Unit4

Unit4 is the new system as of May 2017 for financial information and procurement

• Information about Unit 4: https://uwaterloo.ca/finance/financial-systems/unit4
• Unit 4 mapping tool is now available on Finance website (link below). This tool is to help determine Unit 4 segment numbers that correspond to any previously used segment numbers.
  • https://info.uwaterloo.ca/infopur/purchreq/unit4/

Login Screen

• https://uwaterloo.ca/finance-resources/financial-systems/unit4

Training / Documentation

• Unit4 often refers to their Sharepoint training site - here it is: https://sharepoint.uwaterloo.ca/sites/Finance/Training/SitePages/Unit4.aspx

Tips and Tricks

Over the last little while, there have been some repeated questions/issues being brought forth to the helpdesk, especially surrounding requisitioning, so here is a short list of some of the most common ones along with responses:

Account lookup

If you know an old FORE account number, you can lookup the new Unit4 number here: https://info.uwaterloo.ca/infopur/purchreq/unit4/

Information for Compliance, Procurement and Central Stores

When creating the Purchase Req there are a number of fields for information intended for different groups. They are not clearly labelled, however here is how to use them:

• For delivery information for Central Stores - add any instructions into "External Reference" Note: there is a limit of 100 characters
• For information for Procurement (URLs for ordering, what quote to use, etc), put that information in "Message"
• For compliance (Our financial admins, Office of Research) put the purpose for this item in the line-by-line Justification text as you enter each line. If the purchase is for research, include a Justification comment from the researcher. If there are many items, simply state in the first item that the justification applies to all (if it does). Otherwise, provide separate information on individual lines as needed.
  • For orders for the School, Stephanie has requested "a note that tells me in plain terms who the equipment is for (if applicable), where is to be located, and what it’s for (not technically what it’s for, but what function it serves in the School). I need the context. How does this equipment fit into supporting the School’s research and teaching?", specifically she wants to know:
    • Who - If this equipment is going to be assigned to an individual, I need to know who it is.
    • What – What is it in plain English (a laptop, a server, a cable, tv monitor, etc)?
    • Evergreen - Is it evergreened? If so, please tell me. Otherwise, I will assume it is not and it will be coded incorrectly.
    • Where – If not assigned to an individual, where is the equipment going?
    • Function – Most equipment supports our overall computing environment, but some equipment is for something specific. Examples: laptops and thin clients for grad students; undergrad teaching labs;
• RT#s - All CSCF staff created orders should include the relevant RT#. Either in the Message field or, preferably, in the Justification text (since Procurement doesn't care about the RT#)
• approval email - if a manager or researcher has provided an email with the authorization to go ahead with the purchase, it can be helpful to print that to PDF and attach to the order

Note that providing the justification while making the order will help it travel more efficiently through the system

Delivery Contact is slow

We are aware that the large list of delivery locations on campus makes this list slower to load. Some tips:

• Make sure you are not using Internet Explorer (Firefox or Chrome are faster)
• Tab through to the Delivery Contact field from the date field above, wait for the text to highlight in blue, then start to slowly type the location (building code then room number with no spaces). Excessive clicking only results in further slowness as the system attempts to perform all of your actions in sequence and increases user frustration.

We are working on removing as many unused locations as possible from the list, but it is still likely to be a lengthy list, even when it is pared down somewhat.

Supplier

• You can start typing the vendor name and if it exists it will appear in the the drop-down as you type
• If the vendor name does not appear use UNKNOWN and add a comment in the message field for the vendor name

Change/input did not save

When entering or changing information, you need to ensure that you are "tabbing out" of the field, so that the system recognizes that you are confirming your addition/change. If you do not, you will need to click the Save button twice (once for the "confirmation" and a second time for the actual Save) before the green Success popup appears. If the green Success popup doesn't appear and you navigate away from the screen, your changes will not be saved.

Messages cut off

When leaving messages for Procurement (i.e. a URL), ensure that the Message field is used as outlined in the training material. That box has a larger character limit. The External Reference field allows fewer characters and should be used for the shorter messages to Central Stores about brief delivery instructions. You may also wish to upload documents or quotes to support your requisition to assist Procurement in ordering the correct goods.

Requisition was not sent for approval

This most often occurs when the requisition is not changed to Active (in the Status field). Until the requisition is Active, it will not go into workflow. As noted above, remember to Tab out of the field before saving so that the status change is confirmed.

Requisition still charged to wrong work order even after updated

The Default GL Analysis pane is used to pre-populate the work order and activity on NEW product lines as they are added to the requisition. If a change is subsequently required to the coding for an existing product line, it must be updated at the bottom of the screen. Click on the product line to "activate" the line, and scroll to the bottom of the screen to the GL Analysis section. This is where you can split or update the coding for an existing line. Each product line will need to be updated individually. Ultimately, this is the coding that will route the requisition. The header is only used for initial defaulting.

What is this task?

• Update Delivery Address - You may receive this task if you have submitted a requisition but did not select an appropriate Delivery Contact. Open the task, select an appropriate location, and re-save the requisition.

• Financial Approval - You will receive this task if you are a "work order responsible" or a signing authority on a work order. It may relate to either a requisition, a non-PO invoice, or a PO-invoice that is greater than was approved on the requisition.

• Requisition Correction - You may receive this task if the requisition you submitted was rejected for correction at some stage of the approval workflow (product approval, research compliance approval, or financial approval). Check the Workflow Log pane after clicking on the line item(s) rejected to see the comment(s) provided by the approver.

• Perform Goods Receipt - You may receive this task if you have submitted a requisition and:
  • You ordered an intangible item (service, software, license, etc.) that would not be physically received by Central Stores, so you are being asked to confirm that you received/can access what you ordered and we are ok to pay the invoice, or
  • You ordered a tangible item and we received the invoice before Central Stores received the goods or before they got the chance to enter the receiving into the system. You are being asked to confirm that you received what you ordered and we are ok to pay the invoice. If you haven't yet received the item, you can hang on to this task for a few days to wait for the items to reach you.
  • Positive Approval - You may receive this task as a requisitioner related to a PO-related invoice >$3,000. In these cases, while we know that Central Stores has physically received the goods, you are being asked to confirm that they are all in order (i.e. after they have been unpacked) and we can pay the invoice.

Supply Invoice Coding

You may receive this task either as an "Invoice Coder" (a defined role in the system), or by having it forwarded from someone who has that role. You are being asked to either confirm or update the coding (account/work order/activity) that has been assigned to the invoice. Once you have accepted the coding, the system will automatically route the invoice to the financial approver based on the work order responsible or signing authority on the work order(s) charged. You do not need to use the forward button for this - the system will take care of sending it to the right person for approval. Where an invoice has been split, each split line will be sent simultaneously to any relevant approvers

What to do with an invoice

• You may forward the invoice noting the requisition number to apinvoices@uwaterloo.ca
• Contact person in Finance is Jessica Galway, Expense Associate, Finance – EC5, 519-888-4567 x 32134
• Also, add the invoice to the attachments in the requisition

How to display all of your orders/requistitions - workflow

• On the uppper right of UNIT4 look for the clock icon
  • Click on the clock icon and select Workflow enquiry - Requisitions
    • Click on search will display all of your orders - you can always add terms to restrict the results - default is all of your orders

How to find the reason for a rejected line item

• Click on the rejected line item
  • The screen will expand downwards - scroll down to the Workflow Log for the item - this will give the reason

Workflow enquiry - flowchart

• Menu -> Procurement -> Enquiries -> Workflow enquiry - Requisitions
• Enter Workflow status eg. Workflow in progress and Requester and search.
• Results will show current state of workflow, especially who is responsible for current step.
• Click on "workflow status" to get flowchart.