Winter Curtailment 2023 to 2024
The Office of the Vice Chancellor of Finance is planning to observe the upcoming winter curtailment period.
Curtailment Dates
- Monday, December 25, 2023: Administrative and Academic Holiday
- Tuesday, December 26, 2023: Administrative and Academic Holiday
- Wednesday, December 27, 2023: Curtailment day
- Thursday, December 28, 2023: Curtailment day
- Friday, December 29, 2023: Curtailment day
- Monday, January 1, 2024: Administrative and Academic Holiday
- Tuesday, January 2, 2024: Administrative and Academic Holiday
The Academic Calendar reflects these dates.
Finance Units
The winter curtailment closure includes the following finance units:
- Accounts Payable and Travel
- Accounts Receivable: Non-Student Billing
- Accounts Receivable: Student Billing
- BFS Security and BFS
- Cal Answers and CalPlanning
- Cash-Handling and Banking Services
- Contracts and Grants Accounting
- Financial Accounting and Controls
- Payroll
Please refer to the following section for specific unit-by-unit information regarding the impact of this closure, as well as contact information. If you have any specific questions or concerns, please contact the respective unit.
Finance Units and Their Processing Times
Accounts Payable and Travel
Although the Travel, Entertainment, and Other Expenses online reimbursement system will be available during curtailment, there will be no technical or functional support. Processing and payment for items submitted online during the curtailment period will occur after we return in January.
The final check-write and electronic funds transfer (EFT) for 2023 will occur on Wednesday, December 20th, 2023, for invoices with a due date through Tuesday, January 2, 2024.
Check-writing and EFT transmissions will not occur during the curtailment period. EFT transmissions will resume on Wednesday, January 3rd and check-writing production will also resume on Wednesday, January 3rd, 2024.
Invoices that need to be paid prior to the end of the calendar year should be received in Accounts Payable by Friday, December 1, 2023. Departments should review voucher approval queues daily to ensure payments are released in a timely manner.
For Travel and Entertainment Reimbursements, approvals in the direct entry system should occur by Friday, December 8 to be paid prior to the end of the month.
Accounts Receivable: Non-Student Billing
Departments billing non-student customers on BFS:
- Accounts Receivable should have all weekly invoices created and placed in Ready Status by 4:00 pm on Friday, December 15, 2023
- Invoices created after 4:00 pm on Friday, December 15, 2023, will be processed starting on Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Non-student customers wishing to make a payment on their BFS account should log in to their eBill account.
No check payments or returned checks will be processed from Friday, December 22, 2023, through Wednesday, January 3, 2024.
New non-student customer requests to set up, unlock, or reset passwords for eBill will not be processed from Thursday, December 21, 2023, through Friday, December 29, 2023. Processing will resume on Wednesday, January 3, 2024.
Accounts Receivable: Student Billing
Students wishing to make a payment on their student account should refer to CalCentral.
No check payments or returned checks will be processed from Friday, December 22, 2023, through Wednesday, January 3, 2024. The last day we will process refunds for 2023 is Tuesday, December 19, 2023.
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact Cal Student Central at 510-664-9181 or refer to their Services and Areas of Support page for hours of operation and additional information.
BFS Security and BFS
Berkeley Financial System (BFS) will be available through the curtailment period during its regular hours, but there will be no online support. Batch jobs will run automatically as normal. Access support from BFS Security will be unavailable.
Contact
If you have any questions about BFS Security, please contact secbfs@berkeley.edu or call 510-643-3486 before noon on Monday, December 18, 2023, or 3 business days prior to curtailment, whichever is first.
Cal Answers and CalPlanning
Cal Answers and CalPlanning will be available as usual with limited Service Desk support during curtailment days. Some user inquiries may be deferred until the full support staff is available on Wednesday, January 4, 2024.
Contact
If you have questions about support during the winter holidays and curtailment, please email Cal Answers at calanswers-help@berkeley.edu, or CalPlanning at calplanhelp@berkeley.edu by Friday, December 15, 2023.
Cash-Handling and Banking Services
Departments who bring their deposits to 2610 Channing Way for processing should deliver their final 2023 deposit no later than the close of business on Wednesday, December 20, 2023. No incoming wire transfers or returned checks will be processed from Thursday, December 21, 2023, through Tuesday, January 2, 2024.
Contracts and Grants Accounting
Contracts and Grants Accounting (CGA) continues to work primarily remotely and the CGA Accounts Receivable team are onsite one day a week only. Please contact us at cga_receivables@berkeley.edu to arrange a drop off of any checks received during the month of December. Please be sure to email us no later than Friday, December 8, 2023, to make arrangements before the last onsite date prior to curtailment.
Please submit closeout certifications to CGA no later than Tuesday, December 12, 2023, for all awards with final reports and invoices due to the sponsor on or before Wednesday, January 4, 2024. Given the extremely tight timeline, please submit closeout certifications to CGA earlier in the month whenever possible.
Contact
If you have any questions about the curtailment dates, please send an email to cgaawards@berkeley.edu by the close of business on Friday, December 8, 2023, to ensure sufficient time to respond prior to curtailment.
Financial Accounting and Controls
Contact
If you have any questions regarding Financial Accounting and Controls, please send an email to gao@berkeley.edu before noon on Friday, December 15, 2023.
Payroll
During curtailment, Central Payroll will be handling payroll file submissions to UCPath and instant paycard requests. Non-urgent service requests will be addressed after curtailment beginning on Wednesday, January 3, 2024.
Please follow the Berkeley Regional Services payroll deadlines which allow for payroll processing time to meet the UCPath system production schedule deadlines.
UCPath will be open and processing payroll transactions during UC Berkeley’s curtailment. As a result, biweekly employees and supervisors will not have to project time in CalTime in advance of curtailment. More detailed instructions will be sent to CalTime users in November. Campus Timekeepers and Berkeley Regional Payroll Partners will perform CalTime duties, review UCPath reports, and respond to UCPath inquiries throughout curtailment.
Any anticipated pay issues should be addressed and coordinated in advance of curtailment. If a pay issue is reported during curtailment by the employee or supervisor, Central Payroll will need the region to work with the individual to address the issue (i.e. time collection) and determine the appropriate payment option (on cycle, off-cycle, instant pay card).
Contact
If you have any questions, please email payhelp@berkeley.edu no later than Wednesday, December 20, 2023.
The Glacier system will be available for updates. If you have any questions, please contact glacieradmin@berkeley.edu no later than Friday, December 15, 2023.