FFF – September 7, 2018
1) New treaty exemption protocol - Payroll
As of August 1st, 2018 the Payroll Office will be handling the treaty exemptions for all employees with “non-resident” status who working at Boston University, including students, scholars, faculty, and researchers. (Student employees were previously handled by Student Employment). Please see the form attached here to request a payment to a non-resident employee.
2) When to use the TCard vs the PCard
To avoid delays in purchasing items and payment processing, please reference this chart to determine if the Travel Card or the Purchasing Card is an appropriate choice for your upcoming expenditure. If you have any further inquiries, you can contact the PCard and TCard administrators for clarification.
3) How to view your paystub
Paystubs (as well as year-end reports and W-2 forms) can be viewed via the Employee Self Service/ESS tab in BUWorks.
For any former employees who no longer have access to BUWorks, they can contact bupay@bu.edu.
4) What happens to a Disbursement Request after it has been submitted online?
Since the 2017 changeover from paper to online disbursement submissions, the processing method has also undergone some changes. The following is a guide to the new procedure, along with examples of common errors to be avoided, as they can delay payment processing:
1) When completed Disbursement Requests are submitted via the webform, they are automatically entered into the OnBase system used by Accounts Payable. At this time, a confirmation email is sent to the submitter which includes payee details and a unique 8-digit Source Document (SD) number.
Common error: the submitter’s email address was incorrectly entered, so the confirmation email cannot be received
2) The disbursement form is reviewed by Accounts Payable analysts for accuracy, ensuring that there is a valid invoice attached and that the data on the form (including invoice date, payee name/address, and remittance amount) match the invoice.
Common errors: the attached document is not a valid invoice; the documentation is incomplete or insufficient to process payment (particularly with foreign vendors); data on the invoice and the disbursement form do not match
3) If the vendor has not previously been paid by BU, the vendor relations group in Accounts Payable will need to create an SAP vendor profile. In these cases, a W9 (US vendor) or W8BEN (foreign vendor) should be attached to the disbursement form at the time of submission.
Common error: failure to attach a properly completed (including signature/date) W9 or W8BEN
4) Once all information is verified and the vendor profile is available, Accounts Payable will enter the disbursement details into SAP. This will generate a unique, 10-digit FI Document number, which will be visible in BUWorks/SAP Reporting to those with access to the account being charged. Payment is then generated according to the vendor’s payment terms, an explanation of which can be found here.
5) How to reimburse a University guest or student for approved expenses
This must be done through the Concur system, to which only University employees have access. All guests and students should be reimbursed through your department’s guest account. To request access to your department’s guest account, please contact travelexpense@bu.edu with the email of the guest account you are requesting access to. If your department does not already have this account, please send an email to travelexpense@bu.edu that includes the name of the department, the supervisor/approver, and the default cost object (this must be the department’s unrestricted account).
Only one guest account is allowed per department, so please be sure to check with others in your department prior to sending a request.