2021 News
This page provides all featured stories from our 2021 Dollars & Sense newsletters. You can also view our Current News or view Back Issues of our newsletter for more information.
Fall 2021
Published December 2, 2021
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| Tax Exempt Update The University’s tax-exempt status is not to be used for personal purchases by individual faculty, staff, or students. Not only can misuse of Northwestern’s E-Number result in possible revocation of the tax exemption if an individual uses Northwestern’s E-number for personal use, the State of Illinois has implemented new rules that allow them to impose personal liability for the taxes due as well as impose criminal penalties on the individual. If a non-Northwestern form of payment must be used (such as cash, personal check, or personal credit card), the transaction must be less than $400 and you must now request a separate employee certification form from Procurement and Payment Services that will be provided to the merchant along with the One-Time Use letter. |
| Revised Purchase Order Terms and Conditions Procurement and Payment Services recently worked with the Office of General Counsel to update Northwestern’s standard Purchase Order Terms and Conditions. |
| Winter Recess Coverage As we prepare to close our offices for Winter Recess, we would like to share few reminders related to PPS availability. |
| Accounts Payable Reminders Procurement and Payment Services has compiled a list of important Accounts Payable Reminders related to the Research Subject Account Code, Check Printing and Mailing, and New Invoice Process Reminders. |
| Print Management Program Read the key reminders regarding the on-going implementation of the campus wide print management program. |
| New Accessible Purchasing Process On September 1, 2021, Northwestern’s Digital Accessibility Policy was implemented, which requires that all purchasers ensure that digital software, application, and content purchases meet digital accessibility standards. The Digital Accessibility Steering Committee has developed the digital accessibility purchasing process to guide purchasers through the steps needed to ensure accessibility. |
| Ready Refresh Contract Update Ready Refresh is instituting a minimum delivery cost of $20 for any delivery to the Evanston and Chicago campus. The change is primarily due to the pandemic, which has impacted supply costs and has created a worker shortage. Please note that implementing this minimum allows us to avoid a price increase on the actual bottles of water. It is still by far the most cost-effective drinking water service available based on the contract we have with Ready Refresh. |
| New Versions of W-8 Forms Now Available New versions of the W-8 forms are now available for use. The W-8BEN-E (required when processing a new supplier registration request for a foreign company) and the W-8BEN (required for foreign individuals) have a revision date of October 2021. These forms are available from the IRS website irs.gov as well as on the Vendor File Management webpage and the NUPortal. |
| Training Available in myHR Learn Online training for procurement and payment related topics is available in myHR Learn. If you have staff that buy and pay for goods and services on behalf of your department or school, please make sure they make regular use of these training opportunities. We encourage supervisors to also utilize these resources when onboarding new staff. |
Summer 2021
Published August 5, 2021
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| Fiscal Year End 2021 Reminders As we conclude Fiscal Year 2021, we have also highlighted some key dates related to Procurement and Payment Services: |
| New Payment Processes As announced in our last newsletter, a New Invoicing System has been implemented. Learn more about the new process, including the ability for Accounts Payable to email invoices received to department and school staff if it cannot be processed. |
| Ship-to Code Home Addresses Since most faculty and staff will be returning to work at least three days a week beginning September 7, packages should now be shipped to campus office addresses. Therefore, beginning September 1, we will no longer accept any new temporary home address ship-to code requests and previously created home address codes will begin to be deactivated. If you would like to request an exception for a home address ship-to code please complete the ship-to code request form, and include an explanation and supervisor approval. |
| Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Supply Ordering As we prepare for the fall, departments and schools should remember to utilize the personal protective equipment (PPE) that PPS has ordered on behalf of the University. Procurement and Payment Services has purchased general PPE for the University and will continue to provide it to departments and schools on campus upon request at no cost at least through the end of the calendar year. |
| Mark Vend, Exclusive Coffee and Pantry Services Mark Vend is now the exclusive preferred vendor for coffee and pantry services and supplies at Northwestern University. As a preferred vendor and local partner, Mark Vend has serviced Northwestern for the past 4 years establishing very competitive pricing, supplying and maintaining coffee equipment free of charge, and offering cost savings over other providers. Mark Vend offers competitive pricing on not only coffee services, but also pantry items such as chips, sodas, juices, flavored water and sweets. |
| Shredding Services If your unit regularly compiles paper that needs to be shredded, please consider signing up for shredding services from our preferred vendor, Iron Mountain. A locked bin can be provided and picked up once a month for between $10 and $21 per month. |
| Tableau Creator The Data Management & Analytics (DMA) team is pleased to announce improved license management processes for new Tableau license purchases and renewals. New processes simplify and streamline interactions with Tableau, provide enhanced support and reduce administrative overhead. |
Spring 2021
Published March 25, 2021
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| New Invoicing System Procurement and Payment Services is excited to announce the implementation of a new invoicing process. New technology will be used to streamline the processing of invoices. |
| Print Management Program Ricoh will be contacting departments and schools on campus that currently have copiers from our three current preferred vendors (Ricoh, Gordon Flesch, and Regal) to transition them to the new campus wide contract when their current leases expire. |
| Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Reminder Procurement and Payment Services purchases general personal protective equipment (PPE) for the University and providing it to departments and schools on campus upon request at no cost. |
| DocuSign Digital Signatures Northwestern has partnered with DocuSign to provide the University with a standard digital signature solution. DocuSign is a digital signature solution designed to improve workflow for signing and approving official documents in an efficient and secure way, eliminating the need to transfer important documents in need of signature via email, fax, or US Mail. |
| Changes to the Purchasing Decision Documentation Form The Purchasing Decision Documentation process has been updated to require the Department ID affiliated with the purchase. When completing the form, you will no longer need to select a department name. The department name will autofill after you enter the Department ID. |
| Supplier Registration Tip - Attachments Processing a supplier registration request or supplier change request through the NUPortal requires that you attach supporting documentation. Rather than scanning and attaching each piece of paper separately to the request, you can scan all of the paperwork together and attach one document. |
| iBuyNU Reminders Procurement has compiled some important reminders when shopping in iBuyNU. |
| University Travel As the travel season approaches, remember to keep University travel policy and COVID-19 Travel Guidelines in mind. |