EWU is excited to announce a number of streamlined purchasing processes for FY25. Over the last six months, Procurement & Contracts has worked collaboratively with IT business analysts, Accounts Payable, and various campus partners to identify inefficiencies in EWU purchasing processes and to develop solutions to simplify the process for departmental users. These changes, which are outlined more in detail below, include:
(1) Replacing the requisition process in Banner with a Fresh Service ticket to eliminate duplication of effort by departments;
(2) Updating the purchasing card (p-card) process to allow users to upload receipts within the JP Morgan PaymentNet system and giving budgetary authorities the ability to see and approve p-card transactions within PaymentNet;
(3) Lifting many of the restrictions on purchasing accounts (p-card, Amazon Business, and Office Depot) to allow widespread use of the p-card for almost all types of purchases under $9,999; and,
(4) Eliminating the need for a purchase order and requisition to process employee reimbursements and limiting the processing of reimbursements to once per month.
The p-card is EWU’s preferred method for purchasing goods under $9,999, with a few exceptions as noted below. If your department does not have a p-card or needs to increase the number of p-cards issued to employees within your department, please fill out a request form here.
Please use the p-card to purchase goods under $9,999 unless:
- Use of a p-card would incur an additional fee;
- The purchase involves travel;
- The type of good you are purchasing has its own unique card (WEX or CTA for gas and travel);
- The purchase is computer hardware or software; or,
- The purchase involves some type of a written agreement such as a contract or terms and conditions of use.
P-cards should not be used for these types of transactions.
Requisitions
Banner users should no longer submit requisition requests through Banner. Instead, users should fill out a ticket entitled “Purchase Request.” This form will be routed to the appropriate budgetary authority using Fresh Service. Once the purchase request has been approved by the budgetary authority, it will be routed to Procurement & Contracts to create a purchase order. It is no longer necessary to fill out a requisition form in Banner and submit a ticket to Procurement & Contracts. These two processes have been combined into one streamlined process. It is also no longer necessary for budgetary authorities to check for requisitions to approve within Banner. Instead, budgetary authorities will receive an email alerting them to the request for purchase. This email, as well as the approval process, is very similar to other approval processes at EWU that utilize the Fresh Service system.
P-Card is Completely Digital
To promote sustainability and transparency, the p-card process is now completely digital.
P-card Users: Rather than printing off receipts and monthly transaction logs for signatures, then scanning in the records for audit and retention purposes, users will now complete all of these steps within PaymentNet. Images of receipts are to be uploaded for each individual transaction into PaymentNet at least once a month. If a p-card is used to purchase food or beverages, users also must upload a completed meals and light refreshments form into the system. Departments will not have to keep a local copy of these records as they will be maintained within PaymentNet and then kept by Procurement for auditing purposes. All users must move to the digital system as EWU will no longer accept scanned p-card transaction summaries and receipts for transactions after June 30, 2024. Several in-person and virtual trainings have been scheduled throughout the summer (see below), and there are step-by-step guides for PaymentNet posted on the p-card website. Additional resources will be uploaded to the website throughout the summer.
P-card Approvers: Budgetary authorities are responsible for reviewing and approving p-card transactions within PaymentNet. Budgetary authorities will have the ability to review purchases in real time and review digital receipts. At least once a month, budgetary authorities must log in to the system, review all of the transactions for the p-card users they supervise, and approve each individual transaction. Budgetary authorities are responsible for ensuring each transaction is for a legitimate university purchase and is documented by an attached digital receipt. Budgetary authorities must approve all transactions no later than the third business day of the month following the purchase.
All p-card users have been assigned to a budgetary authority. The default budgetary authority is the college finance officer or associate vice president above the p-card user. If you are a budgetary authority and have never accessed the JP Morgan PaymentNet system, you will be receiving an invite to set up your account via email. If you would like to delegate authority to approve p-card transactions to another individual in your unit, please email your request to purchasing@ewu.edu. Additional instructions on how to review and approve transactions within PaymentNet will be provided during one of the trainings listed below and on the p-card website.
Purchasing Cards as the Preferred Purchasing Method for Goods under $9,999
EWU’s preferred method of payment for goods under $9,999 is the p-card. EWU has implemented a number of changes to the p-card, Amazon Business accounts, and Office Depot accounts to promote more efficient purchasing methods. While the methods for purchase are changing, EWU has not made any changes to what types of purchases are allowed with EWU funds. Departments are still prohibited from making purchases that are not allowed by EWU policy or state law and budgetary authorities are still responsible for ensuring all purchases are allowable. All purchases through Amazon must be made through EWU’s Amazon Business account, not an individual employee’s account.
To promote the use of the p-card, Procurement has made the following changes:
- Meals and light refreshments from off-campus vendors may be purchased using a p-card. If a department needs to purchase these items and such a purchase meets the requirements of the meals and light refreshments policy, the department must complete the meals and light refreshments form. They may then use the p-card to make the purchase. After the purchase is made, a copy of the receipt and the completed meals and light refreshments form must be uploaded into PaymentNet .
- Computer accessories under $300 may be purchased using a p-card. EWU has lifted the restrictions on the p-card, Amazon Business account, and Office Depot account for computer accessories, such as monitors, keyboards, or web cameras. Please remember that computer hardware and software purchases must be pre-approved by IT and Procurement. For instructions on how to purchase computer hardware, visit IT’s purchasing website. If you wish to purchase software, please contact Procurement for assistance to request approval to purchase software, please contact Procurement at purchasing@ewu.edu .
- Parking costs for local travel or bridge and road fee tolls may now be paid using the p-card. Please note that this is for local travel only as all travel requests over 50 miles from one’s primary work location should go through Concur for approval and payment.
- Furniture and furnishings may now be purchased using the p-card; however, Correctional Industries still remains EWU’s preferred vendor for these items. You may purchase furniture online only if the items on the Correctional Industries website do not meet your department’s needs.
- Tissues and hand sanitizer provided for departmental use may be purchased using one of these purchasing accounts.
- To promote transparency and tracking, Office Depot (ODP Business Solutions) will now require users to provide a p-card to facilitate payment. If you have an ODP Business Solutions account and do not have a p-card, please talk to your supervisor about getting a p-card.
- Many other restrictions have also been lifted. If you continue to experience restrictions, please let Procurement know by emailing purchasing@ewu.edu.
Reimbursements
As outlined above, EWU promotes the use of the p-card as the method for making purchases of goods under $9,999. Individuals are discouraged from making purchases on their own and then submitting requests for reimbursement. Processing reimbursements is inefficient and costly for EWU. As such, Procurement will only be processing reimbursements during the first week of each month. Any reimbursement requests submitted after the first week will not be processed until the next month.
In the exceptional circumstance where an employee still needs a reimbursement, they must complete an A-19 form and have it signed by the appropriate budgetary authorities. Digital copies of the A-19 and receipts documenting the purchases should be submitted along with a “Request a Reimbursement” ticket. Users no longer have to fill out a requisition form for employee reimbursements, nor will Procurement be creating a purchase order. After reviewing the reimbursement request to ensure all necessary documentation has been provided, Procurement will forward the request on to Accounts Payable for payment. Payment will be delayed if the A-19 is not properly completed and signed by the necessary budgetary authority.
Upcoming Trainings
We encourage everyone to attend one of the following upcoming training sessions:
- Tuesday, July 16, 2-3pm (Tawanka 215)
- Wednesday, July 24, 9-10am (virtual) https://ewu.zoom.us/j/81288129507
- Thursday, August 1, 12-1pm (virtual) https://ewu.zoom.us/j/82662869413
- Monday, August 5, 1-2pm (virtual) https://ewu.zoom.us/j/87917809063
- Wednesday, August 14, 11am-12pm (Tawanka 215)
Additional Resources and FAQs
For additional information, please check out the Procurement & Contracts website at: https://inside.ewu.edu/procurement/. If you have questions, please email purchasing@ewu.edu.
