Myths and Truths
Myth: I heard that I’m going to have to throw out all of my old envelopes on January 1 because they are printed with our department’s FAST account number. Otherwise the mailroom won’t be able to charge postage properly.
Truth: You can continue to use your existing supply of envelopes, letterhead, whatever. When you order your next supply, you can have both your old and new account numbers printed, or if you’re ready to make the plunge, you can go with just the new ChartField Combination. The mailroom is prepared to cope with both old and new numbers until all transitions are complete.
Myth: Someone told me that when we start using the new Expenses system in January, it will take much longer to get a travel reimbursement than it used to because everything will be centralized.
Truth: It will not take longer to get a reimbursement. The same people who processed your travel on your campus will very likely be the people who process it after January 1, 2005. In the current system, the expense checks are printed at the System-wide Services offices and are mailed. This will not change. For a short while after we first implement the new Financials systems, things may go a little slower, but once everyone is comfortable, you should see no difference in the amount of time it takes to get your reimbursement.
Myth: I heard that people won’t be able to buy things unless they use a requisition or the purchase card.
Truth: There will always be situations when you receive an invoice that must be paid and for which there wasn’t a requisition created. For example, subscriptions and license fees are ongoing and a bill just shows up. PeopleSoft provides a way to create a requisition after the fact that will set the wheels in motion for the invoice to be paid. This requisition, called a Confirming Invoice requisition, can only be used if the dollar amount is below the requisitioner’s purchasing limit.
That being said, Administrative Practice Letter 30 (APL 30) does tell us that University of Maine System monies should be committed only through the requisition process or through the purchase card.
Myth: So, really, there won’t be petty cash anymore?
Truth: Petty cash will continue to exist just like it does today.
Myth: Is it true that we’re getting a new purchase card?
Truth: No, it’s not true. We will continue to use the same purchase card and website for managing the purchase card.
Myth: I heard that after January 2005, we won’t be able to see the financial data for the first half of the fiscal year that we can now see in WebFAST.
Truth: WebFAST will continue to exist after go-live. You will be able to see the first six months’ data in WebFAST as well as the other years of data you can currently see in WebFAST. WebFAST will not be around forever, but will remain as long we need it to access historical data.
For more questions and answers about the Financials Implementation, see the FAQ page for Financials Implementation.