Contact us at:
fad_communications@harvard.edu
Or via the UIS Helpdesk, 6-2001

The Vendor Payment Cycle back to top

AP has received many questions about the timing of vendor payments. University policy states that corporate vendors are paid "net 30"; that is, the vendor receives full payment thirty days from the date of the invoice. It is a common misperception that this thirty-day period starts from the day the invoice is entered in AP. This is incorrect. The AP system automatically calculates the date that the check is issued based on the invoice date.

Problems can arise if there is no invoice date or if the date is unclear on the payment authorization. In such an event, the day the invoice is entered in the system by AP is used as the invoice date. Please help AP by highlighting the pre-printed invoice date or by writing an invoice date on your undated invoices. This will help us pay University vendors according to their payment terms.

Wire Transfers: Specifying the
Corresponding Bank back to top

Have you ever had to use a wire transfer to fund a Long Term Operating Advance or to pay a foreign vendor, only to find that your payment has been rejected or misdirected by the international banking system?

Here is some information about what happens when you transfer funds internationally and an easy step that will avoid many problems.

Three banks are often involved in a transfer of funds to a foreign country. Harvard uses Fleet Bank to originate wire transfers. Fleet often uses an intermediary bank to direct payments to the smaller, local bank that is the wire's final destination. This intermediary bank is known as the "corresponding bank." Unless the relationship between the corresponding bank and the local bank is very strong, payments can be rejected or misdirected.

It is important for you to specify the most appropriate corresponding bank on your wire transfer authorization form (space is provided) whenever you are sending funds outside of the United States. If you don't specify the appropriate corresponding bank, Fleet will, and their information may be incorrect or outdated.

You should obtain the name of the most appropriate corresponding bank from your foreign vendor or from the local bank when you establish the foreign bank account for your Long Term Operating Advance. It is worth the extra effort to avoid searching for misdirected funds.

Want more information on this topic? Refer to the Special Processes in Web Voucher quick reference on ABLE.

New Security Feature for
Web Voucher back to top

Separation of duties is the cornerstone of good financial control. Beginning with the FINDINI release scheduled for December 18, the Web Voucher approval process will have an additional security feature that will enforce this practice.

All web vouchers totaling $5,000 or more must be created and approved by two different people. The system will send a message asking you to "pick another approver" if you inadvertently try to approve a voucher of $5,000 or more that you created.

This feature will also be incorporated into the new WebEx system. Schools sending electronic vendor payment feeds to central systems are being asked to adopt business policies to ensure the same level of control in their own systems. Questions concerning this policy should be directed to Bill Hoyt, Director of Procurement, at 5-9153.

WebEx Implementation Timeline
Determined back to top

As discussed in our last issue, the WebEx project continues with a school-by-school cutover from the System for Travel and Reimbursement (STAR) planned for February to May 2001. Here is the rollout schedule, determined in consultation with local financial deans and directors:

In the weeks immediately prior to and after each "wave," two kinds of training will be offered to staff in affected departments:

1. A 60 - 90 minute lecture-style refresher for current Web Voucher users who will begin processing reimbursements in WebEx, as well as for STAR approvers;

2. A 2 - 3 hour, hands-on course for STAR proxies who are learning to use Web Voucher for the first time.

Both classes will address how to perform key tasks in the system, discuss the redesigned business processes, and offer a quick review of University travel and reimbursement policies. Final course descriptions and information on how to register through the network of local training liaisons and registrars will be provided in upcoming issues of the e-News.

Accounts Receivable Training
Offerings Announced (back to top)

FAD Training is offering three new training courses to support the January 2, 2001 implementation of the Oracle Accounts Receivable (AR) System. Training will run from mid-December 2000 through March 2001, with the bulk of training occurring in January and February so that users can immediately begin to work in production after returning from their class. We ask that participants meet the following prerequisites:

• basic computer and web browser navigation skills;
  
  
• a working knowledge of the 33-digit chart of accounts, with an emphasis on AR account coding. If you need a refresher or introduction, the online Chart of Accounts course is available on ABLE;
  
  
• familiarity with Oracle navigation through using General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Application Administration, Budget Tool, or HUDINI. If you don't use at least one of these systems, please ask your local training registrar for a copy of the Oracle navigation CD-ROM tutorial. If you only use Web Voucher, STAR, or PCard, it is recommended that you take the tutorial to benefit fully from the AR courses.

Here are descriptions of the three courses to be offered:

Using Oracle Accounts Receivable to Create Customer Invoices

This 4-hour, hands-on course provides an overview of the accounts receivable process, discussing how each step is accomplished. The intended audience includes staff who will manually enter invoices directly into the Oracle AR system. In particular, we will

• review the customer setup/maintenance process and the naming convention, which will help AR users during the invoice entry process;
  
  
• discuss the benefits of transaction types, and how types are created and maintained in AR;
  
  
• create invoices or credit memos and apply them to customer accounts;
  
  
• demonstrate how to include attachments with invoices, discuss when to mark an invoice complete, and explain how to modify an invoice that was previously marked complete;
  
  
• create standard memo lines using the standard naming convention to reduce data entry when generating invoices. Students will be encouraged to create "item catalogs" to further streamline the invoicing process;
  
  
• review invoice options for N/C, discounted, and split-coded items;
  
  
• provide tips and tricks to speed data entry, including the option to copy a previously created invoice;
  
  
• demonstrate how students can find previously created invoices to review or edit as required;
  
  
• review the fields on the invoice screen that will appear on the customer invoice, as well as which fields from the invoice appear on the customer's statement.

Note: Students are asked to bring to class five examples of invoices that they currently generate to bill for goods or services. Two or three of these invoices should bill the same customer (and if you frequently bill the same customer for the same items, please mark these items as candidates for an AR "item catalog"). The rest of your invoices should bill different types of customers (e.g., individuals, corporations, hospitals, or government agencies). We will use these "real life" invoices as examples for in-class exercises.

Class offerings: Three classes are scheduled before the January 2 go-live to support key users who must be ready to prepare customer invoices on day one. Registration is open for these classes, which take place on:

• December 11 (1 - 5 p.m.), 1730 Cambridge Street
• December 14 (9 a.m. - 1 p.m.), 1730 Cambridge Street
• December 19 (9 a.m. - 1 p.m.), 8 Story Street

We are scheduling four additional classes for January and February. Dates, times, and locations will be announced to local training liaisons and registrars shortly.

Using AR to Report on Receivables or Resolve Customer Inquiries

This 3-hour, hands-on course provides an overview of the AR process and discusses how each step is accomplished. The first half of the course reviews the data elements, entered either manually or via electronic feed, that are found in the inquiry screen. The second half focuses on providing customer service and answering invoice-related or other customer account questions.

The course is appropriate for staff in Harvard departments who provide AR customer service or help manage departmental accounts receivable by generating internal reports. After customer invoices are entered by one of three methods (direct entry to Oracle AR, electronic feeds, or submission of hard copy forms to Central AR), participants will use the account inquiry screens within the AR system (or HUDINI's AR view) to answer customer service questions. Specifically, we will

• review inquiry screens and the information contained therein;
  
  
• demonstrate the use of "foldering" to allow setup of custom views in the inquiry screens (foldering lets you move or hide fields);
  
  
• discuss the reports available to assist in the invoice review, account resolution, and customer service processes;
  
  
• provide an overview of the reports available, as well as samples of the output for each report;
  
  
• offer a practice session to let each student set parameters, run reports, and retrieve the information they need.

Note: Users who wish to have Central AR create their invoices (recommended if you are creating less than ten invoices per month) will be given an overview half-hour session prior to class. This overview will review the paper-based invoice entry form and the steps needed to submit requests to Central AR.

Class offerings: The pilot for this course is being scheduled for mid-January, 2001. Members of the extended AR project team (listed on page 2 of the August 12 edition of the e-News) are being asked to identify pilot participants. Tub-level financial offices may also register pilot participants by calling Judy Patterson at 5-8891.

After the pilot, three offerings of the course will take place in late January and February. Dates, times, and locations will be announced to local training liaisons and registrars shortly.

Collecting Accounts Receivable

This 3-hour, hands-on course reviews the collection process, including legal guidelines and collaborating with Central AR when collecting. It is appropriate for staff members responsible for collecting receivables at a local level to augment the services of central AR.

The course will provide detailed information on the laws that govern the frequency of collection, emphasizing the fiduciary responsibility each user has to ensure accurate reporting. The University must ensure that all collection activity adheres to the laws that govern this type of customer contact. Specifically, we will

• review the AR collection screens and show how to record collection activity results;
  
  
• provide guidelines on and demonstrate the process for reviewing any collection activity that might have been done with a shared customer by another local unit;
  
  
• review and define central AR's responsibility as it relates to collection activity;
  
  
• identify and review reports created to support collection. Each student will receive samples of the output for each of the reports available.

Class offerings: The pilot for this course is scheduled for January 25, 2001 (9 a.m. - 1 p.m., 8 Story Street). Members of the extended AR project team (listed on page 2 of the August 12 edition of the e-News) are being asked to identify pilot participants. Tub-level financial offices may also register pilot participants by calling Judy Patterson at 5-8891.

After the pilot, four additional offerings of the course will take place in late January and February. Dates, times, and locations will be announced to local training liaisons and registrars shortly.

Coming in December: an Upgrade to
J-initiator back to top

J-initiator is the software plug-in that lets Harvard's Oracle financial applications, HUDINI, HURIS, and the Budget Tool work with Netscape Navigator. Harvard currently uses version 1.1.5.21.1 of J-initiator (version 1.1.7.18 for HURIS 2.5), which was installed on the desktops of many users for the July 1999 go live, or for new users since then.

Concurrent with the release of FINDINI 2.0.1 on December 18, users of these financial systems will need to upgrade to version 1.1.7.27 of J-initiator. Local IT and desktop support organizations were informed last week and are formulating upgrade plans. Some of you may have already received communication or a visit from local desktop support.

After upgrading to the new version of J-initiator, you may experience modest improvements in system performance when using the Oracle financials.

More detailed information about the upgrade will be provided in the next edition of the FAD e-News, including instructions on how to upgrade your desktop if you do not have local support.

This Just In: A Caution Regarding
Netscape Navigator 6.0 back to top

In the last few days, the FINDINI 2.0.1. release team has discovered that the Oracle financial applications do not work in conjunction with Netscape Navigator 6.0. The Harvard team is working closely with technical staff from Oracle Corporation to determine the root cause and solution for this problem, and we will provide more information when it is known.

In the meantime, we recommend that users follow the current browser guidelines (Netscape Navigator 4.5+) and not attempt to use Netscape 6.0 in conjunction with the financial applications.

About this e-News back to top

The Financial Administration publishes this semi-monthly electronic newsletter for users of Harvard University's financial systems, policies, and procedures. Generally, the e-News is published on or around the 12th and 26th of each month.

It contains:

• updates on projects underway to build or improve University financial systems;
• information about new University financial policies, procedures, and forms;
• reminders about upcoming deadlines and cut-over dates;
• tips and tricks for working more easily or productively.

We welcome questions and suggestions for improvement from readers. If your questions are of general interest, we will answer them in future issues.

Please send comments, questions, or suggestions for improvement by email to us at: fad_communications@harvard.edu