Professional Service Contract Procedures This supplement provides an overview of the process for creating contracts for professional services including the process for all contract types (VCPS, QCPS, PCPS, and CPS). For additional information regarding the overall process for contracts, see the Create Requisitions and Procurement Specialist reference manuals. Further details regarding the voucher process are available in the Vendor Payments reference manual. All manuals are available online at www.umn.edu/ohr/trainingservices. Note: The term high-risk contracts used in this supplement refers to CPS and PCPS documents. These are the contract types that require an ink signature from both the vendor and the University. DRAFT Training Services Organizational Effectiveness 612-626-1373 trngsvcs@umn.edu www.umn.edu/ohr/trainingservices
Professional Service Contract Types Professional service contracts are created in the financial system using the CPS tab. The dollar amount of the contract and the Category code used differentiate the contract into four different contract types. Contact Purchasing Services with questions about the use of the different contract types in a given situation. Contract for Professional Services (CPS) Designated for contracts with a dollar value of $25,000 or more. Bidding is required when a contract is $50,000 or more. Ink signatures must be obtained from the vendor and the University s Delegated Signature Authority before work can begin. Performance Contract for Professional Services (PCPS) Designated for contracts with a dollar value of $3,000 or more with an entertainer, speaker, or performer. The category selected determines the designation of this category type in addition to the dollar value. Contract has special terms and conditions for performers listed on the Performer Agreement form that must be completed for this contract type. Ink signatures must be obtained from the vendor and the University s Delegated Signature Authority before work can begin. Quick Contract for Professional Services (QCPS) Designated for contracts with a dollar value of $3,000 to $24,999.99. No signatures are required from the University or the vendor for this contract. Work cannot begin until PO is complete (in dispatched status). Voucher Contract for Professional Services (VCPS) Designated for low-risk, small-dollar professional services with a dollar value under $3,000. The contract is created after the work has been completed and an invoice has been received from the vendor. Once the requisition is created and approved, the voucher will automatically be created. No receiving is necessary for this contract type since the system is only performing a match between the PO and the voucher, and both are automatically created by the system. Professional Service Contract Procedures Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 1
High-Risk Contract Process The process is similar when entering any type of contract, but only CPS and PCPS contracts need to be printed and physical signatures obtained. The procurement specialist is the individual authorized to print the contract and get the signatures. A. Requisition preparer enters the requisition for the contract using the CPS tab. Enter the first requisition line. Ensure correct quantity and unit of measure are entered. Choose the correct category code based on the type of professional service being performed. Each requisition line must include a vendor. The vendor number cannot be pasted or manually typed in. It must be selected from the searchable vendor list. If the contract is going out for bid, it is acceptable to leave the Vendor field blank. Enter the start and end date of the contract. Enter additional requisition lines Different lines can have different category codes, but they must all be under the professional services group of category codes. All requisition lines must use the same start date and end date. All requisition lines must have the same vendor. B. The contract routes through all required approvals. DeptID/Certified Approvers will be primary. These approvers will review for accurate transaction information and complete justification. If approvers need changes made to the requisition, it can be denied and the preparer can make the necessary changes and resubmit. Central approvers will be secondary. Payroll Services will review when a foreign vendor is used to verify employment eligibility and visa information. Disbursement Services will review when the vendor is an individual or sole proprietor to ensure proper tax withholding. Purchasing Services will review all contracts $25,000 and over to verify all University policies are accurately followed. 2 Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 Professional Service Contract Procedures
High-Risk Contract Process (cont.) C. D. E. The procurement specialist is notified of the requisition. The requisition will appear in the procurement specialist s worklist after all other approvals have happened. The procurement specialist should NOT yet approve the requisition. The procurement specialist prints the contract. Navigate to Manage Requisitions. Select Print CPS from the drop-down menu. This is the only time the contract can be printed. The contract is still an unapproved requisition at this point. The paper contract is signed. 3. 4. The contract and all necessary attachments should be sent to the vendor. The vendor will sign the contract and return it to the University. The procurement specialist will be listed on the contract as the return-to address. Make sure the buyer setup record is updated with a location code to print the return address. If the contract should be returned via an alternate method (other than mail), communicate the correct method to the vendor. Once received back, the contract is reviewed to make sure no additional terms were added or other changes were made by the vendor. Additional contractual terms added to contracts or changes to the terms of non-performer contracts should be discussed with the Office of General Council (OGC). Any changes to bid specifications should be discussed with Purchasing Services. After the OGC reviews the contract, it may need to be sent back to the vendor to review and accept the OGC s changes. Procurement specialists are empowered to deny a requisition if the terms cannot be agreed to between the University and the vendor. The contract is signed by the University. The signature should be obtained from the Delegated Signature Authority for the DeptID. Visit the OGC s Web site to review the Delegated Signature Authority list. Professional Service Contract Procedures Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 3
High-Risk Contract Process (cont.) F. G. The signed contract is scanned and attached to the requisition Navigate to Purchasing > Requisitions > Add/Update Requisitions > Find an Existing Value to locate the requisition. Attach the signed contract at the header level, and ensure it will be sent to the vendor via the PO dispatch process. Click the <Edit Comments/Add Comments> link to add the document to the header comments. Add a new line to the comments to ensure the existing comments are not overwritten. Mark the attachment to send to the vendor. The procurement specialist navigates to the worklist and approves the CPS requisition. The procurement specialist can also navigate directly to eprocurement > Approve Requisitions to approve the document. 3. The requisition should not be approved until after the contract has been printed, signed by both the vendor and the University, and attached to the requisition. Procurement specialists should never approve a contract before it has been signed. Procurement specialists should contact the cluster director or Purchasing Services if they are receiving pressure to approve a contract before all required signatures are obtained. Contact Purchasing Services if the contract requisition was approved before the signatures were obtained. 4 Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 Professional Service Contract Procedures
Contract Amendment Process If changes to a contract need to be made after the contract is in place, a contract amendment must be done. The process for amending the contract and the required steps vary based on the type of contract and what changes are being made. Amendments are done via two methods. The first is a change order, and the second is a change request. Change Order When a procurement specialist makes a change to an existing purchase order, this is known as a change order. A. B. Change orders do not have online approvals. All original approvers must sign off on the change outside of the financial system. The procurement specialist documents the approvals in the header comments when making the change. Requisition preparers and approvers take no online action with change orders. With a change request, a requester/preparer initiates a change to an existing contract through the Manage Requisitions page. A change request is only used to change (amend) high-risk (CPS or PCPS) contracts, or when increasing a QCPS to $25,000 or more. Non-contract purchase orders should never be changed using a change request. Use these guidelines to decide how to amend/change contracts for professional services: A. B. The following types of contract changes should be made via a change request initiated by the requester: Increasing the dollar value of a QCPS over $25,000. Extending the contract date for contracts over $25,000. Changing the scope of work for contracts over $25,000. The following changes should be made via a change order directly to the purchase order by the procurement specialist: Updating the ChartField string of any contract type. Updating internal justification or comments of any contract type. Any changes to a QCPS that do not increase the contract total over $25,000. Professional Service Contract Procedures Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 5
CPS Amendment Process (cont.) C. D. Requesters should work with the procurement specialist to determine if the change should be done via a change order and not a change request if the situation is unclear. VCPS documents should not be changed; the original VCPS should remain as is and a new contract should be created. Amending a Contract Via a Change Request Keep in mind this important additional information before beginning the amendment: The original CPS must be in approved status, budget checked, and dispatched before the change request can begin. Only one change request can be done a day due to the nightly update process. If the first change request is in a cancelled or denied status, another change request can be started the same day. When amending the contract, the process will be different if you are making a change to an existing line or adding a new line. Changing an Existing Line on a CPS Over $25,000 A. B. The change is initiated by the requester via a change request. The requester selects Change Request from the requisition drop-down menu. The requester completes and saves the changes for the desired line. Not all fields are available to change when completing a change request. The Justification/Comments box should be used to indicate changes that can t be done directly to the line or for any information that should not be seen by the vendor. The vendor cannot be changed on a contract. The change request will not be submitted until the <Submit for Change Approval> button is clicked. The contract routes for approvals. All original contract approvers will review the change request with the exception of Payroll and Disbursement Services. Departmental approvers review first. Purchasing Services reviews second. Procurement specialists should be the final reviewer. The procurement specialist will receive the contract amendment in their worklist right away, but it should NOT be acted upon until all other approvers have reviewed and signed off. 6 Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 Professional Service Contract Procedures
CPS Amendment Process (cont.) 3. 4. The status of all approvals can be viewed in the Review Approvers section of the page. The requester does not have access to see this page. A warning message will display at the bottom of the approval page for the procurement specialist, noting the requisition is awaiting approval. This message will disappear after all other approvals have been applied. The contract amendment MUST be printed before the procurement specialist marks it approved. If it is approved before it is printed, the amendment will not be able to be printed and signed and is not valid. Contact Purchasing Services if there are problems printing, or if the change request is approved before it is printed. The amendment will appear different in the worklist of approvers versus that of the procurement specialist. The procurement specialist will see an entry for the amendment in the worklist with the contract PO number. All other approvers will see an entry for the amendment with the contract requisition number. The details of the amendment can be viewed in the Change Request Details section of the approval page. Some items may come to the approver in an approved status. These changes are auto approved by the financial system. The approver does not need to reapprove these changes. The approver should work with the procurement specialist to cancel/deny the change request if the changes should not be approved or processed further. The requester is not able to view who has/has not approved the amendment. All approvers can view this information on the approval page in the Review Approvers section of the approval page. Requesters must contact an approver (or the procurement specialist) to obtain the status of the approvals. If a change request is denied, it is a hard deny; the request cannot be resubmitted. This is true for all approvers. If the amendment is still needed, the requester must begin a new change request. Professional Service Contract Procedures Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 7
CPS Amendment Process (cont.) C. D. The procurement specialist should print the contract and all attachments before the change request is approved. This must be done before the procurement specialist marks the change request as approved. Contact Purchasing Services if the change request is approved before it is printed. Always make sure the amendment is signed and attached to the purchase order before the change request is approved. Navigate to eprocurement > Manage Requisition > Inquire Change Request. The Requisition Approval Status should be Approved and the Change Request Approved checkbox should not yet be selected. Click the <Print Amendment> button to print the amendment. If the procurement specialist has already approved the amendment, the Change Request Approved checkbox will be selected and there will be no <Print Amendment> button. Contact Purchasing Services if the amendment has not printed and the button is not available. 3. The procurement specialist can also navigate to eprocurement > Buyer Center > Procurement Processes > UM CPS Amendment Print to print the amendment. 4. 5. 6. Print any additional attachments to be sent to the vendor. The financial system will not automatically print them with the amendment. The vendor should be provided with a copy of all original documentation with the amendment. The amendment is sent to the vendor to sign. Once received back from the vendor, the amendment should be reviewed to ensure no changes to the terms and conditions were made by the vendor. Any changes to contractual terms in the amendment must be reviewed and approved by the OGC. The amendment is sent to the Delegated Signature Authority to sign on behalf of the University. After signatures are obtained, the procurement specialist should scan the paperwork and attach it directly to the purchase order. Note that this process is different on the original contract where the signed copy was attached to the requisition. Navigate to eprocurement > Buyer Center > Manage Purchase Orders to attach. 8 Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 Professional Service Contract Procedures
CPS Amendment Process (cont.) E. F. Attach signed documents in the header comments. Add a new comment row to attach the new amendment The addition of a new row will format the amendment to appear first, before the original contract, when the document is dispatched. The procurement specialist can now approve the change request for amendment. Navigate to the worklist or directly to eprocuement > Buyer Center > Approve Change Requests. 3. The warning message at the bottom of the page should no longer appear. The nightly change request job runs to update the PO. The amendment changes will not be seen on the PO until the next day. The original contract requisition will not be updated; only the contract PO will show the changes. Change requests can be tracked on the Manage Requisitions page using the change request icon for the requisition. The change request icon will not show change order information, only change request information The final step is to complete the PO. The next day, the procurement specialist should enter the PO and manually change the status to Approved, perform a budget check, and dispatch the final signed amendment copy to the vendor. This will not be done automatically; the change request updates the PO and leaves it in an Open status. The PO will be automatically budget checked and dispatched once the status is Approved. See the Merkur Transmission section of this supplement for additional dispatch information. The amendment is complete when the PO has a status of Dispatched. Professional Service Contract Procedures Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 9
CPS Amendment Process (cont.) Adding a New Line to a High-Value Contract The change request does not allow a new line to be added, so the requisition preparer must note the details of the new line in the Justification Comments. Change requests to existing lines can be done at the same time as the request to add a new line. The process for these changes will be different from the process outlined in the previous section. The procurement specialist then adds the details directly to the purchase order. Contact Purchasing Services directly for more direction when adding a line to a contract. 10 Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 Professional Service Contract Procedures
CPS Amendment Process (cont.) Amending a Contract Via a Change Order See the Procurement Specialist reference manual for information on making changes to an existing PO. For QCPS changes resulting in a new total under $25,000: Follow the change-order process. All changes should be made by the procurement specialist directly to the purchase order. All approvals will take place offline. For QCPS changes resulting in a new total of $25,000 or more, follow the process steps listed above for a change request amendment. In addition: The document type of a QCPS that is amended and the total is now $25,000 or more will not change to a CPS type; it will remain as a QCPS type. See the Document Type section of this supplement for additional information. When the amendment is printed, it will print with CPS listed on the document since it is printing from the CPS print program. The contract is now considered a CPS for purchasing purposes. This means it will follow the rules and conditions of a CPS. The type remains as QCPS for historical purposes only in the system. Since the original QCPS did not have an original document signed by the vendor and the University, there will be no original document attached to the amendment. The vendor must refer to their file copy of the original contract for reference. Professional Service Contract Procedures Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 11
VCPS Review of the VCPS Process A. B. C. D. Contract is initiated after the work is completed. 3. Initiated based on invoice or notice of payment from the vendor. Requisition preparer creates a requisition based on the invoice. Once the requisition is entered and the voucher is created, the requisition preparer should forward the invoice to the cluster to be imaged. The voucher number should be clearly marked on the invoice. Locate the voucher number on the Requisition Document Status screen. Navigate to Purchasing > Requisitions > Review Requisition Information > Document Status. The requisition preparer should label the invoice as a VCPS and note the voucher has already been created and the invoice needs to be imaged and linked to the existing voucher. The contract routes to departmental and central approvers. After it is approved, a PO, receipt, and voucher are automatically created by the system overnight. The cluster representative preparer links the ImageNow image of the invoice to the voucher in the financial system. Troubleshooting A. B. C. Vouchers are getting duplicated. The requisition preparer needs to clearly mark the voucher as a VCPS to avoid duplication. Voucher preparers should be sure to note any messages written on or attached to the invoice image. Making changes to a VCPS. A VCPS cannot be amended; a new contract must be created if changes are needed. If multiple VCPS documents are being created for the same vendor, consider pooling the cost and creating a QCPS. If express pay or early pay is needed, work closely with Disbursement Services to coordinate the check for pickup. 12 Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 Professional Service Contract Procedures
Approvers/Delegation of Authority Approvals for Contracts All contracts must route through departmental approvals. All contracts are reviewed by the DeptID level 1 approver. Contracts $10,000 and over are also reviewed by the DeptID level 2 approver. All contracts with sponsored ChartFields over $1,000 must be reviewed by the Certified Approver. Some contracts must be reviewed by central approvers as well. Any contract $25,000 and over is reviewed by Purchasing Services. Contracts valued at $50,000 and over are subject to a competitive bid process. Contact Purchasing Services if an amendment will increase a contract over the $50,000 threshold. Any contract with a foreign vendor is reviewed by Payroll Services and will require visa information and the Nonresident Alien Data Collection Worksheet. Any contract with an individual or sole proprietor must be reviewed by Disbursement Services. Contracts requiring physical (non-electronic) signatures for the University are signed by the department s Delegated Signature Authority. This individual is the DeptID 2 approver in some cases. Use the OGC Web site to locate the individual if they are not known. Professional Service Contract Procedures Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 13
Imaging vs. Scanning Imaging with ImageNow Scanners to link an invoice image or supporting documentation Imaging is done to invoices so they can be linked to the voucher in the financial system. ImageNow is the software where the data is located. The ImageNow scanner is a scanner connected to the software and allows the scanned documents to be imported directly to the software. Only ImageNow scanners can interface with the ImageNow software. Scanning a document to attach in eprocurement/purchasing Scanning is done to any paper document to create an electronic version of the document. Any desktop scanner can be used to create the electronic document. Documents can be MS Word, PDF, or Excel format. Other document formats cannot be used in the financial system. If ImageNow scanners want to be used to scan non-imagenow documents, this is possible, but the scanner must be specially configured. Work with the ImageNow team to do this. 14 Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 Professional Service Contract Procedures
Merkur Transmission Merkur Overview Merkur is the software used in conjunction with the financial system to dispatch POs via e-mail or fax. When dispatching a PO via e-mail or fax for the first time, the financial system will autopopulate the Merkur Delivery Information link using the vendor record information. The financial system will automatically dispatch the PO correctly. No action is needed from the procurement specialist. Re-Dispatching via Merkur When dispatching a PO previously dispatched, a new row must be added in the Merkur Delivery Information link by the procurement specialist. Previous rows (dispatches) are inactive and will not be sent the transmission. The procurement specialist should click on the plus sign to add the new row and enter the new dispatch information. If the new row is not added, the dispatch will fail. Professional Service Contract Procedures Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 15
Required Forms Not all forms are required in all circumstances. The forms may be completed by any individual involved with the contract, and the requisition preparer should make sure the forms are complete and attached to the requisition. Forms are available online through the University Forms Library or through the Purchasing Services Web site. See the individual forms and instructions for additional information on their use. The below forms are used for Professional Services Contracts: Professional Services Information Sheet (PSIS) This form is required for all contracts. Section 1 is required for all situations, and the remaining sections are conditional. Statement of Work (SOW) All contracts must contain a statement of work. The SOW can be a separate attached document or included in the line comments of the requisition. Performance Agreement This form is required when completing a PCPS; make sure to select the correct performer/entertainer categories to generate the PCPS. All contracts for performers must include the signed Performance Agreement. Contact Purchasing Services if you want to discuss a performer who may not need the full agreement. Additional terms and conditions specific to performers are listed on this form. Data Collection Sheet This form is required for all sponsored-project-related contracts. It is optional for nonsponsored contracts. Nonresident Alien Data Collection Worksheet All contracts with a foreign national vendor must include this form. This form is internal and should not be sent to the vendor. 16 Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 Professional Service Contract Procedures
Purchase Order Type When amending contracts or trying to change other existing purchase orders, limitations are placed on the allowable changes based on how the requisition was entered. It may be necessary to determine the type of PO before determining the best course of action for a situation. A. To verify the PO type, begin on the Purchase Order Document Status screen by navigating to Purchasing > Purchase Orders > Review PO Information > Document Status. Enter the PO number, and then click <Search>. Click the correct link under the search results to open the PO Document Status page. 3. Click the <PO ID> link in the header section of the page. The Purchase Order Inquiry page will open in a new window/tab. 4. You can navigate directly to the PO Inquiry page as well by navigating to Purchasing > Purchase Orders > Review PO Information > Purchase Orders. Click the <Header Details> link. 5. You will see the PO type designation in the PO Details section of the page. B. C. When a requisition is created, the tab used and the details of the requisition determine the type of purchase order created. The purchase order type shows the type of contract originally created and will guide how the purchase order progresses and how changes should be done. The PO type cannot be changed. There are five families of purchase order types: Standard. Created using the Special Request and Web tabs. General Federal Blanket. Created using the Blanket tab. General Blanket (BO) Federal Blanket (FBO) 3. CPS. Created using the CPS tab when it is a non-performer category and has a dollar value of $25,000 and over, or is a performer category with a dollar value of $3,000 and over. Contract for Professional Services (CPS) Federal Contract for Professional Services (FCPS) Professional Service Contract Procedures Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 17
Purchase Order Type (cont.) Performer Contract for Professional Services (PCPS) Federal Performer Contract for Professional Services (FPCP) Performer Quick Contract for Professional Services (PQCP) Federal Performer Quick Contract for Professional Services (FPQC) 4. QCPS. Created using the CPS tab when it is a non-performer category for a dollar value of $3,000 and over. Quick Contract for Professional Services (QCPS) Federal Quick Contract for Professional Services (FPQC) 5. VCPS. Created using the CPS tab when it is any category and under $3,000. Voucher Contract for Professional Services (VCPS) Federal Voucher Contract for Professional Services (FVCP) Performer Voucher Contract for Professional Services (PVCP) Federal Performer Voucher Contract for Professional Services (FPVC) D. Professional service contracts should only have a PO type falling into the CPS, QCPS, or VCPS family. If the contract type is not one of the 12 types in the three families listed, the PO and requisition must be cancelled and redone. Contact Purchasing Services to discuss other options if this situation occurs and work has already begun on the contract. Here are some additional considerations regarding the purchase order types: The use of F in the PO type designation should indicate the PO is under a federal contract Due to a system error, all purchase orders with a federal fund in the ChartField string are labeled as Federal. Federal POs are subject to additional terms and conditions. This will be fixed at some time in the future, but contracts created before the fix will not have the PO type designation changed. Contact Purchasing Services or a Certified Approver with questions about federal POs. The use of P in the PO type designation indicates the PO uses a performer category. 18 Training Services, Organizational Effectiveness 10-30-08 Professional Service Contract Procedures