WE WILL BE MAKING SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE HANDLING OF A/P INVOICES, PURCHASING CARDS, AND CONCUR FOR FISCAL YEAR END IN FY18.

All the detailed information you need is in the attached memo.  The A/P changes are also discussed in this email.  If you prefer an in-person class, we will hold classes in May (and a recorded session on YouTube.)  We welcome your calls and emails: x6700 or payment@rice.edu / x2478 or crystald@rice.edu .  The information conveyed through each method is the same.

Here’s the short version:

• All A/P cutoff dates are now consistently the end of calendar June.
• A/P invoice and check request cutoff is now June 29, with accrual for direct-paid invoices through July 17.  Due to the accrual, this change will affect you only for check requests.
• Purchasing card cutoff for FY18 will be June 29.  The charges sent by the bank on the morning of July 2 will post in June and the charges sent July 3 and later will post in July.  This is three days earlier than prior years.
• Concur cutoff for FY18 will be June 30.  All reports entered and approved by June 30 will post in June and all reports entered or approved July 1 and later will post in July.  This is about five days earlier than in prior years.

Here’s the long version:

In the past, you had a period of time in July to turn in AP invoices for payment – typically around 15 days.  Invoices were reviewed on paper, one by one, for posting to the correct fiscal year.  Purchase orders were brought forward from one fiscal year to the next in late July; invoices for the new fiscal year on old purchase orders could not be paid until the purchase orders were brought forward.  This approach handled large items well, but was inconsistent on smaller invoices, and delayed July payments to vendors on open purchase orders.

This year AP will close with calendar June.  Invoices will post in the old year through June 30 and will post in the new year starting July 1.  If you place an order through Marketplace by June 30, the encumbrance will reduce your FY 2018 budget regardless of when the invoice is paid.  We will accrue direct-paid (no encumbrance) invoices to your fund-org for invoices paid in July with June invoice dates through a similar cut-off date in mid-July.  All invoices will be accrued based solely on invoice date without individual review on paper.  Invoices for the new fiscal year can be paid immediately, starting July 1. This approach will handle all invoices in a consistent manner, require less labor, and speed up vendor payments.

The purchasing card and Concur cutoff dates for FY18 will be consistent with the A/P invoice and check request cutoff, and that means the end of calendar June.  This will eliminate confusion over early July purchasing card transactions and expense reports, along with the persistent problems with deposits related to expense reports.  (The cash cutoff is the end of the calendar month, as our auditors require, and having the deposit in one year and the expense report in the other creates a world of accounting headaches.)  Since purchasing card transactions and expense reports do not have invoice dates as such, we will not be making an accrual entry for these transactions.

If you have concerns about invoices dated in June for goods or services received in July, please bring those items to the attention of Crystal Davis at crystald@rice.edu.

In-person class schedule:

Tuesday, May 22              10 a.m.                Cambridge Office Building, room 112

Thursday, May 24            2 p.m.                  Cambridge Office Building, room 112

The April 20 class was recorded and is available on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/hg2v-33rov4

Here’s a copy of the FY18 year-end memo, with all dates and deadlines:

FY18 ALLDEPTS-1l11xi5