Workflow Changes in Oracle
On Monday, September 16, we simplified the workflow for expense/invoice approvals by supervisors. Now, a supervisor* will only need to approve an expense or invoice if the employee submitting it is also the Department Manager* or Designation Manager.
This represents a change from the past workflow in two ways. First, when an employee previously submitted an expense to a department other than their home department, the expense would go to their supervisor for approval as well as the Department Manager. In the new workflow, the supervisor’s approval is no longer needed. Second, when an employee previously submitted an expense or invoice and they were also the Designation Manager (i.e. the one responsible for approving the expense) the expense/invoice was routed to Finance for approval. In the new workflow, if this scenario arises, the expense/invoice is sent to the supervisor of the Designation Manager/employee.
Now, because of these changes, an invoice/expense will always go to the Department or Designation Manager for approval unless the employee submitting the expense/invoice is also the Department or Designation Manager. In that case, it will go to the supervisor for approval.
* Supervisors are also sometimes referred to as “Line Managers.” Department Managers are also sometimes referred to as “Cost Center Managers.”
Punch-Out
On Monday, September 16, we turned off “punch-out” for WB Mason and B&H to simplify the process of purchasing items from these vendors. We still recommend that you use WB Mason and B&H in the following ways to receive discounted pricing and sales tax exemption:
- For WB Mason, purchase items directly from the corporate website to receive the discount and sales tax-exemption. You will need to utilize your p-card when doing so or work with your coordinator to make the purchase if you do not have one. If you need an account, please contact our W.B. Mason account representative, Sherry White, at sherry.white@wbmason.com. Please let her know whether you work in Vermont or in California to ensure you get set up with the correct account, i.e., non-taxable (Vermont and other states) or taxable (California). You can find more information on the go.middlebury.edu/purchasing webpage.
- For B&H, you can also purchase items directly from the corporate website. Again, you will need to utilize your p-card or work with your coordinator to purchase the items. Note that for purchases over $10,000 they provide an additional 10% discount above and beyond the prices on the website. For that discount, call B&H at (800) 947-8003 extension 7741. If you don’t have a login yet, click on “Not Registered Yet” and use your @middlebury.edu email address. More instructions about B&H can be found here.
We have not yet set a date for turning off “punch-out” for Amazon but we expect that this too will be eliminated in the upcoming weeks.
Accounts Payable Trainings
We have scheduled a series of trainings in the Fall for new employees or for those that want a refresher on the new Accounts Payable processes. These trainings will provide instruction on Accounts Payable-related tasks like how to process expense reimbursements or p-card charges in Oracle, how to register suppliers, submit invoices for payment and approvals. The dates are:
Thursday, September 19 3:00-4:30 ET
Thursday, September 26 3:00-4:30 ET
Thursday, October 10 3:00-4:30 ET
Thursday, October 24 3:00-4:30 ET
Thursday, November 14 3:00-4:30 ET
Thursday, December 12 3:00-4:30 ET
To sign-up, please go to our Middlebury Project Ensemble Finance Resources page.
Oracle Drop-in Sessions
We will continue to have drop-in sessions for those that want assistance with particular issues in Oracle. These trainings will be:
Thursday, September 12 3:00-4:30 ET
Thursday, October 3 3:00-4:30 ET
Thursday, October 17 3:00-4:30 ET
Thursday, October 31 3:00-4:30 ET
Thursday, November 7 3:00-4:30 ET
Thursday, November 21 3:00-4:30 ET
Thursday, December 5 3:00-4:30 ET
Thursday, December 19 3:00-4:30 ET
You do not need to sign up for these.
Budget to Actual Reporting
On September 7, Finance rolled out budget-to-actual reporting through PBCS and Oracle. The roll-out has purposefully been staged and we will be expanding capabilities over the course of the fall and spring semesters. Currently, each department has one or two individuals who can view transaction-level details and a larger group of individuals who receive automated summary-level budget to actual reports via email for their departments. Over the course of the fall and spring semesters, we will be rolling out more reporting functionality to enable this group of individuals to see other relevant financial information.
Finance Questions
If you have questions about any of the above, please reach out to the Change Facilitators in your areas. The names of these individuals can be found in the Google Drive link here.