- What is a Fund Transfer Request (FTR) and when to process it?
- How to create an FTR report (HFU)
- How to fill in and download the FTR Report (HFU)
- Generating the Allocation Letter
- Sending the Allocation Letter and FTR for signature
- Uploading the documents and submitting the FTR for review
- How to review an FTR Report (non-UN projects, CBPF Finance)
- How to process an FTR (MPTF)
I) What is a Fund Transfer Request (FTR) and when to process it? Top
A Fund Transfer Request (FTR) must be created by the HFU staff of MPTF funds to request the transfer of funds from MPTF to OCHA (for non-UN projects) or to the UN agency designated to receive funding (for UN projects). The FTR must be created after the project’s budget has been cleared by CBPF Finance.
*Please note, the FTR report must be generated for all projects under MPTF funds only. As shown in the below flowchart, in the case of UN agency projects, there is no Grant Agreement generated. The project will be automatically pushed to ‘Under Implementation and Reporting’ upon the processing of the FTR by MPTF.
The FTR specific workflow can be found below :
This article provides a step-by-step guidance on how to process an FTR.
Please find below a summary of all the FTR steps, along with the according user role, depending on the Organization type:
For NGOs/Red Cross-Red Crescent Societies:
In order to configure and complete the FTR for non-UN projects, you will need to follow the below steps (for HFUs):
- Create the FTR report on the GMS
- Configure the projects and respective “Amount to Pay” in the FTR Report tab
- Download the FTR report as a PDF from the FTR report tab
- Generate the Allocation Letter from the Allocation Letter module
- Sign the FTR report and Allocation Letter by the HC
- Upload the signed FTR report and Allocation Letter in the Documents tab of the FTR module
- Submit the FTR to CBPF Finance
- Submit the FTR to MPTF (done by CBPF Finance)
- Process the FTR (done by MPTF)
For UN projects:
In order to configure and complete the FTR for UN projects, you will need to follow the below steps:
- Create the FTR report on the GMS
- Configure the projects and respective “Amount to Pay” in the FTR Report tab
- Download the FTR report as a PDF from the FTR report tab
- Generate the Allocation Letter from the Allocation Letter module
- Sign the FTR report and Allocation Letter by the HC
- Sign the Allocation Letter by the UN agency representative
- Upload the signed FTR report and Allocation Letter in the Documents tab of the FTR module
- Submit the FTR to MPTF
- Process the FTR (done by MPTF)
II) How to create an FTR report (HFU) Top
Once a project’s budget in an MPTF fund has been cleared, the HFU can follow this navigation to generate an FTR report:
Navigation: Report > Report > FTR Report
Once on the FTR Report page, you can apply filters to generate a list of projects for which you wish to generate an FTR. After applying the filters, click on [Filter] to generate the list of related projects.
A description of filters is available below the screenshot.
Filters’ description:
• Allocation type (mandatory field) : select from the drop-down list the allocation by ticking its checkbox. You can select multiple allocations.
• Organization: Select from the drop-down list the Organization by ticking its checkbox. You can select multiple organizations.
• Status: Select the project’s status from the drop-down list.
• Cluster: Select a cluster from the drop-down list. You can select multiple clusters
• Include Fully Paid projects: Tick this box if the project for which you want to generate an FTR has been fully funded already. This option can be useful in case you wish to retrieve an FTR that has already been created, completed and funded.
After applying the filters, click on [Filter] to generate the list of related projects.
To generate the FTR Report, select the wanted projects by ticking its checkbox and click on [create FTR].
Restrictions apply to the generation of FTRs as stated below:
- The projects for which an FTR has already been created and processed for 100% of the project cost (fully paid projects),
- The projects with unauthorized Timelines,
- The projects with unauthorized information,
- The projects with other types of errors.
Those FTRs will be shown in grey color and won’t be available for selection. The system will prevent you from creating an FTR for the fully paid projects.
Quick Note - One FTR can include several projects, which you can select by ticking their boxes. This will generate one FTR Report for several projects.
To select all projects from the list, tick the box in the header of this page’s table.
ATTENTION: The generated FTR’s page will not be automatically displayed by the system upon clicking on [create FTR]. To access the generated FTR, you need to click on the hyperlink that was created, and which is accessible in the column : “FTR #(s)/FTR Status/Value linked” of the project(s)’ line(s). (for screenshot, please refer to section below).
HOW TO ACCESS AN FTR THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN CREATED?
To retrieve the created FTR, you can use either of these two options:
The FTR Overview tool:
The FTR Overview in the GMS is a page dedicated to retrieve the created FTRs and export the FTR data.
To learn all there is to know about this tool, please go to this specific article of the Help Portal.
The ‘Manage FTR’ page :
To retrieve an FTR, apply filters and click on [Filter]. Make sure to select the tick box “Include Fully Paid Projects” in case you wish to look for an FTR that has already been processed. Then, click on the FTR hyperlink located in the column “FTR #(s)/FTR Status/Value linked”.
Quick note- You can download the project proposal(s) as a PDF, a HTML or a word document by selecting the projects (ticking their boxes) and clicking on the format of your choice. You can decide to include the comments in this print-out version.
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GMS Focus : What are the FTR error icons and how to solve them? If you see an error icon instead of a checkbox, please hover over the error icon
The following errors can be displayed, you will find alongside the solution to solve them.
To be listed as a selectable project, the project must have passed the ‘budget cleared’ status, and must have its information authorized, i.e. must have a green authorization checkbox (with authorized dates, signatory and bank info). To learn more on how to authorize a project, please read this guidance on the Help Portal.
To be listed as a selectable project, the project must have an authorized Timelines’ tab. To learn more about the timelines and how to authorize them, please refer to the Validation of Timelines article.
If the Partner is under fraud investigation, the Oversight and Compliance team might have blocked the generation of FTR reports for the partner. In this case, you will not be able to select the project to generate an FTR report. |
to display the error message, preventing from selecting the project and from generating an FTR report.
III) How to fill in and download the FTR Report (HFU) Top
The generated FTR report is composed of three tabs: the FTR Report tab, the document tab and the tracking tab.
The HFU is required to fill in one field in the FTR Report tab: the ‘Amount to pay’ field. Please note that you cannot enter an amount above the total cost of the Project. However, you can insert a lesser amount. (To learn more about partially paid projects, please refer to this section of this article).
Do not forget to click on [Save and Stay].
The other fields will have to be filled in by MPTF and CBPF Finance (for non-UN projects). To learn more on the other fields of this tab, please refer to this section of the article.
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GMS Focus: Adding more projects to one FTR Report. *Please note, you can add more projects to an FTR Report under ‘draft mode’. Once it is submitted to CBPF Finance or MPTF, it is no longer possible to add projects. To add more projects to the FTR Report, go to the FTR Report tab, and click on [Add Projects]. In the pop-up window: (if you cannot select your project because of an error icon, please check the solutions HERE.)
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GMS Focus: Multiple FTRs to one project: Partially Paid Projects, Audit FTRs, Cost Extensions The HFU can create multiple FTRs for one project.
In these kinds of situations, the projects are not fully funded, and are hence partially paid. For partially paid projects, the HFU must create another FTR. The system will inform you that the project is partially paid with an information icon under the field ‘Amount to pay’. Hover over this information icon “This project is partially paid in other FTR(s) and the total amount already paid is XXX.”
You will then need to subtract the amount indicated in the information message to the amount shown under “Total cost to Project” to get the correct figure that should be inserted in the field : ‘Amount to pay’. You can then follow the usual process to submit the FTR. In the example above, the project was already linked to another FTR, and US$ 620,255.33 had already been paid for that project. Therefore, to fully fund this project, you need to calculate the following: Amount to Pay (i.e. rest to pay to fully fund the project cost) = Total Cost to Project – Amount already paid (i.e. amount in information icon) In our example the HFU must insert: 620,875.32 - 620,215.33 = 659.99 Please note, as can be seen in the screenshot below, if you see that the amount indicated in the info message is “0.00”, it means that the project has been added to another FTR which has not yet been processed. Please check that it is not an unnecessary duplicate. You can check the other project’s FTR by using the filters in the FTR Report page.
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to see the following message:
Once all the projects are added to the FTR report with their respective “Amount to pay” fields, you can proceed with downloading the FTR report in PDF format. To do so, click on the orange [Download FTR Report] button at the top of the tab. In the pop-up window, select the report date, and click on [Download FTR Report].
IV) Generating the Allocation Letter (HFU) Top
Now that the ‘Amount to pay’ field of the FTR has been filled in, and that the FTR has been downloaded as a PDF, it is necessary to generate the Allocation Letter
To learn how to generate an Allocation Letter, please refer to this article of the Help Portal.
V) The Allocation Letter and FTR signature process Top
Now that you have both the FTR and the Allocation Letter as PDF saved on your computer, you need to send them for signature. The signature process will not happen on the GMS, but needs to be done offline, by sending the documents by email for instance.
The signature process differs depending on the Organization type, i.e. whether the Partner is an UN agency or non-UN agency.
You will find the guidance for both processes below
Both the FTR and the Allocation Letter must be signed by the Humanitarian Coordinator offline (i.e. not on the GMS).
UN Agencies process
The FTR must be signed offline by the Humanitarian Coordinator.
The Allocation Letter must be signed offline by BOTH the Humanitarian Coordinator AND the UN Agency’s representative. One allocation letter has to be generated for each UN agency.
VI) Uploading the signed documents and submitting the FTR for review (HFU) Top
DOCUMENT'S TAB: UPLOADING THE SIGNED FTR AND ALLOCATION LETTER
When the FTR and the Allocation Letter have been signed, the HFU must upload them in the documents’ tab of the FTR module.
To do so, go to the FTR document’s tab, and click on [add documents]. In the pop-up window, select the type of document, click on [choose file] and select the signed FTR from your desktop. Then, click on [upload].
SUBMITTING THE FTR REPORT TO CBPF FINANCE AND MPTF
The HFU is requested to submit the FTR Report:
- to MPTF for UN projects,
- to CBPF Finance for non-UN projects (CBPF Finance will submit to MPTF after review).
To submit the FTR report to MPTF review, click on [Send to MPTF – UN only – with allocation letter].
To submit the FTR to CBPF Finance review, please click on [Send to FCS – with Allocation Letter].
In both cases, do not forget to upload the signed Allocation letter and FTR in the document’s tab before submitting.
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GMS Focus : FTR report-related errors and how to solve them You can find error messages in the FTR module as shown in the screenshot below. This can be the case when a Fraud investigation has started after you created the FTR, but when the FTR is not yet processed. If you see an error icon next to the project’s line, hover over the icon to see the error message. In case of compliance, the Oversight and Compliance Unit may have blocked the FTR transfer. Hence, you will not be able to push the workflow forward. The FTR will only be processed after the fraud investigation has ended. To learn more on FTR reports' related errors, please refer to this guidance of the article.
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VII) How to review the FTR Report (NGO/Red Cross-Red Crescent only = CBPF Finance) Top
If the HFU sends the FTR Report to CBPF Finance (formerly FCS Finance), the FTR report will appear in the FTR task list of the CBPF Finance Homepage. Click on the blue link in the task list to access the FTR Report.
After reviewing the FTR Report, CBPF Finance can either:
- Leave comments and send back to HFU by clicking on [send back to HFU with comments]
- Send directly to MPTF by clicking on [send to MPTF].
Make sure that the Allocation Letter is signed by the EO and that you upload the signed AL in the Documents tab of the FTR before sending it to MPTF on GMS.
VIII) How to process an FTR (MPTF) Top
Upon submission by CBPF Finance /HFU, MPTF will receive an email alert containing the unique FTR number in the subject line as well as in the email body. MPTF can then log in the GMS and will be able to view the FTR in their task list, as shown below.
The MPTF officer is required to fill in the three empty fields per projects in the FTR Report tab:
- the mandatory Atlas Number,
- the voucher number,
- and payment date for each of the projects
Following the below guidance:
- For each allocation of funds, MPTF creates one Atlas Project in their Atlas System and links it with the GMS project.
- The voucher is created to allocate funds to one or more than one project. So for each voucher there can be multiple Atlas projects linked to it in Atlas system.
- One Atlas Project can be linked to multiple vouchers.
The MPTF Officer can send the FTR back to the HFU by clicking on the [Send back to HFU with Comments] button in case there are any comments before processing the FTR.
Otherwise, the MPTF officer will click on the [FTR Completed] button to process the FTR.
The FTR Tracking tab allows users to track the who, what, when, pertaining to the FTR Report. This tab shows all the steps of the FTR Report workflow, including the dates when its status changed, and the user who pushed it to the next stage.
