6. Will the system be able to provide historical invoice data? Yes, the system will provide an archive of paid invoices.

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1 CHI Connect Financial Systems and Accounts Payable Q&A 1. How will departments access their financial data each month? Departments will have online access to a variety of useful reports detailing their financial data. Managers will receive training on how to access and interpret the reports. 2. Will we be able to add new accounts or accounting units (cost centers)? The new system has a standardized master chart of accounts and cost centers. A process is in place for adding accounts and cost centers. You may request new accounts and cost centers. However, only the designated personnel in the national finance office will be allowed to create the accounts and cost centers in the system and only after ensuring the requests fall within standards. 3. Where will invoices be routed for payment? Invoices will be sent directly to the Accounts Payable Support Center (APSC). At the APSC, non-po invoices will be scanned, indexed, pre-processed and forwarded electronically for approval within four business days of receipt. PO invoices will also be processed within four business days. At that time, employees with appropriate access will be able to view invoices online. 4. How will non-purchase order invoices be approved and coded? Approval and coding for non-purchase order invoices will be completed online. An notice will automatically be sent to the appropriate person when there are invoices pending approval. The approved invoices will be returned to the Accounts Payable Support Center for processing, which will generally occur within two business days of receipt. The invoices then will be released and will be available for payment based on the vendor s terms. 5. How should a vendor follow up on the status of an invoice? All vendor inquires should be directed to the Accounts Payable Support Center. Some local employees will be able to check the status of a payment online. 6. Will the system be able to provide historical invoice data? Yes, the system will provide an archive of paid invoices. 7. How will invoices and purchase orders be available to review? Managers will be able to look up invoices and purchase orders online at any time by going to the transaction and viewing a copy of the actual invoice or purchase order. Specific access is needed to view this information. 9. Will multiple bills from one vendor a law firm, for example be paid on one check? Yes, we will consolidate all payments to the same vendor. 1

2 10. If all invoices go to the central Accounts Payable Support Center, how will staff know who the invoice is for? Vendors will receive a letter requesting that they include information on their invoices to indicate the purchase order number or the facility and department that ordered the nonpurchase order item or service. Invoices with a purchase order number will be processed by matching the invoice with purchase order information. Non-purchase order invoices will be routed for approval according to the information provided by the vendor. If the invoice does not include the appropriate information, the Accounts Payable Support Center will call the vendor or person who placed the order for clarification. Over time, a list will be developed to assist with the sorting process. 11. Who will notify vendors that invoices need to go to the Accounts Payable Support Center (APSC)? If we keep getting invoices from the vendors, do we notify the vendor or the APSC? accounts payable staff will work with the APSC to send a letter to all vendors about the changes. Invoices sent directly to departments after January 1, 2013 should be forwarded without approval to Accounts payable department located at CSC 4 th Street 12. Will we be trained on the new invoice system? Employees who handle invoices will be trained on the new invoice processes. WebNow is the tool that allows us to scan, review and approve invoices. 13. If invoices are processed as received, what will be done about priority due dates? will be given the opportunity to provide a list of timesensitive, pre-approved invoices, such as utility and telephone invoices. These invoices will be coded by the Accounts Payable Support Center and processed when they arrive, rather than being routed for approval. Reconciliation, if needed, will occur in the following month. All other bills will be paid based on the vendor s individual payment schedule. Typically, national vendors will be paid within 45 days and local vendors will be paid within 30 days of the date the invoice arrives at the Accounts Payable Support Center. To avoid late payments, all approved non-purchase order invoices will be processed within an average of two business days of receipt of the coded and approved invoice, and all purchase order invoices will be processed within an average of four business days of receipt of the invoice. FIN 2 2

3 14. Will all the cost center (department numbers) codes change? Yes, a standard format for cost center codes (department numbers) is used across Catholic Health Initiatives. Cost centers are called accounting units. The national finance team will work with s finance staff to create a translation table or crosswalk to take you from the current codes to the new accounting codes. This will be part of the training and available online. 15. Can coding be split between two cost centers? How will that be approved? Yes, coding can be split between cost centers (accounting units). There are processes in place to facilitate approval by multiple managers. The approval will route through the department that placed the order. Accounting reports will show what items were coded by department. 16. Can I find out what my department has spent with a specific vendor? There are two ways to access this information: You can drill down from the accounting reports to look at particular invoices online. Specific access is needed to view this information. You can request a report from national accounting. Depending on your access, you may need to work with your local finance team to request this. 17. Will the s expense report policy be changing? Yes, the expense report policy will change to be consistent with other Catholic Health Initiatives facilities. However, if local requirements remain, the expense report approver has the authority to reject the report or request more information before the Accounts Payable Support Center s final approval stage. 18. Will we be able to create employee business expense reports for other people? Yes, you may create a proxy to designate another person to create an expense report for you. You will create the proxy online using the new online expense reporting tool. The proxy can then create the expense report, but the form must be reviewed and submitted by the person who incurred the expense. Electronic submission is the same as a signature. 19. How will expense reports be submitted? Expense reports will be created, submitted and approved online using the new web-based expense reporting tool. Below are some highlights of the process: The system has a built in policy-check function that warns you of potential errors prior to submitting an expense report, allowing you to modify the report on the spot rather than after it has been submitted. You will print a bar-coded expense report cover sheet and fax it, along with all required receipts, to the Accounts Payable Support Center (APSC) at Submitted expense reports will automatically be routed to your supervisor for electronic approval. Once supervisor approval is received, the electronic expense report will be routed to the APSC where it will be final-approved and matched against the faxed receipts. FIN 2 3

4 The APSC will process the expense report for payment. Expense reimbursement for expenses not on the American Express corporate card will be issued by the APSC and payment made either by direct deposit or check. In the past, employee expense reimbursement was part of the payroll checks. With the new Concur system, the payment will be from Accounts Payable separate from other payroll payments. Other features of the new process include: o the ability for you to self monitor your expense report o automated expense report approval status notifications for employees and managers o automatic download of American Express corporate card transactions into an expense report template o regular alerts reflecting American Express corporate card balances o weekly notices when American Express corporate card transactions are available for expense report creation 20. What do we do with receipts that need to accompany employee business expense reports? Receipts should be scanned and attached to the report, then, kept until reimbursement is received. 21. Will we need receipts for expenses that show up on the American Express corporate paid bill? Yes, Catholic Health Initiatives policy requires that all receipts be submitted for expenses that are $25 or more regardless of whether they are incurred on the corporate card or another way. Local facility travel policy may require receipts for lesser amounts. 22. How quickly will an expense report be in the system? What happens if you discover a mistake on an expense report you have already submitted? Expense reports will be in the system as soon as you submit them. You will learn in training how to make edits on expense reports even after they have been submitted. Edits can be made up to the time the Accounts Payable Support Center completes the final approval and submits the report for payment. 23. How will expense reports be approved? Expense reports will be approved online by the supervisor of the person who incurred the expenses. The supervisor will be notified by using SmartNotes when a report is available for approval. 24. How do we know an expense report has been approved? You will see the status of your expense report in Concur. FIN 2 4

5 25. What happens if something on the expense report is not approved? If something on the expense report is not approved, the entire report will be returned electronically to the person who submitted the expense report. The submitter will correct it and the expense report will go back through the approval route. If the issue causing the report not to be approved does not change the amount of the reimbursement, the Accounts Payable Support Center will first try to resolve the issue by , rather than rejecting the report. 26. Will reimbursements be mailed or deposited directly to my bank account? Can we track reimbursement online? Expenses will be reimbursed separately from Accounts Payable via direct deposit or a separate check. This is a non-taxable item. You can track reimbursements online. FIN 2 5