Definitions

An account is a ChartField segment in NUFinancials that identifies the specific type of asset, liability, equity, revenue, or expense in each transaction. For example, accounts receivable, faculty salary, office supplies. Similar to CUFS Object Code, Revenue Source, and Balance Sheet. Note that the term "account" in NUFinancials is NOT equivalent to "account" in CUFS. In NUFinancials, "chart string" is the new terminology for what is known as an "account" in CUFS.

A role in workflow that is granted to users as determined by their school/department. Depending on the transaction type, commodity, chart string and/or dollar amount, some financials transactions are also subject to approval by Approvers in central offices such as Procurement and Payment Services, ASRSP, and Research Safety. The Approver role is configured by the NUFinancials system administrator. Find more information on roles in workflow.

Blanket orders are to be used primarily to make payments for the regular delivery of a consistent quantity of products or for services that are provided on a regular and consistent basis. Find more information about blanket orders.

An offer of a competitive quote or proposal from a vendor to a department or school for the purchase of a product or service.

Vendors that undergo the bid process to establish a contract with a department or school for the purchase of goods and services.

A requisition that is initiated for items that are selected from vendors included in the iBuyNU Marketplace (web based ordering experience). Find more information on iBuyNU or procurement methods.

Represents the accounting structure for how NU gathers, stores, combines, and uses financial information. A chart of accounts is used to trace the flow of revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities and equity.

Accounting codes that make up NU’s chart of accounts in the NUFinancials financial system. ChartFields are used to segregate and categorize transactional and budget data.

Chart string is the terminology for what was known in CUFS as fund/area/org. Chart strings are used for purchasing, budgeting, and expenses. ChartField values are combined to create a chart string.

It is the policy of Northwestern that its employees conduct the affairs of the University in accordance with the highest ethical, legal, and moral standards. An employee must not be in a position to make a decision for the University if their personal, professional, or economic interests (or those of their family member(s)) may be directly influenced or affected by the outcome.)

The corporate card is a very important component of the procurement environment here at NU. It is to be used primarily for purchases less than $500 when the items needed cannot be purchased from a preferred vendor in iBuyNU, the purchase is low risk (the transaction doesn't warrant the issuance of an official purchase order to a vendor), or for travel and entertainment when approved. Corporate Cards may be used in lieu of petty cash.

The Direct Payment Request process is a way to request a check to pay for something when the transaction does not warrant the issuance of an official purchase order to a vendor. Find more information on payment requests.

Accounting module in NUFinancials that serves as the core of the financial management system. The General Ledger module is where budget journal entries are created and maintained. Various modules such as Purchasing, Expenses, and Accounts Payable feed into and receive data from the GL module.

Accounting module in NUFinancials that serves as the core of the financial management system. The General Ledger module is where budget journal entries are created and maintained. Various modules such as Purchasing, Expenses, and Accounts Payable feed into and receive data from the GL module.

The iBuyNU marketplace is a web-based ordering tool that provides departments/schools with the most streamlined, cost effective way to order from Preferred Vendors. In many cases, the department/school personnel will be shopping on vendor's actual website configured for NU. Orders can be dispatched electronically, invoices can be received by Accounts Payable electronically, Procurement and Payment Services does not have to approve any requisitions for items purchased from vendors in the Marketplace, and many of these vendors will also be paid electronically.

Matching is an automatic process that compares Vouchers with Purchase Orders and Receipts to ensure the timely payment of goods and services ordered and received. Matching occurs at the line item level. Depending on the type of order. the system performs a 2-way match or a 3-way match.

A requisition that is initiated for items from vendors who are not included in the iBuyNU Marketplace (manual entry).

Oracle-owned enterprise management software selected by NU for financials, including Chart of Accounts, General Ledger, Post-Award Grants, and Supply Chain (purchasing and accounts payable). PeopleSoft is currently used by NU for HRIS (Human Resources) and SES (Student).

Preferred Vendors are those that have been awarded a contract by Procurement and Payment Services for use by all departments and schools. Preferred Vendors are established via Contract or Pricing Agreement.

Procurement and Payment Services, which is the single point of contact at NU for all central procurement activities.

For many vendors included in the iBuyNU Marketplace, Procurement and Payment Services has decided that it is more advantageous to allow departments and schools to connect to the contractor's actual web site catalog that has been configured specifically to NU's contract (products available, pricing, etc.). Orders to vendors that are included in the iBuyNU Marketplace using a punchout strategy will generally receive their orders electronically.

Features of a punchout include:

• Shopping experience links from iBuyNU to vendor website for shopping and cart creation, then cart is transferred back to iBuyNU
• Punchouts have the look and feel, functionality, terminology, etc. specific to each vendor's website

This process is completed to document purchasing decisions made by departments and schools, and replaces the former BD Form and SSJ Forms. The interactive form allows departments/schools to answer a series of questions, and the end result generates a Bid Documentation Form (when multiple bids were solicited and received) or a Sole Source Justification Form (when the product or service can only be acquired from a single vendor). Staff will no longer have to choose BD or SSJ at the beginning of the process.

Once a requisition is successfully budget checked, submitted, and approved, a purchase order is generated that is sent to the vendor and reflects specifically what is being ordered. Purchase orders are automatically issued and dispatched multiple times per day. A purchase order number is system-generated and begins with PUR. Vendors must have a PUR number before delivery of goods or services can occur.

A role in NUFinancials that is available to users as determined by the school/department and configured by the NUFinancials system administrator.

A purchase request subject to approval based on NU workflow rules. Creating a requisition is the first step in the procurement process. A requisition is created and submitted by a Requester. When submitted, a requisition ID number (i.e., unique identifier) is generated by the system; requisition ID numbers begin with REQ. Once approved, a requisition becomes a purchase order (PO) and a purchase order ID number (i.e., unique identifier) is generated by the system. PO ID numbers begin with PUR. A REQ number cannot be used in lieu of a PUR number for purchasing. There are 2 types of requisitions: catalog (items found in iBuyNU) and non-catalog (items not found in iBuyNU).

A role in iBuyNU for those that do not have security as a Requester. It allows anyone with the Shopper role access to enjoy a web based ordering experience from preferred vendors.

Workflow is the process of routing transactions for approval before a PO can be issued or payment made. Workflow is triggered when a requisition or expense reimbursement request has been entered, saved, and submitted for approval. The approval path will ultimately depend both on the transaction's dollar amount, chart string, and commodity type.