Departments who want to pay for visitor's parking will use our validation program. Authorized University personnel use the J4M website or app (called Janus for Merchants) to issue validations, monitor use, and create reports of activities and charges. Actual charges to University departments will go through EFS and monthly charges will be visible on eStatement.
Request Access
A department wishing to issue validations needs a Shop and a J4M Merchant account configured by PTS.
Shops
A Shop is the EFS chartstring to be charged for parking. Each EFS chartstring to receive charges requires a separate Shop configured by PTS. Each Shop is managed by one Merchant.
Merchants
Each Shop is managed by one Merchant, but a single Merchant can manage more than one Shop. PTS recommends a Shop’s Merchant be an employee with knowledge of the UMN's Chart of Accounts. The Merchant is responsible for all Shop activity and charges.
Clerks
Merchants can create Clerk accounts and limit their authority. With Merchant authorization, Clerks can apply validations and report on their own activity.
Validations
Validations are the best way to pay for a guest's parking when that person has already arrived on campus, parked, and will see a person from the department wishing to pay for the parking fees.
Vouchers
Vouchers are ideal when a department wants to send out something that their visitors can print out or show a QR code on a phone as they exit. This is used frequently when departments will not see the person (ie: evening visits, etc.).
Fill out the Voucher Request Form to set up vouchers in your Merchant's J4M account.
Clerks are not given access to vouchers.
Levels of Paying for Guest Parking
Four levels are available: Full, Daily Max, Half Day, and First Hour. This determines the maximum amount the department is willing to pay.
Rates at many facilities change during evenings, weekends, and early-morning hours. See PTS parking rates for details.
| Type | Parker Pays | Department Pays |
| Full | nothing | 100% |
| Daily Max | any cost over daily max | up to $15 (highest daily max) |
| Half Day | any cost over $9 | up to $9 (~4hr of parking) |
| First Hour | any cost over $3 | up to $3 (~1hr of parking) |
PTS Validations Introduction - 1 Hour Video Town Hall
Resources
- J4M Website
- Getting Started in J4M for Merchants
- Getting Started in J4M for Clerks
- Applying J4M Validations
- Contact PTS at ptsvalidations@umn.edu or 612-626-7275
Frequently Asked Questions
Our department has prepaid coupons on hand. What can we do with them?
If a department has blue or pink prepaid coupons, PTS will provide replacement vouchers that will work with the current parking system. Please submit the Prepaid Coupon Replacement Form. This form has directions regarding how to receive the replacements.
Which facilities accept validations?
Every gated facility on the Twin Cities campus will accept J4M validations.
Why would a Merchant create a Clerk account?
Merchants can delegate to Clerks some or all responsibility for validating parking. The Merchant can monitor Clerk activities from the J4M Dashboard and by running J4M reports.
Can my shop have more than one Merchant?
No, there cannot be multiple Merchants assigned to the same chartfield string (shop).
Your department can have multiple Merchants as long as each Merchant is assigned to a different EFS chartfield string (shop).
What do I do if my Clerk credential is not working in the app?
Try re-setting the password from the log in page.