FAQs

How do I log into X5?

Go to https://x5.bsp.ox.ac.uk/Agresso/. You login using your SSO username and password. For more information on SSO please see Webauth

Which browser would you recommend that I use?

X5 has been tested and is supported in most browsers: Firefox, Safari, Opera, Chrome, Internet Explorer (IE), but Firefox v19 provides the best user experience from testing.  Please note that using IE8 (or earlier versions) prevents the Workflow map in X5 from displaying.

I am attempting to access X5 from outside the University but cannot connect.

Please note that you will be able to access X5 from most locations outside the University network using the standard VPN login and Citrix. If you are likely to need to use X5 away from the University and you do not have a VPN login please refer to the IT Services website at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/network/vpn/

I am going on annual leave. What actions should I take in X5?

If you are a Costing Creator and want another user in your department to action your items (where costings are returned), you can set a substitute. Costing Approvers and Senior costing Approvers would not need to set substitutes where there is another person in the same role. Please see ‘Setting a Substitute’ in the X5 User Guide

I need to change my role and access in X5.

Please complete the X5 User Request Form and return it to the X5 Helpdesk

I get too many emails from X5 concerning approving costings. Can I switch them off?

Workflow notifications cannot be switched off. If you do not want these to go into your in-box this can be managed by Outlook rules. I f you need help with doing this, contact X5 Helpdesk who can email you a document detailing the actions you need to take.

I have submitted my costing into Workflow but it has not appeared on the approval tab of the approver?

Using Advanced search, find the project, access the costing using the Costing status hyperlink and go to the Workflow tab. Open the Workflow map and check where the costing has gone. If the costing has gone to ‘Items to follow up’ please contact the X5 Helpdesk who will be able to move the costing to the approver.

What happens if there are multiple people in the same role? Who does the costing go to?

If there are multiple people in the role to which the costing is routed via normal workflow, the system will route the costing to all users associated with that role (e.g. Geography Costing Approver) at the same time. The system requires only one of them to action the costing within the defined time period. If none of them respond, it will then escalate to the next role, if defined. However for PI’s and Costing Creators the workflow always routes costings to these users individually rather than by role.

For escalations, if there are multiple people in the same role, will it go to these people first and only then to the next role in the workflow?

A costing always escalates to the next role in the workflow (where defined), not to other users with the same role as the original recipient(s). If there are multiple people in the role to which a costing is escalated, the system currently routes it to one user (the main person) associated with the destination role.

What happens re escalation if departments only have Costing Creators and Costing Approvers? Does it go to another (random?) Costing Approver?

For these departments the costing will not be escalated beyond the Costing Approver(s). If none of the Costing Approver(s) act on the costing within two days the system will issue a reminder email to all of the department’s Costing Approvers.

How do substitutes relate to the escalation process? i.e. if there is only one person in a role and they don’t respond within 2 days does it escalate to the next role or does it go to the Substitute?

A costing will only go to a substitute when the user has activated that substitute (i.e. told the system to divert all costings which would normally be routed to the user to this substitute). If the costing has been routed to a substitute and they do not respond within 2 days, the system will behave as if the original task recipient had not responded within that period, and either escalate to the next role or issue a reminder to the substitute (as it would to the normal task owner if substitution were not activated). Similarly if a costing is escalated to a role, e.g. to Senior Costing Approver, and the ‘escalatee’ has activated a substitute, the system will escalate to the substitute in place of the normal task recipient.

What happens to an escalated costing if the ‘escalatee’ does not respond?

The costing will remain with the ‘escalatee’ until the costing is actioned.

How do I progress my costing if workflow is unavailable?

In the unusual situation when the X5 workflow is not available, you should contact the X5 Helpdesk to report the issue.

You could also check the system availability website to determine if an issue has already been reported. If instructed to do so, by the HelpDesk, Research Services or via a message on the system availability page, the following manual approval process should be followed until the situation is rectified.

Please note: when the situation is rectified you will still need to submit your costing in to the workflow even if you have already gained manual approval (see the process below).

• If the workflow in X5 is unavailable but you urgently need to gain Departmental/ Research Services approval for your costing, please follow the Manual Approval Process within Department or with Research Services

• If the workflow in X5 is unavailable and, as Research Services, you need Research Accounts to approve an Award costing, please follow this Manual Approval Process with Research Accounts

I am doing an outline application where the funder does not require any budget details. Do I still need to create a costing in X5?

We recommend that you create an Outline costing in X5 as it is good practise to recognise a project’s commitments at an early stage even if you are not required to detail the budget at this stage.

I am creating a number of identical costings for a Fellowship round. Can I copy to a new project?

You can copy any project to a new record (at any stage in the Workflow). Please see the section on Copy Options in the X5 User Guide

Can I re-use a project costing for another funder?

You can copy projects to new records, and amend the costing to reflect the new funder. Please see the section on ‘Copy Options’ in the  X5 User Guide

I need to do a costing for a contract negotiation. Which costing type should I select?

If you are at the start of the negotiations we suggest that you create a Trial costing. Once the contract has been successfully negotiated and you are at the stage of award set-up, copy the Trial costing to an Award costing and submit this into Workflow.

 I’ve been asked to create an award costing and the original application was done in Resolve. What do I do?

Create an award type costing from new following the instructions in the section ‘Creating a new project’ in the X5 User Guide. Use all the current default rates (as shown on the Rates tab). When you get to the Price tab, edit the FAC or Price to match the sum awarded.

How do I cost a Fellowship?

If the Fellow is the award holder: The Fellow should be specified as the lead investigator in Project Setup with a Cost Type of DI, and his/her Effort details entered in DI Staff accordingly. NB in this case the 'Role' specified against the DI post must be left as 'PI' and not changed to 'Fellow', otherwise the costing will not pass validation.

If the Fellow is not the award holder: The Supervisor should be specified as the lead investigator in Project Setup with a Cost Type of DA or DI according to the Scheme rules. The Fellow should be added as a DI post, and his/her Effort details entered accordingly. If required, Effort can be added for the Supervisor (PI) to reflect his/her supervision workload. NB in this case the 'Role' specified against the Supervisor must be 'PI' rather than 'Supervisor/Mentor', otherwise the costing will not pass validation. The 'Role' specified against the DI post for the Fellow should be set to 'Fellow'.

I cannot edit any of the fields in the costing.

A costing needs to be checked out in order to edit it. Use the Check out button on the toolbar (remember to check it back in when you have finished).

I cannot edit any of the fields on the Project setup screen.

If the costing is still in draft it needs to be checked in before you can edit this screen. If the costing is in Workflow you will need to find out who the costing is with (look at the Workflow map on the Workflow tab). Contact them and ask them to withdraw the costing. This will take the costing out of Workflow and allow you to edit the screen.

When I try to check out the costing the system says it is checked out to another user.

Only one user can check out a costing at a time. Contact the user named in the message and find out if they are working on the costing. Ask them to let you know when they have finished with it and checked it back in. If the person to whom the costing is checked out is not available and you are sure that they have finished working on the costing, e.g. they have left for the day but didn’t check the costing back in before logging out, the Helpdesk can check the costing back in if you provide them with the X5 reference. NB all costings are automatically checked back in by the system overnight.

I cannot find the name of the external collaborator in X5?

Please contact the X5 Helpdesk and ask them to add in the new external collaborator (please provide details of the full name and any acronym)

How do I change an external collaborator once they have been added to Project setup?

You will need to delete the row, add a new one and select the correct external collaborator.

The system is showing the wrong department against the person I want to use as a PI/Co-I in Project setup or as a DA/DI staff post.

If the PI/Co-I also has another department it is likely that the appointment relating to the other department has been pulled through (X5 can only hold one department against a person). If you can confirm that the person holds a post in your department, you can change the department manually.

I have completed Project setup and created a costing but now need to change the PI’s department. However I am unable to edit the department field.

You will be unable to edit this field as this can only be done prior to saving the Project setup screen when the costing is first created (department drives many elements of the costing, and so this isn’t a simple thing to change). If the costing has entered the workflow it will need to be withdrawn and a new record created. Remember to change the department as soon as you enter the PI’s name on Project setup (before you save the screen for the first time).

How can I find the name of the person who I want to use as the PI/Co-I?

In the pop-up window, you can enter the person's employee number (if you know it) or start typing their name, and a list of matching names will be displayed. If there are several persons with the same name, click on the blue icon to the right of the 'Employee' field and select 'Value Lookup'. In the 'Value lookup' window, expand the 'Advanced options' section; this allows you to search by Department code or name, Oxford username, etc. When you find the person that you want, double-click on the corresponding row in the lookup results to add the person as PI/Co-I.

When should I use the equipment tab?

The equipment tab should always be used for costing single pieces of equipment if this level of detail is needed to complete a funder application form.

How do I change the increments for DI staff?

To amend increments and scale points for standard grades select the required row for the member of staff and click on the Increments button. This will allow you to edit the Increment date and scale fields.

I am creating an Application costing, and there is no deadline set by the funder for applying this funding – but ‘Funder deadline’ seems to be a mandatory field?

For Application costings a Funder deadline is always needed, so that X5 can determine the latest date that the costing needs to be submitted to Research Services by, in order for it to be thoroughly checked. If there is no set deadline date for the application, enter a nominal (but realistic) date - this could be several months away.

I have done a costing with the wrong funder. Can I change the funder or do I have to do a new costing?

You will be able to add in the new funder, copy costing details from one funder to another and then delete the incorrect funder. Please see the section on ‘Copy Options’ in the X5 User Guide

I have done a costing with the wrong scheme. Can I change the scheme or do I have to do a new costing?

You can change the scheme by using the ‘Change scheme’ button in Project setup. Please see the section on ‘Editing a Costing’ in the X5 User Guide

I cannot find the correct scheme for my funder in X5?

Not all funder schemes have been setup in X5. Please speak to your local Research Services team if you are unsure which scheme you should be using or to discuss whether a new scheme should be set up.

I am doing a costing for an industrial/commercial funder who does not have schemes?

Each funder in X5 has a “generic” scheme which can be used where specific schemes have not been setup.

I cannot find my funder in X5?

Please ensure that you have searched by both full name and short name. Check that the funder is the actual source of funds. If you still cannot find them please complete the X5 Funder Set-up Form and return it to the X5 Helpdesk

How do I cost a project with more than one funder?

Add all necessary funders in Project setup to create an individual costing for each funder. You will be able to view the total project details by selecting the ‘all funders’ view in the costing.

I am doing a costing for a consortium of funders all paying a share of the project costs, but where only one funder will be billed and only one award setup on Oracle. Should I add in all the funders?

No - you should only create the costing for the funder who will be billed. It is also useful to add a note to the Notes tab detailing the other funders involved.

Can I use X5 to cost my John Fell Fund application?

If you are asked to cost an application to support an internal application (for example a John Fell Fund application), please create a TRIAL costing as this will not go through workflow or be included in any BI reports. X5 should only be used to cost projects for external funders.

I cannot find the currency I want in Project setup?

Please contact the X5 Helpdesk and ask them to add in the new currency.

Does X5 hold all exchange rates as well as currencies?

No. X5 only holds the current Euro and Dollar rates. For all other currencies you need to contact Treasury in Finance to agree an exchange rate to use in your costing. Once the rate has been obtained you can edit the rate field in Project setup.

Can I enter costs in a foreign currency?

Yes. Use the Currency toggle to select the foreign currency and then enter the costs in the foreign currency.

How can I view the costs in the foreign currency?

Use the Currency toggle in the Header section to select the currency. All the costs will then be shown converted by the rate of exchange. NB the Total FAC, Total Price and Price Limit (if specified) are always shown in GBP and the specified currency in the costing header (just above the Currency toggle)

Can I change the currency after costs have been entered?

Yes – in Project setup highlight the Funder record and click ‘Currency revaluation’. This will allow you to change either the currency, or the exchange rate, or both.

Where can I see details of the inflation rates used in the costing?

Go to the rates tab where you will see three sub-tabs. To view the University rates and dates (which are used in calculating the FEC), select the University inflation rates sub-tab. Select a price summary heading from the table on the left- the grid on the right will be populated with the date/s inflation is applied from and the simple rate per date of uplift (please note that compounded rates are used in the calculations). To see the Funder rates and dates (which are used in calculating the FAC), go to the Funder inflation rates sub-tab and follow the instructions above.

How do I change the rates of inflation used in my costing.

Go to the Rates tab and select the Funder inflation rates sub-tab. Click on the edit button, highlight the price summary heading in the pop-up screen and edit the Inflation rate percentage field. Repeat for all price summary headings. NB only the rates of Funder inflation can be changed in this way; University inflation rates cannot be edited.

How does the inflation toggle work?

The inflation toggle is set by default to ‘Funder’ (except in the ‘FEC’ tab, where it is set to ‘University’). If you need to enter costs exclusive of inflation, and then get the system to add it on for you, you will need to remember to change the inflation toggle to ‘None’. When you return to the screen, the inflation toggle will have been reset back to the default, and the cost data updated accordingly.

I have run an Admin output report for a project that has a number of draft costings, and the figures being shown on the report are different from the costing I am looking at on screen.

All reports in the system (except the submission reports) take their data from the active version of the costing type entered in the report parameters screen. You can find out which version of the costing type is active by checking on the Project setup screen. To run a report for a version that is not currently active, change that version to active, using the ‘make active’ button against the costing on the Project setup screen, and then run the report.

I have run the Admin Output for my costing but it doesn’t contain any data.

This normally happens when a mistake has been made in entering the report parameters. Try running the report again, checking that the parameters are correct, especially the Costing Type

What is the difference between a collaborator and sub-contractor in X5?

Collaborators should be added to Project setup and their costs recorded on the External Collaborators tab. Sub-contractor costs should be included in Oxford’s budget and costed on the non-staff tab. Further information can be found in the section ‘External Collaborator or subcontractor?’ in the X5 User Guide

What is the Oracle award type?

The award type shows the sponsor category under which an award will be returned to HESA and whether it is eligible for QR (quality related research funding). Further information can be found at Guidance on award types

What does ‘Set amount’ mean in ‘Other Student Costs/ Non-Staff?

This will allow you to enter a total amount for the project which will be pro-rated over the project years.

What does ‘Set amount’ mean in the Price tab?

This will allow you to edit the Price fields.  Please refer to the ‘Price tab’ section in the X5 User Guide for more information.

Sometimes it seems like I have to click a button twice for it to take action.

This can often be noticed when clicking a button after having just selected a value from a dropdown list – if you notice this, it means that you didn’t tab or click out of the list after you selected from it. So the first time you click the button in question, you are actually implementing your list selection, and the second click implements the action relating to the button.

All dates in my costing are showing in US format – how do I change this?

This is caused by your browser settings – to change the settings in your browser so that X5 always displays dates in the European format (dd/mm/yyyy), please refer to the Changing browser date formats document.

What is the Funder Adjusted Cost (FAC)?

The Funder adjusted cost (FAC) is calculated as the full economic cost of a research project to Oxford minus funder specific adjustments. These could include one or all of the following; costs with funder rather than University inflation applied (which can be 0%), costs with College/University fees excluded, non-staff costs with VAT excluded.  For example, for the Research Councils the FAC is the un-indexed FEC at the application stage. It should be noted that for most Funders the FEC will be the same as the FAC.