1 July 2015

ALIEF ISD

PURCHASING

USER GUIDE

BusinessPLUS

2 July 2015

Navigation Tips

Navigation Bar Icons

Previous Next Add Search Options

Keyboard Commands

CTRL + A Add a record.

CTRL + D Delete a record.

CTRL + F Find/ Search and then Apply Search.

CTRL + G Toggle to and from the grid view and single record view.

CTRL + N Move to the next record.

CTRL + P Move to the previous record.

CTRL + 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. Move to another tabbed page on a screen. For example, if there are four tabbed pages, press CTRL +3 to move to the third page from the left.

F1 Press F1 to display the help file associated with the screen you are viewing.

F5 Refreshes the screen.

ESC Cancel all changes to the record you are working on (since last “ENTER”)

TAB Press the Tab key to move through the fields on a screen.

Shift + TAB Holding the shift key when pressing Tab will move backwards through the fields on the screen.

Selection Criteria Some filters are case sensitive. It is recommended using all upper case when entering

alphabetic information Use ‘:’ to specify a range Both the ‘%’ and the ‘*’ can be used as wildcards (use when you don’t know…) Use ‘>’ for greater than Use ‘<’ for less than Use ‘>=’ for greater than or equal to Use ‘<=’ for less than or equal to Use ‘<>’ for not equal to

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ENTERING THE SYSTEM

Go to internet explorer at an Alief ISD computer. Type in the address field: http://bplus

The following screen will open. Type in the same login and password that you use to open your computer each day.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When entering requests for the NEXT fiscal year, you MUST change the input date for September 1, next year. (In August 2015, all requests entered MUST have 9/1/15 as the input date)

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Setting Up Your Home Page

Click on the Settings button and then the Preference button:

The following screen appears:

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Click on Change Content.

Click Purchasing and Stores Inventory. Then be sure to click Save.

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Then back to your home screen. It should look similar to this.

Creating a Purchase Request

Click on the “Enter Purchase Requests/Check Requests” Link from your dashboard. The following screen appears.

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It may open without the list on the left. If you want it extended, just click on the arrow.

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The above screen is in “Add Mode”. If your screen is in “Find Mode” hit the “Escape Key” and

then click on the green + sign to add a request. “PARENT PORTION” OR “HEADER” 1. PR number – The system will assign the next available number. Click on the ellipse

button to view a list of options. You have 4 choices (please DO NOT USE PR.SEED!): A. PR.STRD: Select this if you know exactly what you are buying and items can be

received by line. B. PR.CHCK: Select this if you are doing a check request.

a. Membership Dues b. Registrations c. Competition Fees

Ellipse button

Add Mode

Parent Portion or

Child Portion or Item Information

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d. Video Conferences for students e. Reimbursements f. Anything needing a short leave form

C. PR.BLNK: Select this if you are doing a purchase request “Not to exceed”, or a blanket

PO. If you cannot receive the items as units, it is now a Blanket PO! (for example: a list of books, a Walmart PO, etc. is now a blanket). Contracts MUST also be a blanket.

**Note the number assigned for easy future reference. 2. Status- The system will assign the PR (purchase requisition), BR (blanket requisition), or

CR (check requisition) automatically. Once the requisition has been processed, approved and printed it will be assigned a “P” (purchase order), “B” (blanket purchase order), or “C” (check requisition).

3. Vendor - on the vendor tab enter the vendor ID number to which the PO is to be sent. To

initiate a vendor lookup there are two methods. The first method involves clicking on the ellipse button. A drop-down menu will appear.

The user would select the Lookup option from the drop-down menu. The second option would be to click inside the Vendor field and use the key combination of Ctrl+L. With either method, a vendor Data Lookup window will appear and allow the user to select a vendor

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and address. The user can employ various filters and selection criteria including wildcards to aid in the selection process.

On the data look-up window, a filter may be applied which will limit the vendor records that appear in the window. By clicking on the drop-down arrow in the first field next to the “Filter” label a menu will appear showing the available fields that may be searched as shown in the image below.

A second piece of the filter may also be applied which determines how the match will be made. To select the match criteria the user will select the appropriate selection criteria from the drop down list for the middle box as shown in the image below.

The third box in the filter is used to supply additional information that is used in conjunction with the first two fields to narrow down the search results.

Please contact Purchasing if you find numerous vendor numbers or need a new vendor created.

To Search For A Vendor By Name

The most efficient method of searching for a vendor record is to search by name. The user would select the “Name” option from the first filter field.

If the exact name of the vendor is known the user can select the “equal to” option from the drop-down list in the second filter field and the vendor name entered into the third filter field.

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Please contact Purchasing if you find numerous vendor numbers or need a new vendor created.

4. Ship To - Click on the tab that says “Ship to”. The default address is the warehouse. Please do not change this address unless you have hazardous materials, live/dead animals or plants, lumber, furniture, items weighing more than 50lbs, subscription & periodicals, chemicals/hazardous materials, musical instruments, items with installation fees, or fragile items. Please feel free to call the purchasing department if you have questions. If you change the ship to field, you are responsible for naming a Receiving Person.

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5. If this is a Blanket PO you must click on the “Blanket Tab” and enter the total amount of the PO.

6. Req Codes: These codes are to be used for an assortment of reasons:

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Req. Codes control how requests are routed and approved by the BusinessPlus computer system. Req. Codes also control automatic faxing functions, and are used to describe delivery, pricing and bid information. Each request is unique. Some requests may not require the use of any Req. Codes, while others may have multiple Req. Codes. You may use up to 8 Req. Codes on each Purchase Request. The term “DNF” (Do Not Fax) means that the computer system will not “automatically” fax the purchase order (PO) to the number shown for that vendor. In some instances (see below) the PO will not be faxed at all, in other instances the Purchasing Department will fax the PO manually.

AP: Accounting Purposes (DNF) – Use this code if you simply need to pay an invoice. Examples would be renewals of annual subscriptions or contracts. This can also be used if you have tried a product on a sample basis and decide to keep it. This would prevent a duplicate shipment. The PO will not be mailed or faxed to the vendor.

AT: Attachments included (DNF) - Use this code when you want your attachment sent to the vendor. This code can be a little confusing. The system will not automatically fax attachments – hence the DNF code. Purchasing uses the DNF code to stop the PO from automatically faxing so they may print the attachment and fax the PO and attachment(s) together (manually). If you do not want the attachment sent with the PO, please do not use the AT code. * You may attach the documents or other attachments to a request as a part of the

permanent PO record without having them sent to the vendor. If you do not use the AT code, the attachments will not be sent. This is useful when including quotes, Independent Contractor Agreements or other supporting documents.

CE: Chemicals Elementary - Use this code when purchasing chemicals for an Elementary or Intermediate School. This will automatically route the request to the Science Content Coordinator for required approval. CH: Chemicals High School - Use this code when purchasing chemicals for a Middle or High School. This will automatically route the request to the Science Content Coordinator for required approval.

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ID: Inside Delivery - Use this code if you are purchasing something that will be shipped directly to your campus - bypassing the warehouse. When you use this code, purchasing is aware that you have called the vendor and received pricing to have the products delivered directly inside your campus by the vendor. Please remember that no one on your staff should be unloading a truck! NB: No bid - Use this code if you are purchasing items from a vendor that is not awarded a purchasing contract. To see if the selected vendor is covered by a purchasing contract, click the “Reports” tab and then click the “Vendor Discount and Freight” report. If there is nothing listed in the freight or discount area, the vendor is not covered by an existing purchasing contract - please be sure to use the NB code. Please remember that you are required to check the availability of items from awarded vendors before using a NB vendor. If a vendor is sole source, do not use the NB code. PC: Pricing Confirmed with Vendor – Use this code to inform the Purchasing Department that you have confirmed/taken a vendor discount per the terms of an existing bid/contract. PU (DNF): Pick-up…..use this code if you do not want the PO faxed to the vendor and you will be picking the items up at the store.

If you do want the PO faxed and plan to pick up the items, do not use this code. Put PU in the ship to location and allow the PO to fax automatically. This will allow the vendor to receive the PO, pull your items from the shelf and will hold them for you for pick-up.

QF: Quotes on file - Use this code if you have quoted this product. If referencing a previous quote, please indicate the PO number that this quote was done for, or you can attach the quote to this request. (do not use the AT code) RM: Route to Risk Management – Use this code when purchasing playground equipment or other items requiring Risk Management approval. This will automatically route the request to the Risk Management Department for required approval. SF: Special Fax Number (DNF) - Use this code if you want the PO faxed to a number that is different than the fax number shown for this vendor. (Please verify that they are different!) Enter your “special fax number” in the “Print Before” section of the request. By using this req. code, you stop the PO from automatically faxing. The purchasing Department will manually fax the request to the number you have entered in the printed notes portion of the request.

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TD: Route to Technology Department - Use this code if you are using a budget code that does not indicate technology. This code will route the request to the Technology Department for required approval. Please do not use this code if you used a technology budget code (6395, 6396, 6635, 6636), as it will already be routed.

Please note: DO NOT USE THE LAST BOX ON THE BOTTOM ROW or the codes “C” or “RO.” This is for accounting purposes only!!!! 7. Receiving Person:

a. Blanket PO’s require you to change the “Receiving Person” to the person who will be receiving the items. Please remember that person is responsible for receiving them in the system (instructions following) and accounts payable must have your packing slip before they pay the invoice.

b. If you are putting in multiple PO’s for different campuses and it is shipping to the WH, please indicate where WH should deliver this by using the receiving person field and adding the campus name after warehouse. (i.e: WHSE – Chambers)

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LINE ITEMS (CHILD PORTION)

1. Item #- Lists number of lines…auto fill

2. Quantity – If Purchase Requisition is being itemized, enter the exact quantity for the item being purchased. If the Requisition is a Blanket, then enter a 1 as the quantity.

3. Unit – Select the appropriate Unit of Measure from the drop down list. Access the list by clicking on the down arrow. It will usually be “each”.

4. Product Code – Enter the Code or search by the first two letters of the code name (see

last page for list). All lines MUST have a product code listed. Product Codes are required to track district purchases by category. Each line item on a purchase request must be identified with a product code. It is important to note that the product code describes the product, not necessarily where the product is used.

Example: A desk purchased for the science lab would be listed as PG11 Furniture, not PI08 Science Supplies. Radios purchased for the football program would be listed as PG21 Telecommunication Products, not PG06 Athletic Supplies.

Specific examples: PG01 – Should be used to describe all shipping and handling charges. PG22 – Should be used when no other category applies, or for purchases from Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart, Kroger, or Fiesta.

5. Description – This field will automatically fill in with the product code name. Highlight the product code name (after verifying that it is the product you want) and re-enter with a description of the item being purchased. In addition, blanket PO’s must itemize what is being purchased in the line item description (including, but not limited to, Wal-Mart…meaning PO’s to a store must now list what you are buying.).

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6. Unit Price – Enter the dollar amount for the item entered. This is the amount that will be encumbered. If entering a number with no cents, it is not necessary to enter a decimal and zero cents.

7. Discounts – Alief ISD has solicited vendors for bids to ensure the best value for the district. When a vendor has submitted a bid, the bids are tabulated and taken to the Board of Trustees. Once an award has been made, AISD has a contract with the vendor and we may take the discount afforded us on the contract.

The discount and shipping information can be found on the right side of the PO entry screen.

Discounts must be included on each item’s line (if applicable) – not as a separate line item. You can enter the amount of the discount and the system will automatically adjust the extended amount. Another option is to enter the percentage of the discount. If you enter the percentage, the system will automatically fill in the discount amount and adjust the extended amount accordingly.

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Click on the report tab on the left of the screen, and then “awarded vendor discount and freight information”. Contact vendor for discount and freight information.

8. SHIPPING - It is required to add a line for shipping for all standard purchase requisitions and blanket purchase requisitions. Please do NOT add a line for shipping on check requisitions. Shipping must be added as a separate line item. Put the total amount of shipping cost in the QUANTITY Field. You will then put $1.00 in the unit price field. This will enable the accounting department to make partial payments. In the example below, the total cost for shipping is $6.99. If there is no shipping charge expected, then add a line with a quantity of 1 and $0 in the unit price.

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Please note: Bid line items have fixed pricing, usually with all shipping charges included (per

terms of the bid). Some bids allow for shipping charges, but any “fuel surcharges” should be

included within the shipping charges and listed on the PO. For items that have been quoted or requested (other than line items), the vendor

information will say “call” for shipping costs. However, a vendor cannot add shipping charges AFTER sending the goods. Campus personnel may not accept additional (unknown) shipping charges. If a vendor contacts you regarding a purchase order, please forward them to Becky Schuessler.

9. Account Number – Enter the budget code to be encumbered for the purchase. If the

“Account Number” field says “KEY” and “OBJ” click on the ellipse and choose GL Fully Qualified. Nothing else should be checked.

**Notice that this changes the display from “Key” and “Obj” to a fully qualified budget code.

If you do not want to use your tab key to go from field to field, simply go to settings/preferences at the top of the PO.

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and change everything to look like the sample below. Then click “Apply Changes”.

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Account Splits – Charging multiple accounts for items

Item expenses can be split to multiple accounts by either dollar amounts or percentages. In the Account number field, click on the ellipse button next to the SPEC field. When the menu pops up, click on ‘Show Account Splits’.

Splitting accounts by percentages

After indicating a line item is to be charged to multiple accounts, a new field appears next to the SPEC field. Notice that this field defaults to ‘Amount’. To change this, click the down arrow beside the ‘amount’ field and from the pop-up menu, click once on ‘Split by Percentages’.

**Notice that this changes the display from “Amount” to “Percent’”

1. Enter the account number. 2. Next, enter the percentage of the expense you want to charge to this account. *It is not

necessary to enter a percent sign.

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3. To enter the next account number in the split, click the down arrow next to the percent field. From the pop-up menu, select ‘New Account Split’ by clicking once on ‘New Account Split’. The system will clear the account number and Percent fields to allow the user to enter the next account.

4. For each additional account, repeat these steps. You may have as many accounts in your split as needed.

5. To display the accounts, press the down arrow beside the percent field. A menu will pop

up, displaying the accounts and total percentages. Notice that the total percentage [in yellow] is 100%. If this does not add up, you will receive an error message when attempting to save the record.

Splitting accounts by amount

*Remember that when splitting an account by a specific amount, the split amount must equal the extended amount.

1) Click on the ellipse and select Show Account Splits 2) The account split defaults to ‘Amount’.

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3) Enter an account number. 4) Enter the dollar amount to be charged to the account number entered. 5) Now click on the down arrow next to the amount field.

On the pop-up menu, click ‘New Account Split’ and enter the next account number and corresponding dollar amount.

6) When finished display your results by clicking on the down arrow next to the amount field, and notice the Split Total [in yellow].

To delete an account from split: A. Click the down arrow beside the amount or percentage field B. Click the account to be deleted C. Click once on the down arrow beside the amount or percentage field [again] D. Then select ‘Delete Current Account’ by clicking on it.

To modify an account in split:

A. Click the down arrow beside the amount or percentage field B. Click the account to be modified C. Click the down arrow again D. Modify the displayed account number and/or amount or percentage.

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10. Press Enter to save the first line item on the Purchase Requisition. A message stating “Record Accepted” will appear with a green checkmark on the upper portion of the screen if all required fields are complete and there are not any budget warnings or blocks. Until the “Record Accepted” message is received the record is not saved in the database. If additional line items are necessary, simply go to the next line on the grid and repeat the steps outlined for data entry of Item Information. The system automatically numbers the next line item in anticipation of additional records.

11. Notes – Click on the notes tab and choose from: PR notes (the notes do not appear on

the printed po), Print Before, or Print After (print before or print after will appear on the printed po before or after the line items.) Return to the items tab and make sure to click enter to save the notes.

PR notes are for internal use only. The vendor will not have access to them.

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The “Print Before” tab is used for important information for the vendor such as the contact person’s information (furniture delivery etc.) at the campus and will print before the line items. “Print After” tab means your comments will be printed on the PO for the vendor AFTER the list of line items.

ATTACHMENTS

Please remember that attachments should only be used if you have an order form required by the vendor, this is a blanket PO for a contract, or if you have a list of items that exceeds 30. Click the “attachment tab” on the left of the PO input screen and then click on add attachment. You can then browse your computer for the correct attachment. It can be in word, excel or PDF. If you attach the wrong item to your request and you approve the request, you cannot delete it. You will need to e-mail MIS at misreq@aliefisd.net to un-attach it. Attachments MUST have a description that includes the request number and vendor name!

The above attachment is named: BR000039 – Southwest

Please remember that you can attach quotes, e-mails etc. to become a permanent part of the PO that you do not want the vendor to receive. Simply attach your document and do not use the AT req code. The PO will fax via the system with no attachments.

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Click anywhere on the request and then hit “enter”.

You should receive a “Record Accepted” Notification.

There will be times when the “Record Accepted” message is not received and a budget warning appears instead. These warnings are intended to inform the User that funds are not available and to take the necessary steps to move money into the account or choose another appropriate funding source to cover the purchase.

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If no additional records are to be entered, simply close the screen by clicking on the word “Close” on the upper right corner of the screen.

It has been reported that to avoid problems in encumbering your purchase order you should click on the word “Close” on the upper right corner of the screen prior to approving your request in workflow. Then you will need to re-open the “Purchase Requests” screen and do a search for your request or choose it from the entity list. This will prevent you from receiving the “over budget” message. If you choose to simply approve, most times you will not have a problem and if you do, it can be corrected.

APPROVING YOUR REQUEST: Once you have completed the input of information and are ready to approve the request, you must go to the workflow tab.

If you have the authority to approve, all requests in your responsibility area will be listed individually. You will need to click the green check to approve. Once you click the check the following screen will appear:

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This comment area is for the next approver to see. It will print on your status report. If a PO has been rejected by one level of approval, this is where you will see the reason for denial. NOTE: You do not need to route the request….once you have approved the request in workflow, the system will automatically route PO’s if you used the correct budget code or the correct req code. Please do not call purchasing or accounting to see the status of PO. This is available to you in the workflow tab. NOTE: If you are the budget manager, the requisition will be routed back to you for a second approval. You will need to click on the green check mark and then the submit button again so the request will be routed to the next appropriate person.

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COPY TOOL You can now make multiple copies of a PR or PO. This can be done either from a PR or an old PO. Simply open the PO or PR you want copied, click on the tools tab then “Copy PR”

The following dialogue box opens:

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In the PR seed blank, pull down the menu option and choose which type of request you are making (blanket, check, standard). Click copy. The new request will automatically pre-fill with the same data as the original PO. You can make changes if necessary. It still must be routed and approved. Searching for a Request

Open the PO screen and click on the magnifier. Then the Find/Search field.

Enter the information you know. Then hit enter.

Notice that this is record 1 of 152. To view the other records you simply click on the forward arrow.

DELETING A REQUEST: (PARENT SECTION)

Deleting a request is similar to finding a request. You just need to click on the options button at the top of the field and go to delete this record. Remember…..once you have approved it, you can no longer delete it!

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DELETING A LINE: (CHILD SECTION)

To delete a line you simply highlight the line you want to delete and click on the options button at the bottom of the record. Then go to delete record. This will delete the line only…..just remember that the options button at the top applies to the entire record. Options at the bottom is for the child portion only.

RUNNING A REPORT OF OPEN PURCHASE ORDERS:

This report will provide a listing and status of all open purchase orders for your organization. From the “All” tab select Reports/CDD Reports/Alief/Purchasing/Purchasing Reports/Outstanding Encumbrances by RespArea. Then enter your organization/campus number and click on the submit button.

HOW TO VIEW AND PRINT A COPY OF YOUR PURCHASE REQUEST/ORDER 1. Open the record you wish to view in the Purchase Order Screen 2. Click on the “Reports” tab on the left 3. Open Purchase Order Status Inquiry 4. Click on the Options button and print.

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If this report does not run, you can go to your dashboard and click on the link that says:

Purchase order status inquiry. (You must have your PO number recorded to do it here)

PLEASE DO NOT CALL PURCHASING TO INQUIRE ABOUT THE STATUS OF A PO. THIS IS AVAILABLE TO YOU BY RUNNING A STATUS INQUIRY!

RECEIVING All standard PO’s (does not include blanket PO’s) delivered to your location must be received by the person named as the receiver. That person will receive the items in the system when they arrive (Please remember that 99% of all purchase orders will go directly to the warehouse).

1. Go to the purchasing “PO” screen and find your PO.

2. Double click on the blue bar to maximize the screen. You can then minimize to see two screens.

3. Open your tool bar

4. Click on the links button then receiving information. The following screen opens.

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(**You can also access the receiving information from your dashboard but you will need to have the purchase order number and itemized line item information.*** )

5. Type in the PO number….you can see it on the top screen. 6. Enter items received in “Qty Accepted” blank. If entire PO is complete, click the “receive all”

button. Then click save. If the PO is complete but you did not receive the complete order, please contact Becky Schuessler via e-mail and request the PO be closed. After you have received the PO in the system, have the receiving person write the PO#, sign and date any of the following paperwork that applies and send it to the appropriate Accounts Payable clerk.

Packing slip and/or Invoice and/or Receipt

7. One-time blanket orders to Wal-Mart and Sams will require the requisitioner to bring a report

to purchasing. On your dashboard is a link entitled: Receiving Sign-Off Sheet.

Fill in the PO number and select your printer (or archive – to print from archive you need to open your jobs monitor under news on the dashboard). Hit the submit button. This report will have the PO number and receiving person’s name on it. When picking up your PO, Purchasing will use this form to locate your PO and will keep the form. You will then be given the card, a tax id form and an acknowledgement form. When the card is returned, you

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will sign the Receiving Signoff Sheet that you turned in and attach the receipt to it. The receiving sign-off sheet and invoice/receipt will be forwarded to accounting. (see procedures at end of book)

8. If the vendor ships more than 10% or $100 over the requested amount of your purchase order, you will not be able to receive on the PO until you e-mail Becky Schuessler with the correct amount. After the purchase order has been changed, you can receive it in the system.

9. Blanket PO’s are not to be received in the system, therefore, it is imperative that you send the appropriate paperwork to Accounts Payable when the items have been received. Have the receiving person write the PO#, sign and date any of the following paperwork that applies and send it to the appropriate Accounts Payable clerk.

Packing slip and/or Invoice and/or Receipt and/or Partial Payment Form and/or Receiving Sign Off Sheet

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HOW TO PRINT A REPORT OF ALL AWARDED VENDORS

On your dashboard, you will see a link entitled “Vendor List with Discount and Freight”.

Click it. The following screen appears:

AC means active vendors. Simply click submit and the report will run.

If you want to print this report, click on the options button and print (please note that this report is very lengthy).