After extensive review of existing process and functionality regarding tracking payments associated with business contracts, Procurement and Payment Services (PPS) in partnership with Enterprise Business IT Solutions (eBITS) updated functionality in *DEFINE to improve contract monitoring.  Improved functionality and processes:

Establish a common practice to ensure payments under a business contract do not exceed approved dollar limits;
Provide processing offices and college, school, and units (CSUs) with a standardized process to associate payments with contracts; and
Aid CSU contract administrators in their role to ensure terms and conditions in their business contracts are met.
The contract monitoring process includes a new required document field, Contract?, on the *DEFINE VP2 and VPE documents allows document creators to indicate whether the payment voucher includes transactions related to a business contract that exists in Contracts+. The PO/CONTR# field (formerly the PO NBR field) will associate a specific contract number with the transaction. Associating payment transactions with contract numbers will enable CSUs and processing offices to use this information to create reports and reconcile contract spending more consistently and efficiently. This functionality also helps facilitate the development of future process enhancements.

Enter an answer of Y for Yes to indicate the payment includes transactions related to a business contract that exists in Contracts+. If the document creator enters a Y in the Contract ? field, they are required to enter the contract number from Contracts+ in the field labeled PO/CONTR # at the transaction level on all relevant transactions. Once you enter Y in the Contact? field, the contract number entered into the PO/CONTR # field must be in one of the following Contracts+ formats in order to avoid receiving an error:

YYYY_NNNN
YYYY-NNNNN
DMS_NNN

Enter an answer of N for No to indicate the payment does not include any transactions related to a business contract that exists in Contracts+. In this case the document creator should follow their normal processing practices and procedures. Some additional examples where N for No would be the appropriate response include business contracts with a contract ID that begins with the letters CN and research/construction contracts that are not entered into Contracts+.

Note: Contracts+ and non-Contracts+ transactions cannot be included in the same payment document. In this situation, you will need to create two separate payment documents. One document for the Contacts+ transactions and a second for the non-Contracts+ transactions.

Document creators can reference the entry Using the Contract? Field on VP2 or VPE in the askUS Knowledge Base for basic guidance on using the new field.  Extensive guidance on creating payment documents as well as this change is also available through PF6 in *DEFINE.   Field level help is available while engaged within the VP2 and VPE screen.  Any local documentation regarding VP2 and VPE creation should be updated to reflect these new fields and processes.

Depending on the purchase, items ordered on purchase orders or using a University of Texas at Austin Procurement Card (Procard) may be received at the Campus Distribution Services dock or directly at the department. The following items may not be shipped to the Campus Distribution Services dock as they do not have the equipment to store and/or deliver the items to the departments or services that are being procured:

• Repair services or maintenance
• Any equipment that requires installation and/or set up by the vendor
• Food for human consumption
• Live plants or animals
• Wet or dry ice
• Bottled gases
• Items that are very fragile and should be handled as little as possible, such as plate glass, sheet rock, or very delicate scientific equipment
• Unusually large or heavy items such as steel beams or large concrete samples
• Bulk petroleum products delivered in 55-gallon drums

Departments may want to consider shipping the following items directly to their locations to expedite receipt:

• Parts required for an urgent repair
• Any type of publication
• Items required to address an emergency

All shipments require proof of receipt; for items shipped to Campus Distribution Services, the evidence of receipt is the receiving document, or PD1, created in POINT Plus. For shipments received in the department, receipt must be evidenced by notation on the original itemized invoice of the date of receipt and the signature of the individual that received the shipment. Additional information is available at Voucher Checklist and in the Voucher Processing guide (PDF).

Any shipment that goes directly to Campus Distribution Services will be vouchered by Accounts Payable. Any shipment received directly in the department must be vouchered by the department.

Purchases made using a Procard may be shipped directly to the department. They may also be shipped to Campus Distribution Services provided that the package includes a note on the packing slip that states the purchase was made on a Procard and indicating the departmental contact. In either case, the department must note the date received and include the signature of the individual that received the shipment on the itemized receipt.