Q. Does iBuy check for rogue FOAPALs?
A. No. However, the system does offer options that should help to reduce the occurrence of rogue FOAPALs, such as:

Supporting the use of Index codes.
Providing drop-down menus of FOAPAL elements rather than requiring data entry.
Displaying textual descriptions of the various FOAPAL codes alongside the codes themselves in the drop-downs.
Allowing, via workflow, review of accounting data prior to order placement.
Limiting users, by role, to the shopping experience only (i.e., search and select items to build the electronic shopping cart), reserving the ability to code FOAPALs specifically to staff members with Accounting expertise.

Q. Can Index codes be used in iBuy?
A. Yes, all parts of the FOAPAL, including Index codes, can be used and will carry over into Banner.

Q. Do default Fund codes work similarly to Index codes?
A. iBuy does not accommodate Fund defaults.

Q. If an order fails because of an invalid FOAPAL, is the Requestor able to correct the FOAPAL and resubmit the order through iBuy?
A. No, but the Requestor is able to copy the original order (requisition), correct the FOAPAL information, and resubmit the new order (requisition) through iBuy.

Q. Do FOAPAL changes have to be made on every line of a requisition that contains multiple line items?
A. No. FOAPAL information can be defined/changed either at the requisition or line item level.

Q. Is it possible to change the FOAPAL before an order is approved?
A. Yes, the Approver can change the FOAPAL before the order is placed.

Q. On multiple FOAPALs, does every FOAPAL have to be approved before it goes to a purchase order?
A. Yes, they go to all Approvers simultaneously and automatically via workflow. The Approver has the ability to reject individual line items on a requisition if necessary.

Q. Does the system have the capability of advising users that the wrong FOAPAL is being used?
A. No. However, there are some error messages that appear when a segment of the FOAPAL entered is invalid.

Q. Does the system have the capability of alerting users that a required element of the CFOAPAL is blank?
A. Yes. If any element of the CFOAP (AL: Activity and Location are optional) is left blank during completion of a requisition, the user will receive an error message.

Q. Is it possible for a Shopper to enter a FOAPAL or an Index code?
A. No.The value of the Shopper role is that the person who is most knowledgeable about the item(s) needed does not have to have Banner Accounting knowledge.

Q. Does routing by Organization go by the first three digits of the Organization code or by the full six digit code?
A. Routing is done by chart and the first three digits of the Organization code.

Q. Does the system look for string validation or segment validation?
A. Segment validation.

Q. Is Activity available as part of the FOAPAL string?
A. Yes. Activity and Location are part of the FOAPAL string.

Q. Can an order be split?
A. Yes. FOAPALs can be split at the order level and at the line level as many times as required.

Q. What is the functionality of the Recalculate/Validate Values link found in the Add Split screen?
A. After entering the breakdown of the Split, the Recalculate/Validate Values link checks to verify the split totals 100%.

PURCHASE ORDERS/REQUISITIONS

Q. Does iBuy generate a Banner purchase order number or something different?
A. iBuy uses Banner purchase order numbers, with the following two exceptions:

Internal vendors (campus stores, for example) receive an iBuy purchase order number rather than a Banner purchase order number. The department’s funds are not encumbered, and the internal vendor processes a charge back to the FOAPAL(s) provided.

Q. Can a purchase order or requisition be copied from Banner into iBuy?
A. No.

Q. Does the iBuy requisition number appear in FOIDOCH?
A. No, it does not. However, requisitions and purchase orders are always associated and easily found within iBuy.

Q. What happens to rejected purchase orders? Is there a need for clean-up?
A. When a purchase order is rejected by Banner, it becomes a cancelled purchase order in iBuy. No “in-process” purchase orders are left for clean-up.

Q. If multiple items are placed on one requisition and the CFOAPAL check rejects one item, do the other items process correctly?
A. Yes. Excluding the rejected line item, the requisition will process normally.

Q. Is it necessary to complete multiple requisitions for multiple vendors?
A. No, multiple vendors can be combined on a single requisition. iBuy recognizes the need to generate multiple purchase orders from that single requisition.

Q. Can departments print requisitions and purchase orders?
A. Yes. However, electronic submission to vendors and the availability of both requisition and purchase order images within iBuy should greatly reduce the need for hard copies.

Q. Is there a receiving component to this system?
A. Yes, but it does not integrate with Banner at this time. Receiving and payment functionality are being investigated for a subsequent implementation.

Q. Can requisitions be saved and ordered later?
A. Yes. Requisitions can be saved indefinitely. Purchase orders are not generated until the requisition has been completed, approved, and had a Banner purchase order number assigned.

Q. In order to accommodate the issue of crossing fiscal years, can a user back date or future date a requisition?
A. Today’s date or a future date are the only dates allowed to be entered on requisitions.

Q. Can iBuy be used for personal purchases?
A. No, the system is for University business exclusively.

Q. If an order goes to Purchasing, does the name of the Buyer to whom the order was assigned display in History?
A. Yes. This information is available as part of the requisition History.

Q. Can a user choose to split the payment method on one order, e.g., P-Card for office supplies and PO (invoice) for computer peripherals?
A. No.

VENDORS/CATALOGS

Q. From a punchout catalog, does the user come back into iBuy to finish the order?
A. Yes, after “punching out” to a vendor’s catalog, items are brought back into the requisition in iBuy, where the ordering process is completed.

Q. How are vendors made available in iBuy?
A. A vendor must be established as an e-procurement vendor in Banner in order to be available in iBuy. The process for adding vendors in Banner will not be affected by the implementation of iBuy.

Q. Is there a way to address the absence of product availability information in hosted catalogs?
A. Unfortunately, no. By definition, hosted catalogs are static files, updated at intervals mutually approved by the University and the vendor.

Q. Can items from punchout catalogs be saved in Favorites?
A. Yes, though the practice is not encouraged because pricing updates are not reflected in Favorites.

Q. Can internal stores be loaded?
A. Yes, internal stores can be vendors within iBuy, and many have chosen to be loaded as such.

Q. How will potential iBuy vendors be identified going forward?
A. University Procurement will monitor spend data such as dollar and transaction volumes and the number of departments using particular vendors. Also, feedback will be solicited on an ongoing basis from iBuy customers regarding vendors that they would like to see added.

Q. Where can vendor shipping charges be found?
A. For contracted vendors, the shipping is included in the pricing so there should not be shipping charges. For other vendors, exact shipping charges are often not known at the time of the order; they are applied to the invoice. The charges usually fall within the $150.00/10% invoice tolerance, so University Payables pays the shipping charges as “other charges” when the invoice is processed for payment.

Q. If there has been a price change to an item that has been saved in My Favorites, will the updated price appear when the item is copied to a requisition?
A. The answer depends whether the vendor type is Hosted or Punchout:

Hosted:
Each time a new price file is loaded in the system, the Hosted vendor pricing is updated automatically in My Favorites. If an item becomes discontinued, iBuy will generate an error message and not allow the item to be added to a Shopping Cart.

Punchout:
It is not recommended to add Punchout items to My Favorites. Any changes made by the supplier would not be captured; therefore, the incorrect price would appear when copying the item to a requisition.

Q. If a department gets a quote that offers better pricing than the catalog, how can prices be changed in iBuy?
A. This should be sent via a Non-Catalog form with the quote included as an external attachment.

Q. At UIUC, should iBuy or Web Cat be used to order office and lab supplies?

A. UIUC Stores & Receiving will continue to offer OfficeMax and Fisher Scientific office and lab products via Web Cat during the initial phased deployment period (January - June 2007) for the new iBuy e-procurement system. As of July 2007, you are encouraged use iBuy to purchase directly from OfficeMax and Fisher Scientific, which are already available as vendors in iBuy. For additional information about Web Cat or UIUC Central Stores, please contact UIUC Stores & Receiving Customer Service at 217-244-0139.

WORKFLOW

Q. How are approvals handled when an Approver is gone?
A. It is recommended that each department have at least two individuals set up at each approval level to accommodate absences. However, iBuy does have a proxy function that allows Approvers to give temporary authority to someone else who has an Approver role in the system.

Q. Are the approval levels the same in iBuy as they are in Banner?
A. The departmental approval levels in iBuy mirror those in Banner, with one exception: There are two additional optional levels < $10,000 ($0-$4999 and $5000-$9999).

Q. Does iBuy allow processing of a requisition if the approval queue of the Organization being charged for the purchase is not populated?
A. Yes.

SHIPPING

Q. How does iBuy accommodate shipping charges that change due to partial shipment?
A. These are handled just as they are on Banner orders. The shipping charges are treated as “other” charges and, unless the shipping amount places the order over tolerance, the invoice is paid.

Q. How are shipping charges reflected in iBuy?
A. Prices loaded are loaded without shipping charges. If shipping is to be included, it is a separate line item and is set at a vendor level.

EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS

Q. At what points in the process are e-mails generated?
A. All e-mail notifications are listed in individual user profiles and differ based on the role(s) assigned. Users have the ability to turn these notifications on or off.

Q. Can e-mail notifications be sent to multiple recipients?
A. No.

Q. If an Approver changes something on a requisition, will the Requestor be notified?
A. There is no notification back to the Requestor if an Approver makes a change to a requisition.

NOTES/ATTACHMENTS

Q. Can internal notes be added to a requisition or purchase order once it is completed?
A. Yes.

Q. Can an internal message be added to an order to make it urgent?
A. An internal note could indicate the urgent nature of a requisition, but this cannot be reflected in the system-generated email to the Approver.

Q. Should internal attachments be used for attaching quotes?
A. It depends on who needs to see the quote. If it needs to go back to the vendor, it should be added as an external attachment.

Q. Can a note be changed from internal to external?
A. No, but it can be copied from one to the other.

Q. What format is needed for attachments?
A. iBuy can accept any file format as an attachment.

Q. Can a Shopper add attachments?
A. Yes.

Q. Is there a maximum size for attachments?
A. The maximum total file size per uploaded attachment is 10 MB.

Q. Is it possible to view other users’ requisitions?
A. Users see the requisitions of only those departments to which they are given access.

FEATURES

Q. Is it possible to sort items by price?
A. No, because units of measure may vary. However, SciQuest intends to add this functionality to a future release!

Q. Can Favorites be defined at a unit level in addition to at the individual level?
A. No, an individual department or unit does not have the ability to have Favorites specific to that unit. There are University-level Organizational Favorites that the iBuy system administrator can establish in order to highlight specific vendor items.

Q. Can a previous order be copied?
A. Yes, using the “copy cart” functionality.

Q. How long are draft carts available?
A. Indefinitely, or until completed.

SETTLEMENT

Q. Does iBuy handle orders with installment payments?
A. These types of orders can be done in iBuy only when the installment payments are of equal value.

TECHNICAL

Q. What is the technology behind iBuy?
A. iBuy is a web-enabled, hosted application.

Q. Is it necessary to use a specific web browser?
A. No. iBuy supports multiple browsers.

Q. Is it possible to use iBuy with a Mac rather than a PC?
A. iBuy may be used across platforms.

Q. Will iBuy run on a “thin” client workstation?
A. Yes.

Q. Is iBuy a secured environment?
A. System access is controlled by enterprise application security.

MISCELLANEOUS

Q. Are SKUs universal or vendor-specific?
A. They are vendor-specific. SKU stands for "Stock Keeping Unit." It is a common term for a unique numeric identifier, used most commonly in online business to refer to a specific product in inventory or in a catalog.

Q. Can fixed assets be ordered in iBuy?
A. Yes. Users would still need to select the correct commodity code unless the item is from an iBuy vendor catalog, in which case the commodity code is provided automatically and then complete the proper information in FABWEB.

Q. Will the system be open to everyone?
A. iBuy access must be requested through Unit Security Contacts.

Q. What level of detail is passed by iBuy into Banner?
A. The Banner purchase order record is very similar, with the exception of requisition number, whether the requisition originated in Banner or in iBuy.

Q. How does someone research orders without having requisition numbers in Banner?
A. All research can be done in iBuy.

Q. Does the search function in iBuy support the use of wild card characters?
A. Wild card characters are not necessary, as iBuy’s search function returns results based on partial entries.

Q. What happens if a user gets a quote from a vendor with a lower price than the catalog price?
A. The user should notify University Procurement. With rare exception, this situation should not occur.

Q. When fiscal years change, how and when are State Fund codes updated in iBuy?
A. As CFOAPAL elements are added, updated, or terminated in Banner, the changes are reflected in iBuy almost immediately.

Last Updated: August 6, 2007

University of Illinois Links

Related Links:

Login to iBuy

Policy Manual

Helpful Links

Benefits of iBuy

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

FOAPALs

PURCHASE ORDERS/REQUISITIONS

VENDORS/CATALOGS

WORKFLOW

SHIPPING

EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS

NOTES/ATTACHMENTS

FEATURES

SETTLEMENT

TECHNICAL

MISCELLANEOUS

FOAPALs

PURCHASE ORDERS/REQUISITIONS

VENDORS/CATALOGS

WORKFLOW

SHIPPING

EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS

NOTES/ATTACHMENTS

FEATURES

SETTLEMENT

TECHNICAL

MISCELLANEOUS