Question 1

What supports will be available to the community?

Accepted Answer

To ensure the community is prepared and ready for this change, the following supports have been provided:

Details of the new process will be updated on the Strategic Procurement Services website, with a list of frequently updated FAQs
Work instructions and video guides that provide step-by-step instructions will be shared
Training on how to use Sm@rtBuy will be organized, with drop-in sessions available before and after the launch date
Community members are able to continue sending inquiries via email through acctpay@yorku.ca, and will also be supported through the USC call centre

Question 2

Where do I find the work instructions and video guides?

Accepted Answer

Work instructions and video guides can be found at the Non-PO Invoice Processing Instruction page.

Question 3

How do I know the right accounting information (account number, fund, cost centre) to use?

Accepted Answer

Account numbers can be looked up using the chart of accounts. For fund and cost centre information, you should contact the finance representative within your unit.

Question 4

How do I access the drop in sessions?

Accepted Answer

The drop-in sessions have concluded. A recording of one of these sessions is available on the Non-PO Invoice Processing Instructions page alongside video guides and work instructions for Purchasers and Approvers.

Question 5

How do I access Sm@rtBuy?

Accepted Answer

You can access Sm@rtBuy through the Applications and tools section on YU Link. You can then login using your York Passport ID.

Question 6

I need additional access, what do I do?

Accepted Answer

Your manager should send a request to smartbuy@yorku.ca for a case-by-case review.

Question 7

Will I be able to see all invoices submitted by others?

Accepted Answer

No. For security reasons, you can only see invoices submitted by you. If your role requires that you see all invoices, reach out to the system administrator at smartbuy@yorku.ca for a review of this exception.

Question 8

How do we ensure all appropriate approvers have the needed authority in Sm@rtBuy?

Accepted Answer

If there are approvers in your unit that approve non-PO invoices but do not currently have Sm@rtBuy approval access, please reach out to the Budgets department at budgets@yorku.ca to have these individuals set up as Sm@rtBuy approvers prior to the launch of the new process.

Question 9

Should PO invoices be sent to AP? What will be the process?

Accepted Answer

All invoices (PO and non-PO) except for PCard Purchases, should be sent by vendors to AP at vendorinvoices@yorku.ca. However, only non-PO invoices will be uploaded to Sm@rtBuy.

For General POs: Departments will send signed POs after receiving the goods/services to AP at vendorinvoices@yorku.ca. AP will match invoices to POs and process as usual.

For Blanket and Project POs: AP will send the invoice to the department and the department will advise what PO line to pay the invoice against.

Question 10

Who should be listed on the invoice as the purchaser?

Accepted Answer

The purchaser to be listed on the invoice should be the person who would review/confirm invoice detail and enter the accounting information. If more than one person is required, the person actioning the invoice first should be listed as the purchaser. They would have the ability to forward the invoice to the second person for actioning.

The purchaser can also be the cost centre approver.

Question 11

What is the process if the purchaser should not be entering the accounting information?

Accepted Answer

In some circumstances, even though the purchaser made the purchase, they would not necessarily know the accounting information.

At the time of purchase, the purchaser should be listed on the invoice. The purchaser will receive an email notification once AP has inputted the invoice into Sm@rtBuy and assigned it to them.

Upon review of the invoice details for accuracy, the purchaser can then forward the invoice in Sm@rtBuy to the financial representative who would enter the accounting information. They can put in any notes in the comments section for the financial representative.

Once the financial representative has completed the remaining steps of entering the accounting information and approved the invoice, the system will automatically route it to the appropriate cost centre approver.

Question 12

Where should the invoices be sent to?

Accepted Answer

All invoices (PO and non-PO) except for PCard purchases and international payments (non-Cdn/US payments) should be sent from vendors to Accounts Payable (AP) at vendorinvoices@yorku.ca

*PCard purchases and international wire payments (for international payments outside the Canada and the United States) should continue following regular procedures. Please see the exemption list for certain payments that will still need a payment requisition form to be processed.

Question 13

Should US invoices follow this new process as well?

Accepted Answer

Yes, ALL non-PO invoices would now be processed in Sm@rtBuy.

Question 14

How will the currency conversion rate for US dollar invoices be determined?

Accepted Answer

The monthly currency FX rate communicated by Finance will be used in converting USD invoices to CAD.

Question 15

Will US vendors still be paid by cheque or is there a process to set them up for Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT)?

Accepted Answer

US vendors will continue to be paid by cheque. The community will be informed if and when this changes.

Question 16

The invoice was assigned to the wrong person as purchaser.

Accepted Answer

Reach out to Accounts Payable (AP) through the USC at acctpay@yorku.ca or call 416-736-5837

Question 17

How do I forward invoice for approval?

Accepted Answer

Access the approvers work instructions located on the Non-PO Invoice Processing Instruction page. Please follow the steps outlined in the instructions.

Question 18

When a transaction is sent to an Approver in Sm@rtBuy, can they change Cost Centre before approving?

Accepted Answer

Yes, approvers can change the cost centre if the one entered by the purchaser is not accurate.

Question 19

If cost is split between 2 cost centres and there are 2 different approvers, do both approvers get the email notification at the same time?

Accepted Answer

Yes, both approvers will get the notification at the same time. Both need to approve the invoice before it moves forward in the process.

Question 20

If there is more than one approver for one cost centre, how should this be processed?

Accepted Answer

All approvers within the same threshold will get the notification. The most appropriate approver as agreed by them will have to assign the invoice to themselves and proceed to approve.

Question 21

Can a non-approver be assigned an invoice to review before it is sent to the cost centre approver?

Accepted Answer

In this case, the invoice would have to be forwarded to the reviewer by the purchaser using the forward function in Sm@rtBuy. The reviewer can review and approve on your behalf which automatically send it to the cost center approver or the reviewer can review and forward back to the purchaser for approval.

Question 22

If an approver is needed to approve an invoice as a support but they are not part of the approvers for that unit, how should this be processed?

Accepted Answer

The workflow in Sm@rtBuy cannot be adjusted to accommodate every scenario. In this case, the invoice would have to be forwarded to the approver using the forward function and they would need to assign to themselves to be able to approve.

Question 23

How would invoices with a Standard Agreement (SA) number but no PO for high dollar invoices be processed? Where should the SA number be inputted.

Accepted Answer

In this new process, for invoices greater than $25k with no PO, the Accounts Payable team will check the Vendor of Record (VOR) listing to ensure the VOR is till current.

If current, the invoice will be entered into Sm@rtBuy for processing.

If expired, or if there's no contract, Accounts Payable will contact the Assistant Director of Strategic Procurement Services to confirm they can process (new agreement in process/extended). If confirmed that the payment can be processed, attach confirmation with invoice will then be processed in Sm@rtBuy.

Question 24

How is the HST rebate processed in the system?

Accepted Answer

The HST rebate is automatically calculated if we pay HST on an invoice or if we self assess the HST for non-resident goods or services. Most cost centres get a 73% rebate. The actual percentage can be viewed in e-Reports at the top of the SOP or transaction details for those with the required access.

Question 25

How do we ensure all appropriate approvers have the needed authority in Sm@rtBuy?

Accepted Answer

If you would have approvers in this new process that currently do not have Sm@rtBuy approval, please reach out to the Budgets department to have these individuals setup as Sm@rtBuy approvers prior to launch of the new process.

Question 26

What should I do if the invoice link in the email is not working?

Accepted Answer

An alternate way to access the invoice is by signing into Sm@rtBuy using your Passport York login and access the non-PO invoice by clicking the flag at the top right corner of your screen.

Question 27

Can I attach supporting documents to the invoice?

Accepted Answer

Yes, once assigned to you, you can attach supporting documents to the invoice in Sm@rtbuy. However, do not attach another copy of the invoice and do not attach the direct deposit form.

Question 28

I am unable to add another line to the invoice.

Accepted Answer

Reach out to the Procurement Operations team through the USC at 416-736-5857.

Question 29

There is an approver that is missing in the workflow.

Accepted Answer

Reach out to the system administrator at smartbuy@yorku.ca.

Question 30

Will these invoices be posted in eReports?

Accepted Answer

Yes, once Accounts Payable has completed a final review, the payment will automatically be sent to Peoplesoft for payment and then posted to eReports for viewing in 1-2 business days. The Non-PO invoice is only viewable in eReports for those with the appropriate permission for the cost centre against which the Non-PO invoice was charged.

Question 31

Will I get a reminder email if an invoices has been waiting in queue for me?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the system will send an email notification when an invoice is added to your queue for review/approval. If the invoice has not been actioned after 5 days, the system will send a reminder email, and every 3 days afterwards, for a total of 120 days.

Question 32

How will vendors be notified of this new process?

Accepted Answer

A communication will be sent by Procurement Operations to a list of identified active and approved vendors (with certain exemptions). Active and approved vendors refer to any vendor in PeopleSoft where a purchase has been made by a York employee in the past, and that vendor has not been deactivated in the system.

Question 33

How would vendors receiving the communication be selected?

Accepted Answer

All active and approved vendors will be selected. There is no dollar ($) threshold applied. Certain vendors who do not invoice York for a particular good or service (so not technically a “vendor”) have been exempted from the communication. If you need to work with your vendors before the final invoice is ready, you can continue to do so. Ensure that the final invoice is sent to vendorinvoices@yorku.ca. The invoice is not considered to be received nor is it tracked until AP receives it in this inbox.

Question 34

How would new vendor setup work with this new process?

Accepted Answer

Once Accounts Payable receives the invoice from a new vendor, they would send it to Procurement via the venreq@yorku.ca inbox. Procurement Operations would carry out the necessary vendor verification process and send back to Accounts Payable for processing when verification is complete.

Question 35

How will this process be communicated to new vendors after the launch?

Accepted Answer

This page contains all the details vendors need to know. Purchasers should share this information with all new vendors.

Question 36

What email address should vendors send their enquiries to?

Accepted Answer

Vendors should send their enquiries to Accounts Payable at vendorinvoices@yorku.ca.

Question 37

The vendor’s name was spelled incorrectly.

Accepted Answer

Proceed to approve invoice and add detailed notes in comment section for this to be corrected.

Question 38

What is the process if a vendor revises an invoice after it was already uploaded into Sm@rtBuy? What if the invoice needs to be cancelled?

Accepted Answer

If the invoice has not been entered into Sm@rtBuy, the faculty/unit should advise Accounts Payable via the email acctpay@yorku.ca to review the situation.

If the invoice has been entered into Sm@rtBuy, the Approver will enter detailed comments as to why the invoice needs to be cancelled and forward the invoice to Accounts Payable. The department would need to liaise with the vendor to ensure a revised invoice is sent to Accounts Payable at vendorinvoices@yorku.ca.

Question 39

Can vendors be pre-registered prior to needing their goods or services?

Accepted Answer

We are currently investigating this and would add it as an enhancement to this process after the launch. Please check back later for updated information on this.

Question 40

What is the process for sending direct deposit forms?

Accepted Answer

For a new vendor, a completed vendor direct deposit banking form should be sent with the invoice to vendorinvoices@yorku.ca.

Existing vendors can sent completed direct deposit forms to venreq@yorku.ca.

Please note: York University is phasing out cheque payments over the next few months. In order to receive payments from York University in the future, vendors will be required to register for direct deposit.

Question 41

How would internal payments be processed?

Accepted Answer

For all internal payments listed here, fill out a payment requisition form and send to vendorinvoices@yorku.ca.

Question 42

How would honorariums be processed?

Accepted Answer

Honorarium will be processed as follows:

For USD residents:

For International Residents

Complete non-resident form
Complete Request for Wire/Draft form
Send to Payroll and once payroll reviews, they will send to AP to pay via Western Union

If an individual is a Canadian resident, and the amount is $500 or less, this will be paid as an honorarium using an honorarium payment form which should be submitted to Payroll.

If the individual is a Canadian resident, and are paid over $500 as guest speakers, an invoice will be required from the guest speaker, sent to AP, and would be processed via Sm@rtBuy.

If the honorarium is to an organization (incorporated or limited), it will be processed according to the non-PO invoice process.

Question 43

How would prepayments be processed?

Accepted Answer

Units should ensure that all pre-approvals are compliant with the University’s Signing Authority Policy and the Signing Authority Register. Once AP receives the invoice, they would reach out to the unit to obtain evidence of the pre-approval which AP would then attach to the invoice in Sm@rtBuy. However, units need to send the pre-approval on time once requested to prevent delays to invoice processing.

Question 44

Do we still need to submit ICQs?

Accepted Answer

Units must ensure that there is an approved ICQ on file when a purchase for services is made. Refer to the Paying Independent Contractors page for more information. For resale services (non-degree/non-credit units), having an approved ICQ is not a requirement. Units must do the following:

Send their resale vendor list to AP at least one week prior to the launch date;
Communicate to the vendors to have the invoice include a line stating it is for resale services and the unit e.g SEEC;
Provide an updated vendor list to AP every time a new resale vendor is engaged.

Once AP receives the invoice, they will refer to the vendor list sent by the units to ensure that the vendor is included. If the vendor is on the list, the invoice gets processed. Otherwise, AP will reach out to the unit to request an updated list. In the future, the contracts with these vendors will be reviewed to ensure that they are standard contracts, and all requirements are met.

Question 45

What email address should vendors send their enquiries to?

Accepted Answer

Vendors should send their enquiries to Accounts Payable at vendorinvoices@yorku.ca.

Question 46

How can I make an enquiry?

Accepted Answer

For all other concerns or enquiries, please check the work instructions and video guide before reaching out to Accounts Payable (AP) through the USC at acctpay@yorku.ca or call 416-736-5837 or Procurement Operations through the USC at 416-736-5857.