February 2018 BuySite Enhancements

February 2018 BuySite Enhancements 

Procurement Services and the Shared Services Office are partnering together to rollout enhancements to BuySite workflow and forms in February 2018. In advance of any system changes, more information will be distributed via email in early January 2018 regarding training registration and support resources.

The overall process for creating orders will not materially change. These changes include:

1. Workflow Updates – Change the approval workflow for all BuySite orders

o   Currently, BuySite requisitions are routed for approval based on the requester’s organizational department, as established within BuySite. Often, these departmentally established approvers do not align with the designated Authorized Signers for an account. By shifting to an account-based approval structure, this will ensure that the individuals designated for financial oversight of the accounts have visibility to the expenditures charged against these accounts. The new approval structure will be similar to that used within the ePayment tool and create further consistency and financial transparency across our systems.

o   To accommodate individual unit needs, workflow may be updated in certain circumstances to allow for additional local unit approvals. While most units will not require this update, some units (i.e., Labs) may require additional unit-specific approvals, in addition to the Authorized Signer.

o   Specific orders could require additional approval steps to ensure purchases are compliant with procurement, sponsored award, and safety policies. For instance, any purchase over $150k will require approval by Procurement Services to ensure the appropriate procurement process was followed and the required documentation was attached.

2. New Forms – Create new requisition form in BuySite

o   To eliminate the paper “Form 100” a Standing Order form will be available to set-up a blanket PO that multiple invoices will be paid against. For example, this new digital form is useful for weekly water delivery or a consulting agreement that has multiple milestone payments.

o   Purchase Orders should be issued prior to purchasing goods or services. However, in the rare situation where a PO needs to be issued after goods or services have already been received, users can submit a new digital After-the-Fact PO form.

All feedback and questions can be directed to the BuySite Enhancement Project Team at BuySite-Enhancements@uchicago.edu.