Purchasing & Accounts Payable

In this issue:

• Fiscal Year-End | Reminders & Expectations
• BruinBuy Plus Enhancements | Grainger Powered by Stygian & Object Code Guidance
• June Office Hours | Temporary Schedule Changes for FYE
• Cybersecurity Compliance | Action Required for BruinBuy Plus Users
• Next Week's Forecast | Office Hours & Other Important Events
• In Case You Missed It... | A Glance At Previous News

May 31 – June 30 Expectations

• Requisitions, Change Requests, and invoices submitted after the May 30 deadline will continue through BruinBuy Plus workflow. Once all workflow steps are completed, these transactions will be held in a Fiscal Year-End Hold step until July 1.*
• Vendor management and vendor onboarding activities will continue as normal.
• If submitting requisitions or Change Requests after May 30, ensure the listed FAU(s) will still be open in FY 2025 – 2026. Requisitions and Change Requests with closed FAUs will be automatically returned on July 1.
• Although Change Requests submitted after May 30 will not be processed until July 1, continue to action irregular invoices wherever possible.
• If a subaward / subcontract has a June 30 end date and associated invoices are submitted after the deadline, request a processing exception.  

Review the Procurement & Travel Accounting Fiscal Close web page for additional details, including Direct Pay form, Shipping form, and reimbursement expectations.

* Exclusions apply. 

Grainger Powered by Stygian

UCLA Campus Purchasing & Payables is excited to announce that the Grainger punchout catalog is now powered by small business partner, Stygian.

What This Means for You

You still have access to the Grainger inventory, service, and pricing you’re used to! The punchout interface and overall shopping experience remain unchanged.

• Grainger will continue to fulfill orders placed prior to May 29.
• Stygian will fulfill orders placed on or after May 29.
• Packing slips will reflect Stygian details, including Stygian customer support and return instructions. 

In the coming days, Campus Buyers with a high volume of Grainger purchases will receive an introductory message from the Stygian team.

Support & Resources

This is Stygian’s third University of California deployment, and we’re confident they’ll be a valuable addition to the Bruin family! If you need help or wish to discuss Stygian / Grainger offerings:

• Account Management: UCLA’s Stygian account manager, Mirlyk Herrera, is available for both in-person and virtual discussions related to application, product identification, and cost-saving solutions (mirlyk@stygianhc.com; 833-789-4426 [ext. 706])
• Stygian Customer Service & Returns: 833-789-4426 (ext. 0); sales@stygianhc.com
• BruinBuy Plus Support: tinyurl.com/bruinbuy-plus-support

Improved Object Code Guidance

Object codes 7300 and 7310 are exclusively used for subawards and subcontracts. Previously, BruinBuy Plus allowed users to mistakenly enter these object codes on other transactions, resulting in processing delays and rework.

Moving forward, users will now encounter a submission hard stop if they enter object codes 7300 or 7310 on the following requisition forms:

• After-the-Fact Request
• ASUCLA Retail Purchase
• Catering, Conferences & Events
• Educational Media
• Purchase Request

With fiscal year-end processing in full swing, select office hour schedules have been modified for the month of June. We’ll return to our usual cadence in July.

• Accounts Payable: No sessions will be held in June. For assistance or escalations, submit a BruinBuy Plus support ticket.
• Non-T&E Reimbursements: No sessions will be held in June. For assistance or escalations, create a case through the UCLA Finance Support Portal.
• Travel Accounting: No sessions will be held in June. For assistance or escalations, create a case through the UCLA Finance Support Portal.
• Subawards / Subcontracts: Shortened sessions will be held every week (Thursdays, 11 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. PT).
• Vendor Management: Sessions will continue as normal (Tuesdays, 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. PT).
• Purchasing: Sessions will continue as normal (Wednesdays, 11 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. PT).

As shared on May 5, users who access critical UCLA applications must have Duo Desktop and Trellix antivirus installed on their computer starting June 1, 2025. This requirement aligns with the implementation of updated University of California cybersecurity policies and is part of a broader effort to defend against increasing cybersecurity threats.

BruinBuy Plus users will be impacted by this security policy change starting June 1, 2025.

What is Duo Desktop?

UCLA Duo Desktop is a lightweight computer application that assesses your device's security posture, ensuring your system meets UCLA's security requirements (e.g., UCLA-approved anti-virus Trellix) before you access protected applications.

A complete list of applications that require installation of Trellix and Duo Desktop can be found on the Office of the Chief Information Security Officer site.

Override Distribution on Copied Requisitions

BruinBuy Plus’ Override Distribution feature allows users to change the email address to which a purchase order (PO) is sent. For Override Distribution to work correctly, users must 1) enable the functionality and 2) enter the new email address to which they would like to send the PO.

Previously, copied requisitions mirrored the Override Distribution settings of the parent requisition. If the original requisition had an error in the Override Distribution Email Address field (e.g., blank field, email typo), the copied requisition inherited the same issue, resulting in processing delays.

Moving forward, the Override Distribution field will be automatically disabled on all copied requisitions. If the feature is needed on the new requisition, users can re-enable it per the How to Override PO Distribution guide.

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