As 1099 season concludes, it is time to start shifting gears to get ready for the end of the fiscal year. University Shared Service teams are working to help ensure things go smoothly.
Following the changes around long term equipment and real estate leases, this newsletter edition reviews lease agreement-related processes when working with contract services and procurement, as well as some best practices. Getting year-end payments ready to go out the door means getting match exceptions resolved, too. Check out our article discussing exceptions and how to resolve three-way match exceptions on purchase order vouchers.
In usual form, the newsletter ends with a fun tech tip. This one could potentially save you valuable formatting time when using Excel. Stay safe and have a good summer!
Sincerely,
Tracy Greenup, University Shared Services Director
Table of Contents:
- Lease Payments and Contracting Needs
- Shedding Some Light on Match Exceptions
- Fiscal Year End is Approaching--Are You Ready?
- Beginner Excel Tip That Has You Looking Like a Pro!
Lease Payments and Contracting Needs
With regards to GASB Statement No. 87, several offices work together to review and process lease obligations to ensure the University is compliant with governmental reporting standards. The two areas that start the review process to sign the lease contracts are:
- Contract services office for each campus
- UM System Procurement
It may be challenging to determine where your lease should go for review and what happens next. Each of the two offices listed above will begin the review process and connect with appropriate leadership, if needed, for additional approvals to move forward. It is important to start with the correct team to avoid unnecessary processing delays. You can find guidance on the Office of the Controller’s Lease Accounting Standard webpage or review UM System Accounting Leases and Software Subscriptions policy.
If you are processing a lease that will go through the campus Contract Services Office, such as a lease for real estate, the office support team member in your department with appropriate security will . This should be attached along with the signed lease from the customer or supplier into the portal.
Once submitted, the contracts team will obtain campus approvals on your behalf before sending to UM System Real Estate.
- UM Real Estate consults with the real estate coordinators, the contracts office and university staff during the preparation and negotiation of contracts.
- For all long term leases, UM Real Estate enters the information into PeopleSoft for payments to be made.
- UM Real Estate will notify the contract service office and the department if the lease does not fall within GASB reporting regulations.
- For short-term leases, the department is responsible for ensuring the payment is made. Payments should not be made until the leases are signed by UM Real Estate. Payments for short term leases are processed as NON-PO vouchers with signed contract attached.
- UM Real Estate stages the lease to process payment automatically once signed.
Tips for contract service office leases:
- Do not send directly to UM Real Estate. Begin the process by entering the information into the contract portal so all parties will have access to the information needed.
- Filling out the lease form expedites the approval process with campus leadership.
If you have a lease that will process through UM Procurement, such as a lease for copier, vehicles or equipment, the process will be started by entering a requisition within the PeopleSoft eProcurement tile. Attach the lease, signed or not, and any other documents you have that support the purchase.
Tips for UM System Procurement leases:
- For copiers and vehicles, if the lease contract term is less than $50K, they will not be entered into lease administration. Departments are responsible for paying for the lease via a blanket purchase order.
- Overage charges that are variable and outside the monthl