Volume XX | Month Day 20XX
BearBuy Updates
April 2017
Dear BearBuy Users,
  
We would like to inform you of a few updates and important events coming soon. 
Please review the topics below and follow the links or scroll down for more information on each topic.  
 
This month's BearBuy News:
  1. BearBuy 17.1 Scheduled System Maintenance
  2. BearBuy 17.1 Enhancements Coming April 10, 2017
  3. Reimbursement for Services
  4. Amazon Packages: Secure and On-Time
  5. Fiscal Close Information for FY2016-17 Now Available
  6. Fair Work/Fair Wage Guidelines
  7. 'Did you know?' Useful BearBuy Tip Reminder
If you have any questions, please contact the BearBuy Help Desk at  
510-664-9000 (options 1,2) or   BearBuyHelp@berkeley.edu  for immediate assistance.

Thank you for your continued support, 

UC Berkeley BearBuy Team 
Supply Chain Management
1. BearBuy 17.1 System Maintenance
BearBuy will be unavailable Friday, April 7th at 6PM through Sunday, April 9th at 10AM.
  • BearBuy will be up and running on Monday, April 10th.
  • BFS will remain available during its normal daily hours of 7AM until 9PM
What to expect during the outage
  • BearBuy will not be available
  • In the event of a true purchasing emergency, please contact your Campus Buyer for assistance prior to the scheduled outage.
2. BearBuy 17.1 Enhancements Coming April 10, 2017 

New enhancements will be available in BearBuy on April 10th. A PowerPoint presentation outlining the new features is now available on the Supply Chain Management (SCM) website under the BearBuy Recent Product Releases menu titled 17.1 Jaggaer (SciQuest) Enhancements Release.
3. Reimbursement for Services

UC Berkeley employees should not pay for third party services using personal funds and then seek reimbursement after the fact as:

  • Most services are taxable compensation and must be reported on Form 1099-Misc to the IRS
  • Potential liability issues exist that should be addressed prior to contracting services
  • No way to ensure third party service provider meets University service requirements

Consequently, such transactions should be paid directly to the entity providing the service through a Purchase Order, rather than as a reimbursement.  Please contact your designated SCM Sr. Buyer to determine the appropriate method for contracting for services

Requests for reimbursement of taxable services will be evaluated on a case by case basis and employees should not presume that when they pay a third party for services that they will be reimbursed.

Exceptions
 An exception is made for services provided outside of the U.S. as the University has no tax reporting obligation for such transactions. In such situations, it should be clearly stated on the Payment Request form that all services were performed outside of the United States.  
 
For further information, please reference the following UC policies:
4.  Amazon Packages: Secure and On-Time

Are you concerned about your Amazon delivery going for a walk without you?  Do you need a package delivered today?

If so, the ASUC Student Union has partnered with Amazon to provide an on-campus Amazon order pickup location and Free Same-Day delivery on millions of items via asucstudentunion.amazon.com.

Please read the attached flyer for additional information on the Amazon pickup service available through the ASUC Student Union.
5.  Fiscal Close Information for FY2016-17 Now Available
Fiscal Close information for FY2014-15 is now available on the web at:
 
 
This year's fiscal closing steps and deadlines are similar to those in previous years. We ask you review the information to ensure that all relevant steps are taken according to the schedule.

Please note PO requests for amounts over $100,000 should be submitted before May 1 for processing before fiscal year end.  Requests for orders over $5,000 must be submitted by May 25th.
 
If you have questions about the fiscal close process, please contact General Accounting at gao@berkeley.edu.

6. Fair Work/Fair Wage Guidelines
The California state minimum wage currently stands at $10.50 an hour as of January 1, 2017.  But did you know The Regents of The University of California requires that  UC employees and independent contractors hired to work at least 20 hours a week  be paid $14 an hour or more as of October 1, 2016 and $15 an hour or more as of October 1, 2017? 

The Fair Wage/Fair Work plan establishes a UC minimum wage for services that are performed at one or more UC Locations and do not involve: i) furnishing goods, ii) extramural awards, iii)  prevailing wage  services where the supplier has agreed to pay an hourly wage that  meets or exceeds  the UC Fair Wage, or iv) endowment or investment property where the purpose is to generate income from the general public, except to the extent such property is used by the University in furtherance of its mission.  

This provision includes Supplier service contracts and sub-contracts with companies that provide services to UC. Additionally, for Service contracts that exceed $100,000 annually and are not subject to prevailing wage requirements, Suppliers are to provide, at Supplier’s expense, an annual independent audit concerning Supplier’s compliance with this provision. Suppliers also agree to provide UC with a  UC Fair Wage/Fair Work certification annually .

For more information about the Fair Wage/Fair Work Guidelines when contracting with an outside Supplier,  please contact your Buyer  in  Supply Chain Management . 
7. 'Did you know?' Useful BearBuy Tip Reminder

Q:  What is the difference between internal and external attachments or notes?

A:  The Internal Attachments section allows attachment of necessary supporting documents to the form. Attachments provided in this section are not sent to the supplier. 

The Internal Notes section is not visible to external entities (e.g. suppliers).

The External Attachments section provides another location for adding supporting documents to the form. Attachments provided in this section are sent to the supplier with fax and email Purchase Orders.

The External Notes section is visible to internal and external entities (e.g. BearBuy users and suppliers).
Example on a BearBuy form:
Example on a BearBuy form: