About this Guide
Summary
As a Financial Delegate you will periodically be
required to perform approvals. This guide covers
the approval of Purchases and your responsibilities
as a Financial Delegate.
(Read about Financial Delegation on the Finance
website www.fin.unsw.edu.au)
This section summaries the purchase request.
It identifies the person who is making the
purchase, the person who requested the purchase
as well as the person who will be receiving delivery
of the purchase.
It will also give you the total amount (and
associated GST) of the purchase being made.
Your Worklist
When a request is submitted to you for approval
you will receive an e-mail notification. In order to
use the link provided in the e-mail you need to be
logged into NS Financials (using your zpass).
(Find the NS Financials log-in page on front page of
our web site).
To access a list of transactions awaiting approval:
click on the Worklist menu at the top right of the
NS Financials landing page.
How to perform approvals?
Everything in this list requires action by you. Once
you have performed approval the request will
disappear from your list.
Click on the blue hyperlink within the line that you
wish to perform an approval on in order to access
the details of the request.
The approval page consists of five sections:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Summary
Comments & Attachments
Lines
Distributions
Approval
Each line will have an accounting Distribution.
You should ensure that the funds for this purchase
are coming out of the appropriate budget.
Approval
If the request is made on behalf of someone else
they will also be identified.
Comments & Attachments
Buyers will attach associated documentation and
make comments. These could include quotes,
contracts, business cases or any other
documentation the requester/buyer feels relevant
to the purchase or additional information for you
as the approver.
You should review this documentation before
performing approval.
Lines
The Approval Page
Distributions
The lines section will display all lines associated
with the purchase, there could be one or many
lines.
It will identify for you where the goods will be
shipped to, a description of the purchase as well as
the cost of the item and how many are being
purchased.
Please take some time to familiarise yourself with
UNSW’s Approval Guidelines by clicking on the link
provided. You should then confirm that this
purchase is approved by you in accordance with
these guidelines.
Should you have any comments to make you can
type them into the Comments section provided.
You can then Approve, Deny or Reassign the
purchase to an alternative approver by clicking on
one of the yellow buttons at the bottom of the
page. (Please provide comments when denying or
reassigning a request.)
Once you have approved, denied or reassigned the
request if will disappear from your Worklist
(although you will stay on the page).
You can also scroll through your requests by using
the Next or Previous buttons at the bottom of the
screen.
If you have a question on the purchase you can
use the Notify button to contact the buyer or
another UNSW staff member. (You will need to
use a UNSW email address).
Cancelling a Non-Approved PO
Where to find Training
If a Purchase Order is not approved and is no
longer required it is important that it is cancelled.
The buyer must open the PO by navigating to:
Main Menu > Purchasing > Purchase Orders >
Add/Update POs and then selecting the Find an
Existing Value tab.
After searching for and selecting the PO you will
be taken to the Maintain Purchase Order screen.
Select the
to Cancel the PO.
Online Training:
Access the Online Training Videos, NS Financials
Knowledge Base & UPK Online Training Tool (UPK)
from the finance website, select “Training & NSF
Knowledge Base”, “Training” and then “Online
Training”.
Classroom Training:
Training schedules are posted on the finance
website, select “Training & NSF Knowledge Base”
and “Training” then “NS Financials Training”.
Please seek approval from your line manager and
follow the normal approval process to register
classroom training.
You will then be prompted to complete a Budget
Check. It is essential to select the "Budget Check"
option on this page.
This will ensure that the funds are returned to the
original Budget nominated by the ChartFields so
that the encumbrance is cleared.
Where to get help
Purchasing Guidelines
Please take some time to become familiar with
UNSW’s Purchasing Guidelines. The Purchasing
Guidelines can be found on the Finance website
under Purchasing.
The section for approvers covers details such as
depending on the value of the purchase there may
be a requirement for the buyer to provide
quotation details; and for very high dollar
purchases Procurement may also need to be
involved. Buyers are expected to adhere to the
UNSW Code of Conduct and UNSW’s Fraud Policy
and be familiar with the OH&S checklist for certain
purchases (such as hazardous materials).
As a Financial Delegate it is your responsibility to
ensure these are being adhered to.
NSF KNOWLEDGE BASE – Guidance on the finance
systems, including access to User Guides,
Frequently Asked Questions, Quick Reference
Guides, and Classroom Presentations.
PURCHASING HELP – Contact Buying Network on
BuyingNetwork@unsw.edu.au
PROCESSING HELP – Contact Accounts Payable
Help Desk on extension 53356 or email details to
aphelp@unsw.edu.au.
TECHNICAL HELP - Contact your local IT support
team, if it cannot be resolved; contact the IT
Service Desk x51333.
APPROVALS
Purchasing
Quick Reference Guide
For the University’s Financial Policies and
Guidelines, refer to the Finance Website:
www.fin.unsw.edu.au