Purchasing during cutover

Plan ahead - make April purchases now

People will not be able to record purchasing transactions in the financial system during the cutover period of The Upgrade. For the upgrade to Finance, EFS transaction processing must cease on April 8. Specific deadlines for transaction processing are here: http://controller.umn.edu/upgradecutover. 

All faculty and staff with purchasing responsibilities must work together to review their area’s business needs and calendar for the entire month of April to ensure you have ordered the any equipment, adequate supplies, and needed services ahead of time. Order before the April 8 deadline, and have enough on hand to last through April 22 to be safe (April 22 is a few days after the planned April 20 Go Live for The Upgrade).

The good news: the University's Purchasing Card (PCard) can be used to buy things during the cutover period. 

If emergency purchasing needs arise during cutover and the supplier does not accept PCards, contact Purchasing Services at 612-624-2828.

Since approvers need time to review and complete the purchase process, make your orders in advance (orders must be fully processed in EFS on April 8; your unit may have more specific directions for you so please check with your local finance staff). 

How to prepare

During cutover for The Upgrade the financial system will be unavailable for ordering. Here are questions every department should ask:

• U Market: Do we have enough office or lab supplies to last through the period? Shoppers will be able to shop within U Market during the cutover period but no carts can be pulled into EFS until after Go Live. Requisition preparers in EFS cannot pull carts into EFS until Go Live on April 20.
• Equipment: Is there a need for new equipment in April? Can we get it ordered before April 9 or can it wait until after April 20?
• Professional Services: Will all approvals be obtained before the contract’s start date, if it falls between April 9 and 20?
• POs: Should a PO or blanket order be created for suppliers that will not accept a PCard OR for purchases that do not comply with the PCard policy? 
• Purchases $50,000+: Has Purchasing Services been contacted for orders requiring a bid? Do any existing POs that total $50,000 or greater need additional dollars added to them?
• PCard: Does someone in the department have an active PCard to use in case of an emergency?
• Payments: Does the department need to pay any PO suppliers during the cutover period? (In which case, get payment transactions entered into EFS by the deadline. The University will ensure all scheduled payments that have been fully processed in EFS are made to vendors in a timely manner.)
• Speakers and entertainers: If you have a speaker or entertainer scheduled to appear between April 9 and April 20, work with your unit finance staff to ensure payment terms are known and payment transactions entered into the system by the deadline. If the speaker or performer agreement states that the University must provide payment on the date of the appearance, you will need to take steps to produce the check prior to any payment processing deadline.
• Patients, research, or lab animals: Take action to ensure critical supplies like patient care items, oxygen, dry ice, or food and bedding for lab animals are on hand.