On-Screen Inquiries

On-Screen Inquiries

FIMS facilitates on-screen retrieval of information. While record Data Grids enable you to quickly find specific information that you can view by clicking the appropriate tab, there are also a few special-purpose inquiries that can be accessed from the Inquiries menu, from anywhere in FIMS.

Lookup Fund ID Inquiry

This utility allows you to find a Fund and enters the appropriate Fund ID into the active entry field. This is especially useful in the General Ledger module, where G/L accounts are often found based on the Fund ID (especially for organizations that use numeric Fund ID codes).

 1. From anywhere in FIMS, select Inquiries > Lookup Fund ID. 

2. In the Search By field, select the field that you want to base your search on. 

3. In the Find Record field, enter the information you want to find. When the system finds the appropriate record, it will highlight it in the data grid.

4. Once the desired record is highlighted, double-click to select it. 

Foundation Status Inquiry

The Foundation Status inquiry displays a statistical summary of total organizational activity.

The statistics are annual (by fiscal year). They include all activity at the organization, (including activities done on behalf of an affiliate or other non-corporate division). The gift, grant and pledge statistics are updated as soon as the transactions are posted.

The values come from the Foundation record, which is a separate summary history table containing one record per fiscal year. 

1. From anywhere in FIMS, select Inquiries > Foundation Status to open the Foundation Status window. 

2. Use the record buttons at the top of the window to scroll thorough each year or recorded activity.

3. When you are finished, click the Close button.

Lookup Profile ID Code 

This utility enables you to find a Profile record and enter the corresponding Profile ID Code into the selected data entry field.

This inquiry is useful if, for example, you are working in a module other than Profile Management and you want to access a complete Profile Data Grid without opening the Profile Management module. Data Grids in other modules are limited based on the type of profile (for example, the Donor Data Grid in the Donor and Gift Management module only lists Profiles who have a Donor record).

1. Place your cursor in the data entry field where you want to enter the ID code.

2. Select Inquiries > Lookup Profile ID Code.

• In the Search By field, select the field that you want to base your search on.
• In the Find Record field, enter the information you want to find. When the system finds the appropriate record, it will highlight it in the data grid.
• Once the desired record is highlighted, double-click to select it. 

Profile Text Search 

This utility allows you to find a Profile based on a keyword search that will check the text of most Profile entry fields. You can enter a word or phrase, or perform a wildcard search. To perform a wildcard search, enter the first part of a word (or words), and use an asterisk to represent any remaining characters. This search utility reports the ID Code and Report name of matching Profiles.

Note: Searching the Report Name is slightly different than searching other fields.

Searching the Report Name

• If you're searching Report Name and looking for “Smith,” you can simply enter “Smith” and the report will return all values containing that word – no matter where the word appears in the field.
• You can also use wildcard searches for searching on parts of words.
• You can perform and/or searches by typing the first word followed by an ampersand (&) for and or a carrot (^) for or.

Report Name Search Sample Results:

If “Millvale Arts Council,” “Museum of Fine Arts,” and “Artspace Inc.” are Report names in the Profile table:

Searching Other Fields

• Searching on a word or words without using asterisks will only locate text in the selected fields that exactly matches what you have typed (for example, if you are searching the Organization field and type in Acme, the tool will only find profiles where Acme is the only text in that field).
• Use an asterisk at the beginning of the word or words to return all values ending with the search words.
• Use an asterisk at the end of the word or words to return all values starting with the search words.
• Use an asterisk at the beginning and the end of the word or words to return all values containing the search words anywhere within the value.
• Use an asterisk anywhere in the middle of text (this is useful if, for example, you are not sure of the exact spelling, but know the beginning and end of the word).

Organization Search Sample Results:

If “Millvale Arts Council,” “Museum of Fine Arts,” and “Artspace Inc.” are organization names:

Running the Profile Text Search Inquiry

1. From anywhere in FIMS, select Inquiries > Profile Text Search.  

Note: Click the Help button on this window to get additional tips for performing your search.

2. In the Search for Words field, enter the keyword(s) you want to search for (with wildcards, where appropriate).

3. Click the arrow in the Limit Search drop-down box and select the type of Profile records you want to find (All Profiles, Grantees, Donors, or Students).

4. Select the checkbox(es) associated with the fields you want to include in the search.

5. Click the Search button. The FIMS Viewer opens with a list of the search results.

Relationships Inquiry 

This utility provides a list of Profiles that are related to a selected Profile (as a Relatee).

1. From anywhere in FIMS, select Inquiries > Relationships.
2. Double-click the desired record. The utility displays a list of all Profiles related to the selected Profile, and how they are related (based on the Relationship code).

You can use the record buttons at the top of the window to scroll through the list of Profiles. As you select each related Profile, their contact information appears at the bottom of the window.

General Ledger Inquiries

There are three kinds of General Ledger inquiries you can run in FIMS:

• G/L YTD Account Inquiry: Provides a list of every account in every Fund. The Data Grid displays the current balance in each account as of the selected year and period. After selecting an account, you have two tab options: Ledger Detail and Account.

>The Ledger Details tab lists all posted G/L journal entries for the account through the specified year and period.

>The Account tab provides information on the account, including the G/L Account number segments, Fiscal Year, Active/Inactive indicator, Account Type, Beginning and Ending Account Balance, Account Description, Date the account was added/changed, budget figures by period and net activity balances for each period.

• G/L YTD Ledger Inquiry: Enables you to run, view, and print a Year-To-Date General Ledger Report grouped by G/L account, based on year, periods, Fund and accounts (optional).
• Trial Balance Inquiry: Reports balances as of a selected period, in debit and credit columns, for every selected account and Fund. Choose a fiscal year and through which period the report should be run. Selecting and sorting of accounts is based on G/L account record fields, i.e. the G/L year, Account type and all Account segments: Division, Class, Type, Subtype, Fund ID, Natural Account Number and Functional Expense.

Note: Refer to Financial Inquiries in the General Ledger module for more information about running these inquiries.

Dynamic Data Grid Inquiry

This inquiry allows you to configure the View Settings for any Data Grid, in any FIMS module. You can also use it to view data grids that you have created in any FIMS module.

Refer to Configuring View Settings for more information.

Note: You can also configure View Settings for a specific Data Grid, by opening the desired Data Grid and clicking the View Settings button.

1. From anywhere in FIMS, select Inquiries > Dynamic Data Grid.

2. On the Views tab, click the arrow in the Table drop-down and select the table that you want to view configured data grids for.

Note: Only views that are configured from within the Dynamic Data Grid inquiry appear in the list initially. If you want to see all configured views (those created in another FIMS module or those created by other users), select the View All checkbox.

3. Do one of the following:

• If you want to create a new view, click the Add button and then follow the steps for Configuring View Settings.
• If you want to create a new view based on an existing view, select the desired view, click the Save As button, and then follow the steps for Configuring View Settings.
• If you want to view one of the existing data grids, select the desired view and click the Run Report button.

Note: As of FIMS 14.10, an additional dynamic data grid has been provided to facilitate check reconciliation.  To use this grid, select “Check Reconciliation” from the grid name drop-down and proceed with your desired setup.  Additionally, numerous data grids were added for Scholarships, Gifts, Grants and Profiles.