The UBUY System is actually composed of the following sub-systems:
- Requisition System
- Departmental Approval System
- Budget Inquiry and Transfer System
- Funding Approval System
- Procurement Approval System
- Vendor and Commodity System
- Bid Processing System
- Order Processing System
- Receiving System
Although each is a component of the overall UBUY System, each is actually a system in its own right. For this reason, you will see each of these referred to as a "system" throughout this manual.
The Funding Approval System will be used only by the Financial Services Department. This system will allow the automated review and funding of requisitions.
The Procurement Approval System, Vendor and Commodity System, Bid Processing System, and Order System will be used only by the Procurement Office. These systems will allow this staff to perform the functions necessary to process requisitions, bids, and orders.
The Receiving System will be used only by the Receiving Department. This system will allow this staff to automate the receipt of goods on campus.
Note: At this time, the Purchasing Approval, Bid Processing, Order Processing, and Receiving systems are in the design and development phase and are not yet available.
Most university personnel who have access to UBUY will use the following systems:
For this reason, this manual will deal primarily with these three systems. Each of these systems is accessed from a common UBUY Main Menu screen. For a general overview of each of these systems, see the document entitled "The Systems Within UBUY" in this manual.
The UBUY System is nearly a "paperless" system. It allows authorized university personnel to enter requisitions online, approve or reject requisitions online, and view budgets and transfer funds online.
Some of the inherent advantages to having this information online are:
- browsing/searching capabilities when looking for previous requisitions
- online tracking of requisitions, bids, and orders
- more efficient processing of requisitions by Purchasing Department and Financial Services
- better security
- automatic routing of requisition for required approvals
Fiscal Year
Many of the sub-systems within UBUY involve the use of a two-digit "Fiscal Year". Missouri State University's fiscal year is the time period from July 1 to the following June 30. Thus, each fiscal year involves part of two calendar years. The two-digit "Fiscal Year" used by the system is taken from the last two digits of the calendar year in which the fiscal year ends. For example, the fiscal year period of 7/1/92 - 6/30/93 is referenced in the system by specifying a "Fiscal Year" of 93. The system supplies the current fiscal year as the default on most menus, although this value can usually be changed by the user to reference a previous time period.
Approximately two fiscal years' data will be kept on the system at all times -- the current fiscal year and the immediately previous fiscal year.