Core Accounting and Accounts Payable - Saint Joseph Hospital

Saint Joseph Health System Employees
CHI Connect Questions & Answers
Core Accounting and Accounts Payable
1. How will departments access their financial data each month?
With CHI Connect, departments will have online access to a variety of useful reports
detailing their financial data. Managers will receive detailed training on how to access and
interpret the reports.
2. Will we be able to add new accounts or accounting units (cost centers) to the CHI
Connect system?
The CHI Connect system has a standardized master chart of accounts and cost centers. A
process is in place to control the addition of accounts and cost centers. You may request new
accounts and cost centers. However, only the designated personnel in the national finance
office will be allowed to create the accounts and cost centers in the system and only after
ensuring the requests fall within guidelines.
3. Where will invoices be routed for payment?
Invoices will be sent directly to the Accounts Payable Support Center (APSC). At the APSC,
invoices will be scanned, indexed and forwarded electronically for processing or approval
within about two days of receipt. At that time, invoices will be available to view online.
4. How will non-purchase order invoices be approved and coded?
Approval and coding for non-purchase order invoices will be completed online. An email
notice will automatically be sent to the appropriate person when there are invoices pending
approval. The approved invoice will be returned to the APSC for processing, generally
within two business days of receipt. The invoice then will be available for payment based on
the vendor’s terms.
5. How should a vendor follow up on the status of an invoice?
With CHI Connect, all vendor inquires should be directed to the Accounts Payable Support
Center. You may look up an invoice’s payment online.
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6. Will the system be able to provide historical invoice data?
Yes, the system will provide an archive of paid invoices.
7. What is the process if a special check is needed quickly?
The Accounts Payable Support Center (APSC) will be able to issue checks in an emergency.
After all necessary approvals are obtained, Saint Joseph Health System staff will fax a demand
payment request form and related documentation to the APSC’s demand check request fax
line (1-877-875-7983). Demand check requests received by noon Mountain Time will be
processed at the APSC by 2 p.m. Mountain Time the same day for local check printing by
Saint Joseph’s designated finance representative.
8. How will invoices and purchase orders be available to review?
Managers will be able to look up invoices and purchase orders online at any time by
“clicking through” to the transaction and viewing a copy of the actual invoice or purchase
order.
9. Will multiple bills from one vendor, for example a law firm, be paid on one check?
Yes, we will consolidate all payments to the same vendor.
10. If all invoices go to the central Accounts Payable Support Center, how will staff know
who the invoice is for?
The Accounts Payable Support Center (APSC) will send a letter to vendors requesting that
they include information on their invoices to indicate the purchase order number or the
department/individual who placed the non-purchase order item or service.
Invoices with a purchase order number will be processed by matching the invoice with
purchase order information. Non-purchase order invoices will be routed for approval
according to the information provided by the vendor.
If the invoice does not include the appropriate information, the APSC will call the vendor or
person who placed the order for clarification. Over time, a list will be developed to assist
with the sorting process.
11. Who will notify the vendors that invoices need to go to the Accounts Payable Support
Center (APSC)? If we keep getting invoices from the vendors, do we notify the vendor
or the APSC?
A letter will be sent to all vendors about the changes in procurement (purchasing) and
accounts payable. Invoices sent directly to departments should be forwarded without
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approval to the APSC. The APSC will notify vendors and make calls until all invoices are
routed properly.
12. Will we be trained on the new invoice scanning system?
You will be trained on these functions in the training course on Invoice Viewing and
Approving. WebNow is the tool that allows us to scan, review and approve invoices.
13. If invoices are processed as received, what will be done about priority due dates?
Invoices that are very time sensitive – for example, electricity and phone bills – will be
processed when they arrive and will be paid prior to their due dates. Reconciliation, if
needed, will occur in the following month. All other bills will be paid based on the vendor’s
individual payment schedule; typically nationwide vendors will be paid within 45 days and
local vendors will be paid within 30 days of the invoice date. To avoid late payments, all
approved non-purchase order invoices will be processed within an average of two days of
receipt and all purchase order invoices will be processed within an average of three days.
14. Will all the cost center codes changes?
Yes, cost center codes across Catholic Health Initiatives will be changed to a standard
format. In CHI Connect, “cost centers” are called “accounting units.” The national finance
staff has created a translation table or “crosswalk” to take you from the current codes to the
new accounting codes. This will be part of the training and available online.
15. Can coding be split between two cost centers? How will that be approved?
Yes, coding can be split between two cost centers. The approval will route through the
department that placed the order. Accounting reports will show what items were coded by
department.
16. Can I find out what my department has spent with a specific vendor?
There are two ways to access this information:
• You can drill down from the accounting reports to look at particular invoices online.
• You can request a report from national accounting or request that the Accounts Payable
Support Center pull transactions for your accounting unit for a particular vendor.
17. Will the Saint Joseph expense report policy be changing?
Yes, we will be standardizing the expense report policy across all of Catholic Health
Initiatives.
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18. Will we be able to create employee business expense reports for other people?
Yes, you may create a proxy to designate another person to create an expense report for you.
You will create the proxy online within Professional Services Automation, a CHI Connect
application. The proxy can then create the expense report, but the form must be reviewed and
submitted by the person who incurred the expense, just as that person now must review and
sign the expense report. Electronic submission is the same as a signature.
19. How will expense reports be submitted?
Expense reports will be created, submitted and approved online in CHI Connect’s Web-based
expense reporting module. Below are some highlights of the process:
• The system has a built in policy-check function that warns you of potential errors prior to
submitting an expense report, allowing you to modify the report on the spot rather than
after it has been submitted.
• You will print a bar-coded expense report cover sheet and fax it, along with all required
receipts, to the Accounts Payable Support Center (APSC) at 1-888-875-7981.
• Submitted expense reports will automatically be routed to your supervisor for electronic
approval.
• Once supervisor approval is received, the electronic expense report will be routed to the
APSC where it will be audited and matched against the faxed receipts.
• The APSC will process the expense report for payment. Expense reimbursement will be
added to your paycheck as a separate non-taxable line item on the pay statement.
• Other features of the new process include:
o The ability for you to self monitor your expense report
o Automated expense report approval status notifications for employees and
managers
o Automatic download of American Express Corporate Card transactions into an
expense report template
o Regular alerts reflecting American Express Corporate Card balances
o Weekly notices when American Express Corporate Card transactions are
available for expense report creation
20. What do we do with receipts that need to accompany employee business expense
reports?
Please tape receipts to an 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper and fax to the Accounts Payable Support
Center (APSC) along with your bar-coded expense report cover sheet. Tape receipts to only
one side of the paper, and when faxing make sure the bar-coded page goes first. Fax expense
reports to 1-888-875-7981, faxing only one report at a time. Receipts will be available for
review online.
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21. Will we still need receipts for expenses that show up on the American Express
Corporate Paid bill?
Yes, Catholic Health Initiatives policy still requires that all American Express receipts be
submitted. Non-American Express receipts over $25 also are required; local facility travel
policy may require receipts for lesser amounts.
22. How quickly will an expense report be in the system? What happens if you discover a
mistake on an expense report you have already submitted?
Expense reports will be in the system as soon as you submit them. You will learn in training
how to make edits on expense reports even after they have been submitted. Edits can be
made up to the time the Accounts Payable Support Center completes the final approval and
submits the report for payment.
23. How will expense reports be approved?
Expense reports will be approved online by the supervisor of the person who incurred the
expenses. The supervisor will be notified by email using SmartNotes when a report is
available for approval.
24. How do we know an expense report has been approved?
The Accounts Payable Support Center will send an approval notice to the person submitting
the expense report and to the person with proxy, if applicable.
25. What happens if something on the expense report is not approved?
If something on the expense report is not approved, the entire report will be returned
electronically to the person who submitted the expense report. The submitter will correct it
and the expense report will go back through the approval route.
26. Will reimbursements be mailed or deposited directly to my bank account? Can we
track reimbursement online?
Expenses will be reimbursed through your payroll check. It is a non-taxable line item. You
can track reimbursements online within CHI Connect.
27. How do we handle unused airline tickets?
Unused airline tickets will be handled in the same manner as they are today. An Excel ticket
exchange form will be available for use as documentation for the exchange.
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