From:	C.D. Crepps
To:	Department Contacts
Cc:	Finance Office
Subject:	year-end purchasing, part 2 of 2
Sent:	TUE,MAY21@9:48AM

GREETINGS,

Hope you all enjoy the upcoming holiday weekend!

This reminder message is specifically for staff that may assist in the department’s purchasing processes. Please forward to other appropriate staff that may need to receive this message, such as those that EITHER (1) place orders for goods or services, (2) enter requisitions, OR (3) consult with others who do perform either of the first two tasks, AND may not have received this message directly from me.

I will be periodically broadcasting information to all of you via email, yet please do not hesitate to contact me by phone or email if you should have any questions or concerns for me about what is communicated. While I am sensitive to the fact that this email message is lengthy, please understand that the topic is not simple. I’ve used headings to group my thoughts.

A. REQUISITION PREPARATIONS
All new orders for supplies should be made prior to the "new order blackout period". And, for orders for supplies, remember to enter the ORDER DATE as the date reference on all description lines when creating and entering a purchase requisition on Edmunds MCSJ.

Please create the purchase requisition on the same day as (or on the next day after) the order is placed. To create a purchase order, you don’t need to wait on the invoice. However, you should receive a quote or estimate or other document to support your intended purchase. Attach supporting documents as soon as practical.

All new orders for services should be made such that the service period begins prior to the "new order blackout period". For orders for services, use the SERVICE DATE or SERVICE DATE RANGE as the date reference on all description lines when creating and entering a purchase requisition on Edmunds MCSJ. Please create the purchase requisition on the same day as (or on the next day after) the order is placed. Attach paperwork as soon as practical.

All new orders for events, such as travel-related workshops, should be requisitioned prior to the "new order blackout period". For orders for events, use the EVENT DATE or EVENT DATE RANGE as the date reference on all description lines when creating and entering a purchase requisition on Edmunds MCSJ. Please create the purchase requisition on the same day as (or on the next day after) the event is scheduled. Attach paperwork as soon as practical.

During the “new order blackout period”, few requisitions should be entered that reference dates within the "new order blackout period". Please make plans accordingly. Again, exceptions are allowed for emergencies and unforeseen circumstances, such as repairs or replacements needed.

If you are entering a requisition during this blackout period and the proper date reference used is entirely during the "new order blackout period", please include comments in the “Comments” or “Notes” section as to why the order is needed.

B. CONTACT YOUR VENDORS TO SPEED UP DELIVERIES AND INVOICES
Each June, for both outstanding orders and new orders of goods and materials, we ask that you work with your vendors to speed up delivery of ordered goods and materials by June 30. Goods and materials should be charged to your budget based on the delivery date. Over the next few months, please note that items delivered on or before June 30 should be charged to the current budget and items delivered on July 1 or afterwards should be charged to the next year’s budget (regardless of order date). To that end, please mark the delivery date on the invoice or other paperwork submitted with the purchase requisition.

Likewise, for both ongoing services and orders of one-time services, completed services should be charged to your budget based on the service date or date range. Services performed by June 30 should be charged to the current budget and services performed in July or afterwards should be charged to the next year’s budget. For services, please always encourage your vendors to send invoices monthly or quarterly (dates matching calendar months or quarters is preferred). Especially from now until June 30, please contact your vendors who are currently providing services for which the County has not already paid and request that they send invoices as soon as practical in July for services rendered through June 30.

And, for invoices for annual periods and for other invoices that include periods both before and after June 30, please note that the invoice amount should be charged partially to each fiscal year for which it applies. Please ensure all invoices describe the dates of service being furnished.

When possible, work with your vendor to switch the service dates to align with the County’s fiscal/budget year of July 1 to June 30. Another possible option is to have the vendor bill us semi-annually or quarterly where June 30 is an end date on one of the semi-annual or quarterly billings. Keep in mind, though, that the County wants to take advantage of any extra discounts available through annual billings, where applicable.

C. BACKORDERS AND OPEN PURCHASE ORDERS
Also, since purchase orders are sometimes issued for the total order placed with the vendor, yet sometimes ordered items are placed on backorder or ordered services are not yet completed, Finance will track all open purchase orders. In a typical year, almost all purchase orders will be closed at June 30. The most obvious example of a purchase order that is not typically closed at June 30 would be a purchase order for a construction project. Concerning some purchase orders that remain open on June 30, we may contact you to help determine whether some purchase orders will need to be carried forward into the next budget year.

As you probably know, the amount of any purchase order is encumbered against the budget within Edmunds MCSJ, meaning the amount encumbered reduces the amount of budget available for other expenditures. In some cases, when deemed appropriate, reasonable, and logical, the encumbered amount of budget via open purchase orders may be carried forward into the next budget year and added to next year's budget.

For items delivered after June 30, next year’s budget should be charged, regardless of order date. Services should be treated similarly. See the next section.

CONTACT ME
I am available for one on one discussion and will gladly assist you in any way necessary. We appreciate your time and cooperation with streamlining year-end orders and payments for those orders.

Best regards,
--CD