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Travel & Invoice: International Checks

Did you know a UA-issued check could be unusable if mailed internationally? Accounts Payable recommends wiring funds when paying international vendors. Please consider the following prior to selecting International Mail when processing your invoice in Concur. Checks can take months to arrive at an international address. Vendors often experience issues when cashing checks drawn on a US bank. Overall, wires are more efficient and allow for vendors to receive payments faster.

Vendor Verification: Stipends Paid through Concur Invoice

When submitting stipends through Concur Invoice, please ensure all required backup documentation is attached, and the correct vendor is selected for payment.  Required information includes, but is not limited to, the recipient’s name, vendor code, address, and stipend letter/documentation.  Attaching the correct and appropriate information will allow for faster payment processing.

P-Card Services: Staffing Updates

P-Card Services is pleased to announce the hiring of two new team members – Anna Carlsson and Ashley Bumgardner.  Anna is an Accounting Assistant II who audits P-Card Non-Travel expense reports, and Ashley is the P-Card Manager.  Amber Shaffer has also been promoted to P-Card Coordinator and is available to help with card maintenance and customer service.

Unallowable/Prohibited Expenses

While the P-Card is the recommended form of payment for most purchases across campus, there are a few items that should not be paid with the P-Card.  P-Card Services regularly maintains the Unauthorized/Prohibited Expenses webpage.  For example, medications, including Tylenol, Advil, Aleve, allergy medications, etc., are not allowed to be paid with the P-Card.  If you have any questions about unallowable expenses, please reach out to P-Card Services.

P-Card Services: University Club Dues

UA departments who join the University Club may use the P-Card as a form of payment for the membership fee, but must allocate the expense to a foundation account.  Departments can use state funds to pay for food and/or non-alcoholic beverages if it occurs as part of a University business related meal and follows the University’s Spending and Travel Policy.

Upcoming Due Dates – All transactions with a fiscal year 2024 purchase/transaction date are due by 5:00 pm on Friday, October 4.  Cards with outstanding transactions will be suspended on Tuesday morning, October 8.

Vendor Verification: PaymentWorks Vendor Verification

If a direct deposit payment is rejected, a member of the PaymentWorks fraud operations team will reach out to the vendor on behalf of The University of Alabama to validate the banking information that was provided at the time of registration. PaymentWorks will contact the vendor via email and/or telephone to verbally validate this information. This will help ensure that future payments will be approved and processed promptly.  If a vendor reaches out to your department, please let them know this is a legitimate call/email.

Travel & Invoice: Travel Expense Reports – Pre-Trip and Post-Trip

When traveling on UA business, travelers often incur several expenses prior to the trip such as airfare reservations, conference registration, and hotel deposits.  These expenses should be reconciled and submitted according to the p-card deadlines even if this occurs prior to the trip.  When doing so, the traveler should use either the transaction date or the date that they are submitting the report as the Report/Trip Start Date and Report/Trip End Date in the report header.  When the traveler returns from the trip, they should then use the actual travel dates as the Report/Trip Start Date and Report/Trip End Date in the report header.  This will allow the traveler to correctly add the GSA per diems to the report using the correct dates of travel.

From Financial Accounting: Capitalization of Moveable Equipment

Effective October 1, 2024, and in accordance with federal regulations, the threshold for capitalization of moveable equipment will increase from an acquisition value of $5,000 to an acquisition value of $10,000.  In Banner and Concur,  account names will change to reflect the increased threshold.  Please be aware of this change and use the correct account codes in Concur or when processing a journal entry.   For example, if previously your department purchased a piece of furniture for $7,500 you would have coded to 791205 Furniture over $5,000, now this purchase will be coded to 71230 Furniture under $10,000.

Concur Homepage

The Concur homepage is getting an enhancement in mid-to-late October.  This update will not affect any features or functionality – it will only change the look and feel of the home page with the addition of a menu bar and a tile format.  All screenshots included in the Concur training courses and reference materials on the Concur website will be updated to reflect this change.