Volume 21 Number 2
University of Wisconsin-Madison
JUNE 2004
BUSINESS
SERVICES
Electronic versions of this newsletter can be found at
http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/bsnews/bsnews1.html
What’s Inside?
ACCOUNTING CYCLE IMPROVEMENTS .................................... 1
PROCUREMENT CYCLE IMPROVEMENTS ................................ 2
PAYROLL/BENEFITS CYCLE IMPROVEMENTS ........................ 5
ACCOUNTING SERVICES .............................................................. 5
EMPLOYEE COMP & BENEFITS SVCS ........................................ 5
PURCHASING SERVICES ............................................................... 7
RISK MANAGEMENT ..................................................................... 9
ACCOUNTING CYCLE IMPROVEMENTS
Payroll Interface Implementation – July 8th
After years of planning and development, UW System’s
Payroll Interface project is scheduled to ‘go’ live with the first
July payroll run on July 8, 2004. There will be several
significant changes affecting UW-Madison’s business
processes that will occur in conjunction with the
implementation:

There will be a new salary encumbrance application to
perform the salary encumbrance maintenance that has
traditionally been done using the 3270 mainframe
transaction EPRQ. Divisions can continue to enter Fiscal
Year (FY) 2005 or Summer Session salary encumbrances
in EPRQ until July 2nd. The EPRQ functionality for
salary encumbrances will be cut off late in the afternoon
on July 2nd. All positive encumbrance balances left in
EPRQ as of July 2nd will be brought over to SFS. The
new web-based salary encumbrance application will go
live and be available for FY05 salary encumbrance entry
on the morning of July 5th. Additional information
regarding the new salary encumbrance application is
available on the ‘Salary Encumbrance’ page of the
Madison SFS website
(http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/acct/sfs/sal_enc.html).

A new web-based salary cash transfer application will be
used, initially in Accounting Services only. Salary cash
transfers for FY05 payroll will be processed with this
new application. Transfers of FY04 payrolls will be
processed with the legacy 3270 transaction. Transfer
requests for FY04 payroll transactions should be
submitted using the current SCT form with legacy coding
conventions. A new form is being prepared for use with
FY05 transfers; this form will use the SFS coding
conventions. We expect to have the new salary cash
transfer form available for campus use with the start of
the new fiscal year in July.

With the implementation of the Payroll Interface, all
payroll details will be recorded to the Salary Fringe Detail
(SFD) database of WISDM. This means that after Payroll
Interface goes live the default view of the transaction
detail in WISDM will only show total salary data by
funding line. If a WISDM user needs to view the salary
detail by employee, they must check the “See SFD
Orientation/Training Available. . .
Many training programs are offered through the Office of
Human Resources Development. See these web sites:
http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/des/index.asp#biz_services
http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/ecbs/index.htm
http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/dacp/index.asp
Individualized training is available on the following topics:
MDS Ordering Systems
Call Terri Parks @245-2924 (tparks@bussvc.wisc.edu)
Travel Reimbursements
Margie Burris @262-0121(mburris@bussvc.wisc.edu)
Steve Sauer @262-1919 (ssauer@bussvc.wisc.edu)
Terri Mills @262-2006 (tmills@bussvc.wisc.edu)
Travel Agency Invoices
Ruth Shipman @262-2499 (rshipman@bussvc.wisc.edu)
Jan Bliese @262-2018 (jbliese@bussvc.wisc.edu)
Payments to Individuals
Lori Nolley @263-9361 (lnolley@bussvc.wisc.edu)
Terri Mills @262-2006 (tmills@bussvc.wisc.edu)
Class Codes
Jan Bliese @262-2018 (jbliese@bussvc.wisc.edu)
Terri Mills @262-2006 (tmills@bussvc.wisc.edu)
Direct Payments
Ruth Shipman @262-2499 (rshipman@bussvc.wisc.edu)
Jan Bliese @262-2018 (jbliese@bussvc.wisc.edu)
WISDM Training
http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/acct/sfs/demos.html.
BUSINESS SERVICES NEWS – JUNE 2004
Detail” on the Summary Report screen in WISDM.

Along with Payroll Interface and new web-based salary
encumbrance application, a new ‘SFD search’ will be
added to WISDM to allow users to search for salary and
fringe information details by employees. This search
capability requires special authorization to those users
who are authorized to enter salary encumbrance into the
system. Regular WISDM users will still be able to see
salary payment information detail through summary drilldown.
Page 2
simplified, especially for faculty and research staff. Watch for
more improvements in the coming months.
SFS/WISDM Data View News
The PRIOR_YEAR_FUND view that is currently on
InfoAccess will be moved to WISDM data views, because of
the implementation of payroll interface and direct payments in
SFS. The new view will draw data from SFS.
A new view called DETAIL_PAYROLL_TRANSACTIONS
will be created. This view will allow people to write queries
against the Salary Fringe Detail (SFD) database.
Direct Payment Processing Changes
Beginning in July, UW-Madison will begin paying Travel
Expense Reports (TER’s), Payment to Individual Reports
(PIR’s) and other select ‘direct pay’ transactions using the SFS
accounts payable software.
Updated TER and PIR forms are being developed, as well as a
new ‘Direct Pay/Employee Reimbursement’ form. The
‘Direct Pay/Employee Reimbursement’ form will be used for
‘direct paid’ vendor invoices (these will be defined in the
website instructions), and for non-travel related employee
reimbursements. FY04 TER’s and PIR’s can be processed on
the current form and must use the legacy coding. These FY04
forms will have to be submitted to Accounting Services by
June 25th for FY04 processing. Any TER’s or PIR’s
submitted after the 25th will be entered to FY05. FY05
transactions must be submitted on the new form(s), and
must use the SFS coding. Other kinds of FY04 direct
payments must be submitted by June 30th, any payments
submitted after June 30th must use the new ‘Direct
Pay/Employee Reimbursement’ form and be recorded to
FY05.
With the implementation of Direct Payment processing in the
Shared Financial System (SFS), new, powerful, search
features will be available in WISDM for the resulting
transactions.
Project/Grant Reporting Improvements
An improved mechanism for delivering project/grant reporting
in WISDM for project/grants that cross over the University’s
fiscal year end is being developed. In the previous years,
WISDM users had to manually add up accounting period
balances from both the new fiscal year and the one just closed
in order to get an accurate Inception to Date (ITD) balance on
the project/grant. The new reporting method will add together
all appropriate balances automatically, based on which month
the user selected.
A Project Grant Committee was formed in the fall of 2003.
The purpose of this committee is to analyze the current
SFS/WISDM reporting on project/grants, in order to identify
ways in which the reporting could be improved. The
committee has identified a number of ways in which
project/grant reporting in WISDM could be improved and
A new view called DETAIL_GL_PAYROLL_TRANS will be
created to allow people to write queries that combine general
ledger data and salary fringe detail data. This view is being
created to support people who currently use the
DETAIL_ACCOUNTING_TRANSACTIONS view to
include salary payment details in their financial reports. After
June 30, 2004, the current
DETAIL_ACCOUNTING_TRANSACTIONS view will not
include salary payment information by employee; rather, the
salary information will be displayed at summary level by
funding string only. The creation of the
DETAIL_GL_PAYROLL_TRANS view will allow users to
continue to get salary payment information by employee.
With implementation of direct payments in SFS, two SFS
coding fields will be added to the
DETAIL_ACCOUNTING_TRANSACTIONS view and the
DETAIL_GL_PAYROLL_TRANS view. These two fields
are ‘SFS voucher ID’ and ‘SFS invoice ID.’
PROCUREMENT CYCLE IMPROVEMENTS
Requisition and Number Generator Goes Live in My
UW
The faculty and staff Resources tab in the My UW portal has
launched a new timesaving feature, a Web-based requisition
generator that was made available to the campus in mid-May.
This new tool is integrated into the Resources tab of the My
UW portal to enable campus users to create and print both
internal and external requisitions from the Web. Users will no
longer need to use paper requisition forms to get what they
need. Enter the same information through the menu-driven
interface as appears on a requisition, and the program will
automatically number and generate an Adobe Acrobat .pdf
document that can be printed.
The application also offers the ability to reserve a single
requisition number or block of numbers to be used in
departments that already have electronic systems to generate
requisitions, but are currently receiving the paper documents
for the sole purpose of feeding the numbers into their system.
This system does not have an underlying database that will
store requisition information. It also does not electronically
BUSINESS SERVICES NEWS – JUNE 2004
route requisition information. It is a Web-based method of
preparing and printing a requisition and assigning a unique
requisition number to the printed document. If departments
desire a database behind the application to capture their
requisition information, DoIT is providing a more advanced
version of the program with these features on a monthly
subscription basis. For more information on this product,
please contact Brian Busby, at 262-9110.
To use this new tool, log in to My UW at http://my.wisc.edu
using your NetID, choose the “Resources” tab, and choose the
“More” button to add this application. Click the checkbox next
to “Requisition and Number Generator” and click Update at
the bottom of the screen. The application will then be added to
your Resources tab.
Pre-printed paper requisition forms will no longer be available
for order through MDS. Any current paper forms you have are
still valid and may still be used throughout the next year.
Please begin switching to the Web-accessible requisition
generator.
Help documentation is available at
http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/purch/req/ReqGenIns.html.
Please contact Purchasing Services, or 262-1526 with any
questions about using the application or general requisition
questions. DoIT’s Help Desk is available by calling 264HELP to handle questions or problems pertaining to My UW
as well as any technical and computer related issues involving
the requisition generator.
Campus-Wide Shipping Services RFP Awarded to
UPS
In May of 2004, the Request for Proposal (RFP) Evaluation
Team for the Shipping Services RFP completed their review
and recommended award to United Parcel Services (UPS).
This contract was awarded based on the thorough review of
services offered, pricing offered, and the RFP information
submitted by the UPS Company.
While this award is not an exclusive contract with UPS (i.e.
users may continue to use other shipping services), this new
award provides a number of advantages for most shipping
needs.
An important component of the review process involved
comparing the pricing offered by UPS to pricing on file from
other shipping services contractors (including FedEx) and also
against pricing offered by UPS under a previous contract. The
pricing offered under the RFP by UPS was equal to or lower
than the pricing offered by UPS under the previous contract.
It was also very comparable to pricing offered by FedEx under
an aggressive price proposal. In some cases, UPS pricing was
higher, some cases lower and in some cases the same as that
offered by FedEx. In all cases, the price differences were very
minor. The overall estimate for campus annual administrative
savings for the value of this contract is $362,000.
Page 3
One of the many purposes of the RFP process was to develop
and implement models offering the UW Madison some
efficiencies and a broader customization of services and
available payment options. The available models are
summarized as:
Model 1: The Customer uses a unique password and login ID
to access UPS's web-based ordering system. UPS will provide
a web-based “catalog” of services that includes the UW
Madison's pricing and will customize the data fields to
correspond to UW Madison needs. Payment can be made in a
number of ways including Procurement Card, Direct Charge
Coding, or Purchase Order reference. Under this model, the
vendor will help set up individual users so that at the time of
log on, the customers defaulted Procurement Card, funding
string, or Purchase Order will be presented. Customers will
have access to change the funding string or P-Card number
supporting the purchase of services at the time of transaction.
This model is a fully supported database model allowing the
user, based on their unique login id, to manage shipping
information such as commonly used addresses and historical
shipping analysis, among other data management tools.
Model 2: Customers will not have their own unique login or
id needed to access UPS’s system. Under this model,
customers will be able to log into the vendor’s “catalog” using
a generic or global login that will draw up UW Madison
pricing and services and will only be able to checkout using a
credit card. This model will not support a purchase order
being used as a vehicle for payment. For this model, UPS will
be responsible for authenticating the validity of any credit card
used. Access to this application will be by generic logon id.
Once the order is completed electronically, the system will
provide local printing of an airbill or shipping document on
standard paper that can be placed on the parcel or package for
shipping. UPS will provide overnight letter packaging and
shipping label materials such as clear, waterproof, exterior
shipping envelopes at no additional charge.
UPS has agreed to work with individual Departments to help
customize the use of the UPS systems to best work for those
departments Pre-paid stamps will continue to be available
through MDS as an alternative method.
For additional information or to have UPS staff come to your
location to provide training or to help staff develop the
necessary logon and passwords, please contact Dan Peterson
of UPS at djpeterson@ups.com. For contract information,
please contact Vint Quamme at 608 245-2941.
Gas Cylinder Prime Vendor Implementation Update
As previously indicated, UW-Madison awarded a Prime
Vendor Contract for Scientific and Industrial Gases to AGA
Linde Gas. Implementation of our e-commerce system
solution for this comprehensive program continues to move
forward. MDS staff has been working extensively with Linde
staff and 5 pilot departments who have been ordering product
BUSINESS SERVICES NEWS – JUNE 2004
Page 4
as of May 24, 2004. For those Departments who order LiNi in
container sizes greater than or equal to 160 L, orders will be
placed on-line as with your other gas products but will be
delivered directly by Linde employees. As under the existing
contract, customers can have dock or room delivery options
for the products delivered. There will be an additional charge
for delivery to the room location, however, the charge should
be the same or less than that currently being paid.
a distinctive new look with a scenic photo of one of our State
Parks in the background.
The process of expansion of the pilot groups will take some
time and MDS and Linde staffs have been in touch with
various customers on campus to set up meetings and to discuss
continued implementation of the contract. The staff asks for
your continued patience as the contract moves forward into
full production over the next few months. If you are interested
in being one of the future pilot groups, please contact Terri
Parks.
Further information will be posted on the Purchasing Card
website at: http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/acct/purchcd/ as it
becomes available. If you have questions or concerns, please
contact Yvonne Quamme at 265-9800.
In an effort to get an inventory of existing LiNi dewars on
campus, Purchasing is asking that as departments return
dewars to companies other than Linde they note the serial
numbers and sizes of the dewars being returned. This will
help with reconciliation efforts as departments move to
Linde/MDS for LiNi products and those products are no
longer purchased from the current contractor. As departments
do this inventory count, please send the information to Vint
Quamme. It will be maintained in Purchasing and used with
Accounts Payable information at the time the current contract
is reconciled.
Any questions regarding the contract or the request for
inventory management can be addressed to Terri Parks or Vint
Quamme.
New Purchasing Cards
The State of Wisconsin and US Bank have entered into a new
contract for the corporate liability Purchasing Card, which
includes the UW-Madison VISA Purchasing Card. Our
campus is tentatively scheduled to migrate over to the new
system in December 2004. Although the previous contract
was also with US Bank, the new contract will bring about
some changes to the existing card program.
We will be moving over to a new platform at US Bank. PVS
Net software currently in use will be replaced with a webenabled program management and reporting tool called
“Access Online”. The new system will be similar in
functionality to the old, but will offer several benefits, such as
ease of use, robust reporting, online account inquiry
capabilities and real-time account changes. For your
convenience, we will offer Access Online Site Manager
training at different times and locations on campus, to be
announced at a later date.
The change in platforms will require the issuance of new cards
to our existing cardholders. There will be no significant
changes in the embossed information, but the cards will sport
We anticipate a seamless transition for the cardholders. The
new cards will be mailed directly to the cardholders at the
departmental address on file at the bank. The activation
process remains the same but the card expiration dates will
change to correspond with the new issuing date.
New Travel Cards
The State and US Bank have entered into a new contract for
the personal liability Travel Card. The new US Bank Travel
Card will be effective July 28, 2004 and will replace the
existing GE Capital Travel Card.
To make the replacement of the Travel Card as seamless as
possible for existing GE Capital travel cardholders, the current
cardholder data, not including the outstanding balances or
Social Security Numbers, will be transferred from GE Capital
to US Bank. The social security numbers are required, so
Accounting Services will be contacting current cardholders
with further information on the requirement and steps to take
if they choose to withhold this information and forego
receiving a new card. Current cardholders should make every
effort to pay outstanding balances in full prior to July 28,
2004. US Bank does have the right to refuse issuance of a
Travel Card to anyone in a delinquent status with the GE
Capital Travel Card.
Provided the transfer of data from US Bank to Accounting
Services is accomplished by June 21, 2004 as scheduled,
cardholders will receive their new US Bank Travel Card in the
mail, at their residence, the week of July 12, 2004. The card
will come in a very plain envelope with a US Bank P.O. Box
return address, so please watch for the new card if you are
expecting one. To activate the card, a call must be placed to
the toll-free number noted on the card. Cardholders should
do so prior to July 28th, as the GE Capital Travel Cards will
expire that day.
Employees interested in applying for a US Bank Travel Card
may do so after August 1, 2004. Applications and further
information will be posted, when available, at the following
website address:
http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/acct/travel/ccredit.html
If you have questions or concerns, please contact Yvonne
Quamme at 265-9800.
BUSINESS SERVICES NEWS – JUNE 2004
PAYROLL/BENEFITS CYCLE
IMPROVEMENTS
“My Time” System (a.k.a. Kronos)
This system is now available for general use in efficiently
recording student hours, eliminating paper timesheets. A new
feature is now operating which automatically exports the
hours entered in Kronos into the Student Appointment Payroll
System’s paymaster, thereby eliminating the need to rekey
hours worked. The hours are assigned to appropriate funding
sources based on funding rules entered in the Student
Appointment System. Those units interested in using this
software should work through their divisional payroll office.
ACCOUNTING SERVICES
Bank Account Change for Incoming Foreign Money
Wires
The following message applies only to incoming foreign
money wires from countries other than USA:
All incoming foreign money wires using a bank account
number beginning w/ 754 and ending with 0428 will be
rejected.
If you are expecting incoming foreign money wires, please
send an e-mail to the staff in Cash Management using the
following link
http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/acct/forms/wire_in.html
We will respond back within two business days with the new
information needed for your customers. Please contact your
customers in order to give them the new bank account number
and include the following phrase:
This e-mail is intended for business purposes only. The
information in this e-mail is confidential and protected. It is
intended solely for the addressee(s) or authorized
representatives of the addressee(s); access to or use by anyone
else is unauthorized and strictly prohibited. If this message
has been sent to you in error, do not review, disseminate,
distribute or copy it. Please reply to the sender that you have
received the message in error, and then delete it. Thank you.
For security reasons, please keep bank account numbers
confidential by not placing the bank account numbers on
internal nor external documents such as invoices, faxes, and
general e-mails. If you need to reference the bank account for
documentation purposes, please use the last 5 digits of the
bank account number.
If you have questions regarding this message, please contact
Sharon Hau, Cash Management, or call her at 262-1305.
Page 5
Bank Routing Number Update for all Departments
Who Deposit to US Bank vs. Firstar.
The following message applies only to Departments who
deposit directly to US Bank:
Effective July 1, 2004, old routing numbers on Firstar Bank
Deposit Slips will be retired by US Bank. Any deposits after
June 30, 2004 with old Firstar Bank routing numbers will
experience deposit delays of up to two business days. Please
check your bank deposit slip stock and look for any booklets
with the old Firstar Bank name (logo) on them.
If you have old deposit tickets with the old Firstar Bank logo,
please order new US Bank Deposit Tickets by contact Kathy
Virnig or call her at 262-0658. If possible, please order your
new US Bank Deposit Slips by June 17, 2004.
EMPLOYEE COMP & BENEFITS SVCS
Prescription Drug Benefits
The May 2004 issue of “It’s Your Benefit” newsletter at
http://etf.wi.gov/publications/yourben_text_menu.htm
includes three articles on this topic.
1) Managing Prescription Drug Benefit Important Part of
Controlling Health Insurance Costs
http://etf.wi.gov/publications/yourben_text_01.htm
2) Commonly Asked Questions and Answers About the
Pharmacy Benefit Manager
http://etf.wi.gov/publications/yourben_text_02.htm
3) Participants Should Regularly Check the Navitus Formulary
http://etf.wi.gov/publications/yourben_text_07.htm
If you haven’t already done so, we suggest that you take a
look at these.
Your Employee Services Team at Work-The Employee Services Team serves all of the UW Madison
employees through appointments, telephone services, large
and small presentations, etc. The following gives you an
overview of the services provided by this team from
September 1, 2003 through April 30, 2004.
 34 Sessions--Benefits 101, for the New Employee
 2 New Employee Orientation sessions at the Kohl Center
sponsored by Office of Human Resource Development  4 Workshops-Non-Resident Aliens Taxes
 Benefits Fair October 2003
 710 One-on-One employee appointments with a Benefit
Specialist
 Workshops--at the 14th Annual Moving Toward Peak
Performance: Conference for the Office Professional
sponsored by the Office of Human Resource
Development
BUSINESS SERVICES NEWS – JUNE 2004
Page 6
Education For Everyone-- There are Still Sessions
Coming Up, Register Early
bank an additional 40 hours of vacation in their ALRA
account.
Benefits 102: Retirement Plan, Tax Sheltered Annuities,
Deferred Compensation, Leave Benefits, etc. – July 22
Staff Directory
Midcareer Basics: Discover what steps you can take to better
prepare for your retirement years – June 24, August 3
Tax Sheltered Anuities (TSA) Basics – July 13
Pre-Retirement Workshops: Recommended if you are two to
five years from retirement – July 14
Go to this website for more information on each of these
sessions as well as to register:
http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/ecbs/emp-seminars.html
Summer FICA [Social Security and Medicare Taxes]
-- Students
The Social Security and Medicare tax deduction in the amount
of 7.65% of payroll must be withheld from Student employees'
payroll checks during the summer if a student is not enrolled
in the Inter-Session and/or Summer session on at least a half
time basis. To be eligible for an exemption from FICA
withholding, students must sign an enrollment verification
form. The form is found at:
http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/ecbs/pay-student-verificationuw1244.doc
See additional information on the Policies and procedures
relating to employment of students during the summer at:
http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/ecbs/pay-student-employmentverification-uw1243.html
Unclassified Health Insurance Refund
The employee share of the monthly health insurance premium
for unclassified employees has been reduced retroactive to the
December 1, 2003 paycheck (for coverage beginning January
1, 2004). As a result, employees with health insurance
coverage will receive a refund of the overpayment. For most
employees, this will mean a refund for six months of
overpayments that occurred in checks paid December 1
through May 1. The reduced premiums were deducted on the
June 1, 2004 check. This refund will be paid in a separate
check on August 12, 2004.
In early September, the paper staff directory is revised, and the
distribution occurs in October. We ask that employees review
the information in the Faculty & Staff section of the directory
and notify their payroll office of any updates. The cutoff date
to enter employee address or telephone changes for the paper
directory is sometime in August, yet to be determined by the
Vice Chancellor’s office.
Current staff information can be found on the web at:
http://www.wisc.edu/wiscinfo/directories/
UW-Madison employees are reminded to submit an Employee
Information form to their unit payroll coordinator. These
forms can be found at
http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/ecbs/uw1035-employeeinformation.html
New Info on the EC&BS Web
Check out “New Info” http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/ecbs/NewInformation.html. This web page provides a menu of topics
that you might be interested in.
UW Staff Benefits Statements
The University did not issue 2004 Staff Benefits Statements to
employees this spring as has been done in previous years.
This has been a very uncertain year in regard to health
insurance premiums paid by certain employee groups. It
would have required substantial programming resources to
make the Staff Benefit Statement meaningful to all employees.
Also, it was not feasible to accomplish re-programming before
the close of the academic year. We are currently seeking
methods to improve the timely delivery of our services, given
the budgetary constraints. We are looking at delivering
employee benefit information through our web site and the
UW-Madison portal. This coming fiscal year, we will be
developing a delivery plan that will spell out some of these
improved delivery changes.
Leaving UW Employment?
The premium amounts vary by type of plan. For example, the
premiums for Tier 1 plans, in which the majority of people are
enrolled, were reduced from $25 to $18 for single coverage
and $62.50 to $45 for family. Tier 1 Graduate Assistant
premiums changed from $12.50 for single to $9.00 and from
$31.25 to $22.50 for family.
We recently updated our publication: Benefits When You
Leave UW Employment. It provides information about what
options may be available to you for continuing your benefit
plans when you retire or terminate. Find the publication at:
http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/ecbs/emp-termination-menu.html
Don’t forget to set up an appointment with a UW Benefits
Specialist to ensure that your benefits are protected! To make
an appointment, go to: http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/ecbs/admappt-request-form-uw1305.html
Annual Leave Reserve Account (ALRA)
Earnings Statements on-line
Effective with the 2003-2005 unclassified pay plan, the cash
pay option for unused annual leave for unclassified employees
with 25 years of service has been suspended until such time as
funding is made available in the state budget. Employees who
would have been eligible for the cash pay option may instead
If you have access to the My UW-Madison portal, you can
view your earning statements through the portal. For
additional information, see our FAQ at:
BUSINESS SERVICES NEWS – JUNE 2004
http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/ecbs/emp-faqs-student-earningsstatement.html
Page 7
Services and the requesting department. Accounting Services
will then cancel the encumbrance. For any questions
regarding Cancellation Orders, please contact Purchasing
Services.
PURCHASING SERVICES
New Equipment Maintenance Program Contract
Specialty Underwriters LLC was recently awarded contract
04-5985 for an Equipment Maintenance Management
Program. The objectives of the program are to outsource the
administration of corrective and preventative maintenance
while providing cost effective controls and handling
efficiencies that maintain or improve levels of vendor service.
The two key benefits offered by Specialty Underwriters are
one point of contact for all equipment maintenance
management issues (including supplier invoicing and
payment) and the ability for the member to retain their
repair/maintenance supplier of choice. The typical program
converts maintenance agreements and repairs to a time and
materials approach. If service is needed, Specialty
Underwriters contacts the repair company as requested by the
member and processes the invoice.
If you have a current maintenance provider but would like to
obtain a quote from Specialty Underwriters to take advantage
of the savings, please forward a copy of your current
maintenance contract or a copy of your invoice to Specialty
Underwriters, Greg Kopulos, 800-558-9910.
If you do not have a current provider, please provide Specialty
Underwriters the following information:
 Equipment Description
 Make, model and serial number
 Location of equipment
 Original purchase price
 Name of vendor you would like to use
 Annual usage if this is for a copier
The Specialty Underwriter representative can explain the
program and also tell you what is and what is not covered by
this plan.
If you have any questions or problems regarding this contract,
please contact Vera Laufenberg, Purchasing Service or
Jeanine Critchley, Risk Management.
Canceling Purchase Orders
To cancel a purchase order, please follow the process outlined
in the Business Services “How To” documents at:
http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/howto/purch/Cancellation_Order.
html
When canceling an order, contact the Purchasing Agent of
record. Indicate the Purchase Order number and the specific
reasons for cancellation. The Purchasing Agent will issue the
Cancellation Order to notify the vendor and copy Accounting
Sometimes departmental staff will cancel a requisition
encumbrance using EPRQ on 3270 when all they really
wanted to do was ensure that the invoice is not paid without
prior departmental approval. We have the option to indicate
that purchase orders require positive approval, meaning that
the responsible department person needs to approve the
invoice prior to it being paid. Please do not cancel the
requisition on 3270 to stop the invoice from being paid if the
funding could possibly expire prior to resolution. In some
instances, if the funding has expired, you cannot recover those
funds if the order was cancelled.
Minority Business Update
We appreciate your continued commitment to the MBE
program and to trying to meet our goal of spending 5% of our
purchasing dollars with minority business enterprises.
Our year to date progress for the Madison Campus is $2.5
million.
We ask that you continue training staff who make purchase
decisions at the best judgment dollar level (under $5,000) and
the simplified bid dollar level to consult the MBE Directory
available through our website at
http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/purch/mbe.html to give an MBE
an opportunity for your business. Please contact Rhonda
Loger, Minority Business Enterprise Liaison, with any
questions or concerns.
Training Opportunities from Purchasing Services
On September 14 and 16, 2004 in 220 Ingraham Hall, we will
be offering our two morning “How to Purchase Goods and
Services at UW-Madison” workshop. The September 14th
session (running from 8:30-11:45) will cover the following
topics:
 Understanding the role of the Purchasing Operations in
supporting UW-Madison as well as an overview of
service improvements and how we can assist you in your
daily work. An overview of Purchasing authority, policies
and procedures, special approvals, and signatory authority
(what you can and can’t do).
 Learn different ways to purchase and associated types of
competitive processes and waivers, their dollar limits and
purchasing methods (including best judgment, bidding
and request for proposals, ASSA’s, contracts, blanket
orders, COR’s, and more).
 Learn how a requisition is processed into an order (how to
properly complete the requisition, the path it takes from
your desk to ours, and how to track it if necessary).
Become aware of purchasing resources available online.
Understand University’s commitment to achieve minority
business goals.
BUSINESS SERVICES NEWS – JUNE 2004
The September 16 session will cover:
 A Materials Distribution Services (MDS) operational and
product overview.
 Detailed explanation of obtaining needed products at the
lowest overall cost.
 Overview of UW-Madison’s E-Commerce operations,
ordering, and the prime vendor concept.
 Demonstrations of all prime vendor ordering sites and tips
and tricks for more effectively utilizing the MDS
Ordering System.
 Completing the tail end of the procurement process
through disposing of property using SWAP, including
forms, procedures, and a timeline for SWAP pick-ups.
 SWAP inventory and the sales process to UW
Departments. Detailed explanation of SWAP credits back
to departments and methods of sale including online
auctions.
Please register for these workshops to learn more about this
important topic. Sign up for Part 1 at
http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/reg/catalog_course.asp?course_key
=5671 and Part 2 at
http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/reg/catalog_course.asp?course_key
=6665. We will be offering this session every two months
during the academic calendar year. Please consult the OHRD
registration page for more available dates and times. Please
contact us at purch@bussvc.wisc.edu regarding any of your
training needs.
We will be happy to put together an individualized
presentation focused on your department’s specific needs to
present at a divisional meeting or to work on assisting you
with specialized requirements on a one-on-one basis.
Website Navigation Tips: Instructions for the
Requisition and Number Generator
A comprehensive set of instructions for the Requisition and
Number Generator can be found at
http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/purch/req/ReqGenIns.html.
Topics include: Logging into and adding the Requisition and
Number Generator to your Resources Tab in My UW,
Reserving Requisition Numbers and Requesting Blocks of
Requisition Numbers, Creating a Practice Requisition,
Creating a Requisition, and a list of Frequently Asked
Questions. This set of web pages is also available for
download as a Word document for easier printing. If you are
having problems or need assistance using the Requisition and
Number Generator, please use the following guidelines for
whom to contact. For technical issues, computer related
questions, browser questions, login questions, or any problems
related to My UW, please contact DoIT's Help Desk at 264HELP. For questions about using the application or general
requisition questions, contact Purchasing Services .
Page 8
MATERIALS DISTRIBUTION SERVICES (MDS)
MDS/SWAP 2004 Spring Product Show
Thank you for attending the show! This event was our most
successful product show to date! Please contact Terri Parks
with any comments on the show. We look forward to seeing
you there again next year!
Storage Space Available at MDS
Are you looking for a secure, cost effective area to store your
items? Look no further! For storage space rental, please
contact Bill Sutton or 608-245-2902 for more information.
Gas Cylinder and Liquid Nitrogen Pick-up Requests
To request a cylinder or liquid nitrogen pick-up, please call
MDS Customer Service at 245-2900 or use the Gas Cylinder
Pick-Up Request Form available at
http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/mds/GasPickUp.html.
If you have questions, please contact MDS Customer Service
at 245-2900.
SWAP Online Auction Expansion for Departments
Need to stretch your budget dollars? Try looking at SWAP
before telling someone that there is no money available for his
or her request!
SWAP has made some changes that allow departments to shop
right from their desks. The SWAP On-Line Auction site now
has a special category for UW Departments, State Agencies,
WI Public Schools and Municipalities to bid on items. This
allows you to see the items that are available for sale, and
make an offer before the items are available to the general
public. This option has already allowed several different
departments to get items they would have missed out on
because they were unable to make it out to SWAP. The
success of this process depends on the response we get from
you. If this process works well, you can expect to see more
items posted in this area.
If there are items you would like to see on this page, please
contact SWAP for your requests, comments and suggestions.
The SWAP auction site is available at:
https://mds.bussvc.wisc.edu/swap/home.asp
The E-mail address for requests, comments and suggestions is
swap@bussvc.wisc.edu or sauction@bussvc.wisc.edu and by
phone at 245-2908.
The SWAP On-Line Auction site continues to grow. What
does this mean to your department? The results of our online
growth will be seen in larger returns for the sale of items when
sold online. Some of our current large offerings include the
Memorial Union Terrace Chairs as well as the fitness
equipment from the SERF and Recreational Sports. Check
BUSINESS SERVICES NEWS – JUNE 2004
Page 9
them out to see the type of auction service SWAP can offer
campus departments.
RISK MANAGEMENT
New Property Reporting Rules
In order to assure that we have the appropriate property
insurance in place through the State’s Self-funded Property
Program, we are now being asked to provide more detailed
information in high value situations. Beginning immediately,
our office must be notified of any of the following situations:
past, present and as they are created.
Fine Arts: any individual fine art, or “collection” over
$100,000 (need bldg #, name, description and value of item or
collection)
Foreign Locations: any individual bldg/location where we
have more than $100,000 of total property values (need
facility #, if applicable, facility name, address, country, total
value at that location).
Musical Instruments: any individual item over $250,000 in
value (need facility # and name, description, value)
Shipments To/From Overseas: any shipment coming from,
going to an overseas location, excluding Canada (need
description of item, value, date of departure and return,
departure point or destination).
Questions regarding this may be referred to either Jeanine
Critchley at 262-8925 or Margaret Hoffman at 262-0379.
Van Driver Training Class
Although we continue to discourage the use of 12/15
passenger vans for use outside the City of Madison, there are
some instances when some of you may need to use them,
while they are still available. To that end, DOA has now
revised their training class. It is now a full day of training, the
cost is $92, and it must be taken at least every 3 years.
Before enrolling in the class, remember that you must be at
least 25 years of age and already be approved to drive through
our office. On that basis, should one need to enroll, that now
happens through the following link:
http://www.doa.state.wi.us/training/course_list.asp
Once you’ve taken the course, you must forward a copy of
your van card to our office, along with the appropriate funding
string to which we will charge the enrollment fee. Questions
may be addressed to Tracie Taylor at 262-8926.
Trailer Training
Periodically our office has scheduled training in the fine art of
hauling a trailer. It has now been well over a year since we
offered such a program and we are wondering about the
interest in running this program again. If there is, it would
probably be held in the fall. Please contact Tracie Taylor at
262-8926.
BUSINESS SERVICES NEWS
A quarterly publication to provide up-to-date information to University of
Wisconsin faculty and staff on University business policies and procedures.
Contributions to this newsletter are made by Business Services' departments
and UW-Archives. Circulated free via the internet and by subscription ©All
rights reserved. Business Services is located at 750 University Avenue, A.W.
Peterson Office Building, Madison 53706.
Editors: Pam Frederick, Don Miner