Table of Contents
- Grants and Contracts Accounting
- Team Updates
- 90-Day Notice Process for Expiring Funds Paused
- Procurement Services
- Team Updates
- Winter Close Schedule
- Easier Requisitioning in RealSource Starts November 9, 2021
- RealSource/JAGGAER Software Release (21.3)
- Simplified Method to Pay Independent Contractors
Grants and Contracts Accounting
Team Updates
G&C is thrilled to announce the addition of two new staff members:
- Joseph "JoJo" Patterson joined Team Delta on September 30th as a Senior Accountant. JoJo returns to VCU and joins G&C after holding a position at the University of Virginia in their Office of Sponsored Programs. In his free time, he enjoys walks with his dog, traveling and trying out new restaurants around town.
- Heather Martin joined Team Beta on October 11th as a Senior Accountant. Heather has worked at VCU since 2010 at the Massey Cancer Center and School of Education in various capacities in resource management, accounting and research administration. She also holds a bachelor's and master's from VCU. Heather is a confessed foodie who loves exploring new restaurants and traveling home to New England.
90-Day Notice Process for Expiring Funds Paused
The 90-day notice process for expiring funds that transitioned to DocuSign has been paused. The 90-day notice process is undergoing streamlining to make it more user friendly. Additional information will be forthcoming as we continue to develop improvements and test the new process. You will not receive any further notifications through DocuSign at this time. Thank you to everyone for your assistance, feedback and patience. If you require assistance, please contact Priscilla Clayborne pbclayborne@vcu.edu.
Procurement Services
Team Updates
Procurement Services is thrilled to announce the appointment of several colleagues to new positions, as well as the addition of a new staff member:
- Chris Messenger, who formerly worked as a member of the Travel Team, has accepted a new role as the P-Card Administrator. Chris joins Molly Gross and will help manage the university’s purchase card program, through which about $20 Million are spent each year.
- Peggy Branch, who previously supported the Accounts Payable team, has accepted a new role on the Travel Team as a Travel Analyst. She joins Sabrina Gonzales to manage the university’s travel program, which processes about $15 Million in travel related expenses each year.
- Brian Schuler, who previously served as Procurement Technician for the VCU Supply Center, recently joined the Procurement Services team as a Senior Buyer for Research and Athletics. Brian's wealth of experience and relationships with critical university partners and stakeholders makes him a valued addition to the office, and we are thrilled to have him as a colleague.
Please join us in welcoming new staff and celebrating the accomplishments of our colleagues. We look forward to their continued success!
Winter Close Schedule
As 2021 comes to a close, please be aware of the Procurement Services Winter Closing schedule, which is available on Procurement Services website within the Document Library.
The schedule includes deadlines by transaction type for processing in 2021 as well as other useful information as you plan your financial priorities.
Easier Requisitioning in RealSource Starts November 9, 2021
RealSource is streamlining and simplifying the requisitioning process by eliminating the:
- After-The-Fact requisition form,
- Independent Contractor requisition form, and
- Emergency Purchase request form.
Users can instead create these requisitions using the standard non-catalog requisition form, which is available in the Quick Links section of the RealSource home page. Two new fields will appear in the standard non-catalog form which will prompt users to identify the requisition type and offer reminder to attach required documentation
The forms listed above will be retired and removed from the Purchasing Showcase and the RealSource homepage on November 8, 2021. The Declining Balance PO form will remain available for use. If you have any questions please reach out to the VCU Procurement Team at 804-828-1077 or Procurement_Services@vcu.edu.
RealSource/JAGGAER Software Release (21.3)
RealSource will be down on Friday, November 12th at 9pm through Sunday, November 14th around 12pm to deploy a JAGGAER Software Release (21.3). This is not a major release; no Info-Sessions are planned. Enhancements include:
- Change Requests. Changes to the unit price and quantity will be shown in in color. The “Reason” for the Change request will display in the Summary section of the Change Request vs. hidden under Comments. Both of these enhancements will provide greater visibility about the purposes of the change.
- New Discussion Threads for Forms. Discussion threads are “comments” shared within RealSource between users, primarily for financial transactions. This functionality will be expanded to include Discussion Threads for RealSource request forms.
- Approvals Search. Users can easily access “all” pending approvals for Purchase Orders, Change Request, Invoices, Contracts, etc., when searching for items that require their approval.
Click here to view screen shots of the above changes.
Simplified Method to Pay Independent Contractors
Procurement Services has simplified the method used by Departments to pay Independent Contractors. Currently, departments email a mark-up of the Independent Contractor Agreement (ICA) to A/P via DeptInvoices@vcu.edu which serves as an internal invoice. Starting November 9th, requests can be sent directly through RealSource instead.
A new request form, called “ICA Payment Request,” is now available in the RealSource Accounts Payable accordion. It prompts users for all of the data needed to pay an IC, sends confirmations to users when the form is accepted, and is fully visible/auditable within RealSource. Users may continue to send IC payment requests through either method through November 19th, however, Independent Contractor payment requests sent to DeptInvoices@vcu.edu after this cutoff will be returned for resubmission through RealSource. If you have any questions please reach out to the VCU Procurement Team at 804-828-1077 or Procurement_Services@vcu.edu.