BSC Solution Source Newsletter - May 2014
In this issue:
- Procurement Services:
- Preferred Hotel Vendors for Fort Worth
- Preferred Vendor Contracts Save Dollars for UNT System Campuses
- Car Rental Perks for UNT System & Employees
- Business Meal Reimbursement Requests
- Reminder: Travel Budget Authorization Form
- Multiple Accounts on Requisitions
- Best Practices for Using PCards
- Payroll:
- Important: New Requirement for Reporting Employee Terminations
- Coming Soon – Mandatory Direct Deposit for All UNT System Employees
- Time & Labor - EIS Upgrade News
- Payroll Reminders, Deadlines, & Dates
- BSC Notes:
- BSC Extends Kudos to Customers
-
ePAR Training Dates
Procurement Services
Preferred Hotel Vendors for Fort Worth
 The BSC has announced partnerships with the following hotels in the Fort Worth area as preferred UNT System vendors for lodging:
- Hilton Garden Inn Fort Worth Medical Center
- 912 Northton Drive Contact: April Reece-817-921-0788
- $130 per night plus applicable taxes
- Complementary wireless Internet
- Homewood Suites
- 2200 Charlie Lane Contact: Mary Ryglewicz-817-921-0202
- $140 per night
- Complimentary breakfast
- Complimentary dinner (Monday-Thursday)
- Complementary wireless Internet
- Springhill Suites
- 3250 Lovell Contact: Micah Willis 817-878-2554
- $125 per night
- Complimentary breakfast
- Complimentary wireless Internet
Campuses and departments in the UNT System wanting to arrange for lodging at the above hotels can pay for rooms with the department purchasing card (PCard) with no need to do a requisition. Please note that the hotel PCard exception is for use at these preferred hotels only. Use at other hotels is disallowed and would be considered a purchasing card violation, resulting in a sanction to the card holder. Access the PCard exception form online at http://bsc.untsystem.edu/purchasing-card-exception-request.
Reservations can be made online via special UNT secure link, which is provided by contacting the department’s buyer in BSC Purchasing. Reservations can also be made by calling the front desk of the hotel directly (see numbers above). If calling the hotel directly, please state that you are making a reservation for the UNT System and the PCard is to be used for payment of reservation once stay is complete.
For additional information or answers to frequently asked questions, contact the BSC at bsc@untsystem.edu, by phone to 940-369-5500, or toll free to 855-868-4357.
Preferred Vendor Contracts for UNT System & Campuses
The BSC is proud to announce the upcoming signing of contracts with preferred vendors for the purchase of goods and services that present short- and long-term savings for campuses in the UNT System.
- Scientific Supplies:
- By the end of May, the BSC projects a partnership with Fisher Scientific for a 10 percent savings. Nothing will change for departments who currently order from Fisher; the ordering process will stay the same.
-
Ozarka:
- Five-gallon water cooler and jug delivery service is provided at a projected savings of 35 percent off water price, and 75 percent off water cooler pricing. The BSC will assign an account team to ensure that all campuses and departments receive the same pricing. (see table of products at right)
- Hotels:
- Preferred vendor contracts with Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites and Springhill Suites in Fort Worth have been finalized. Read more above.
These contracts are added to the ones already finalized by the BSC Purchasing Strategic Sourcing team, which include equipment maintenance agreements, outgoing freight and shipping, event equipment rental, and preferred hotel vendors in Denton and Dallas. Read more about those Strategic Sourcing contracts in the March BSC Solution Source Newsletter.
Car Rental Perks for UNT System & Employees
 National Car Rental and Enterprise Rent-A-Car are preferred rental car vendors for the UNT System.
According to those vendors, National provides speed and consistency for airport travelers through the Emerald Club. Enterprise provides the custom attention and service needed for local market rentals.
- UNT System employees can enroll in the Emerald Club, which can be used at both National Car Rental and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Access the custom online application at: http://www.nationalcar.com/offer/UTS600
- If UNT System employees are currently in an elevated status with another car rental company, National will match that current status. Enroll in the Emerald Club via the link above and then email Anna Scheidt at anna.c.scheidt@ehi.com with the request for status-match upgrade. The email must include the employee’s Emerald Club number and the current membership level with the other company.
- If employees are a current Emerald Club member, there is no need to enroll again. If the employee’s profile needs to be updated so it is linked to the UNT System program, send an email along with the Emerald Club number to Anna Scheidt at the email address above.
Enterprise and National have extended the rental agreement for all vehicles for personal use. If employees would like to make a reservation for a personal rental with Enterprise, access www.enterpise.com, use UTS999 as the corporate ID number and use UNI as the pin/password. For reservations with National, access www.nationalcar.com and enter in UTS999 in the Contract ID field.
UNT System employees with questions regarding the UNT System car rental program provided through National Car Rental or Enterprise Rent-A-Car can contact bsc@untsystem.edu.
Business Meal Reimbursement Requests
In response to a recent audit that included business meal reimbursements, the following information is intended to remind faculty and staff of the requirements regarding reimbursement for business meals.
Business meals are defined as those in which faculty, staff and/or external parties are present for the purpose of conducting substantial and bona-fide business on behalf of the UNT System and/or its member institutions. Reimbursement of such business meals are allowable to the extent set forth on pages 10-11 of the UNT System Travel Guidelines.
An itemized receipt from a restaurant is required to prove an expense for a business meal, and must include:
- Name and location of the restaurant;
- Date of service, and
- An itemized list of the meals purchased.
Additionally, the request for reimbursement must include all of the following:
- Purpose of the meal;
- Number of people served;
- List of participants. (The names of participants should be included for fewer than six; if more than six, their affiliations are sufficient.); and the
- Business relationship of the participants
If you have lost a receipt, the Receipt Affidavit can be completed instead. The Receipt Affidavit form is available in the Forms Library on the BSC website at http://bsc.untsystem.edu/receipt-affidavit-form.
For questions regarding business meal reimbursement requests, contact the UNT System Business Service Center by phone at 940-369-5500, toll free at 855-868-4357, or via email to bsc@untsystem.edu.
Reminder: Travel Budget Authorization Form
Departments are reminded that the Travel Budget Authorization (TBA) form must be submitted to the BSC along with the Travel Voucher. The form is a standard form used by all UNT System member institutions and requires supervisory, DeptID/ProjID holder, and Research Services/Grants approvals on the form prior to travel. The TBA form is required to be submitted with all travel voucher reimbursement documents.
Access the TBA form from the BSC forms library, online at http://bsc.untsystem.edu/travel-budget-authorization-form-travel-voucher. Also available at that link is a training presentation regarding travel forms.
Multiple Accounts on Requisitions
The BSC has received several questions regarding how to split a requisition by using multiple deptid or projid funds.
Multiple funds are allowable on a requisition (Req), but only where one fund equals one Req line. The following job aid shows changing a vendor, changing budget date AND changing fund: https://bsc.untsystem.edu/sites/default/files/Editing_Requisitions.pdf.
The Req functionally cannot be created with multiple funds on a single line, but can be split on a purchase order by a buyer. The purchasing department needs to have documented on the Req justification as to what line, what fund and how much. In these cases, the Req should carry the most restrictive fund. For instance, if departments want to split between a projid and a deptid on the same line item, the projid should be loaded so the Req will route to the appropriate grant office for approval. If the funds belong to two different managers, the department should ad-hoc the fund manager whose fund is not loaded.
Departments can contact their respective BSC Buyer if additional assistance is needed.
Best Practices for Using PCards
 The BSC provides a monthly “best practices” tip for the most effective and efficient use of the departmental purchasing card (PCard). For May, the monthly tip involves meeting deadlines:
- Please ensure the Reconciler is approving transactions in GCMS each month before the deadline, which is the 10th of each month. The Reconciler is responsible for reviewing allocations made by the PCard Holder in GCMS to ensure transactions are properly described, coded and DeptID/ProjID is correct. Failure to do this will result in a sanction to the card holder.
Learn more about the UNT System PCard Program online at https://bsc.untsystem.edu/purchasing-card.
Payroll
Important: New Requirement for Reporting Employee Terminations
Effective immediately – as directed by the UNT System Administration – is a new interim policy that went into effect April 22, 2014, directing that all terminations from employment shall be reported to UNT System Human Resources and BSC Payroll as soon as possible.
Any delay in reporting terminations that causes an overpayment of earnings, or the removal of an employee’s access to systems and resources, will be reported to the respective campus President or to the UNT System Chancellor. The preferred method for notifying of terminations is by submitting a department-approved ePAR as quickly as possible.
Employees and departments with questions can contact the BSC at bsc@untsystem.edu, by phone to 940-369-5500, or toll free to 855-868-4357.
Coming Soon – Mandatory Direct Deposit for All UNT System Employees
The UNT System Shared Services Council, composed of the Chancellor and Presidents at each member institution, has authorized the mandatory direct deposit of paychecks only for all employees beginning in January 2015. In cases where employees do not elect to have their payroll direct-deposited into a bank account, pay cards loaded with the employee’s pay will be issued. Employee pay will be directly deposited to that card each pay period. A pay card is similar to a prepaid debit card.
 Approximately 94 percent of UNT System employees are already on direct deposit. Transitioning all employees to direct deposit will save the UNT System and its member institutions both time and money.- Direct deposit will also benefit employees by not having to cash or deposit a check and possibly having to pay associated fees.
- Student workers at the University of North Texas and UNT Dallas also may choose to have their paycheck directly deposited to the Higher One Card. To sign up for direct deposit to the Higher One Card account, review the instructions online at http://bsc.untsystem.edu/you-are-encouraged-enroll-direct-deposit.
- Employees who are not already participating in the direct deposit program can get ahead of the change by signing up for direct deposit now. Follow the instructions online at http://bsc.untsystem.edu/payroll-resources.
More information regarding the transition to mandatory direct deposit will be communicated throughout the remainder of calendar year 2014. Read more about direct deposit online at http://bsc.untsystem.edu/payroll-resources.
Information regarding the pay card program will be shared with those employees who do not select direct deposit once the program is finalized.
Time & Labor - EIS Upgrade News
All Timekeepers and Approvers received the following information April 28:
The upgrade for the HR/Payroll/Time & Labor modules of the Enterprise Information System (EIS) has been tentatively scheduled for implementation the weekend of June 7, 2014. Please pay close attention to the payroll processing deadlines posted online at http://bsc.untsystem.edu/payroll_deadlines. Some deadlines are slightly different than regular monthly processing due to the upgrade requirements.
All timesheets will be locked down in the current system at 5 p.m., June 3, 2014. No updates will be allowed after that time, and all time pending approval will be “Denied” before it is moved to the new system. It is important that all time pending approval is processed before that lock down date.
In the meantime, BSC Payroll asks that Timekeepers and Approvers continue to review time for all departmental employees. Please ensure that all exceptions have been resolved and that all time has been entered and approved. Make sure to stay as current as possible with all department time entries and approvals. Time & Labor is running audits as part of the upgrade activities, so Timekeepers and Approvers may receive other communications identifying specific employees who have time pending approval. BSC Payroll asks that Timekeepers and Approvers act on those by the established deadlines included in the communications. In some cases, you may need to reach out to the BSC Payroll Time & Labor Area for assistance with processing. Some examples include:
- If the pending time is more than 90 days old.
- The employee is no longer in the department.
- You are no longer the timekeeper/approver for that employee/department.
Access the BSC Time & Labor website at http://bsc.untsystem.edu/time-labor or contact BSC Payroll for assistance. The BSC can be contacted at bsc@untsystem.edu, by phone at 940-369-5500, or toll free to 855-868-4357. BSC Payroll will continue to send regular updates as more information becomes available.
To stay informed about the upgrade, read more online at http://itss.untsystem.edu/services/unassigned/news/peoplesoft-eis-functional-upgrade-announced.
Upcoming Payroll Deadlines
Payroll deadlines for May and June 2014 are available online at https://bsc.untsystem.edu/payroll_deadlines.
Please note that some payroll deadlines for May 2014 and June 2014 have been adjusted to accommodate the EIS upgrade of the Payroll and Time/Labor modules.
BSC Notes
Kudos to Our Customers!
- UNT Dallas – PDME/Office Depot Compliance: The BSC extends kudos and congratulations for UNT Dallas in reaching 89 percent compliance in ordering office supplies from PDME/Office Depot, the preferred UNT System vendor for office supplies! This level of compliance represents the lowest amount of missed savings by any campus in the UNT System related to the ordering of office supplies.
- UNT System Administration – PDME/Office Depot Compliance: The BSC also extends congratulations to the UNT System Administration for reaching 91 percent compliance in ordering office supplies from PDME/Office Depot!
- How can my campus and department do better in ordering office supplies for better savings?
Assistance from Presidents’ Cabinet-level staff, deans and department chairs indicating and supporting their agreement with the program leads to a higher sense of importance of this key cost-saving preferred vendor contract. With support from employees at all levels, even greater savings can be realized.
- University of North Texas: 71 percent compliance
- UNT Health Science Center: 70 percent compliance
ePAR Training Dates
 The BSC will be conducting training on the electronic Payroll Action Request (ePAR) process during the below dates and times:
- Thursday, May 22:
- UNT Dallas
10 a.m.-Noon, D1-304
- Thursday, May 29:
- UNT System Business Service Center
9-10:30 a.m., 4202A
All ePAR training courses require registration through EIS. For
questions regarding the training sessions, contact the BSC to 940-369-5500, toll free to 855-868-4357, or via email to bsc@untsystem.edu.
Answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding ePAR can be found online at http://bsc.untsystem.edu/epar.
|
