Updates on COVID-19 related changes to university business and finance protocols.
Updated January 12, 2021
Updated July 23, 2020
Requestors work with their FPMOs to identify areas for installation asking the following Yes or No questions:
Y/N Only UB Faculty, staff and student approach this area
Y/N This reception area will be manned by one employee during the pandemic
Y/N Are you able to use phones, email, specific appointment times, videos, or videoconferencing to reduce the need for close personal contact in this area
Y/N Are you able to use queue lines or other barriers to maintain social distancing
Y/N Have you or will you post signs stating the social distancing guidelines
Y/N Are you able maintain at least six feet social distance in front of the person/area
Y/N Can the distance within the waiting line be extended to 6’
Y/N If so, can this area be marked (Use tape on the ground to indicate “line starts here”concept and placing tape marker at 6-feet intervals)
Y/N Are you able to provide the employee(s) working at the station hand washing breaks orhand sanitizer:
Y/N Are you able to eliminate/block seating to maintain 6’ social distancing within thewaiting area
If any of the above are NO, a physical barrier may be appropriate.
The FPMO submits a Renovation Request including:
Type of barrier requested
Master spreadsheet created with all requests (by C. Bailey)
a.placed in UB Box
b. Code review approval column and comments added
c. Cheryl Bailey to email code officials as new requests are added
Code Review takes place (S. Herberger and M. Hohle)
a. Site visit to includei.Review will include the placement of barrier
ii.Review wil l include the size of barrier
iii.Review will include the % of area of the barrier within the space
iv.Some barriers may require specialized materials based on the size requested
b. Approval and additional comments added to the spreadsheet and returned to box
c. Code officials to keep C. Bailey informed of code approvals
Once approved C. Bailey will contact FPMO with results:
a. Option 1: purchase from an outside vendor (purchasing will ensure that a code review was completed)
b. Option 2: build in-house within own department (e.g. Medicine, Engineering, Res Life, CDS and Architecture have own shops where barriers can be made)
c. Option 3: others departments build
Updated July 23, 2020
2020-21 state operating budgets will be implemented on July 1 as scheduled. Each VP/Decanal area will also receive a one-time (fiscal) reduction equivalent to 10% of annual state operating funds in 2020-21.
Please work with your Resource Analyst if you have any questions.
Departments should continue to work with their Unit Business Officer (UBO) when conducting scenario planning in an effort to identify financial implications of potential strategies.
Resource Planning analysts continue to serve as a point of contact for resource planning efforts between UBOs and senior leadership.
To aid in planning and decision making Resource Planning has also collaborated with Office of Institutional Analysis (OIA) to provide senior leadership multiple scenarios of the potential enrollment impact on tuition, fee, and other revenues for Spring 2020 – Spring 2021 to the university. Resource Planning also continues to scenario plan the impact of the SUNY imposed expense reductions of 10% - 25% across all state funding sources.
UBOs should continue to work with their unit enrollment managers, department heads and senior leaders to understand any financial implications to their unit related to enrollment and the implementation of state spending reductions across all state sources.
Units should be scenario planning updated spending plans accounting for the 10-25% reductions, reviewing and accounting for all hiring plans, major purchases and capital projects.
Updated January 12, 2021
General Guidance
Shipping Information for Purchase Requisitions
PPE Purchases Due to COVID-19
As face coverings have been provided to all faculty, staff, and students, it is the university’s position that additional funds should not be expended on face coverings at this time. If you believe that your unit has a strong justification/need for COVID-related PPE, you may provide your justification/need to Purchasing for review. An example of a strong justification/need would be a unit that has students reporting to a clinic as part of their coursework, in which the clinic requires the students to provide their own Level 2 Surgical Masks. Another example would be Physical Therapy students being required to wear gloves when working with patients
Reminder – PPE needed for normal/regular operations can be purchased as usual; these restrictions are only applicable to COVID-specific PPE requests.
For more information please contact:
Purchasing: Craig Hooftallen, crh8@buffalo.edu or Dominic LoTempio, dsl4@buffalo.edu
UB has approved the production of UB-branded face masks.
If you’re interested in purchasing face masks using any UB trademark, logo or name, please refer to the following before contacting vendors, getting estimates or creating artwork.
UB Trademarks and Licensing Guidelines
Please note:
For more information please contact:
Purchasing:
Dominic LoTempio, dsl4@buffalo.edu
Craig Hooftallen, crh8@buffalo.edu
UB Trademarks and Licensing:
Updated January 12, 2021
Updated January 12, 2021
In an effort to bring efficiency and reduce in-person transaction processing, we are continuing the university wide implementation of a new electronic payment process (eStore/Storefront), as a touchless alternative to current collection methods for state and UBF funds.
This new payment process will also replace the current ePay and will allow you to offer additional items or events with upgraded functionality including:
The Division of Athletics has already successfully rolled out our initial campus eStore. You may view their new Recreation Store at https://recreation-buffalo.nbsstore.net/cpr-training.
A Financial Management staff member will be reaching out to each unit soon to discuss the transitioning of all fees to this online alternative in advance of the Fall semester. If you would like more information regarding this transition process please reach out to UBS-eStore@buffalo.edu for more information.
The US Bank Debit Card Program for Research Human Subjects has begun pilot studies. If you have a study which would like to participate please email rfstudycardprogram@buffalo.edu for more information.
Procurement Card certification templates have been sent out to all UBOs during the week of May 4. This annual certification process will include both State and Research Foundation procurement cards and will be due back to the card programs team by May 29 at ubs-cardporgrams@buffalo.edu.
State (Citibank Visa)
Contact: ubs-statepcard@buffalo.edu
Due to COVID-19, this purchase is being delivered to a remote address for purposes of academic and business continuity. We recognize that this is an exception to the university’s procurement policy, and will only exercise this activity during our response to COVID-19 as necessary. In all cases, purchases remain the property of the University at Buffalo. Goods must be consumed for university purposes and/or be returned to the university for further use.
Faculty and staff should consult with their unit leadership regarding any large purchases needed for the continuation of services. Ensure a plan is in place to track credits from any purchases (i.e. conference registrations) which are cancelled due to COVID-19. Responses to commonly asked questions are available at FAQs About State PCards or you may email us with any questions related to one-time limit increases for emergency purchases.
Research Foundation (RF) AMEX
Contact: ubs-rfpcard@buffalo.edu
Due to COVID-19, this purchase is being delivered to a remote address for purposes of academic and business continuity. We recognize that this is an exception to the university’s procurement policy, and will only exercise this activity during our response to COVID-19 as necessary. In all cases, purchases remain the property of the University at Buffalo. Goods must be consumed for university purposes or be returned to the university for further use.
Contact: ubtravel@buffalo.edu
Contact:
Inquiries to: apinquiry@buffalo.edu
Invoices to: apinvoice@business.buffalo.edu
Contact: ubs-assetmanagement@buffalo.edu
Effective immediately, Financial Management will accept electronic submission of the following transactions for processing. Please continue to adhere to the Approval Authority Policy and Electronic Signature Guidance.
Due to COVID-19, this purchase is being delivered to a remote address for purposes of academic/business continuity. We recognize that this is an exception to the university’s procurement policy, and will only exercise this activity during our response to COVID-19 as necessary. In all cases, purchases remain the property of the University at Buffalo. Goods must be consumed for university purposes and/or be returned to the university for further use.
The Interdepartmental Invoice (IDI) Form information has been updated to provide guidance on electronic submission. Some changes to note:
Updated April 27, 2020
Updated March 26, 2020
The COVID-19 Reporting dashboard may be found in the Financial Dashboards folder in SIRI This dashboard contains the State Expenditure Reduction, the COVID-19 Expenditures, and the Open State Purchase Order Encumbrances reports. The purpose of this dashboard is to consolidate the COVID-19 related reports and make them available to a wider audience. A new report has been added to this dashboard. The State Expenditure Detail report gives you detail on all transactions processed against your accounts, providing greater insight into your spending. Current SIRI users with strategic financial data access will be able to view this dashboard. If you have any questions regarding this new dashboard, please contact Tom Okon (tokon@buffalo.edu). For security requests, please see the SIRI page on the Administrative Services Gateway at www.buffalo.edu/siri.
Financial Management and Business Reporting and Systems have been collaborating on COVID-19 reporting to track expenditures, i.e. travel reimbursements for cancelled trips, purchases delivered off campus, etc. These reports are now available in SIRI on the Money Management dashboard.
SIRI
SIRI is accessible with the most current data available through any closure. Users need to log in to the university VPN first. Instructions on accessing UB resources like SIRI from off-campus locations can be found on UBIT’s website at http://www.buffalo.edu/ubit/service-guides/connecting/vpn.html.
BUSINESS APPLICATION SUPPORT
The Business Application Support team continue to assist the campus with SIRI, Travel and Expense, and ShopBlue system questions. At this time all staff are working remotely, therefore please, utilize email for support. Online chat tools, if applicable, continue to be available as well.
APPLICATION AND DATA SECURITY
Requests for access to business applications and data will be satisfied as per usual. Please continue to submit requests, keeping in mind the new guidelines on electronic signature found on the Administrative Services Gateway at: http://www.buffalo.edu/administrative-services/business-and-finance-guidance-related-to-covid-19.html#electronic-signatures
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES GATEWAY
The Administrative Services Gateway will continue to be updated with current information for all Division of Finance and Administration units.
Updated January 12, 2021
Updated March 26, 2020
Updated September 25, 2020
Payment Processing
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, SPS has updated the process for submitting Payment forms to comply with UB’s Data Risk Classification Policy to ensure the security of Category 1-Restricted data.
Effective October 1, 2020, Payment forms should be submitted as a File Upload to the link provided below in the revised process. This will replace the UB Box Payments Folder.
Revised Process:
An electronic signature is data, in digital form, attached to an electronically transmitted document as verification of the sender’s intent to sign the document. This is the equivalent of a handwritten signature, and is used to confirm approval of an action or the terms of a document.
While portions of the campus are operating from an alternate work location, the use of electronic signatures are acceptable for internal transactions, approvals or authorizations. SUNY does not currently accept electronic signatures as legally binding on state contracts or appointment letters.
Additional information from SUNY and RF can be found at the below:
For further guidance on attaching a digital or electronic signature to documents, please consult your departmental IT support at buffalo.edu/ubit/get-help/get-help-from-your-department.html.
Continue to follow established UB, SUNY, state and RF guidelines and policies.