BearBuy Tips & Tricks

The preferred vendor for Prism software is CDW-G (two-license minimum). CDW-G is the preferred vendor because they will accept the standard UC terms and conditions, which GraphPad (Prism OEM) will not.

To request a quote, contact our sales representatives, Sarah Park and Paul Cardamone. They will publish your quote in the CDW-G punch-out catalog in BearBuy. 

For other software guidance, please visit Buying Software and Cloud Computing.

Yes. However, please submit only one invoice per cart and enter the invoice number on the Payment Request Form exactly as it appears on your FedEx invoice. Otherwise, FedEx will not be able to apply the payment to your account.

Follow the steps below:

• On the Payment Request Form, select the supplier FEDEX and activity type "Postage/Small Package Courier"
• Enter the invoice number in the "Supplier Inv #" field exactly as it appears on your FedEx invoice
• Amount: Enter only current charges from the invoice (no past due charges)

Click here to view a sample FedEx invoice and Payment Request.

The Change Order Request Form is only used to submit requests to modify a PO, not an invoice. Any change to the PO’s accounting codes will only apply to future invoices submitted on the order. If there is an invoice that is unpaid due to expired funding, contact SCM’s Response Team for assistance. If the invoice has already been paid, your department’s financial team can complete a cost transfer journal.

Some items are blocked because UCSF has agreements with other vendors. For example, furniture should be ordered from One Workplace and computers and peripherals (monitor, keyboard, mouse) should be ordered from Dell or CDW-G. For software purchases, please visit our website for guidance.

Read more Amazon Business frequently asked questions here.

Read and follow the Facility Rental Payment Processing Instructions (instructions appear on the left side of the Facility Rental Form, step 4). Invoices attached to the Facility Rental Form will not be reviewed – you must follow the payment processing instructions to initiate the payment process. Suppliers should not submit facility rental invoices through Transcepta.

No; please enter only the price of the item.

The Purchase Order (PO) contains this clause, “Shipping, Handling and Tax charges are calculated and charged by each supplier.” This means UCSF will pay sales tax and shipping according to the supplier’s invoice.

The PO will show whether the item was marked as taxable. The item will default to taxable or non-taxable based on the Commodity Code selected on the order form. However, you can edit the tax selection in your shopping cart, if necessary.

Sample Shopping Cart:

Sample PO:

Try using Document Search to view orders for similar items. From the left side menu in BearBuy, go to Orders > Search > Purchase Orders > search for keywords: trophy or trophies or plaque. For detailed instructions, visit Document Search training.

From the BearBuy homepage, scroll down to the General Purchases and Supplies section. Then click on the ODP Business Solutions logo. The punch-out will open in a new window.

If the payment status reads "payable", the voucher completed all workflow and approval steps in BearBuy, and the invoice is ready to pay. The invoice will be paid according to the payment terms (such as Net 30).

• Net 30 – The invoice will be paid 30 days after the Supplier Invoice Date.
• Net 60 – The invoice will be paid 60 days after the Supplier Invoice Date.
• 2% 10, Net 30 – The invoice will be paid within 10 days after the Invoice Received Date (minus 2% early pay discount). If more than 10 days has passed, the invoice will be paid 30 days after the Invoice Received Date (full amount paid).

To find the Scheduled Pay Date, view the voucher in MyReports. The MyReports application is accessible through UCSF MyAccess. In MyReports, go to the Transaction Reports tab > Accounts Payable/Purchase Order Inquiry Report (AP/PO) > enter the Voucher ID > click the Run Report button at the bottom of the screen.

Note: It may take 24-72 hours after the voucher completed workflow in BearBuy before the voucher is viewable in MyReports.

Email our ATG account manager, Holly Sirois. Provide the caterer’s name, address and contact information. We recommend that you reach out to the caterer directly to encourage the caterer to join ATG.

Note: SCM cannot guarantee that all caterers will meet the University’s minimum requirements to participate or that all caterers will agree to join ATG.

Please send your SCM department-assigned buyer a comment through the BearBuy requisition. Remember to add the buyer as a recipient in your comment. You can find the buyer’s name/email by clicking on the Central Buyer link in the workflow on the right side of the requisition. See how to send your buyer a comment here.

Open a ticket with the Supply Chain Management (SCM) Response Team. Provide the BearBuy voucher number (starts with the number 5), the new chartstring(s) and percentages (for split funding only).

Note: SCM cannot edit the funding on a paid invoice/voucher. You may be able to complete a journal through UCSF Controller’s Office.

If you expect to receive additional invoices on the purchase order (PO), submit a Change Order Request form to update the funding on the PO. These changes will apply to future invoices only.

You’ll need to open the ODP Business Solutions punchout to buy these products. From the BearBuy homepage, scroll down to the General Purchases and Supplies section and click on the ODP Business Solutions icon. The punch-out will open in a new window. After adding items to your cart in the punch-out, click the CHECK OUT button to transfer the items to your BearBuy shopping cart. Then, complete the standard checkout process in BearBuy.

While the BearBuy system allows you to copy an old order to a new shopping cart, it is not recommended for the following reasons:

1. Key order details such as the shipping address and accounting codes will copy to your new cart at the line item level and override any information you enter at the header level. Not updating the shipping address and accounting codes for each line item in the new cart may cause your order to be shipped to the wrong address and the invoice being charged to the wrong funds.
2. Attachments on the old order, such as the quote, contract, or statement of work (SOW), may copy over to your new order. If you don’t remove each attachment, the supplier will receive these document(s) along with your purchase order (PO).
3. Any recent updates to the supplier’s profile such as the supplier’s address or PO dispatch fax/email will not be reflected on your order. Instead, it will list the supplier information on your original order. This means your PO may be sent to an outdated fax/email that the supplier no longer monitors, and the supplier may delay fulfilling your order until you have submitted a new PO with the correct address.

If your PO was created using a non-catalog form, you can submit a Change Order Request Form to update the unit price. If your PO was for a catalog supplier, the unit price cannot be changed on the PO. Ask the supplier to honor the pricing on the PO since that was the catalog pricing available at the time the order was placed. Typically, if the supplier has new catalog pricing, they would submit their new pricing to UC and after the pricing is approved, the BearBuy catalog pricing is updated for future orders.

In your cart, click on the form's Item description. The form opens in your browser's window. Alternatively, you may right-click on the Item description in your cart and select Open Link in New Tab to open the form in a new browser tab. After editing the form, click Save and then Close (at the top of the form). Finally, you may need to refresh your browser.

Requesters:

• On the left navigation bar, go to Shop > My Carts and Orders > View Carts. Then, click the Assigned Carts tab. Click the Assign Substitute link, and select the appropriate Requester name.

Requisition Approver:

• On the left navigation bar, go to Orders > Approvals > Assign Substitute Approvers-Requisitions. Then, click the button at the top to Assign Substitute to All Requisition Folders. In the Assign Substitute pop-up, search for the substitute's name. Then the check the Include Date Range for Substitution box and specify the date range. Click Assign.

Voucher Approver & Match Exception Handler:

• On the left navigation bar, go to Accounts Payable > Approvals > Assign Substitute Approvers-Invoices. Then, click the button at the top to Assign Substitute to All Voucher Folders. In the Assign Substitute pop-up, search for the substitute's name. Then the check the Include Date Range for Substitution box and specify the date range. Click Assign.

For more detailed instructions, review the BearBuy Training Guide for your BearBuy role.

Read and follow the Facility Rental Payment Processing Instructions (instructions appear on the left side of the Facility Rental Form, step 4). Invoices attached to the Facility Rental Form will not be reviewed – you must follow the payment processing instructions to initiate the payment process. Do not submit facility rental invoices through Transcepta.

Unfortunately, Amazon.com does not accept purchase orders (POs) from UCSF and we cannot process the invoices as a Payment Request. We recommend that you use a different supplier that will accept a PO or use a Procurement Card (P-card) for your Amazon.com order.  

When using BearBuy and selecting Amazon Web Services as the supplier, orders for Amazon.com will not be fulfilled and the PO will need to be canceled. Amazon Web Services should be used for cloud computing services only.

Submit the Facility Rental form before renting an off-site, non-University of California facility (i.e., conference center, restaurant, multiple hotel guest rooms) ONLY IF the vendor requires a signed contract.* The request/contract must be reviewed for policy compliance and signed by your Department-Assigned Buyer before the event. For more details, please read the Facility Rental form instructions and FAQs. After submitting your order, you must follow these payment instructions to pay any deposit or payment due – invoices attached to the Facility Rental form will not be paid.

*Note: An agreement regarding logistics only (e.g., food, price, attendee count) with no binding contractual language does not require review by your Department-Assigned Buyer and should not be submitted on the Facility Rental form. These simple confirmations do not need to be routed to a Buyer, as long as the confirmation does not include any terms and conditions.

A BearBuy cart/requisition with a Change Order Request form cannot be submitted with expired accounting codes. You can use any currently valid accounting codes to submit your Change Order Request. The Change Order Request cart/requisition will not create any lien on the accounting codes used.

A Change Order Request form is only used to modify the accounting codes on a PO. It is not used to request updates to pending unpaid vouchers. If a voucher has already been applied to the PO but it has not been paid due to expired funding, please contact the Response Team to request that the voucher be updated with new accounting codes.

The contact information for several major suppliers is listed in the Catalog Suppliers 411 & UC Contract Suppliers spreadsheet. A link to the spreadsheet is also available in BearBuy under the Welcome message.

When you open the spreadsheet, the first tab lists the BearBuy catalog suppliers (Office Depot, Fisher Scientific, CDW-G, Dell, etc.). The second tab lists common service providers, such as AT&T, Verizon, Airgas, FedEx, ReadyRefresh, and Stericycle. The spreadsheet lists general customer service contacts and dedicated sales representatives who can help you open a customer account (if needed).

For step-by-step instructions, review the Payment Status training materials on the SCM website. For help, submit a ticket to SCM Response Team.

After the PO has been reopened, suppliers that submit invoices through Transcepta  should submit additional invoices through Transcepta. This should not be done by the UCSF department.

No, you do not need to submit a Change Order Request to reopen the PO to process the credit memo and the department does not need to submit the credit memo for processing. If the supplier submits invoices through Transcepta, they should send the credit memo through Transcepta as well.

No, shipping cost and sales tax are not included on the PO. The PO should be created with only the goods and services amount on the PO. The supplier can bill for the cost of the items, shipping and sales tax on their invoices and UCSF will pay for the full invoice amount. 

No, the supplier will not receive a notification that the voucher (invoice) was rejected. Invoices should only be rejected if the supplier has confirmed that the invoice is void and payment is no longer expected. Be sure to contact the supplier directly to communicate regarding the invoice. If there was a mistake on the invoice, ask the supplier to submit a corrected copy of the invoice with a new invoice number.

Follow the guidelines below:

1. Correctly mark items as Taxable or Non-taxable. Incorrect selections require manual correction by UCSF Supply Chain Management. 
2. Do not add a line for Shipping on your PO. Any shipping charges on the invoice will be applied to the standard Shipping line that appears on the BearBuy voucher. 
3. Order catalog and punch-out items when possible, rather than using forms. The typical invoice for a catalog or punch-out order requires no manual intervention to process. 
4. Enter the correct product and pricing information on forms. Obtain a quote from the supplier when needed to confirm details or special pricing. 
5. For Non-Catalog form orders, enter each line item on a separate form. Orders with several different items lumped together on one form will fail to align with the invoice. 
6. Do not use the Non-Catalog form to order services—please use the Amount-based PO form or Professional/Personal/Consulting Services form. The Non-Catalog form is designed to support invoices for the specific quantity of goods being ordered.
7. Do not use the Non-Catalog form as a blanket PO—please use the Amount-based PO form. The Non-Catalog form is designed to support the specific quantity of goods being ordered, not an undetermined number of various goods and/or services.
8. Replace your PO or submit a Change Order to increase the PO total when the balance is low. This will help prevent match exceptions caused when the invoice total exceeds the PO total.
9. Submit a Change Order to update the Accounting Codes on your PO when the funding or activity period expires. You will not receive an automatic warning when your funding expires—you must monitor your POs and funding sources. Invoices applied to a PO with expired funding cannot be paid until your department provides new funding information to UCSF Supply Chain Management.

A voucher should only be rejected if the supplier has confirmed that the invoice is void and payment is no longer expected. It is important to contact the supplier directly and address any pricing or quantity discrepancies. In most cases, suppliers will issue a credit or revise an invoice for any pricing issues.

Follow the instructions for your BearBuy role(s):

• Requester
• Requisition Approver
• Voucher Approver
• Match Exception Handler

Yes, it is best practice to send a copy of revised POs to the supplier when the unit price or PO amount changes. To request this on the Change Order Request Form, select “Yes” to the “Send Change to Vendor?” question on the form.

Some suppliers, such as Airgas Dry Ice, require POs to have a sufficient balance to continue fulfilling orders, so it is important to always send suppliers POs when the price or total PO amount changes.

When purchase orders (PO) are over-invoiced, each new voucher routes to the Match Exception Handler for approval before they can be paid. When a PO is over-invoiced and additional invoices are expected in the future, the Match Exception Handler should work with the PO Owner and the department Requester to submit a Change Order Request From to increase the PO* amount. POs should always have sufficient balance to cover outstanding orders and invoices.

*Change Order Requests can only be submitted for POs created from BearBuy forms.

If a voucher is already applied to a PO and the status is “In Process”, it is not necessary to wait for a BearBuy Change Order Request Form to approve the voucher. The department Match Exception Handler should review and approve the voucher for payment if appropriate.

Vouchers should not be rejected to be paid on another PO. It is best practice to approve the voucher for payment and work with the supplier to reference the new PO for future invoices. Rejected invoices are not paid and entering notes on the voucher does not automatically trigger an invoice to be applied to a new PO.

Select the Buyer Intervention checkbox to add the Central Buyer approval step to the requisition workflow. This may be necessary when you need Procurement to review a contract or other terms for an Amount-based PO or Non-Catalog form order ≤ $10,000. Adding the Central Buyer approval step enables your Buyer to review/sign the contract before the PO is sent to the supplier.

Orders over $10K and other BearBuy forms will automatically route to a Buyer for approval; you do not need to select the Buyer Intervention checkbox.

How do I select the Buyer Intervention checkbox?

1. Add items/forms to your shopping cart and click the Proceed to Checkout button

2. Click the pencil icon to edit the General section (within the Summary tab of the requisition)

3.  In the pop-up window that appears, select the Buyer Intervention checkbox and click the Save button

4.  Complete the shopping process and submit the order like you normally would
5.  The Central Buyer is added to the workflow after any required departmental approvals

No. The increase in the PO amount will not automatically resolve and pay vouchers in match exception. Your department Match Exception Handler must still review and approve any voucher before they are paid.

To prevent future match exceptions and to ensure timely payment, the owner of the PO should make sure that the PO always has an available balance to pay any future vouchers and that the funding codes are valid for the life of the PO. If the PO amount needs to be increased or be on different fund codes, submit a Change Order Request to request PO changes before additional vouchers are applied to the PO.

Please ask the supplier to open a ticket with the SCM Response Team.

Navigate to the requisition in BearBuy, and click on the word Requisition in the upper left corner. From the submenu, select Withdraw Entire Requisition.

To edit/resubmit the order, click on the word Requisition again and select Copy to New Cart.

Note: The requisition cannot be withdrawn once it’s fully approved. You’ll need to contact the supplier to cancel the order or contact SCM Response Team to cancel a Payment Request or After-the-Fact PO.

All BearBuy POs except for payment request type forms and after-the-fact POs are automatically sent to the supplier through BearBuy. POs should not be printed and sent to the supplier outside of BearBuy.

POs may be sent electronically (cXML), via fax, or email to the supplier in the method that they specify. To see how a PO was sent to the supplier, navigate to the PO's Status tab. In the Document Status section of the page, you can see how the PO was sent to the supplier in the Distribution section.

All BearBuy POs except for payment request type forms and after-the-fact POs are automatically sent to the supplier through BearBuy. POs should not be printed and sent to the supplier outside of BearBuy. 

POs may be sent electronically (cXML) via fax or email to the supplier in the method that they specify. To see how a PO was sent to the supplier, navigate to the PO Status tab. In the Document Status section of the page, you can see how the PO was sent to the supplier in the Distribution section. 

You should not mark the whole PO as taxable. You can create your PO using two lines. One line will be for the repair/maintenance services that are non-taxable. On this line, ensure the Taxable checkbox is unchecked. The second PO line will be for the parts/supplies and the Taxable checkbox needs to be checked. This PO setup will ensure that the appropriate amount of tax is paid, the lien (encumbrance) amount includes tax, and helps prevent invoicing delays.

The accounting codes on unpaid voucher(s) on the PO will not automatically be updated. The Change Order Request is used to request updates on the PO’s accounting codes only. To update the funding on a voucher that has not been paid when the funding has expired, submit a request to the SCM Response Team.

BearBuy Match Exception Handlers should follow the guidance below to ensure they have thoroughly reviewed the match exception before approving vouchers.  

BearBuy Match Exception Handlers should carefully review and research an invoice to determine whether it should be paid or not. If an invoice should be paid, it can be approved. If it should never be paid, the invoice can be rejected.  

Examples of when to approve invoices are: 

• The owner of the order in your department agreed to a higher price because the higher price was justified 
• The owner of the order in your department added additional items to the order 
• Supplier sent acceptable substitute  

Examples of when to reject invoices are: 

• Supplier submitted a duplicate invoice 
• Supplier made a mistake on the invoice (reject and ask the supplier for a corrected invoice to be resubmitted) 

The Match Exception Handler must thoroughly research match exceptions before approving or rejecting the invoice. Match Exception Handlers must provide comments on invoices with the financial justification of their decision and attach supplemental documentation when available. Learn more at Match Exception Handler.

BearBuy Match Exception Handlers should follow the guidance below to ensure they have thoroughly reviewed the match exception before approving vouchers.  

Leave Comments on Vouchers to Justify Financial Decisions 

Match Exception Handlers must show their due diligence of ensuring an invoice should be approved to pay by providing comments on vouchers in BearBuy with the financial justification of their decision and by attaching supplemental documentation when available. For instance, if an invoice has a higher dollar amount than originally anticipated due to a product being out of stock and an alternative option being more expensive, the Match Exception Handler must add comments on the voucher in BearBuy explaining this and attach supplemental documentation if available, such as an email thread between the department and supplier to justify the price difference. 

Thoroughly Research All Vouchers Before Making Financial Decisions 

Match Exception Handlers must apply critical analysis before resolving vouchers with match exceptions to avoid inappropriate use of University funds as well as overpayments. It is your responsibility in partnership with your department’s management team, to ensure due diligence is taken before approving financial transactions. 

There are several steps a Match Exception Handler can take to fully research invoices before making any resolution decisions: 

• Consult with an individual who placed an order for additional information. 
• Consult with a supplier directly for additional information. 
• Request the supplier itemize a consolidated amount on an invoice to aid in identifying duplicate transactions. 
• Review previous invoices on a purchase order in BearBuy to identify duplicate transactions.