News and Updates

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P-Card Services: University Club Dues

UA departments who join the University Club may use the P-Card as a form of payment for the membership fee, but must allocate the expense to a foundation account.  Departments can use state funds to pay for food and/or non-alcoholic beverages if it occurs as part of a University business related meal and follows the University’s Spending and Travel Policy.

Upcoming Due Dates – All transactions with a fiscal year 2024 purchase/transaction date are due by 5:00 pm on Friday, October 4.  Cards with outstanding transactions will be suspended on Tuesday morning, October 8.

Vendor Verification: PaymentWorks Vendor Verification

If a direct deposit payment is rejected, a member of the PaymentWorks fraud operations team will reach out to the vendor on behalf of The University of Alabama to validate the banking information that was provided at the time of registration. PaymentWorks will contact the vendor via email and/or telephone to verbally validate this information. This will help ensure that future payments will be approved and processed promptly.  If a vendor reaches out to your department, please let them know this is a legitimate call/email.

Travel & Invoice: Travel Expense Reports – Pre-Trip and Post-Trip

When traveling on UA business, travelers often incur several expenses prior to the trip such as airfare reservations, conference registration, and hotel deposits.  These expenses should be reconciled and submitted according to the P-Card deadlines even if this occurs prior to the trip.  When doing so, the traveler should use either the transaction date or the date that they are submitting the report as the Report/Trip Start Date and Report/Trip End Date in the report header.  When the traveler returns from the trip, they should then use the actual travel dates as the Report/Trip Start Date and Report/Trip End Date in the report header.  This will allow the traveler to correctly add the GSA per diems to the report using the correct dates of travel.

From Financial Accounting: Capitalization of Moveable Equipment

Effective October 1, 2024, and in accordance with federal regulations, the threshold for capitalization of moveable equipment will increase from an acquisition value of $5,000 to an acquisition value of $10,000.  In Banner and Concur,  account names will change to reflect the increased threshold.  Please be aware of this change and use the correct account codes in Concur or when processing a journal entry.   For example, if previously your department purchased a piece of furniture for $7,500, you would have coded it to 791205 Furniture over $5,000; now, this purchase will be coded to 71230 Furniture under $10,000.

Concur Homepage

The Concur homepage is getting an enhancement in mid-to-late October.  This update will not affect any features or functionality – it will only change the look and feel of the home page with the addition of a menu bar and a tile format.  All screenshots included in the Concur training courses and reference materials on the Concur website will be updated to reflect this change.

Planning your Purchases for Fiscal Year 2025: A Strategic Approach

Fiscal Year 2025 is here! We can’t wait to help with your procurement plan to meet your needs, reach your goals, and help ensure smooth operations and cost savings. Purchasing wants to hear what you have planned for 2025 and help guide departments when you are mapping out timelines and procurements for the upcoming year. Purchasing is happy to review departmental spending and past supplier performance, account for forecasted changes, and help your department make informed purchasing decisions. Planning for fiscal year 2025 will help your department focus on data-driven decisions and strong supplier partnerships and help us prepare to save you time and resources. Purchasing looks forward to meeting with departments in the new year to help plan and organize your purchasing needs. Please reach out if your department would like to schedule a review and planning session for this fiscal year. You can contact Purchasing at 348-5230 or uapurchasing@ua.edu with any questions.

Campus Reminders:

All Dell purchases need to be made through the buyBAMA catalogue with your P-Card, any quotes received from Dell reps can also be completed through the Dell selection on buyBAMA by searching for your quote number and then completing checkout.

Vendor Verification: Concur Invoice Reminders

When submitting invoices for payment through the Concur Invoice module, please make sure to select the vendor that matches the vendor name and address listed on the invoice documentation.  This can be done by comparing the Vendor Information displayed in Concur to the information on the Invoice documentation (Vendor Invoice, Vendor Disclosure Statements, Independent Contract Forms, etc.).  Additional information on submitting invoices can be found in the Concur Invoice User Guide.  If you need any assistance in the vendor selection process, please email the Concur Help Desk at concur@ua.edu.

Travel & Invoice: Flight Comparisons

When reviewing flights on both Concur and external booking sites, some travelers contact us, stating that cheaper flights can be found outside of the system.  When researching these instances, we typically determine that the traveler is not comparing the same fare/class of ticket.  Concur does not automatically display the lowest basic fares, as these are not “Best Practice” fares for business travel.  They often come with few benefits and many restrictions. When we review “apples to apples” fares between Concur and the external booking sites, the Concur rate is typically the same or cheaper than the external site.  Accounts Payable is happy to review any variances you see between Concur and external sites.

Fiscal Year-End 2024 Reminder

With FY2024 ending in a few short weeks, it is important to note the below dates to ensure that Procurement Services can process all orders and post all transactions to Banner within the Financial Accounting deadlines:

  • New bids should have been requested by Tuesday, September 3, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.
  • buyBama Purchase Orders must be created and approved by Friday, September 20, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.
  • Concur PO Invoices that have been assigned to users need to be submitted and approved as soon as possible for purchase orders where the product has been delivered.  For questions regarding Concur PO Invoices, contact Accounts Payable.
  • Concur Invoices must be submitted, approved by all approvers, and to Accounts Payable for processing by Friday, October 4, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.
  • Concur Expense Reports must be submitted, approved by all approvers, and to Accounts Payable and P-Card for processing by Friday, October 4, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.

Banner Encumbrances will roll forward on Wednesday, October 16, 2024.