Texas Express. Spotlight on: Avance Houston Growing Human Services Agency Evolves to P-Card. Payments. Transaction Services.

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1 Transaction Services July, 2012 Texas Express In this Issue Page 1 2 Human Services Agency Evolves to P-Card Payments Spotlight on: Avance Houston Growing Human Services Agency Evolves to P-Card Payments Avance Houston is a human services organization that unlocks America s potential by helping families in at-risk communities move from historic cycles of poverty and illiteracy to a future of opportunity and prosperity. The agency achieves this goal through in-field parent education and support programs throughout the Houston metro area. Avance Houston has been growing rapidly over the past two years; a $20 million organization in 2010 has mushroomed to $29 million in With that growth have come challenges in managing financial expenditures. The organization knew it needed to progress beyond its traditional manual methods of paying for and tracking office and child-care supplies and other operational expenses throughout its 19 locations. We were still doing manual purchase orders and check requests, says Finance Director Cindy Tran. We had grown so large so fast, adding so many centers, and it became a little overwhelming. Page 2 Single Sign-On Comes to CitiManager Page 3 Citi Named Best Purchasing Card Provider The solution began to take form in January 2011, when Avance Houston met with Citi to discuss the agency s challenges. Citi s recommended solution: an automated payments system anchored by Purchasing Cards for the agency s center and program administrators. A pilot program was in place within five months, and by the end of the year, all 52 of the agency s administrators were using P-Cards for their expenditures. Page 3 Mark Your Calendar for October s User Conference Our administrators really like the card, says Aída Del Moral, the agency s P-Card Program Administrator. They no longer require manual signatures every time they go to Home Depot to buy supplies. They can be much more efficient now, using their P-Card essentially as petty cash. Page 5 Your Citi Support Team (cont.) Page 4 July/August Training Webinar Schedule Page 4 CLASS Is Now in Session

2 2 Citi Transaction Services Spotlight on: Avance Houston Growing Human Services Agency Evolves to P-Card Payments (cont.) The P-Card system allows for easy management and tracking as well, thanks to electronic, detailed monthly reports. And each Card can be customized with a specific spending limit for each administrator. Citi s Purchasing Card program is helping us better achieve our mission of helping Houston families in need. It s convenient, it saves time and money, it s efficient and employees love it, says Del Moral. Citi s Purchasing Card program is helping us better achieve our mission of helping Houston families in need. No More Multiple Passwords: Single Sign-On Comes to CitiManager Commercial Card Administrators asked for it, and Citi has delivered. You no longer need to remember multiple passwords or log on to multiple systems to manage your Card program. Now, enjoy single sign-on access to the Citi Global Card Management System (GCMS) web tool via the CitiManager portal. Single sign-on access to GCMS means you now only need a single CitiManager username and password to access Citi s suite of online tools, including: Citi Custom Reporting Systems (CCRS) Online Statements (CitiManager) Library (formerly known as CERS Citibank Electronic Reporting) Citi Global Card Management System (GCMS) An important note: If you utilize the single sign-on functionality of CitiManager, all your organization s cardholders and other Program Administrators must access GCMS through the CitiManager portal to ensure consistency throughout your organization. And once you ve successfully established single sign-on, you and your users will no longer be able to access GCMS as a standalone reporting tool. Your GCMS access will be streamlined via single sign-on through CitiManager. How to get started To start benefiting from single sign-on access to GCMS from the CitiManager portal, please contact Citi today at GCMS_SSO_Inquiries@citi.com. Once we receive your , we ll give you step-by-step instructions on the one-time enablement process for all users to establish the GCMS link on CitiManager. If you have any additional questions about the capability, please contact Citi s Customer Service Center via phone or us at GCMS_SSO_Inquiries@citi.com. If you decide not to take advantage of this optional enhancement to streamline your online access, then no further action is required. Quick Tip: Two PAs Are Better Than One Citi strongly recommends appointing two Program Administrators (PAs) a primary and a backup. Two PAs can audit each other s transactions, functioning as a check-and-balance against potential inappropriate use of cards. Plus, if there s a change in duties or if one of the PAs changes jobs, the other PA can ensure a smooth transition.

3 Texas Express July Citi Named Best Purchasing Card Provider When you work hard to be the best, people tend to take notice. Citi has earned Best Global Corporate Cards and Expense Services Provider honors from Global Finance magazine for our innovative Purchasing Card solution. Citi is very pleased to have won the 2012 Purchasing Card award, says Naveed Sultan, Global Head of Treasury and Trade Solutions with Citi s Global Transaction Services. We have worked hard to build the infrastructure to support our global clients and their objectives. This award validates our long-held strategy of providing the largest proprietary global network in the industry in order to provide clients with increased flexibility and cost efficiencies. Citi s suite of B2B card solutions leverages the industry s largest global issuing footprint. Citi has rapidly expanded around the globe while providing clients with the consistent business experience that only a common unified technology platform and lack of reliance on bank partners can provide. As a result, Citi clients around the world benefit from consistent customer service, functionality, reporting and innovative new products. In addition to its suite of Purchasing Card solutions, Citi s Commercial Card portfolio includes an award-winning Virtual Card Accounts solution, Travel & Entertainment cards, Project, Meeting and Fleet Card capabilities, as well as Buyer Initiated Payment Cards. More accolades: Celent Model Bank Award Citi Commercial Cards has also taken home the 2012 Celent Model Bank award, which recognizes Citi s strategy to deploy a standardized core processing system to provide truly global products and services. The annual award seeks to answer the question What would it look like for a bank to do everything right with today s technology? Citi Commercial Cards has provided that answer for our clients. We are extremely pleased to have been recognized as a Celent Model Bank, said Manish Kohli, Global Head of Citi Commercial Cards. Our platform migration strategy has been a complex, substantial undertaking and our continued rollout exemplifies Citi s ongoing commitment to innovation, global availability and the best infrastructure possible to support our clients. Since first migrating to a single, global platform beginning with 15 countries in Western Europe, Citi has rapidly expanded and now offers its unified platform in 100 countries around the globe. Over the past two years, the pace of implementation has rapidly increased with launches in another 14 countries around the globe. Mark Your Calendar for October s Texas User Conference! It isn t too early to start planning for Citi s annual Texas Commercial Card User Conference. The 2012 gathering takes place in Austin, Dallas and Houston in October. The Conference is your opportunity to: Participate in interactive and educational sessions. Learn about our innovative product technology. Gain insight from some of our most experienced professionals. Learn best practices from and build relationships with other users and experts. Obtain training to make your job easier and more efficient. Understand and leverage Citi s program management innovations. Here is the breakdown of Conference dates in each of the three host cities: Austin University of Texas at the JJ Pickle Research Facility Mon. Oct. 15; Training Day Tues. Oct. 16 Houston Sheraton North Houston Hotel Wed. Oct. 24; Training Day Thurs. Oct. 25 Dallas Embassy Suites Outdoor World Tues. Oct. 30; Training Day Wed. Oct. 31 Your invitation is coming soon! When you receive it, be sure to register immediately to secure your seat at the location of your choice. And if you have any questions, please your Citi Client Account Manager: Patricia (Trish) Stoker patricia.a.stoker@citi.com David Cox david.w.cox@citi.com For additional questions or issues, please contact the Statewide Contract Support Team at chargecardprogram@ cpa.state.tx.us or

4 4 Citi Transaction Services Training Webinar Schedule for August Citi s training webinars are an important part of our commitment to sharing best practices to manage and optimize your Citi Commercial Card programs. Through these interactive and/or prerecorded online sessions, you can view the Citi system and communicate with our trainers in real time, right from your desktop. Below is the training webinars schedule for July and August. Be sure to take full advantage of these virtual classrooms to keep current on Citi s online tools! Citi Custom Reporting System (CCRS) Thurs. Aug. 1 p.m. CDT From modifying a report template to creating a report from scratch, learn how to use the Dynamic Report Builder, selecting from more than 650 data elements in this versatile and powerful tool. See the many useful existing queries created by others for your use. Learn how to use our portal application to include logging in, viewing accounts and transactions, performing account maintenance, and viewing and printing statements. Global Card Management System Thurs. Aug. 1 p.m. CDT Learn how to perform transaction cost allocation and develop a customized report using the Create Report feature in CitiDirect Global Card Management System. See how to use GCMS for program auditing or to create a report to upload to your organization s accounting system. We re proud to work with State of Texas employees to identify specific training requirements, and we ll tailor a training and program curriculum to meet those needs. For up-to-date training information, visit texaschargecard.transactionservices.citi.com. Introduction to CitiManager Wed. Aug. 1 p.m. CDT CLASS Is Now in Session At Citi, we re committed to ensuring that your organization gets the most out of your Commercial Card program. Training is a key part of that commitment. So we provide a variety of training opportunities to Commercial Card Program Administrators, covering both high-level capability overviews and in-depth technology classes. Using our learning management system, Commercial Card Learning and Support System (CLASS), you can access training delivery resources in both demo and interactive training modes. CLASS has been recently updated with new Job Aids, User Guides and e-learning modules for CitiManager and Citi Custom Reporting System. To register for the new e-learning modules created via Adobe Captivate and learn about the system enhancements, just log on to the CitiManager website, go to the Web Tools tab, and click on CLASS. Review the catalog s offerings and take advantage of Citi s ongoing commitment to keep you apprised of the newest program features, technologies and best practices. After all, when you succeed, we succeed!

5 Texas Express July Quick Reference Guide to Your Citi Support Team Here is a quick reference guide to Citi s Support Team for the State of Texas. (You might want to print this out and keep it handy.) For day-to-day card program management inquiries Client Account Specialists (CAS) Kaylen Woodard or Dustin Reed For password resets, building reports and web tool support This team of technical specialists is a resource for Program Administrators and Cardholders needing technical assistance with online tools, to include reporting and reallocation. Online/Web-based Tool Helpdesk , option 1 For ongoing strategic management Client Account Managers , option 3, text , or Fax , or sotx.comcards@citi.com Trish Stoker patricia.a.stoker@citi.com David Cox david.w.cox@citi.com Citi Transaction Services transactionservices.citi.com 2012 Citibank, N.A. All rights reserved. Citi and Arc Design is a registered service mark of Citigroup Inc GTS /12