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BearBuy Updates
August 2015
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Dear BearBuy Users,
We hope everyone is enjoying their summer! We would like to inform you of a couple updates and important events coming soon.
Please review the topics below and follow the links or scroll down for more information on each topic.
This month's BearBuy News:
- Insurance and Indemnification
- Partial Sales Tax - Retroactive Refund Process Update!
- Shared Responsibility Provisions Implemented
- Prevailing Wage Change Coming Soon
- Card Program Services Joins Supply Chain Management
- Additional Electronic Payment Options for Campus Suppliers
- Transcepta Electronic Invoicing Goes Live
- Change in Browser Options for Viewing WebNow Attachments
- Bears That Buy Town Hall - Postponed
- Upcoming In Class Trainings
If you have any questions, please contact the BearBuy Help Desk at
510-664-9000 (options 1,2) or [email protected] for immediate assistance.
Thank you for your continued support,
BearBuy Team
Supply Chain Management
UC Berkeley
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1. Insurance and Indemnification
Regents' Business & Finance Bulletin BUS-63 requires that insurance and indemnification requirements be met before the commencement date of a contract, purchase order, or other agreement. Risk Services is charged with enforcing the requirement.
Because Risk Services cannot possibly review every campus contract prior to commencement, for several years now it has enforced the requirement after-the-fact.
If a department fails to properly address insurance and/or indemnification terms prior to commencement of a contract, Risk Services requires the department to write an Exceptional Payment Request / After-the-Fact Justification to its dean or vice chancellor before payment is processed.
The Exceptional Payment Request /After-the-Fact Justification includes the following:
- An explanation that the department is submitting the request because it failed to address insurance/indemnification requirements prior to the commencement date of the contract.
- An explanation of what the department is doing to make sure the mistake is not repeated.
- A line for the dean or vice chancellor's signature indicating acceptance of the explanation and granting approval of the Exceptional Payment Request.
The department does not need to obtain insurance from the vendor for any work done prior to the date of the Exceptional Payment Request / After-the-Fact Justification but insurance will may be required for work not yet completed.
2.
Partial Sales Tax - Retroactive Refund Process Update!
Our current efforts are focused on capturing the maximum available partial sales tax reductions on existing BearBuy orders. The Controller's Office will address the retroactive refund process in 2016 (statute of limitations for claiming the exemption, in general, is 3 years).
For additional retroactive refund questions, payment clarifications, etc, please contact: [email protected]
Under the new regulations, if "large" employers (as defined by the provisions) do not offer affordable health coverage that provides a minimum level of coverage to their full-time employees (and their dependents), the employer may be subject to an Employer Shared Responsibility payment if at least one of its full-time employees receives a premium tax credit for purchasing individual coverage on one of the new Affordable Insurance Exchanges.
Existing Agreements will need to be amended to include the new provision as a part of the terms and conditions. Please contact your buyer for more details.
4. Prevailing Wage Change Coming Soon
The Senate Bill 854 legal provision for prevailing wage will change how we manage maintenance and other services for UC property.
What this means for UC:
- The prevailing wage provision will need to be communicated in all RFPs, Agreements and Purchase Orders
Supply Chain Management is working with UCOP to determine how this will impact our campus. More information will be sent via the BearBuy newsletter as it becomes available.
5. Card Program Services Joins Supply Chain Management Team!
The Procurement Card (P-Card) program team in May 2015 transitioned from UCSF Controllers Office, Accounts Payable to Supply Chain Management (SCM). This program is an integral component of the supplier procurement process and being part of SCM will:
- Allow for more effective governance and alignment with procurement strategy.
- Help with supplier negotiations and risk assessment with suppliers.
- Improve and streamline processes by eliminating multiple handoffs.
- Make it easier for the campus to contact one unit for resolution of supplier issues and questions on procurement activities.
Nimfa Delos Santos, Carlos Zepeda and Jackie Galloway joined the Supply Chain Management Operations team on May 1 and report to Vanessa Wong, Director of Operations and Technology. The P-Card team's new physical address is 1855 Folsom St., Suite 304 in San Francisco.
As part of this transition, Card Program Services will continue to administer bluCard, Event Planner Card and Travel Study Card programs and staff will periodically have presence at the Campus Shared Services building on Fourth Street in Berkeley.
6. Additional Electronic Payment Option for Campus Suppliers
The Controller's Office is partnering with US Bank to provide campus suppliers with an additional electronic payment option. Payment Plus will be offered as an alternative to paper checks and may be preferred over Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) by some suppliers. Payment Plus allows for the secure delivery of automated payments to our suppliers who accept credit cards. The current BearBuy processes for purchase requisitions and invoices remain unchanged. This initiative is an important opportunity to improve efficiency and reduce costs for the campus and our suppliers. Please direct suppliers to our website for information and enrollment support http://controller.berkeley.edu/payment-plus.
Key benefits our suppliers will receive from Payment Plus:
- Payments issued within 1 business day of invoice approval
- Improved cash flow
Key benefits UC Berkeley receives from Payment Plus:
- Reduced costs from a streamlined payment process
- Enhanced controls and compliance
7. Trancepta Electronic Invoicing Goes Live
Invoices that are submitted via Transcepta will have a Voucher Source of Invoice Import as highlighted in the visual below. To view a digital image of these invoices, just click on the Invoice link also highlighted below.
If you need any other assistance, please contact the BearBuy Help Desk Mon-Fri
As of September 1, 2015, the Google Chrome browser will no longer support WebNow (also known as ImageNow), which is used by various campus applications to view "imaged" attachments such as invoices in BFS and BearBuy and supporting documentation in the Travel & Entertainment system. As a result, users will receive an error message, such as "Java (TM) needs your permission to run," or nothing will happen when they try to view WebNow attachments in Chrome.
Although you will no longer be able to view WebNow attachments in Chrome after September 1, the other major browsers will continue to support WebNow, including:
- Internet Explorer
- Firefox
- Safari for Mac
If you have any questions, please contact the BFS/BAIRS Help Desk at [email protected] or call (510) 664-9000, then press Option 1 (for IT), then Option 2 (for Business Application Support, including BFS/BAIRS).
9. Bears That Buy Town Hall - Postponed
We regret to inform you that the Bears That Buy Town Hall event, scheduled for August 21, 2015, has been postponed due to insufficient registration.
Supply Chain Management Operations will reschedule the event for sometime this fall. We will send out a newsletter announcement with additional event details.
We extend our thanks to all who have supported our Bears That Buy events and apologize for the inconvenience.
10. Upcoming In Class Trainings
Register to learn more about BearBuy with one of our upcoming in-class trainings based on BearBuy user roles. Courses are offered through the
BearBuy Voucher Approver | September 4, 2015
Course Number: BEESS968-150904
Practical classroom training for the BearBuy Voucher Approver role. Participants will be shown concepts, workflow, best practices, and test their knowledge through several exercises in BearBuy. We will also review where to find additional training materials available for the role, including Job Aids and YouTube video.
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