The University is currently in final stages of preparing for the implementation of the PeopleSoft Financial and Supply Chain Management (FSCM) system, which will replace the current financial system, Unikom. The planned shutdown date for Unikom is Friday, 23 July 2010. The planned go-live date for the new PeopleSoft FSCM system is Tuesday, 10 August 2010.

In order for the Finance Department to ensure that the process of switching over from Unikom to the PeopleSoft system runs smoothly and that the necessary data conversion is completed in time, we hereby kindly request your support and cooperation in terms of the following:

1. Accounts Payable - The Accounts Payable function (in both Legacy and PeopleSoft systems) will be closed for the period 24 July 2010 to 9 August 2010. This means that no requisitions/ purchase orders will be processed on either PeopleSoft or Unikom during this period. Persons who planned to place requisitions/ purchase orders during this period are kindly requested to either:
• create such requisitions/ purchase orders in Unikom on or before 21 July 2010, or alternatively;
• hold them back for processing in PeopleSoft, with effect from 10 August 2010.

Urgent payments in the case of an emergency will, however, be accommodated during this period. Please contact Mrs Hanlie Engelbrecht, extension 3357 ([email protected]), or Devon Govinden, extension 3006 ([email protected]), in this regard during this period.

2. Receipt of goods - Receipt of goods on purchase orders will not be transferred programmatically to PeopleSoft unless the invoices have been captured and approved for payment in Unikom. If receipts (GRVs) are not completed and invoices received by Accounts Payable on or before 19 July 2010 these receipts will have to be captured again, manually, in PeopleSoft.

We therefore request your kind cooperation to capture receipts and send invoices on or before Monday, 19 July 2010 to Accounts Payable for processing, for payment at the end of July 2010 in the Unikom System.

Invoices received after 19 July 2010 will only be captured in PeopleSoft from 10 August 2010. Please note that these invoices - although they are due for payment at the end of July 2010 - will not be included in the pay cycle at the end of July 2010, but will only be paid through PeopleSoft at the end of August 2010.

3. Interim Payments - Please take note that no interim payments will be made between 24 July 2010 and 9 August 2010. The last date to submit documents for interim payments will be Thursday, 22 July 2010 before 10:00. The last interim payment in Unikom will take place on 23 July 2010.

4. ‘Clean Up’ of Unikom - At any point in time, there are a large number of outstanding orders in the Unikom system that await further processing, pending delivery of services, the receipt of goods, or for other reasons. Some of these orders have been outstanding for substantial periods of time and may now be eligible for cancellation.

We would like to use this opportunity to ‘clean up’ the financial system and to cancel orders that are no longer relevant/ required going forward in the new PeopleSoft system. We therefore request your kind cooperation to inform us of outstanding orders that may be cancelled with immediate effect.

Extreme caution should however be exercised in this regard as legally enforceable rights/ obligations may have been created by the issuing of such orders and they should therefore not be cancelled unless there is absolute certainty that cancellation, in the particular circumstances, is warranted. Please contact your faculty accountant or in the Support Service Departments please contact Mrs Laurett Smit, extension 2025 ([email protected]), for assistance in this regard.

All cancellations must be made in Unikom before 20 July 2010.

We urge you to please plan ahead in terms of your expenditure during the next three months, taking into account the above-mentioned go-live requirements.

Thank you, in anticipation, for your co-operation and support during the implementation of the new PeopleSoft financial system.