New Online Booking Tool

Purchasing, Accounts Payable, and Travel is excited to announce that, effective January 25, 2024, we will be switching to a new online booking tool with our travel agency Collegiate Travel Planners (CTP) called Lightning. This new tool will replace Concur. This new tool has an easy to navigate interface, is faster, and provides additional features, such as booking multiple people at the same time on the same flight and the ability to see what seats on a flight are filled with SLCC travelers.

CONCUR TO LIGHTNING SWITCH-OVER 
Lightning will go live on January 25. To make the switch, our Concur system will need be taken down a few days beforehand. Therefore, Concur will be unavailable starting on January 22. Any flights that need to be booked between January 22 - 25 will need to be done directly with an agent, either by email or phone.

LIGHTNING  TRAINING
In the coming weeks, we will announce training sessions for this new tool. We encourage everyone who is interested to attend.

PROFILE INFORMATION
The information in your profile, such as frequent flyer numbers, reward membership numbers, and KTNs, should transfer from Concur to Lightning. However, we encourage travelers to review their profiles prior to booking in the new system. In addition, if a travel arranger is listed on a profile, it may not transfer to the new system. Travelers may need to login to Lightning and reenter their travel arranger.

Note that this system does not replace Chrome River. You will still need to use Chrome River to create pre-approvals and expense reports. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to either Lisa Bradshaw (lisa.bradshaw@slcc.edu) or Brandon Thomas (brandon.thomas@slcc.edu).

Purchasing Updates as of May 17, 2023

We are excited to announce some significant updates.

1. The Small Dollar Guidelines have been updated. You are encouraged to review these new guidelines. Below is a summary of the changes:

1. Increasing the Small Dollar Purchase Limit from $1500 to $2500. All p-card per transaction limits will automatically be updated. We will also update your cycle limit to $7500. Any card that has special limits will not be altered unless requested. Departments are encouraged to use their p-card for orders under $2500 whenever possible. For orders under $2500 that cannot be completed using the p-card, departments may submit a Payment Request. If the purchase requires a contract, a Payment Request cannot be used. Please follow the contract request process.

2. Added sections regarding the purchase of computers, tablets, audio-visual equipment, catered food and event items.

3. Clarified that flowers can be purchased as a gift.

4. Added language about contracts.

5. Removed restrictions on purchasing food and gifts for profession-specific observance days.
   
   

2. A new contract process for simple services has been created. This new process will allow departments to utilize a one-page contract form for specific small-dollar services. These contracts do not need to be submitted through the Procurement Contract Request process in SLCCBuy. They can be completed by the department and signed by the contractor prior to the work being performed. After the work is completed, the department submits the form as a Payment Request in SLCCBuy. Please see the Simple Service Contract Guidelines for more information. We hope that this will simplify the process and decrease the time it takes to get a contract in place.
   
   

3. The Purchasing and Accounts Payable department websites are being combined into a single website. This will create a single place for all information, forms, and training. The new website should go live within the next few weeks. Along with this update, many of our forms are also being updated. Please do not use any forms that you have previously downloaded. Please download a copy of the form from our website each time you need it. This will ensure you are always using the most recent form. Once the new webpage is live, we will start the process of updating links to documents and other sites. Please be patient with us as we update these links.

   
   

4. With the launch of the new website, we are introducing a new Purchasing Training Center. This will be a one-stop shop for all training documents and videos. We will be continuously creating new content for this page.   

As a reminder, Year End is quickly approaching. The deadline for submitting requisitions for orders that need to be bid and encumbered by June 30 has passed. This means that we cannot guarantee that funds will be encumbered before the end of the year. Please see the Year End Cut Off Dates and Memo for more information.

The New Year PO checkbox has been turned on early. You can now enter requisitions to request a new year PO. Make sure to check the New Year PO checkbox in the General Section before submitting your requisition. Note that after the requisition has been approved, it will be placed in a holding queue until July 1 to prevent it from being sent to the vendor or encumbered before year end.