This table provides a list of terms and procurement systems as well as their definitions and general uses.
Looking for a specific term? Press "Ctrl+F" to search this page for the term you're looking for!
Looking for a specific term? Press "Ctrl+F" to search this page for the term you're looking for!
| Term/System | Definition/Use |
|---|---|
| Account Code | Determines how an expense will be recorded in the General Ledger for reporting purposes. Account codes vary by campus and are handled by the campus controller's office or campus financial office. |
| Allocation | Distribited or divided expenses. In Concur, expenses are allocated between departments and individuals. |
| Amendment | Contract amendments are created when changes are required on an approved (Executed) contract and the changes will affect the terms and conditions (duration, scope, and/or cost) of the contract |
| Approval to Purchase (AtP) | For President’s Office (UMPO) ONLY–To maintain budget controls and approval processes, the Approval to Purchase (AtP) form was created as the entry point for initiating or amending contracts for services and requisitions to purchase goods. The AtP form requires basic information about the need for the purchase, along with a justification statement as to the criticality of this purchase |
| Attestation of Compliance | Documented evidence that a supplier has upheld security best practices to protect cardholder data. It is testimony that a supplier successfully demonstrated exceptional security best practices to secure cardholder data |
| Bank Card (ProCard) | A Visa credit card issued by US Bank. This is a 'one card' program that offers UMass and the cardholders flexibility to use a single card for both travel-related and supplies-related UMass expenses only. The Bank Card is a procurement tool that offers an alternative to UMass purchasing/payment processes for instances where the supplier does not accept a Purchase Order (PO), emergency purchases, and/or for UMass-related travel expenses (based on your applicable department approval). |
| Bid/RFx | A competitive process used by the university to ensure the best overall value to the university. Potential suppliers interested in securing a contract can submit a bid in hopes of winning the contract. Note: the cost of acquisition, as well as other factors (such as the delivery time required, supplier diversity, and prior performance) may be considered. |
| Blanket Order | Used for service-related purchases or contracts for services, where multiple invoices of varying amounts are expected against the PO |
| Business Associate Agreement (BAA) | Document that establishes a legally-binding relationship between HIPAA-covered entities and business associates to ensure complete protection of PHI |
| BuyWays (Jaggaer) | BuyWays is the purchasing system for UMass covering Requisitions, PO, Invoice Status Check, Bank Card Statement Upload, Contract Request, Supplier Registration, and Sourcing. |
| Campus Information Security (InfoSec) | The information security team secures data, systems, and devices at each campus. This includes developing policies, tools, and programs to prepare systems and services for potential emergencies |
| Catalog/Punchout | Name for the preferred suppliers that UMass has established |
| Chartfield String | A series of numbers that gives relevant financial accounting information when placing an order. Used to identify the funding source (Campus, Department ID, Program code, Project grant, etc.) |
| Commodity Code | A code that helps categorize what a good or service is/does. Set by the individual campuses and handled by the campus controller's office or campus financial office. |
| Competitive Procurement | A procurement process to procure goods and services from suppliers who offer the best value for money. Examples of competitive procurement include issuing a bid or soliciting quotes from multiple suppliers |
| Concur Expense | A module within Concur used to report expenses. Used for: Creating and submitting expense reports, Out-of-pocket & bank card transactions |
| Concur Request | A module within Concur used to create requests. Used for: Expense exceptions, expense prior approval, pre-travel authorization |
| Concur Travel | A module within Concur used for travel. Used to book travel. |
| Contract | Agreements between one or more sponsors and the University. The terms of the agreement outline very specific goals and requirements for goods and/or services to be provided by the University to the sponsor. It is routine for these goods or services to be provided on a specific schedule. The relationship between the sponsor and the University is one of procurement |
| Contract Party | The participants of a contract, designated as the first party (UMass) and second party (the Supplier) for the contract on UMass CFS |
| Contract for Service (CFS) | An agreement between UMass and an individual or entity where in UMass agrees to pay the individual or entity for services to be provided |
| Country of tax residence | Non-US citizens are considered as nonresidents of the US for US Tax purposes unless one meets either of these two conditions. You are a resident of the United States for tax purposes if you meet either the green card test or the substantial presence test for the calendar year (January 1–December 31). |
| Dashboard | An information system that shows users up to date information about their submissions and requests. Dashboards available in BuyWays include the Contract Requester Dashboard, the Contract Approver Dashboard, and the Supplier Requester Dashboard |
| DBA (Doing Business As) | Represents a company or individual running a business under a different name than their legal name |
| Declining Balance Bank Cards (Gift Cards) | A bank card used exclusively for purchasing gift cards. (Often used to compensate human subjects) |
| Delegate | Another word for proxy. A delegate can act on behalf of someone else within the Concur travel and expense system. |
| Delegation of Authority (DOA) | The University's Delegation of Authority details University personnel authorized to bind the University to contracted terms and conditions with external parties |
| Domestic Individual/Entity | A person/company that is located within the United States and has a US Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) |
| Egencia | System used for simple domestic point-to-point travel (online booking). |
| Entity | A business entity is any organization created and registered to conduct a business. Per the IRS, the most common ones are: Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Limited Liability Company or LLC, Corporation, etc. |
| Expense Reports | A report used by UMass employees for reimbursement of business-related expenses. Expense reports are filed on PeopleSoft |
| Fulfillment Address | A fulfillment address is a physical address, an email or fax (optional) where supplier purchase orders can be sent |
| Grants | An award to the University which does not require the production of specific results or services, but which typically defines objectives (either as proposed by the University or defined by the sponsor) toward which the award proceeds are to be applied. The grant award may be restricted as to where, by whom, and for what purposes the proceeds may be used |
| Glacier | Glacier is a secure online Nonresident Alien (NRA) tax compliance system that foreign individuals use to provide their immigrant and tax data |
| Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) | An entity that negotiates favorable contracts on behalf of its members. i.e., MHEC (Massachusetts Higher Education Consortium). |
| Honorarium | A token payment to bestow recognition to an individual for services they provided, for which payment is not required. Honoraria are typically used to help cover costs for volunteers or guest speakers. Note for foreign vendors: Services conducted in the US are subject to IRS 30% withholding and reported automatically to IRS if no treaty benefits exist between US and the foreign county and if no TIN is provided if an individual. |
| Independent Contractor | An independent contractor is a person, business, or corporation that provides goods or services under a written contract or a verbal agreement. |
| Invoice | A commercial document issued by a supplier to a buyer relating to a sale transaction and indicating the products, quantities, and agreed-upon prices for products or services the supplier had provided the buyer. |
| Job Aid | A PDF document that acts as a step-by-step guide for a specific procurement function |
| Journal Entry | Used to record financial transactions. Journal entries are handled by the campus controller's office or campus financial office. Note: A journal entry is different from a journal voucher. Journal vouchers are typically utilized for adjustments or corrections to accounts, while journal entries are used to record regular business transactions. |
| Journal Voucher | Used to transfer amounts between accounts in order to distribute interdepartmental charges, reclassify, or correct data in the general ledger system. |
| KPMG | KPMG is the official external auditor of the UMass system. The campus Controller’s office needs to be aware if we are engaging with them for any other work |
| Master Service Agreement (MSA) | A set of standard Terms and Conditions that can be used for multiple campuses or Systemwide |
| Match Exception | Occurs when a voucher does not match the expected values as contained in the Purchase Order. This can occur due to quantity, pricing, or a receipt requirement. When this occurs, a notification is sent to the Department Approver listed on the Match Exception Approval step of the voucher. |
| MHEC (Massachusetts Higher Education Consortium) | The Massachusetts Higher Education Consortium is a nonprofit purchasing consortium encompassing all of the Commonwealth’s public institutions of higher education. |
| No-Bid Justification | An exception to competitive procurement that justifies why you need to purchase from a specific supplier without going through a formal competitive bid process as required in the Procurement Policy. Formerly known as the Sole Source process |
| Non-Catalog Suppliers | A supplier that has been added into BuyWays but is not a built-in punchout supplier |
| Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) | A legally binding contract that establishes a confidential relationship |
| "Not Ready for Matching" | On a voucher, this indicates that Accounts Payable has not yet reviewed and approved the invoice |
| "Not Assigned" | On a voucher, this indicates that the invoice has been approved by Accounts Payable, but is sitting in workflow awaiting an approver |
| Office of General Counsel (OGC) | Advises and provides guidance on numerous issues to ensure that the University acts in accord with state and federal law and regulations, applicable University procedures, and best practices. |
| PeopleSoft | Peoplesoft Financials is the system that manages all Bank Card and travel and expense purchase reporting i.e. reallocation. |
| Personally Identifiable Information (PII) | Any data that can be used to identify, contact, or locate a single person such as names, birth dates, social security numbers, etc |
| Protected Health Information (PHI) | Any data that can be used to associate a person’s identity with their health care such as health plan, beneficiary numbers, device identifiers, serial numbers, biometric identifiers, etc |
| Purchase Order (PO) | The official document created by UMass to procure goods or services from a third party |
| Reimbursement | Compensation for an out-of-pocket expense. |
| Remittance Address | The address that suppliers have provided UMass to send their payments to. Remittance address can be a PO Box or other physical addresses. |
| Requisition | A request for goods or services made by a UMass employee to the person or department that is responsible for purchasing. Once approved it becomes a Purchase Order (PO) |
| Scope of Service (SOS) | Used to gather and agree on scope details to be included in any purchase agreement i.e., Purchase Order (PO), Contracts for Services (CFS), SOW, or MSA. It details the overall objective and description of the work a supplier/contractor will provide |
| Software as a Service (SaaS) | Procurement of a software |
| Sponsor | Sponsors are entities that are set-up in the PeopleSoft Grants system, we provide them a service and they pay us. They are created and managed by the UMass Controller’s Office |
| Strategic Sourcing | A procurement process that includes data collection, spend analysis, market research, negotiation, and contracting. Issuing bids are often part of the strategic sourcing process. |
| Statement of Work (SOW) | A contract type used for a specific service/project when an MSA already exists with the supplier/vendor. It is a comprehensive legal document that details the specifics of the project/service including scope, deliverables, timeline and should always be linked to an MSA |
| ST-2 | A certificate of tax exemption proving that an entity is tax exempt. This form is issued by the State of Massachusetts to the UMass system |
| ST-5 | A certificate of sales tax exemption for purchases. This form is issued by the State of Massachusetts to the UMass System |
| Supplier/Vendor | An individual or entity that provides goods or services to UMass |
| Tax Exempt | An organization or entity that does not need to pay federal or state taxes. The UMass system is tax exempt |
| Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) | A number issued by the US government to identify an individual or entity. Includes Social Security Number (SSN) for individuals and Employer Identification Number (EIN) for entities. |
| Travel Allowance | Another term for Per Diem |
| Travel Assistant | Similar to a proxy or a delegate, a travel assistant is someone who has permissions to book travel for another user within Concur |
| Voucher | Invoices that have been uploaded into BuyWays and are used by Accounts Payable to pay and organize invoices/bills |
| Workflow | The sequence of processes and checks that something passes through before it is approved/finalized |
| W8 | Used primarily by entities and individuals to claim foreign status or treaty benefits. Several types of W8 exist: W-8BEN: Most common form used for individuals. W-8BEN-E: used only if the income is effectively connected with a US trade or business |
| W9 | Form used for Domestic Individuals and Entities to provide the US tax information i.e., Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) |
If you believe a term should be added to this list or if you have feedback, email upst@umassp.edu and your suggestion will be taken into consideration.