This is a reminder that the Department of General Services mandates all eVA users and approvers to log in to their accounts at least once every 90 days. Failure to do so will result in automatic deactivation, leading to loss of access, which can cause significant issues, particularly during critical periods such as year-end purchases. Please ensure you log in regularly to maintain your account’s active status. If you encounter an ‘Access Denied’ message, please contact FAST@gmu.edu with the subject line ‘eVA Login Issue,’ and include specific details and contact information.
Author: Jessica Adams
The P-Card Application and Maintenance Form will soon be available in one location! The P-Card team is excited to announce the upcoming release of a new P-Card Ellucian Workflow form. This form, which will be available on the “Use a P-Card” page of the Fiscal Services website, allows users to choose between the P-Card Application or Maintenance form. While the questions and content of the forms will remain the same, this update will streamline both the application and maintenance processes, offering a more user-friendly interface. More information will be provided soon.”
This NEW monthly publication is your source for staying informed about all things fiscal at George Mason University. Wondering why you are getting the Fiscal Review? If you previously received the “Month is Closed” emails, subscribed to the FSCN newsletter, or are otherwise identified as an L5 Approver, you’re now part of this consolidated communication effort. Our goal is to reduce redundant information and provide you with a clearer, more comprehensive understanding of key fiscal topics and matters within the university. The content remains the same, just more streamlined!The Fiscal Review will be sent on the second Monday of each month (pending holidays) and will continue to provide you with the most up-to-date information, important reminders, feedback opportunities, and ways to connect with our fiscal services community through training, engagement, and events.
The Travel Office would like to announce that the MFG additional approver feature is now available! Previously, approvers could only reassign their approvals. This new functionality allows for approvers to add one more approver and to include comments during the approval process. This can be done on the approval confirmation screen, where individuals will add the approver from the given list of names.
This does not impact or change how approvers are managed in MFG. This only applies to an expense report where an additional, individual approver will review a particular report. We will be adding this functionality to the approver guide soon.
All Journal Vouchers (JVs) should be entered or submitted at least three business days before month-end to allow for approval and posting. If a JV is submitted within three days of month-end, it should be dated for the following month. Additional information can be found at https://fiscal.gmu.edu/journal-vouchers/.
University Business Consulting is available at no or reduced cost to assist Mason units with various consulting needs. Please email ubc@gmu.edu or visit the University Business Consulting website for additional information.
Mason has awarded 32 contracts for consulting services for a wide range of services, including but not limited to, business consulting, financial consulting, academic consulting, etc. A complete list of contracts, including pricing and contact information, can be found here: https://fiscal.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/GMU-1827-23-Fiscal-Website-Consulting-Vendors-02.25.25.pdf.
When services are required, consideration should be given to these contracts/contractors. The requirements for obtaining a Scope of Work (SOW) from a contract vendor are as follows:
- $100,000 or less, you would obtain one SOW from one of the contracts/contractors on the list.
- Above $100,000 you are encouraged to obtain two SOWs from two separate contracts/contractors and move forward with the SOW that best meets your requirements.
- The additional forms outlined in the below sections are not required when using a contracted vendor.
Follow the outline below based on the total cost of service. The steps outlined below are also required for purchases $5,000 or less. Additional information on utilizing eVA procurement is available here.
Consulting Services – up to $100,000
- Obtain a Proposal for Services from the consultant or contractor. Vendors may complete the Statement of Work Template. Note: The attached statement of work should include a price quote and all expenses, including travel, if applicable.
- Complete the Cost/Price Analysis for Contracted Services and attach it to the eVA Requisition.
- Complete the Employee/Contractor Evaluation and attach it to the eVA Requisition. Note: This form is used only for individuals, not companies. If the contractor or consultant has never been paid by George Mason University, the contractor or consultant must register with George Mason through the vendor portal available on the “Do Business with Mason” webpage before the purchase order can be issued. Do not attach the W-9 Form to the Purchase Requisition.
- Complete an eVA Purchase Requisition for the total amount. If the consultant will be paid over an extended period, the entire amount the consultant is expected to receive should be entered as the total amount. For example: To pay a consultant $1,000 per month for one year, the total amount of the eVA Requisition should be $12,000. Expenditures of $25,000 or more from any fund beginning with a “2” require approval from the Office of Sponsored Programs.
- Submit the eVA Purchase Requisition and accompanying documentation for the purchase.
Consulting Services – Over $100,000 – Up to $200,000
- Obtain three vendor quotes, of which two are from a Small, Women or Minority-owned vendor (SWAM),
- If a particular consultant is the only one who can perform the services and the competition is impracticable or unavailable, complete the Sole Source Procurement Approval Request form.
- Obtain a Proposal for Services from the consultant or contractor. Vendors may complete the Statement of Work Template. Note: The attached statement of work should include a price quote and all expenses, including travel, if applicable.
- Complete the Cost/Price Analysis for Contracted Services and attach it to the eVA Requisition.
- Complete the Employee/Contractor Evaluation and attach it to the eVA Requisition. Note: This form is used only for individuals, not companies. If the contractor or consultant has never been paid by George Mason University, the contractor or consultant must register with George Mason through the vendor portal available on the “Do Business with Mason” webpage before the purchase order can be issued. Do not attach the W-9 Form to the Purchase Requisition.
- Complete an eVA Purchase Requisition for the total amount. If the consultant will be paid over an extended period, the entire amount the consultant is expected to receive should be entered as the total amount. For example: To pay a consultant $1,000 per month for one year, the total amount of the eVA Requisition should be $12,000. Expenditures of $25,000 or more from any fund beginning with a “2” require approval from the Office of Sponsored Programs.
- Submit the eVA Purchase Requisition and accompanying documentation for the purchase.
Consulting Services – more than $200,000
- Formal competition is required through the Request For Proposal process. To begin the process fill out and submit a Solicitation Prep Form. Steps 2 – 7 below will not be applicable at this point.
- If a particular consultant is the only one who can perform the services and the competition is impracticable or unavailable, complete the Sole Source Procurement Approval Request form.
- Obtain a Proposal for Services from the consultant or contractor. Vendors may complete the Statement of Work Template. Note: This statement of work should include a price quote and all expenses, including travel, if applicable.
- Complete the Cost/Price Analysis for Contracted Services and attach it to the eVA Requisition.
- Complete the Employee/Contractor Evaluation and attach it to the eVA Requisition. Note: This form is used only for individuals, not companies. If the contractor or consultant has never been paid by George Mason University, the contractor or consultant must register with George Mason through the vendor portal available on the “Do Business with Mason” webpage before the purchase order can be issued. Do not attach the W-9 Form to the Purchase Requisition.
- Complete an eVA Purchase Requisition for the total amount. If the consultant will be paid over an extended period, the entire amount the consultant is expected to receive should be entered as the total amount. For example: To pay a consultant $1,000 per month for one year, the total amount of the eVA Requisition should be $12,000. Expenditures of $25,000 or more from any fund beginning with a “2” require approval from the Office of Sponsored Programs.
- Submit the eVA Purchase Requisition and accompanying documentation for the purchase.
Common terms and phrases used when discussing Fiscal related activities.
Month ended January 31, 2020 is closed – Confirming Orders, Travel Policy, Banner Workflow
January reconciliation reports are now accessible. The Reconciliation Procedures Guide is available for review and provides extensive information on the reconciliation process, timeline and available reports. Fiscal Policy and Procedure Updates as well as archived announcements are also available at /fiscal-policy-updates/.
Confirming Order Project
We are excited to announce that end-users will no longer submit Confirming Orders in eVA after February 14, 2020. P-Cardholders and Approvers will receive a detailed email outlining the new process very soon. For additional guidance on allocating P-Card transactions, please refer to the updated P-Cardholder Quick Guide.
Travel Policy Feedback
We invite you to review and comment on the proposed updates to the Travel Policy (Draft). Please review and submit comments through this survey by March 3, 2020.
Upcoming FY20 Purchasing Deadlines
As the FY20 fiscal year-end approaches, we encourage departments to begin forecasting purchases and payments. Please note that all purchases above $100,000 and/or software purchases (at any dollar amount that require ASRB review) must be submitted to the Purchasing Department by March 6, 2020. The complete list of year-end deadlines will be posted in the March 2020 memo.
Banner Workflow Interface Update
On February 16, 2020, Banner Workflow will be updated and users will notice a slight change to the interface. The left-hand menu will be compressed and the “Home” and “User Profile” categories will display as icons. When one of the icons is selected, the options for the category will display. Relevant user guides and instructions will be updated to reflect this change.
Report Training and Support:
To register and view course descriptions, please go to http://workshops.gmu.edu/. Additional information and registration instructions are available at /training/attend-a-classroom-course/.
Fiscal Services (E&G, Indirect Org, Auxiliary, etc.)
Fiscal Orientation 1 – Financial Transactions & Reconciliation – February 6 & March 5, 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. in Merten Hall, 2001
Banner Finance — 10:30 a.m. – 12 noon
MicroStrategy for Reconciliation — 1:00 – 3 p.m.
Note – Clicking on the training links above will direct you to the login for Mason Workshops and you will be prompted to enter your Mason Patriot Pass credentials.
Quick reference guides for Banner Finance – Self Service, e~Print and MicroStrategy are available at /training/obtain-training-materials/.
For assistance, please contact Jessica Adams at jadams15@gmu.edu, or ext. 3-5966. Everyone is welcome at our Fiscal Services walk-in sessions! The walk-in schedule is available at /training/participate-in-walk-in-assistance/.
Sponsored Programs (Grants and Contracts)
PI Report and Reconciliation — February 19 & March 9, 1:00 – 3 p.m., in Merten Hall, 2001.
Quick guides and reference material for using MicroStrategy PI Reports for reconciliation are available at http://osp.gmu.edu/workshop-resources/.
Please contact Pat Sperry at psperry@gmu.edu or 3-8929 and Kimberly Maze at kmaze@gmu.edu or 3-4001 for assistance with PI reports.
Month ended December 31, 2019 is closed – Mileage rate, Common Contracts, Electronic JV
December reconciliation reports are now accessible. The Reconciliation Procedures Guide is available for review and provides extensive information on the reconciliation process, timeline and available reports. Fiscal Policy and Procedure Updates as well as archived announcements are also available at /fiscal-policy-updates/.
Personal Mileage Rate Change
Beginning January 1, 2020, the personal mileage rate for business travel is $.575 per mile (decreased from $.58). The Travel Request System (TRS) will be updated to reflect this change. As a reminder, travelers may be reimbursed at the personal mileage rate in the following situations:
- The mileage does not exceed 280 miles per day
- The mileage per day is more than 280 miles, but the cost of the personal car does not exceed the cost of an Enterprise vehicle (Enterprise Trip Calculator must be included with reimbursement)
- An Enterprise vehicle is not available (a copy of the Enterprise rental page indicating vehicle is not available for the day(s) must be included with reimbursement)
- The proposed driver is younger than 21 years of age
Commonly Used Contracts
Many pre-negotiated contracts are available for Mason purchasers to use. These contracts should be selected before choosing a non-contracted vendor. Please visit the Existing Contracts webpage to search for a Mason, State or VASCUPP contract. A list of Scientific Vendor Contracts is also available here.
Electronic Journal Voucher Submission
Fiscal Services encourages all units to begin submitting journal vouchers electronically using Banner Admin Apps, instead of submitting a paper journal voucher form. Instructions are available on the Electronic JV Guide. Unit finance liaisons may request access for existing Banner users within their unit by sending an email to fast@gmu.edu with the existing users net ID and the request to add JV Initiator security group and XCAR rule code to the existing user’s profile. New finance users should submit a Banner Access form indicating the JV Initiator security group and XCAR rule code and providing the required fund/org access.
Report Training and Support:
To register and view course descriptions, please go to http://workshops.gmu.edu/. Additional information and registration instructions are available at /training/attend-a-classroom-course/.
Fiscal Services (E&G, Indirect Org, Auxiliary, etc.)
Fiscal Orientation 1 – Financial Transactions & Reconciliation – January 9 & February 6, 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. in Merten Hall, 2001
Banner Finance — 10:30 a.m. – 12 noon
MicroStrategy for Reconciliation — 1:00 – 3 p.m.
Note – Clicking on the training links above will direct you to the login for Mason Workshops and you will be prompted to enter your Mason Patriot Pass credentials.
Quick reference guides for Banner Finance – Self Service, e~Print and MicroStrategy are available at /training/obtain-training-materials/.
For assistance, please contact Jessica Adams at jadams15@gmu.edu, or ext. 3-5966. Everyone is welcome at our Fiscal Services walk-in sessions! The walk-in schedule is available at /training/participate-in-walk-in-assistance/.
Sponsored Programs (Grants and Contracts)
PI Report and Reconciliation — January 22, 10:00 – 12 noon & February 19, 1:00 – 3 p.m., in Merten Hall, 2001.
Quick guides and reference material for using MicroStrategy PI Reports for reconciliation are available at http://osp.gmu.edu/workshop-resources/.
Please contact Pat Sperry at psperry@gmu.edu or 3-8929 and Kimberly Maze at kmaze@gmu.edu or 3-4001 for assistance with PI reports.