| Which browsers are supported for PC users? |
The preferred browser for PC users is the latest version of Google Chrome. Firefox will also work. MS Internet Explorer will not work with the Team Dynamix Prior Approval system. |
| Which browser is supported for Mac users? |
The latest version of Firefox. Safari is NOT supported. With Firefox, there are some workarounds you need to know. |
| Who has access to the Team Dynamix Prior Approval form? |
Any HSC user who logs onto the UTHSCSA domain has access to the Team Dynamix Prior Approval forms. |
| How long will PowerApp Prior Approvals and Team Dynamix sites be accessible? |
All Prior Approval forms will be maintained for the standard document retention period of the current fiscal year plus 3 fiscal years. |
| Can I use VPN to access the Team Dynamix Prior Approval forms? |
Yes. |
| Who can create a Prior Approval? |
Any user with access to the university network can create a Prior Approval. |
| Who can approve a Prior Approval? |
The Submitter of a Prior Approval designates the person(s) who should approve the Prior Approval. For Project Approvers, type in a user with signature authority for the PID to be charged for the PA services. If unknown, consult the PeopleSoft Financials HSC Self Service Inquiries, Signature by Project. For Director/Chair Approvers, however, the TDx form does not maintain a list of valid approvers. It is up to the Submitter to know who to select (particularly when the Director or Chair has delegated his/her approval authority by naming one or more designees).
The Submitter of a Prior Approval can complete one of the two approval steps noted below if the Submitter meets the requirements.
Project ID Approver - Valid Project Approvers are designated in PeopleSoft Financials. For newly created projects, either the Office of Sponsored Programs or the Office of Accounting generally adds the initial list of Project Approvers. Afterwards,the departmental ACE adds additional approvers. To be considered a Project Approver for Prior Approvals, an individual needs to have only the Signature Authority designation in ACE Security. Department Approver - The Submitter should generally select the department's Director or Chair. This approval step may be delegated by the Director or Chair, although delegation must be reasonable. Each department should consider naming at least one Director/Chair delegate and communicating this information to departmental staff. Doing so will avoid a situation where there is no Director/Chair approver available to approve a time-sensitive Prior Approval. |
| Can the Approver update the Prior Approval during review? Can a disapproved ticket be reactivated and edited? |
In general, no. The Approver will need to disapprove the Prior Approval and instruct the Submitter to make any necessary edits. But, if an Approver is also the Submitter, it is possible for the Approver to edit the Prior Approval once it has been submitted for approval. Doing so, however, will reset department approvals. |
| Can an Approver "see" a Prior Approval that has not yet been submitted for approval? |
Generally, approvers will not be aware of a Prior Approval they need to approve until such time that the Submitter actually submits it for approval. |
| How long will Prior Approvals be accessible on the Business Affairs eforms site? |
View the See Also link below. |
| What are the basic steps of creating a Prior Approval? |
Answer the preliminary questions to ensure that a Prior Approval is appropriate for your situation.Based on your answers, you may be directed to complete the Employee/Independent Contractor Classification Checklist.Complete the Prior Approval. Submit the Prior Approval for departmental approvals.The Office of Business Affairs completes its review and performs a sanction check.The Controller for Business Affairs approves the Prior Approval.
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| Why is there only one Project ID on the Prior Approval? |
The Controller for Business Affairs requires only one Project ID (PID). Follow these guidelines: (1) Enter the PID that should be charged for BTA and Lodging costs if these are applicable. (2) If these costs do not apply, then enter the PID that you expect to charge for the bulk of the costs. If more than one PID must be charged, indicate the additional PID numbers in the description of work or services to be performed. |
| If the Project ID on the Prior Approval disagrees with the PID on the Payment Request, won't Accounting require me to revise the Prior Approval? |
No. The Prior Approval is primarily used to provide advance authorization of payment. The Payment Request, which actually authorizes payment, undergoes its own separate approvals based on the Project IDs listed on the Payment Request. That said, you will want to revise the Prior Approval's PID if direct bill lodging or direct bill airfare (BTA) is used. That way, when the the university receives the invoice for a direct bill, the correct PID will be charged. |
| When will a revised Prior Approval be required? |
Revision of a Prior Approval is applicable only after departmental approval. After department approval, a Prior Approval must be revised ifany of the following are true:
The dates change significantly
There is a more than 20% increase in Total Costs or BTA airfare
Changes need to be made for Direct Bill lodging
A significant change in the dates generally means that the date range covered by the Prior Approval (Start Date to End Date) is permitted to shift plus or minus 30 calendar days; however, a Prior Approval cannot cross fiscal years. A separate Prior Approval is needed for each fiscal year.
When BTA Airfare is used, it is always advisable for the Prior Approval’s start date and end date to agree with the airfare quote’s arrival and departure dates. When the travel agency receives the departmentally-approved Prior Approval, if the start date and end date do not agree with the dates in the airfare quote, this can delay the completion of the booking because the travel agent will need to contact the Submitter to confirm the arrival/departure dates. Should the payee subsequently want to change his/her flights, the travel agent is authorized to make the changes without requesting a revised Prior Approval as long as the difference in the BTA airfare does not exceed the airfare quote by more than 20% and the change in dates is not considered to be significant (as defined earlier).
For Direct Bill lodging changes, see the FAQ linked below. |
| If I need to revise a Prior Approval, who should I contact? |
If you need to make a correction to a Prior Approval TDx form, contact Kaely Perez.
If the revision DOES require re-approval by the department approvers, the steps are the same as in the previous paragraph except once the Submitter revises the Prior Approval and submits it for departmental approvals, the document will require department approvals again because they will have been reset by the Controller Reviewer.Once the Prior Approval is re-approved and re-submitted, the status changes to Submitter Updates Complete.
The Controller Reviewer may also set the status of a Prior Approval to Pending Submitter Response. SeeFAQ #68 for details about this status. |
| Why do some of the multi-line text fields allow only 500 characters? |
Providing character limits encourages brevity. Neither your departmental approvers nor the Controller for Business Affairs need lengthy explanations. When you complete theJob Title and Qualifications andDescription of Work to be Performed, direct and succinct explanations are all that is required. Do not attach a curriculum vitae or other supporting documentation unless your departmental approver asks to see it. The Controller for Business Affairs will not review any such attachments. |
| Are there any improvements to the processing steps for a Prior Approval? |
Absolutely! Automating the form will be a big plus...no more campus mail delays or having to hand deliver an urgent Prior Approval. But, you will also find these improvements have been made: (1) Business Affairs reduced the number of form fields and processing steps you have to complete. (2) The preliminary questions are designed to ensure that you don't complete a Prior Approval unless it is appropriate. (3) The Employee/Independent Contractor Classification Checklist no longer requires you to work through complex logic. (4) All processing steps are transparent; you see what we see. (5) As the Prior Approval progresses through its processing steps, your personalized Prior Approval home page updates to show the current status of the department approvals, Controller review, sanction checking, and Controller approval. (6) Workflows keep you informed of critical milestones by sending you email notifications. (7) You have the ability to copy a Prior Approval and easily print one using your browser's printing capabilities. (8) The requirements to revise a Prior Approval have been greatly reduced. (9) You do not have to attach the Prior Approval to your Payment Request; just reference the Doc ID number on the Payment Request. (10) You will now attach the hotel confirmation to the Prior Approval when lodging is direct billed and the eForms system sends the information to the Travel Services office for you. (11) Controller now completes most sanction checks, reducing processing time. |
| Should I attach the hotel confirmation to the Prior Approval when lodging is direct billed? |
Yes, when a hotel sends you a hotel confirmation for an individual, and the university will be invoiced for the individual's lodging, you should check the box for Direct Bill which appears below the Lodging amount. When you check the Direct Bill checkbox for Lodging, the hotel confirmation should be attached. Travel Admin will be notified of direct bill lodging, and will forward direct bill lodging request to the requested hotel. The Submitter is cc'd on the email. Please note that the Direct Bill checkbox should not be checked when a contract for a block of rooms has/will be executed between the university and the hotel. You do not attach a copy of the contract to the Prior Approval either. |
| Will a late memo be required if the Prior Approval is submitted late? |
Yes, for prior approvals created 3 days or less from the initial date of service. If you should be late, you can supply your explanation for late submission. |
| If BTA is used, will the system notify the travel agency? |
Sadly, no. After the 2nd approval goes through, it will insert a private comment in the ticket feed with a summary of the costs, the approval lines, PID, etc. In addition to the comment, it sends an email notification to the requestor with the same info as the comment. This email should be forwarded to the university's travel agency for booking of the airfare. See agency email addresses here. Controller approval is not required for the Travel Agency to finalize the purchase of airfare; however, the Prior Approval must be approved by both departmental approvers. |
| Once I have submitted a Prior Approval for departmental approvals, can I still make updates? |
No. After you (the Submitter) submit the Prior Approval for departmental approvals, you will not be able to edit the document further. If changes are needed you will need to contact Kaely Perez in Business Affairs to change the PA. |
| Who will be notified when a Prior Approval is approved? |
The Submitter is notified. An email is sent when a Prior Approval is approved by the department, and a second email is sent when the Controller for Business Affairs approves. |
| Do I have to attach a copy of the Prior Approval to the Payment Request? |
No. When you complete Step 1 of the Payment Request, check the box Received Prior Approval. This will cause a box to appear which reads Prior Approval ID. For Prior Approval ID you should enter the TDX service request number of the Prior Approval. Accounts Payable will use the menu action Search for a Prior Approval to retrieve the Prior Approval detail. |
| Are there any required attachments for a Prior Approval? |
In general, the Office of Business Affairs does not need to see any attachments in order to approve a Prior Approval; however, if you check the Direct Bill checkbox next to the Lodging amount, you do need to attach a copy of the hotel confirmation to your Prior Approval. Once the Prior Approval is approved by both departmental approvers, an email is automatically sent to the Travel Services office. The Travel Services office will contact the hotel to let the hotel know what costs are allowable and unallowable. |
| After submitting a Prior Approval for departmental approvals, can an Approver be changed? |
Yes. If changes are needed you will need to contact Kaely Perez. |
| What happens if my Prior Approval is disapproved? |
When a Prior Approval is disapproved by a department approver, how you (the Submitter) should proceed depends on whether the Prior Approval needs to be resubmitted or canceled. To resubmit the Prior Approval, just follow the steps below. To cancel the Prior Approval, you will also complete the steps below. After these steps are complete, click the hyperlink at the bottom of this page under the heading See also.
The Submitter is notified of disapproval via email sent by Business Affairs eForms.
Clicking the embedded link in the email will open the Submitter's default browser and load the Prior Approvals home page.
Below the headingMy Prior Approvals Pending Approval the Submitter should locate the disapproved Prior Approval and click the Edit button.
A message will appear stating that the Prior Approval has been disapproved. Click the Continue button.
A second message then informs the Submitter that the department approvals have been reset and the Prior Approval can once again be edited. Click the OK button to continue.
At this point, the Submitter can either: (1) make any necessary edits and resubmit the Prior Approval again for departmental approvals, or (2) cancel the Prior Approval. |
| How do I cancel a Prior Approval? |
Once a Prior Approval has been saved, it can be canceled by the Submitter at any time prior to being submitted for departmental approval. Once submitted for department approvals, an Approver will first have to disapprove the Prior Approval to allow the Submitter to cancel the Prior Approval.
To cancel a Prior Approval, follow the steps below. (Note: If the Prior Approval has been disapproved, readFAQ #30 before you complete the steps below.)Click the Edit button.At the top of the Prior Approval, look for the field Cancel Prior Approval?Select Yes from the drop-down list box.Click the Cancel Now button when it appears.A message lets you know that canceling a Prior Approval cannot be undone and asks if you want to continue.Click the Yes button to cancel. |
| Can I delete a Prior Approval? |
No, but you can cancel it. |
| How do I cancel a Prior Approval already submitted to the Controller? |
Once a Prior Approval has been submitted to the Controller for Business Affairs, contact the Controller Reviewer. On the Prior Approval home page, under Helpful Links, click the link Who to Contact. You can also click the link below. |
| Can the estimated cost of Consulting, Professional, and Other Services be entered in "cost per hour"? |
No. You will need to enter the cost in whole dollars. For example, if the consultant's hourly rate is $100 per hour and the consulting engagement is estimated at 35 hours, you would enter $3,500 as the estimated cost of the consulting services. |
| What is a Prior Approval? |
A Prior Approval is used to obtain advance approval authorizing the university to make a payment(s) to, or on behalf of, an individual who is not an employee of the university, and where such payment is for the performance of services.
Advance approval means that the authorization must be obtained prior to engaging the services of the individual or finalization of any contract. Individual means that the person is an independent contractor doing business as a sole proprietor, or the individual is a prospective employee, resident, fellow, or student. Services generally means that the individual possesses specific skills and/or expertise, and will expend labor, time, and effort, but no tangible product is being procured.
Two of the most typical reasons for a university department to complete a Prior Approval are:
To engage the services of an individual performing consulting, professsional, or another type of service (for example, a guest speaker/lecturer).To bring an individual to the university for purpose of conducting an interview. Examples include job candidates, candidates for a fellowship or residency, and prospective students.
A Prior Approval is not needed to authorize payment to individuals who are patients in research studies or for new employee moving expenses. |
| Can I modify checklist responses BEFORE saving the Prior Approval? |
Yes. If the checklist answers indicate the payee should be treated as an employee, discontinue the Prior Approval and request setting up the individual as an employee. |
| What is a blanket Prior Approval? |
A blanket Prior Approval is used in these situations:
One individual will be providing services on multiple dates throughout a fiscal year and it is the individual who will be receiving payment; or Multiple individuals are being invited to the university for an identical purpose (typically a recruitment involving in-person interviews for non-employment reasons, such as interviews for residency slots).
In both of these situations...
A single Prior Approval is created.The Prior Approval cannot cross fiscal years.
Because of the potential for misuse, blanket Prior Approvals are subject to additional scrutiny by the Controller for Business Affairs. All of the facts and circumstances are evaluated to determine whether a blanket Prior Approval is justified. |
| How do I create a blanket Prior Approval? |
A blanket Prior approval is used in the limited situations described below. Follow the guidelines below that apply to your situation.If you feel that these guidelines don't address your department's particular reason for completing a blanket Prior Approval, contact theAVPBA Reviewer to discuss how best to proceed.In both of the situations below, keep in mind that a blanket Prior Approval cannot cross fiscal years. Additionally, an individual who is not a U.S. Citizen or green card holder cannot be included in a blanket Prior Approval. This is dicussed further below.
One individual for multiple dates during the fiscal year. Enter start and end dates that cover the entire span of time during the fiscal year when the department will engage the services of the independent contractor. Costs entered should also be for the entire span of time.Note that you cannot use a blanket Prior Approval if you intend to use direct bill airfare (BTA) or direct bill lodging because of the need for specific dates for airfare and hotel confirmations. In this situation, you must create a separate Prior Approval for each engagement of services.
Multiple individuals invited for non-employment interviews. In this situation, each individual might be paid a nominal sum to cover travel costs, or the department may cover the cost of direct-bill lodging for each individual. Below are general guidelines to follow when completing the Prior Approval eForm. A blanket Prior Approval should only be used when 5 or more individuals are visiting the university for non-employment interviews. For fewer than 5, you should create separate Prior Approvals.
Answer Yes when completing preliminary question Q1. (This question asks if you are bringing someone to the university for the purpose of conducting an interview.) In the Payee Last Name field, enter the same 5-digit department ID that appears in the Department field. In the Payee First Name field, enter the month, year, and basic purpose for the blanket Prior Approval. For example, June 2016 Interviews. If spanning months, enter the semester. For example, Fall 2016 Interviews. Leave the Job Applicant box checked. (This is a necessary workaround to eliminate the need to enter a birth date.) In the Address field, enter Blanket. Click the button next to Permanent Address to copy the Address. Leave Citizenship Country set equal to United States. Estimated Costs should be entered on a per individual basis. For example, suppose you are inviting 10 individuals for interviews and your department intends to pay direct-bill lodging of $200 for each individual. You should enter $200, not $2,000, as the direct bill lodging amount. In the Description of Work to be Performed, indicate the number of individuals covered by the blanket Prior Approval and the purpose for the visit. Example: This blanket Prior Approval covers 10 individuals interviewing for surgical residency slots. In the Start Date and End Date fields, enter dates that cover the anticipated period for the interviews. In the Attachments section of the Prior Approval, include a list of the individuals' names (first, middle, and last). Do not attach an imaged document. Use Microsoft Word or Excel to provide the list of names and, if applicable, addresses. Permanent mailing addresses should be included if you intend to create a Payment Request to pay the individual. Addresses are not needed if the department instead will cover only direct billed costs (such as lodging) where payment is made to a third party (such as a hotel). Any individual who is not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanant resident (green card holder) cannot be covered by a blanket Prior Approval. A separate Prior Approval must be prepared so that the document can be routed to Payroll Services via an automated workflow. Payroll Services needs to review the document for potential income tax issues. |
| What is BTA airfare and how do I use it on a Prior Approval? |
BTA, or the Business Travel Account, is the University's direct-bill airfare account. It is used when the University will pay the airfare for non-employee individuals. Therefore, when a Prior Approval will include airfare that will be paid by the university, be sure to put a checkmark in the checkbox BTA will be used.
To reserve and book a flight using BTA, you cannot use Concur Travel. Instead, you must use one of the University's contract travel agencies. You can, however, use Concur Travel to research flight options to send to the traveler. This can be useful to minimize the back-and-forth communications with the travel agency.
A typical scenario involving BTA airfare works like this:
The department contacts the payee/traveler to coordinate the travel. When you eventually contact the travel agency, you'll need to know such things as when the payee wants to arrive and depart, the payee's name (as it appears on his/her identification presented at airport security checkpoints), airline and seating preferences, and so on. Use Concur or contact the travel agency to research flight options. Provide the flight options to the payee. The payee selects his/her flights. You contact the travel agency to reserve the flight; the travel agent will let you know when the airfare quote expires. Before the quote expires, you email a copy of the departmentally-approved Prior Approval to the travel agency. The travel agency books the flight and issues the itinerary and e-ticket. |
| What if a speaker's honorarium (or a consulting or professional fee) exceeds $15,000? |
You can still do a Prior Approval, but follow the steps below. When completing Preliminary Question Q4, part B, select
$15,000 or less.
On the Prior Approval, when you get to the section Estimated Costs and PID, you will split the honorarium/fee amount.
Enter $15,000 in Consulting/Professional/Other Services
Enter the additional honorarium/fee in excess of $5,000 in Registrations and Other Costs.
Enter this description: Honorarium (or Consulting Fee or Professional Fee) exceeding $5,000.
Below is an attachment illustrating these steps for an honorarium.
Note: Anytime Total Cost exceeds $15,000, an informational message displays stating the competitive bidding MAY apply; however, competitive bidding does not apply to speaking engagements. Competitive bidding may apply to consulting or professional fees, depending on the total amount to be charged in the procurement. |
| Should I append professional credentials to the last name? |
No. Professional credentials should be entered in Job Title and Qualifications. See the attachment below. |
| Should I attach the Vendor/Payee Setup Form to the Prior Approval? |
No. When this form is needed, it should be attached to the Payment Request. |
| What do I do if I cannot find one of my Prior Approvals? |
For Fiscal year 16-19 contact Kaely Perez. For Fiscal year 20-22 please use prior approval power app search. For current prior approvals submitted please use prior approval search report. |
| How do I handle direct bill lodging on a Prior Approval? |
Direct bill lodging can be used when a department wants to cover the cost of lodging for a non-employee visiting the university and wants the hotel to invoice the university. A list of hotels that permit direct billing can be found under Direct Bill for Individuals here along with their contract room rates and the hotel's contact person.
Below are the steps a department typically follows for direct bill lodging on a Prior Approval. This example assumes you are coordinating the travel and creating the Prior Approval.
Contact the payee/traveler to discuss: Check in and check out dates, Lodging preferences and requirements such as king vs. queen, smoking/non-smoking, handicap accessibility, etc. Costs the university will cover (examples: Cost of the room, city tax, and meals) Costs the university cannot cover (examples: Tips/gratuities, alcohol, laundry, personal entertainment). For a complete list, see HOP Policy 6.2.14 General Reimbursement Policies, page 1. Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemption Certificate Call or email the hotel's contact person to make the reservation. The hotel will email you a copy of the confirmation. On the Prior Approval: enter the amount for Lodging, check the Direct Bill checkbox next to the Lodging amount enter the amount for Meals and Incidentals and check the Direct Bill checkbox if the hotel should also invoice the university for these charges; in the specify box, you can qualify whether "meals only" should be direct billed. Attach a copy of the hotel confirmation to the Prior Approval. Once both department approvers have approved, workflow will emailTravelAdmin@uthscsa.edu, and the Submitter is cc'd on the email. Travel Services will send email to the hotel (and cc the Submitter) to inform the hotel what items can be direct billed. |
| How is direct bill lodging authorized? |
When creating a Prior Approval, if the Submitter indicates that lodging will be direct billed (see FAQ 45), once the Prior Approval has received both departmental approvals, Travel Services in the Purchasing department is notified by email. The email notification is sent to Travel Services staff in the Purchasing Office by Team Dynamix.
The Travel Coordinator in Travel Services will then: Review the Prior Approval form and the hotel confirmation attached and contact the Submitter of the Prior Approval if there are any questions. Travel Services will send email to notify the Submitter, and the hotel, of lodging costs that may be direct billed. |
| Can I re-designate myself as the Submitter of a Prior Approval? |
Yes. Contact Kaely Perez. |
| How do I approve (or disapprove) a Prior Approval? |
When a Submitter designates you to approve a Prior Approval, you will receive an email from Team Dynamix.
To approve (or disapprove) the Prior Approval, these are the basic steps:
Click the hyperlink in the email that reads open the Prior Approval.
If prompted with a User Name and Password box, login to Team Dynamix using your UTHSCSA User Name and Password.
The Approval page opens and displays the Prior Approval pending your approval.
After a few seconds, the approval page displays. At the bottom of the page, click the Review the Prior Approval button to display a read-only view of the Prior Approval. Click the Continue button on the informational message that displays.
After your review is complete, click the curved arrow button (at the top right) to return to the approval page.
For the Approval Decision appearing below your name, None is appears as the default. Select Approved or Disapproved.
If you disapprove, you must enter a reason in Approver Comments
to Submitter. This comment will be included in the email sent to the Submitter.
Click the Save Dept Approvals button.
An informational message* will then appear. Click the OK button.
* The contents of the informational message will differ based on where the Prior Approval is in the approval process. |
| Do I need to do a separate Prior Approval for a spouse or companion accompanying the Payee? |
When interviewing applicants for higher-level job titles, it is fairly common for a top applicant to ask to bring his/her spouse or companion in the late stages of the interview process. For this reason, departments often ask whether it is necessary to create a separate Prior Approval for the spouse/companion. Unless the spouse/companion is also interviewing for a job at the university, a separate Prior Approval is not needed; however, since there is often the need to arrange travel for the spouse/companion, the travel agency will need the name and birth date of the spouse/companion. On the job applicant's Prior Approval, enter the name and birth date of the spouse/companion in the field Description of Work to be Performed. Be sure to ask the job applicant to provide the name for the spouse/companion as it appears on the identification that the spouse/companion will present at airport security. |
| How can I determine if the payee is a U.S. citizen? |
You'll need to ask the payee. Individuals from foreign countries who live and/or work in the United States are familiar with the process of obtaining a visa and applying for U.S. citizenship.
All income paid to a non-resident alien is taxable unless otherwise excluded. So, the university needs to determine whether a non-resident alien should pay taxes on income earned in the United States, or there exists some basis for exclusion. In some cases, the university may be required to do backup withholding to ensure that taxes arepaid on U.S. source income.
Payroll Services handles the tax reporting issues as they pertain to payments authorized by a Prior Approval. When a Prior Approval's payee is not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (also know as a "green card" holder), Payroll Services receives an email notification once the Prior Approval has been approved by the Controller for Business Affairs. At that time, Payroll Services will review the Prior Approval and, if necessary, initiate contact with the Submitter of the Prior Approval to obtain information needed to comply with the university's tax reporting requirements. |
| Why is Payroll Services contacting me about a Prior Approval? |
Payroll Services handles the tax reporting issues as they pertain to payments to non-resident aliens. Generally, such payments have been authorized by a Prior Approval. |
| What happens if my Approver says he/she did not receive the email to approve? |
Bear in mind that the approval emails are simply notifications. Even if an Approver cannot locate the email, he/she can still login to Team Dynamix to approve a Prior Approval listed under My Approvals. That said, the email is clearly convenient, so if your Approver isn't receiving the emails, the Approver will need to do some basic troubleshooting.
Although Controller can tell if and when an email was sent to an Approver, we have no way of knowing what happens to the email once it reaches the Approver’s computer. The most likely explanation for lack of approval emails is that a junk email rule has sent the email to the Approver’s Junk Email folder; however, it is also possible that Microsoft Outlook has been configured to permanently delete suspected junk email. When that is the case, the email will not be found even if the Approver hunts for it in his/her Deleted Items folder.
Finally, keep in mind that the Department Approver does not receive an email notification to approve unless, and until, the Project Approver approves the Prior Approval. |
| Are there any restrictions on the names of files, or the types of files, that can be attached to a Prior Approval? |
You should follow these guidelines when attaching files.
A valid filename cannot contain more than 128 characters. (Hopefully, your filename will be much shorter.)
Filenames can include can include any of the following:
letters A to Z
digits 0 to 9
To prevent errors in saving files it is recommended to use only hyphen and underscore special characters
Most commonly used file formats can be attached to a ticket. The file size limit is 4 MB per upload. If submitting more than 4 MB please separate into multiple uploads.
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| When Direct Bill lodging is used, what should I do if changes are needed? |
Contact Kaely Perez to process needed edits. |
| How do I provide the list of names for a blanket covering multiple individuals? |
When a blanket Prior Approval is used to cover multiple individuals (seeFAQ #39), you can provide the list of names using Microsoft Excel or Word. |
| Under what circumstances is a requisition required instead of a Prior Approval? |
A requisition should be created rather than a Prior Approval if any of the following are true: a product is to be purchased, a service is being purchased and payment will be made to any type of business entity other than a sole proprietor (examples: corporation, partnership, or LLC) or, the cost of a service reaches the competitive threshold*
*The threshold is $15,000. For performance of medical services or some guest speaker engagements, the competitive threshold is $25,000. If the competitive threshold is reached, a requisition must be created rather than a Prior Approval. These requirements apply even if services are to be procured from an independent contractor. |