FSS

PCard, Web Voucher, HCOM & ESP

What are the Procurement Applications?

These applications are used to acquire goods and services to Harvard University, as well as to process payments to vendors for these good and services. Depending on the application, some or all of these systems may be in use in a given Harvard tub.

  • Electronic Shop and Pay (ESP) is a web-based tool for processing online shopping orders and payments with select strategic vendors. You can also use ESP to look up payment details and account coding of previously submitted orders.
  • Harvard's Purchasing Card (PCard) is a credit card method of payment for goods when it is not possible to create a purchase order in HCOM.
  • The Harvard Crimson Online Marketplace (HCOM) is the preferred procurement and vendor payment system that approves purchases in a more efficient workflow and provides access to selected vendor inventories.
  • Web Reimbursement is a web-based tool for processing reimbursements to employees and non-employees, direct payments to the Citibank Corporate Card on behalf of cardholders, employee travel advances, travel authorizations, honorariums to invited guests, and to replenish petty cash accounts.

Features of each Procurement application

All applications are part of the Oracle Financials e-suite of applications.

Features of ESP:

  • Leverage existing Web Voucher technology; account code validation and approval rules are honored, business rules are enforced
  • Approved orders are sent to the vendor electronically
  • Invoices are sent directly to Accounts Payable; no more settlement with PCard or Web Voucher

Features of PCard:

  • No need to use your personal funds while on University business
  • No need to wait for reimbursements
  • Allows you to items quickly when you need them
  • Reduces Accounts Payable paperwork and processing
  • Lets Harvard staff do their job more efficiently
  • Is the most cost-effective method of purchasing for the University

Features of HCOM:

  • Gets approval in advance of purchase
  • Allows you to select items from vendor websites, at preferred pricing
  • Does not require invoice input from staff--invoices are sent directly to Accounts Payable
  • Saves time in processing orders and payments for staff, vendors and the University
  • Can also be used to process payment requests when a Purchase Order mechanism is unavailable

Features of Web Reimbursement:

  • Make reimbursements to employees and non-employees
  • The Create Travel Authorization functionality allows users to create electronic purchase orders for air travel using the BCD Travel agency
  • Direct payments to Citibank Corporate Card on behalf of cardholders
  • Provide employee travel advances, honorariums to invited guests, and replenish petty cash accounts
  • Look up the payment details and account coding of previously submitted vouchers
 

User Information

How to Obtain Access to Procurement Applications

All Procurement applications use the security applied to the Oracle e-business suite.

Each Tub has a designated Authorized Requestor who is responsible for submitting requests for system access. Your manager or supervisor will help you determine the applications and the level of access that you will require for your job. Your Authorized Requestor will then submit the appropriate request(s) for access. For more information and to obtain the list of authorized requestors, see the Client Services section.

For ESP: In order to shop through ESP, you must have the ESP Shopper responsibility in Oracle, as well as Web Voucher responsibilities.

For PCard:

  • Each tub or local unit has a designated Purchasing Card Administrator who is responsible for the coordination and administration of the local Purchasing Card Program. Purchasing Card Administrators can delegate this authority to designated individuals, who will act as "reviewers" within their local unit
  • A reviewer is responsible for the coordination and administration of a designated group of Purchasing Card holders within their local unit. A reviewer must make sure that all transactions for which they are responsible are reviewed in the settlement system prior to being swept to the general ledger. Reviewers must also maintain PCard receipts for these transactions
  • The "PCard Program Administrator," a member of Procurement Management, is responsible for coordination and administration of the Harvard Purchasing Card Program

For HCOM: The system has functionality that enforces more robust controls on the amounts that the user can approve, as well as provides an approval hierarchy based on the position of the approver.

For Web Voucher: There are two roles in Web Voucher:

  • The Requestor can process requests for payments, credits, travel reimbursements, honoriariums, etc. in the Web Voucher system.
  • The Approver approves designated requests before they are submitted to Accounts Payable.

Training

PCard:

New Employees: As part of your orientation to Harvard, you will be scheduled to attend a full day of training that will familiarize you with Harvard's basic financial systems and tools, include Harvard's Purchasing Card (PCard). This training will take place during your first weeks at Harvard. Please contact your local training coordinator to confirm your attendance.

Existing Employees: If you're currently a Harvard employee, you have two options:

HCOM:The Center for Workplace Development offers training for HCOM

Web Reimbursement: The Center for Workplace Development offers training for Web Reimbursement.

Documentation

For Information about General Procurement Best Practices, visit the Procurement iSite. For documentation on the specific applications supported by FSS, see the links below.

ESP: See the ESP section of the ABLE site for documentation concerning ESP.

PCard: See the PCard iSite for more information, including the full PCard Manual.

HCOM: See the HCOM iSite and Eureka for HCOM information and documentation.

Web Reimbursement: See the Web Reimbursement section of the ABLE site for documentation. For information about Harvard's Corporate Card program, visit the Corporate Card iSite.

Support

Contact the HUIT Help Desk at 6-2001 or via for assistance with procurement applications. Your request will be managed by the appropriate member of the FSS Oracle Financial Applications team.
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