Category: Uncategorized

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:

1. $100,000 or less, you would obtain one SOW from one of the contracts/contractors on the list.
2. 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.
3. 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. Additional information on utilizing eVA procurement is available here. 

Consulting Services – up to $100,000

1. 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.
2. Complete the Cost/Price Analysis for Contracted Services and attach it to the eVA Requisition.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Submit the eVA Purchase Requisition and accompanying documentation for the purchase.

Consulting Services – Over $100,000 – Up to $200,000

1. Obtain three vendor quotes, of which two are from a Small, Women or Minority-owned vendor (SWAM),
2. 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. 
3. 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. 
4. Complete the Cost/Price Analysis for Contracted Services and attach it to the eVA Requisition.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Submit the eVA Purchase Requisition and accompanying documentation for the purchase.

Consulting Services  – more than $200,000

1. 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.
2. 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. 
3. 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.
4. Complete the Cost/Price Analysis for Contracted Services and attach it to the eVA Requisition.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Submit the eVA Purchase Requisition and accompanying documentation for the purchase.

Common terms and phrases used when discussing Fiscal related activities.

Departments must establish internal controls that are intended to reduce the risk of an existing or potential control weakness.  Departments should consider these roles, along with who will reconcile the Marketplace transactions to Banner Finance, when assigning duties to department staff. Please review the TouchNet Marketplace User Role Guide to enhance internal controls and ensure appropriate staff are assigned to each role. 

All Marketplace uStores and uPay sites are required to have written Refund Procedures established in the event of an audit.  Fiscal Services provides guidance to departments on what must be included in their Refund Procedures in the Marketplace Refund Procedures.

The most important component to your procedures requires that two individuals be involved in the refund process.  One individual to review and approve the refund and another individual with access to the Marketplace uStore/uPay site in the role of Fulfiller with Cancel/Refund Rights/Payment Clerk that can process the refund. 

TouchNet stores refund activity within the transaction history which can be used as part of the department documentation for the refund.  Departments will need to establish/keep approval related documentation (email, electronic signature sign-off, etc.).  Refund documentation needs to be kept for a period of three years.

 

It is up to the department to ensure the correct detail code is being used behind each product.

With fiscal year end approaching, Fiscal Services wants to remind departments with uStores/uPay sites that use deferred revenue detail codes to ensure deferred detail codes are changed to revenue detail codes as of Friday, July 1, 2022.

Review the Deferred Revenue Guide for instructions on updating your product to a deferred account as well as changing products back to revenue detail codes for the new fiscal year.  This change can be set up in advance under Status Management to automate these scheduled changes. Be sure to add this information to your annual process procedures for TouchNet uStore/uPay management.