or ENTER. The POSTING STATUS (located in the bottom left corner) on the record should reflect 'D' for deleted. The status of the record will change from a 'P' to a 'D' in the FAS Hold File.