2025 Federal Administration Transition Information & Resources - This will be updated as new information is available.

Stanford
Office of Research Administration

Early Account Setup Request

Early Account requests are used to request OSR to create an early (at-risk) account (Oracle Award) prior to a sponsor agreement having been received by the SeRA transaction type of Account Setup - Early/Extend

  • Spending on Early and Extended accounts is considered at-risk spending and must be guaranteed by the Principal Investigator that authorizes the early/extend PTA account with a non-sponsored PTA with sufficient funds to be able to cover the expenses charged to the early account in the event funding is not awarded or received from the sponsor, or if expenditures posted to the early/extend PTA account are deemed unallowable.
  • Accounts will be created and extended for no more than 90 days at a time.  If an early account needs to be extended beyond its initial 90 day end date, the administering department will need to submit a new Early/ Extend transaction at the end of each 90 day period.
  • Early accounts are not typically set up for clinical trials and projects that are anticipated to be awarded as contracts. 
  • Early accounts for projects that include work that requires protocols (IRB/APLAC) won’t be approved until there is an assigned meeting date.
  • New tasks for Investigators can only be added after the Investigator is added to the SeRA SPO record and completes their Investigator certifications. If the Investigator is not yet associated with the project, please select the "Add New Investigator to Project" Central Office Request type.
  • For project where sponsors do not require prior approval to add Investigators, departments can use the  COR- Add New Investigator to Project guide

*NOTE: SeRA limits the assignment of Task Owner(s)/ Principal Owner(s) to Stanford Investigators who are associated with the SPO record

Scroll through the below for complete Early Account Setup Request preparation guidance, or use the below quick links to jump to a specific Early PTA transaction section's guidance.

Start Transaction

  1. Go to https://sera.stanford.edu 
  2. From the red banner at the top of any page within SeRA click on Search
  • Enter the relevant SPO #
    • The search will interactively display matches according to what is being entered
  • Click on the appropriate blue reference number to drill into the relevant record

*NOTE: if you press Enter on your keyboard, the first listed search result will be automatically selected

search-spo-early-extend-ptamgr
  1. From the Project Summary page, click on Start a Transaction menu, and select Account/ Setup – Early Extend
start_txn-early-ptamgr
  1. Click Start
start_early_extend_ptamgr
  1. The page will reload to a Transaction Home (Early/Extend Account Request) page
  • The financial account configuration will display what will be created/updated as part of this transaction
  1. Under the PTA Configuration section, update the awards, projects, tasks, & budgets by clicking on each of the Edit buttons for each
  • Edit Award
  • Edit Project
  • Edit Task

*NOTE: Awards, projects, and tasks listed in red are new and do not yet exist in Oracle.

early_pta_mgr_config_details

Edit Award

  1. Under the PTA Configuration section click on the Edit Award button
  • The page will reload to the Edit Award (Early/Extend Account Request) page
  • Fields with a red asterisk * are required
early_pta_mgr_config_details-edit_award
  1. Complete the Guarantee PTA Information section
  • Guarantee Amount – Estimated expenses during early account period
  • Guarantee Award – Non-sponsored Oracle Award being used to guarantee expenses
  • Guarantee Project - Oracle Project being used to guarantee expenses
  • Guarantee Task - Oracle Task being used to guarantee expenses
  1. Complete the Award Information section
  • Some fields are pre populated with information from the proposal PDRF
  • This information can be edited
  • Fields with a red asterisk * are required
  • Award Short Name - A short description of the award 
    • Must start with the SPO # of the award
  • Award Full Name - The preferred name for the PTA of this project. Defaults to proposal title
  • Owning Organization - Organization code of the administering department or school of the Oracle Award
  • Award A-Z Free Form Field - Optional-  Use as prescribed by your department or school
  • Award Level of Control - Default-  Faculty or PI
  • Award Level of Restriction - Default-  Highly Restricted
guarantee_pta_award_info-early_ptamgr
  1. Under the Award Dates section, the Pre-Award Date will default to being blank, as an agreement from a sponsor specifying pre-award spending has yet to be received
award_dates-early_ptamgr
  • The Start Date will pre populate with the project start date that was proposed to the sponsor 
    • From the Administrative & Sponsor Details page, Administrative Details section of the PDRF
admin_sponsor_details_start_date_pdrf-early_ptamgr
  • The End Date will auto calculate to be three months after the Start Date
    • This is NOT the end date entered from the PDRF
  • If you need a Start Date other than that which was proposed to the sponsor, include this information and an explanation in the comments section available on the Review & Submit screen of the transaction
comments_changing_start_date_early_ptamgr

Award Manager

  1. Under the Award Personnel section review the pre populated Award Manager and update as needed
award_personnel-early_ptamgr
  • The Principal Owner will default to the Principal Investigator identified on the proposal
pi_pdrf-early_ptamgr

Edit Project

  1. Under the Projects, Tasks and Budget section click the Edit Project button
projects_tasks_budgets-early_ptamgr
  1. The Edit Project dialog box will open
  • Complete the section
  • Some fields are pre-populated with information from the proposal PDRF
    • This information can be edited
    • Fields with a red asterisk * are required

*NOTE: The Amount Funding to this Project will always be $0.00 for early accounts, as no funding has been formally awarded from the sponsor yet

  • Project Name- The preferred name for the Oracle Project.  Defaults to abridged proposal title.
  • Project Description - The preferred name for the Oracle Project.  Defaults to proposal title.
  • Principal Owner – Principal Owners are Stanford Investigators responsible for this Oracle task
    • This list is restricted to the Investigators associated with this SPO
    • If you do not see the Investigator you want to select, you will need to request the Investigator to be added to the project by your Institutional Official
    • If their name does not display as an option, please submit a Help ticket.
  •  Project Manager – Project  Managers are department personnel who are responsible for the award and its reconciliation
  • Owning Organization - Organization code of the administering department or school of the Oracle Project
  • Project A-Z Free Form Field- Optional-  Use as prescribed by your department or school
  1. Click Save
  • The Edit Project dialog box will close, and you will return to the Edit Award (Early/Extend Account Request) page
projects-early_ptamgr

Projects, Tasks and Budgets

  1. From the Edit Award (Early/Extend Account Request) page under the Projects, Tasks and Budget section click the Edit Task button
projects_tasks_budgets-tasks-early_ptamgr
  1.  The Edit Task dialog box will open
  • Complete the section
  • Some fields are pre populated with information from the proposal PDRF
  • Fields with a red asterisk * are required
  • Task Number – Defaults to 10.  Update as needed
    • Please note task #s 700-799, 900-999, and 4000-4999 are reserved for specific uses
  • Task Name - The preferred short name for the Oracle Task
  • Long Task Name - The preferred long name for the Oracle Task. Defaults to proposal title.
  • Start Date – Defaults to proposed project start date
  • Completion Date – Defaults to blank.  No action required.
  • Task Service Type – Defaults to Project Activity identified on the proposal
  • Task Off Campus – Defaults to that which was indicated on the proposal
  • Task description - The preferred description for the Oracle Task
  • Principal Owner - Principal Owners are Stanford Investigators responsible for the financial activity on the Oracle Task
    • The list of investigators for the Principal Owner is restricted to the investigators who are associated with the SeRA Project SPO record
    • If the investigator you are searching for is not on the dropdown list, AND the project sponsor does not require approval for the addition of investigators, please submit a Central Office Request - Add New Investigator form
  • If the project sponsor requires approval for the addition of investigators, please submit a Central Office Request - Sponsor Approval for Key Personnel Change form.
  •  Task Manager – Task Managers are department personnel who are responsible for the task and its reconciliation
  • Owning Organization - Organization code of the administering department or school of the Oracle Task
  • Project A-Z Free Form Field - Optional-  Use as prescribed by your department or school
  • Does ISC apply? – Defaults to that which was indicated on the proposal
  • Will sponsor pay ISC? – Defaults to that which was indicated on the proposal
  1. Click Save
taks-early_ptamgr
  • If additional tasks are NOT needed, click Next at the bottom right of the transaction (Early/Extend Account Request) and proceed to Tasks (Add & Copy)
next_button-early_ptamgr
  • If additional tasks are needed, select Transaction Home from the Left Hand Navigation Menu
txn_home-early_ptamgr

Tasks (Add and Copy)

  1. From the Transaction Home (Early/Extend Account Request) page, and under the PTA Configuration section, click on the + Add Task link which is located at the right/end of the Edit Project row
add_task-early_ptamgr
  • The Add Task dialog box will open
  • Complete as follows:
    • Task Type – Defaults to New.  Leave as is.
    • Task Config Code – Select from the drop down menu as appropriate
    • Task Number – Defaults to next # in series. Update as desired.  Please note task #s 700-799, 900-999, and 4000-4999 are reserved for specific uses.
  1. Click Add Task
add_new_task-early_ptamgr
  • To copy an existing task to create a new task click on the copy icon under the Add Task column
copy_task-early_ptamgr
  • The Add Task dialog box will open
    • Complete as follows for EXISTING or COPY EXISTING tasks:
      • Task Type – Select Existing or Copy Existing
      • Task or Copy From– Select from the drop down menu which Task to use or copy from
      • Task Config Code – Select from the drop down menu as appropriate
      • Task Number – Defaults to next # in series. Update as desired.  Please note task #s 700-799, 900-999, and 4000-4999 are reserved for specific uses.
  1. Click Add Task
add_copy_task-early_ptamgr
  1. The Task dialog box will open and information from the task that this was copied from will roll over
  • Update as desired and click Save
copy_task_details-early_ptamgr
  1. The newly created additional task will now appear under the PTA Configuration

  2. You can delete any additional task created by clicking on the trashcan icon associated with the relevant task row

    *NOTE: At least one task is required as part of PTA setup.  Thus, the first task cannot be deleted.

edit_task_copy_trashcan_icon-early_ptamgr
  • Repeat the previous steps as many times as additional tasks are needed
  • At the end of each Task screen you can select Jump to Task to toggle to the next task or Save and exit to go back to the PTA Configuration screen
jump_to_task_save_buttons-early_ptamgr
  • Once you have completed the task information for all tasks, click Jump to Award or Next (award number) at the bottom right of the transaction
jump_to_award_next_button-early_ptamgr
  • The screen will reload for you to re-review the Award (Early/Extend Account Request) screen
guarantee_pta_award_info-example-early_ptamgr
award_info_example-early_ptamgr
projects_tasks_budgets_example-ptamgr
  • Update as necessary, and then click Next on the bottom right of the screen
next_button-early_ptamgr

Approvers, Compliance and FYI Review

  1. The screen will reload for you to the Approvers page
  2. Review the Compliance section and will display the protocol numbers, if applicable
  • If funding is not awarded or received from the prospective sponsor, or if expenditures posted to the early/extend PTA account are deemed unallowable, the Principal Investigator authorizing the activation of the early/extend PTA account is financially responsible for expenses posted to the early/extend PTA account 
  • Prior to an early/extended PTA request being submitted, the appropriate compliance protocol(s) (IRB, IACUC, and/or SCRO) must have been filed in eProtocol and be linked to this SPO (i.e. identifies this SPO as a funding source)
  • No expenses related to human subjects and/or animal subjects and/or stem cell research will be charged until the required approvals have been obtained
compliance_section_review-extend_ptamgr
  1. As needed, click on the Add FYI button to add individuals as FYI Recipients using the SUNet ID (*best practice*)- they will receive an email notification when the transaction is completed
  2. Under the Approvers section the Principal Investigator will always default as an approver and display as #1 in the order routing
  • Review and add additional approvers if required
  • For Non-School of Medicine requests, the OSR IO Intake queue is automatically populated and defaulted to #2 in the order routing
    • If additional approvers are added, OSR IO Intake will move down accordingly
  • For School of Medicine requests, the following approvers are required:
    • At least ONE Authorized Department / Independent Lab Level Approver (i.e. DFA, Division Manager, or Financial Manager)
    • Institutional Official (RMG)
  • All other schools/ units, please follow local guidelines for approvers

*NOTE: For an individual to appear as an option to approve these early/ extend PTA transactions, they MUST have
-SU PTA Manager Approver Sponsored granted to them from Authority Manager
-Privilege must also match the admin org code of the SPO record

fyi_approver-early_ptamgr
  • Select the appropriate Approver and Role Type from the drop down menus
  • Click Add
    • Please contact your Authorized Department/Division representative to verify who to select, if unknown
add_approvers-early_extend_ptamgr
  • Once all required approvers have been added, click Next
review_approvers-next_extend_ptamgr

Review for Completeness

  1. The Review for Completeness check will run
  • If there are any issues, it will be displayed
review_for_completeness_error_validation-early_ptamgr
  • If there aren't any errors, a confirmation will display that All required information for this request is complete
  • Click on the View PTA Details link in the Quick Links navigation panel to review all PTAs and its associated details being setup in this transaction
  • Enter pertinent information in relation to the Early/ Extend PTA Request in the Comments textbox
  • Click Submit for Approval
comments_early_ptamgr

Need further SeRA assistance? Have questions, feedback, or are experiencing other issues? Please submit a HelpSU ticket to the SeRA Support Team and a SeRA Support Analyst will contact you shortly.

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