ETHIS News

01.07. 2025 ¨C ETHIS workflow reserve transfer

The new workflow allows reserve transfers within the same department and exclusively between reserve PSPs. Example of use: joint reserve financing of a project for which cost allocation is not an option. Authorisations for reserve transfers are set out in the Financial Regulations, Art. 98a.

Instructions for the workflow can be found in the ETHIS Help.

02.06.2025 - Innovations in ETHIS reserve management

In March 2024, the Executive Board decided on various changes to reserve management. These have already been set out in the Financial Regulations (1 January 2025) and in the respective Departmental Reserve Guidelines (1st half of 2025). The operational changes in ETHIS will now take effect on 2 June 2025. The handling of reserves will be simplified and the reserve information will be standardised and clear. The ETHIS team is pleased to contribute to a better common understanding of reserves.

• PSP type 1-9 for research reserve. Academic units have so far managed their research reserve on type 4 PSPs. These will be closed at the end of May and replaced by new type 1-9 PSPs as of 2 June 2025.
• Research reserve can be posted. From 2 June 2025 material and personnel costs can be directly posted to the type 1-9 PSP.
• ETHIS reserves report. The new ETHIS reserves report shows all reserves within a responsibility centre that are categorised as ¡®reserves without earmarking¡¯ (Reserven ohne Zweckbindung) in ETH Zurich's accounts and within the department.
• Preannouncement: ETHIS reserve transfer. A new ETHIS workflow ¡®Reserve transfer¡¯ is scheduled for the end of June 2025.

You can find detailed information in the latest ETHIS newsletter.

14.04.2025 - Personnel cost forecast

ETHIS offers a personnel cost forecast from this week on. What can it do and how can you use it?

The report shows
? the personnel costs for all current employees in a reponsibility centre as well as for incoming employees whose contracts have already been concluded,
? a five-year cost projection based on existing appointments (current and incoming).

The projection is based on a range of information available in ETHIS, such as the personnel cost budget, project durations, personnel costs already charged, future changes due to promotion and changes in financing or level of employment - provided that these changes are recorded in the system and the associated workflow has been completed. The ETHIS report does not allow simulations of personnel costs in the sense of ¡®what if?¡¯ However, the table can be downloaded as an Excel file (including sum formulas), which provides a good basis for your own simulations.

The personnel cost forecast was developed from early 2024 by Daniela Kaufmann (HR Operations), Alessandra Kindle (Controlling) and Nils Tosoni (Rhyno Solutions AG). ¡®We took a simple approach: using existing data to offer a better product,¡¯ says Alessandra Kindle. ¡®We're quite proud of the fact that we managed to do it in just one year with such a small team.¡¯ From a technical point of view, combining financial and HR data was a challenge, but the good team spirit helped a lot, says Daniela Kaufmann. Both point out that the accuracy of the projection depends on the quality of the data entered in ETHIS: ¡®If, for example, a planned hire or an extension of a project duration has not yet been entered, the accuracy of the projection will suffer. However, this may also contribute to a further improvement in data quality in the medium term.¡¯

You can find the new personnel cost forecast under ETHIS > Personal > Personalkosten. For a more detailed description and help, go to protected page ETHIS Help.

 

27.01.2025 - Expanded access rights to the air travel report in ETHIS

Access rights to the air travel report in ETHIS were expanded as of January 27, 2025. From now on, all individuals with financial authorization levels up to and including Supporter (SP) have access to the report for their respective area of responsibility. The expansion of access rights is intended to provide more transparent and simplified access to data.

The ETHIS air travel report can be accessed via Finanzen ¨C> Berufliche Auslagen ¨C> Reports ¨C> Emissions air travel. For questions regarding air travel report in ETHIS, please contact . For more information about financial authorization levels, please refer to the Financial Authorisations website.

08.01.2025 - New Supplier Catalogues on the ETHIS Procurement Platform

We are pleased to announce that the ETHIS procurement platform continues to grow and improve, providing you with the best possible service.

Following the successful introduction of additional suppliers such as RS Components, Elektro-Material AG, and Linde at the end of 2024 ¡ªwhich now also includes the return function for empties ¡ª we have even more exciting news for you in the new year.

The catalogues of the following new suppliers are now available on the ETHIS procurement platform:

• Dell: Meeting your needs for high-quality computer hardware and IT solutions.
• Youlap / Computacenter: A reliable provider of IT services and end devices.
• Vitaris: Your partner for innovative technologies and specialised equipment.
• Abcam: A renowned supplier of research reagents and laboratory supplies.
• Stemcell Technologies: A leading provider of specialised reagents and technologies for cell research.

With these new partners, we are expanding our product range to include leading providers in IT hardware, services, and laboratory supplies, enabling us to better meet your individual requirements.

Thanks to these new partnerships, you now have access to an even wider range of first-class products and services. This expansion simplifies your work processes, supports your projects efficiently, and helps you achieve your goals.

1.1.2025 ¨C Business expense approval by ¡°Budget Managers¡± up to CHF 500 (previously CHF 200)

From 1 January 2025, persons with ¡°Budget Manager¡± authorization can approve business expenses up to CHF 500 (previously CHF 200; Financial Regulations Art. 41 para. 3). Approving their own expenses remains excluded. The increase in the approval limit is intended to help reduce the workload of Budget Officers.

24.04.2024 - Spring cleaning at ETHIS design

From May 6, 2024, the ETHIS portal will welcome you in a modern and brighter color design. The familiar but somewhat old-fashioned light blue will be replaced predominantly by white and grey, the variety of colors will be reduced overall and the layout will be slightly cleaned up. As a result, ETHIS will appear brighter and clearer. From a functional point of view, nothing will change for you: user guidance, processes, input fields, selection options, texts and evaluations will remain unchanged.

This is the first step towards modernizing the ETHIS website. The navigation update will follow in 2025. Users will then navigate in a modern tile design and benefit from new search functions and more personalization options. ETHIS will also be more flexible for display on mobile devices such as tablets or smartphones thanks to responsive web design. However, the handling of processes and evaluations will remain unchanged.

08.01.2025 - New Supplier Catalogues on the ETHIS Procurement Platform

We are pleased to announce that the ETHIS procurement platform continues to grow and improve, providing you with the best possible service.

Following the successful introduction of additional suppliers such as RS Components, Elektro-Material AG, and Linde at the end of 2024 ¡ªwhich now also includes the return function for empties ¡ª we have even more exciting news for you in the new year.

The catalogues of the following new suppliers are now available on the ETHIS procurement platform:

• Dell: Meeting your needs for high-quality computer hardware and IT solutions.
• Youlap / Computacenter: A reliable provider of IT services and end devices.
• Vitaris: Your partner for innovative technologies and specialised equipment.
• Abcam: A renowned supplier of research reagents and laboratory supplies.

With these new partners, we are expanding our product range to include leading providers in IT hardware, services, and laboratory supplies, enabling us to better meet your individual requirements.

Thanks to these new partnerships, you now have access to an even wider range of first-class products and services. This expansion simplifies your work processes, supports your projects efficiently, and helps you achieve your goals.