In this issue:
- August Hot Topic | Access the Webinar Recording & Resources
- Office Hour Spotlight | NEW! Travel Accounting Sessions
- Invoice Submission | Unsupported Font Colors
- Next Week's Forecast | Office Hours & Other Important Events
- In Case You Missed It... | A Glance at Previous News
August Hot Topic | Takeaway Materials
Our August 14 Hot Topic webinar was dedicated to all things vendor management! Attendees received an in-depth review of the vendor onboarding process, vendor profile updates, as well as self-service resources.
Missed the webinar? No problem! The recording and presentation materials are now available.
TIP: Keep an eye out for additional vendor management resources – they’ll be featured in future Recaps.
Office Hour Spotlight | NEW! Travel Accounting
Travel Accounting office hours are launching next Wednesday, August 21! From general travel & entertainment (T&E) inquiries to T&E-related BruinBuy Plus and Concur questions, these weekly sessions will be your new favorite resource.
Starting August 19, Travel Accounting representatives will no longer attend Accounts Payable office hours.
NOTE: Travel Accounting is a separate department from UCLA Campus Purchasing & Payables.
Invoice Submission | Unsupported Font Colors
Once an invoice is submitted to UCLA, it's scanned by Digital Capture, an optical character recognition (OCR) tool that:
- Ensures the invoice meets all submission requirements AND
- Maps invoice information (e.g., invoice number) to the associated purchase order (PO)
Digital Capture cannot read neon or red font – to avoid potential processing delays, invoices should only include black font.
Next Week's Forecast | August 19 – August 23
We’ve made some changes to our office hour schedule and registration links! Take a look at next week’s support opportunities and important events:
| Day | Details |
|---|---|
| Monday | 9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. PT | Accounts Payable (AP) Office Hours |
| Tuesday | 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. PT | Vendor Management Office Hours |
| Wednesday | 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. PT | Travel Accounting Office Hours 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. PT | Purchasing Office Hours |
| Thursday | 11 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. PT | Subaward / Subcontract Office Hours 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. PT | Non-T&E Reimbursement Office Hours 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. PT | AP Office Hours 2 p.m. PT | BruinBuy Plus monthly maintenance window begins |
| Friday | 3 a.m. PT | BruinBuy Plus maintenance window ends |
NOTE: Due to reduced question volume, Subaward / Subcontract office hours have been shortened to 45 minutes, and AP's Thursday office hours have been shortened to 60 minutes.
In Case You Missed It...
Upcoming System Maintenance
To support monthly system maintenance, BruinBuy Plus may be unavailable during the following periods:
| Maintenance Window | Impact |
|---|---|
| Thursday, August 22, 5 p.m. PT through Friday, August 23, 3 a.m. PT | Intermittent system disruptions |
Please plan your transactions and activities accordingly. If you have any questions or experience issues, submit a ticket to our Service Desk.
TIP: Add BruinBuy Plus planned outage events to your calendar!
Credit Memo Submission Best Practices
Credit memos are issued by vendors to correct or adjust a previous invoice or payment mistake. Similarly to invoices, they're submitted to Accounts Payable through noreply@invoices.ucla.edu.
To ensure timely processing, credit memos should meet the following criteria:
- Reference a valid UCLA purchase order (PO) number AND the original debit invoice number within the submitted file
- Include a unique invoice number (this can be the original debit invoice number with a “CR” suffix or prefix [e.g., 1234567CR or CR1234567])
- Not exceed 8.5 x 11” page size
- One credit memo per electronic image file (PDF preferred)
REMINDER: If the PO number and original debit invoice number are only listed in the subject line of the submission, it won't satisfy the above criteria.
Freight Carriers Web Page
Looking for your shipping and receiving options? Our Domestic & International Freight Carriers web page has you covered! With just one click, you can access how-to and support information for USPS, FedEx, American Cargoservice, and UPS.
NOTE: We recently expanded this web page’s FedEx customer service details – now you can easily identify the support channel you need.
Invalid PO Rejection Protocol
Irregular invoices have been placed on hold and/or matching exception and require department or vendor action before they can be processed.
In alignment with industry standards and best practices, irregular invoices caused by an invalid purchase order (i.e., closed PO, missing PO, listed PO does not exist) are rejected rather than placed on indefinite hold.
Review the Rejected Invoices web page for additional information, including how vendors and departments are notified of impacted invoices.
New Recap Mailing List Form
Would one of your colleagues benefit from receiving the weekly BruinBuy Plus Recap? Have them complete our updated mailing list form!
NOTE: This new form replaces the former mailing list survey. If you already receive the BruinBuy Plus Recap, no action is needed.
Need Help? | We're Here to Support!
The BruinBuy Plus hub continues to be updated with new resources! For Service Desk support, create a ticket:
- Email: help@it.ucla.edu
- Phone: (310) 267-HELP (4357)
- ServiceNow Portal: tinyurl.com/bruinbuy-plus-support
BruinBuy Plus Recap Web Articles
Access previous BruinBuy Plus Recaps on the Campus Purchasing & Payables website.
