Information
Technology
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Q: Do I have to buy from CCIT Computer Connection or
State contracts?
A: If a state contract exists for certain items or services, an obligation exists to use
those contracts. Information technology (IT) items i.e., personal computers, peripherals,
software, etc. exist on state contracts and those contracts must be used if the items to
be ordered indeed are on a state contract. If the IT item needed does not exist on a state
contract, you can then go to outside sources and get quotes. However, you do have to
consider the support services MUSC uses for purchased IT equipment which is CCIT. Computer
Connection, a part of CCIT, provides buying support for state contract IT purchases.
Computer Connection purchases are made in volume to maximize cost savings. Contact the
State procurement guide for a list of vendors under General services.
Q: Who is on State contract for printer, computers,
and faxes?
A: State term contracts can be accessed through the Internet under
http://www.state.sc.us/mmo/mmo. You can link to this address from the MUSC site. From the
home page click on "Administration," then "Finance and
Administration," then "Procurement."
Q: What is ‘IT’ Planning approval?
A: IT planning approval is a regulation for a state agency established by the South
Carolina Code of Laws to ensure compliance of state standards for all IT purchases.
Contact the IT area of Procurement for instructions.
Q: Can I buy software using direct vouchers (D.V.'s)
and Purchasing cards?
A: These procedures are on the Department of Procurement's Web page. Go to the MUSC Web
page, click on "Administration" and then "Procurement."
Q: How can I purchase a cellular phone?
A: Contact University Communications at 792-9980 for any type of telecommunications
equipment or service.
Q: What is a ‘Drug Free Workplace Act’ form
and why is it necessary?
A: It is mandated by law that any purchase over $50,000 have this form completed to insure
the company with which we are doing business is in compliance with the ‘Drug Free
Workplace Act.’ Without this form for purchases over $50,000, MUSC will not be
authorized by law to transact business until the company is in compliance with the request
to provide this form.
Purchasing Card
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Q: What is the MUSC Purchasing Card Program?
A: A purchasing program designed to help user departments manage low dollar supply
repetitive purchases through the use of a purchasing card.
Q: What is the purchasing card?
A: The purchasing card is a VISA credit card issued by Nations Bank for purchasing and
paying for supplies with a total value of $1,500 or less. The card is a fast, flexible new
purchasing tool that offers an alternative to the existing University purchasing process
and provides an extremely efficient and effective method for purchasing small repetitive
orders. The Visa purchasing card will be issued in the employee’s name with the State
of South Carolina emblem under Medical University of South Carolina and marked "FOR
OFFICIAL USE ONLY." The State of South Carolina has restricted the purchasing card
for use with only certain vendors. Those transactions will be blocked at the point-of-sale
level.
Q. What is the length of time
required for retaining Purchasing Card documents for purchases made?
A. You MUST retain ALL receipts and vouchers for
audits performed by both, internal and external auditors as follows: (1)
Purchases made from Federal funds are to be maintained for 7 years. (2)
Purchases made from all other funds excluding Federal are to be
maintained for 3 years.
Corporate Express - Office Supply Contract
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Q. Can we use DV*s when ordering from Corporate
Express?
A. No. Initially during the training I informed all participants that Departmental
Vouchers would need to be used Since all orders would be deducted from account 50304. We
have since added the twenty-third digit to the UDAK so that account numbers could be
varied when ordering different items of need. This has enabled us to stop the use of DV*s
for any purchases from Corporate Express.
Q. What are the items not offered on this contract?
A. Information Technology Products
Some examples include, but are not limited to the following: Copiers and copier supplies,
including paper, New and refurbished laser toner cartridges, Transcription and dictation
equipment, Laser Printers, Computers (including laptops), monitors, Keyboards and
terminals, Microfilm and microfiche machines, Facsimile equipment, Television equipment,
and Video cassette recorders. FURNITURE is also not offered from this contract.
Q. How are departments charged back for purchases?
A. When ordering using a Corporate Express order form if the departments will write their
UDAK number on the first description line in the following format they will be able to
reconcile their accounts: 4 digit entity number, 7 digit unit number, 5 digit project
number, 4 digit reporting number, 2 digit year number, and 1 digit account reference
number. In all cases were a grant is involved the year of the grant will be used in the
"2 digit year number" spaces. In all other cases the departments must use two
zeros to fill in those spaces.
(Example is as follows:)
MUCU(Entity)1032001(Unit)10323(Project)9361(Reporting)00(Year)0(Account Number Indicator).
(The final character to be used after the 22 character sequence represents the appropriate
503xx account number (PLEASE NOTE: THESE HAVE BEEN EXPANDED, FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE)
[0=50304 "office supplies",1=50306 "laboratory supplies",2=50354
"Ancillary Parts",3=50395 *Minor Equipment*, 4=50320 *Supplies*] This reference
number for the account that the department wishes to use for all items on this form must
be placed in the last character of the UDAK.
Q. Can affiliated agencies use this contract?
A. MUSC and all affiliated agencies are capable of using this contract. If MUSC Funds are
being used, then it is mandatory that this contract be used when any item covered under
this contract is being purchased by MUSC or any affiliated agency.
Q. Will CMS requisitions be able to be used with this
contract?
A. CMS requisitions are able to be used and the requisition number must be established
using the following format: The requisition will begin with the letters "CE" in
all cases, the first digit after the letters will be the year designator for the calendar
year such as "9" for the year 199"9", the next three digits will
represent the Julian date for the date ordering such as "033" for February 2nd,
and the last two digits will represent your control number which will start with
"01" and will go up to "99". The control number will give each
department the capability to order ninety-nine different orders in a single day if needed.
Due to communication prior to printing, the preprinted requisition numbers that are on the
Corporate Express forms do not follow this format and should be changed prior to ordering.
Q. Can items not on this contract be purchased from
Corporate Express, and with what purchasing document?
A. Yes. Items not on this contract that are not on any other State Contract can be
purchased from C/E as long as the items are under $1500.00 including tax. If the item is
over $471.00 and must be tagged by Fixed Assets, then a Purchasing Requisition must be
used and forwarded to MUSC Procurement. In all other cases the Corporate Express form may
be utilized.
Q. Can office supplies be purchased from other
vendors?
A. Yes, as long as they are not on this contract. We have found that if Corporate Express
is contacted and provided with the item number, they have been able to obtain any item
that another office supply vendor can obtain. The price in most instances has been found
to be less expensive from C/E.
Q. Who is the Corporate Express representative and
what is his phone number?
A. The individuals name is Doug Warner and his phone number is 744-0999.
Receivers /
Requisitions/ Purchase Orders
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Q: What is a receiver?
A: A receiver is a document that indicates if the item or items have been received.
Receivers are for partial or complete orders and should be forwarded to Systems Accounting
immediately after the merchandise has been received to ensure that inventory records are
accurate.
Q: Has my receiver been entered? To whom do I send my
receiver?
A: This information can be obtained from SmartStream under the requisition inquiry screen,
purchase order screen, or on your department's purchase order. Currently Systems
Accounting is entering receivers; therefore, if it is not appearing in the system, call
Systems Accounting at 792-0237. If this information has not been entered into SmartStream,
fax or send hard copy to Systems Accounting for entry.
Q: How do I know who has my requisition?
A: This information can be tracked through SmartStream. First, check the requisition field
in SmartStream to see if the requisition has been entered. If it has been entered, go to
the requisition approval status window in SmartStream. If it has been approved, the
buyer's name will appear. If the requisition has been entered but not approved, the
workgroup will appear. If the workgroup appears, then call Quality Assurance at 792-4521
for assistance.
Q: Why has my requisition been "canceled"?
A: The requisition comments will identify the nature of the cancellation. You may click on
the comments box for further details.
Q: What do I need to do to resolve my
"outstanding" requisition Report?
A: If you are a SmartStream user, you can check the status of the requisitions on the
system. If checking the status on SmartStream does not answer your question, procurement
has a listing of buyer codes. If you have a P.O. number, call Procurement at 792-4521 and
ask for the appropriate buyer.
Q: What is the status of a purchase requisition? Has
a purchase order been issued yet? Why has not’t a purchase order been issued yet?
A: If you are a SmartStream user, the system can be used to retrieve this information. If
not, call the Quality Assurance area of Procurement at 792-4521 to identify the
appropriate buyer with whom to speak. The buyer assigned to the purchase requisition can
provide answers to questions concerning the requisition.
Q: A requisition was walked over to Procurement as an
emergency order, but I have not yet received the P.O. number. Can you tell me the status?
A: This information can be obtained from SmartStream or by contacting Quality Assurance at
792-4521 to identify the appropriate workgroup and/or buyer assigned to the requisition.
Q: What do I need to do to resolve my outstanding
requisition report?
A: This report identifies a buyer for each requisition listed. Contact each
the appropriate buyer for information for the requisition(s) in question.
Q: What is the status of payment on the following
invoices?
A: If you have either a P.O. number or invoice number, you can access payment status in
SmartStream. You may also contact the buyer who issued the P.O. or administrative staff of
that workgroup. The buyer can also provide information on how to extract this information
from SmartStream.
Q: How do I find out who was the buyer for P.O. #
XX-XXXXXX?
A: If you have either a P.O. number or Invoice number, you can access payment status in
SmartStream. You may also contact Procurement for assistance. Once the buyer is
determined, the buyer can also provide information on how to extract this information from
SmartStream.
Q: I have sent my receivers to Systems Accounting,
but the vendor has not been paid. Can you tell me why it they has not
been paid?
A: Usually it means there is some discrepancy between an invoice and what has been
received. It may also mean the invoice has not been received by Accounts Payable. The
receivers may not be entered in the system or they could be entered incorrectly. This
information can be obtained from SmartStream or by contacting the buyer who issued the
P.O.
Shipping,
Receiving, and Locating packages
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Q: How do I ship a package?
A: Prepaid shipments must be made according to procedures for the contract carriers
in place for MUSC. Procedures can be found on the Forms, Procedures and Manuals page
on this website.
SmartStream
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Q: Is SmartStream running or has the system been
temporarily frozen for maintenance?
A: If SmartStream is down for any reason, notification should be provided. If you
are encountering a system problem, please call the CCIT help desk at 792-9700.
Q: Has my release been entered on SmartStream?
A: This information can be obtained by checking under the purchase order inquiry screen or
you may Procurement at 792-4521.
Q: What is a UDAK?
A: The term UDAK is an acronym which represents the concept, "User Defined Accounting
Key." It is one of the first decisions that must be made when the SmartStream
Financial applications are being implemented. The UDAK has the following characteristics:
1. It determines how your ledger balances are
organized and stored;
2. It is the lowest level of detail needed to retrieve balances;
3. It is a system-wide decision shared by all SmartStream series products;
4. It cannot be changed unless you re-install and convert data;
5. It must be set up before any SmartStream series products may be used;
6. It must be flexible to allow changing needs within your enterprise and allow for future
growth.
Q: What is a SmartStream Account Not Valid (ANV)?
A: The account identifies the balance sheet account, source of revenues, or
object of expenditures. It is always a required part of the accounting distribution that
will be entered on requisitions, purchase orders and invoices. An account number must exist on the UDAK before a document can be entered into SmartStream.
The account number must be set up for the UDAK. The document is suspended on a status of
ANV until the account number can be established. When the account number has been added to
the UDAK, the document can be approved for processing.
Vendor
Related
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Q: Why has not’t Accounts Payable paid the
vendor’s invoice?
A: Finance may not have received a receiver, an invoice, or release. In addition, the
30-working day time limit to pay the invoice may not have been reached. Contact your buyer
for assistance with invoice questions or problems.
Q: How does a vendor get on the vendor list?
A: Contact the Administrative Support Services area of Procurement at 792-4521. This area
will provide a Vendor Application to the requester to be filled out and returned for
inclusion to the list of vendors for reference purposes. The requesting vendor must
complete a vendor application and return it to the address listed on the sheet. The form
requires a signature, therefore it must be printed and a hard copy sent back to
Procurement. This is not a bid list, but only an application to be incorporated into our
vendor data base.
Who's Who?
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Q: Who is the buyer for my department?
A: Buyers are not assigned to departments. Procurement has workgroups comprised of buyers
according to dollar amounts and commodities. The workgroups are organized as follows:
- small purchases/blanket orders--purchases under
$25,000 and all Blanket orders regardless of amount (excluding IT);
- major purchases--purchases exceeding $25,000;
- information technology -- all IT-related purchases
regardless of dollar amount.
Each area can be contacted for further information
based on the type of purchase and dollar amount. Staff names, telephone numbers and e-mail
addresses can be accessed from the MUSC home page by clicking on
"Administration," then "Finance and Administration," then
"Procurement," and finally "Staff directory."
Q: Who is the buyer on my purchase order or blanket
order?
A: This information can be obtained from SmartStream under the purchase order screen.
Q: If a requisition has been sent to Procurement and
it is not in SmartStream, whom do I call to find out about it?
A: You should call the Quality Assurance area of Procurement at 792-4521.
Q: What is Accounts Payable extension number?
A: Accounts Payable telephone number is 792-4343.
This page was last edited on
01/27/2005
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