Understanding New York State's Vendor File Suzanne Trzcinski and Karla Ravida Welcome to Understanding New York State's Vendor File. This information session has been created by the Bureau of State Expenditures in the New York State Office of the State Comptroller.

What is and Why have a Statewide Vendor File Overview SFS/VMU Milestones What is and Why have a Statewide Vendor File Vendor Registration Maintenance process / eSupplier Unique Vendors In this information session we will discuss the changes being made to the New York State Financial Management system and how these changes will affect you - our vendors, provide an overview of the vendor registration process, preview the anticipated vendor self service module, and provide answers to some common questions.  

SFS/VMU Milestones January, 2011 - Vendor Go-Live February, 2011 - Vendor Management Web Page March, 2011 – Agency Vendor Registration Portal available Verification of Converted Data with Vendors NYS Vendor Self-Service August, 2011 - Convert customers October, 2011 - Statewide Financial System Go-Live - The Statewide Financial System will begin to use the NYS Vendor File in the processing of vendor transactions. January, 2011 - Vendor Go-Live - The NYS Vendor File is established. The Vendor File is the new single managed database of State vendors which will eliminate duplicate records, increase efficiency and improve reporting on NYS Vendor activities. Information for approximately 60,000 vendors was used to populate the file with data converted from historical payment, contract or electronic-payment records. February, 2011 - Vendor Management Web Page - Vendor Management page is available as part of the OSC's "Resources for Vendors Doing Business with New York State" page. Winter, 2011 - Verification of Converted Data with Vendors - The Vendor Management Unit within OSC will provide vendors with a record of information it used when establishing the record for that vendor within the NYS Vendor File. Spring, 2011 - NYS Vendor Self-Service - Vendors will be provided registration information to manage and access NYS Vendor Information through E-Supplier, the NYS Vendor Self-Service portal. Here, vendors will be able to maintain their address and contact information. After the Statewide Financial System Go-Live, vendors will be able to access information about their purchase orders, invoices and payments. October, 2011 - Statewide Financial System Go-Live - The Statewide Financial System will begin to use the NYS Vendor File in the processing of vendor transactions.

Benefits of a Vendor File Optimize New York State’s business relationship with its over 100,000 vendors Provide vendors the ability to manage their own business record online to be used by all State agencies Provide easy access to voucher payment/invoice status information Provide direct access to status of contracts under OSC review The current central accounting system was developed prior to the use of the World Wide Web as a business tool. As a result, all contact with vendors providing goods and services to New York State was limited to the interaction between the vendors and employees of individual state agencies. Information was processed and stored centrally in Albany and processing was different for each agency. The goals of SFS include optimizing the relationship between NYS and its vendors by centralizing the vendor management process. This allows vendors a mechanism to manage their own information, and provides a single point for online access to information concerning the status of their business relationship with all New York State agencies.

What is the Vendor File? One official/single location to store vendor information One vendor, One vendor record, One Vendor ID Even if there are multiple business names (such as DBA “Doing Business As”) Information belongs to Vendors and is maintained by them Single point of contact (VMU) The SFS Establishes a Statewide Vendor File Managed by OSC for More Efficient/Effective Vendor Relationships One official vendor database (one state – one file) One vendor with one vendor record and one vendor ID (even if multiple business names) Single point-of-contact (OSC Vendor Management Unit)

Who is a NYS Vendor? A NYS vendor is any business entity, individual, not-for-profit, municipality/local government, or school district that provides goods or services to, has an ongoing relationship with, or receives payment from NYS. All Vendors must be registered to receive a payment from NYS. Vendor Defined as an Unique Combination of Vendor Legal Name and Tax Identification Number (TIN) Who is a Vendor in the Vendor File? • Any Supplier of goods and services must be a vendor before NYS can do any business with them •A payee receives a payment. A payee may or may not need to be registered as a vendor dependent on the specifics of the payment. The Agency issuing the payment will make the determination necessary and will notify the payee. • A NYS Employee is NOT a vendor when acting as an employee • An employee is a Vendor when selected as a Supplier as allowed by the Public Officers Law

Components of the Vendor File Vendor Number Who Location How Address Where Contact Authority to Make Changes

Conversion Will the vendor master file be populated with all of the vendors on OGS contracts? What are agencies supposed to do with the vendor IDs assigned to employees working for the State of NY when they do not believe they should have received it? (i.e. they are not a vendor-by definition?) Conversion thresholds Conservative approach– CUNY Vendors paid across the state Umpires and Courts

Vendor Add/Registration Vendors are selected to do business with NYS by agencies Portal Add Interim Mass Vendor Add Direct Add by VMU Refer to Agency Vendor Manual on the OSC website. Karla does specifics on portal add, focus on CI spreadsheet and direct add (foreign vendor, payroll) Will Security Coordinators eventually be adding people to vendor sponsor access via a portal? Or will it always be via excel spreadsheet? there are roles that are changing, constant tweeking, call helpdesk and talk to security What can/should agencies do with regard to vendor outreach? Is Mass upload available to vendors for multiple address “adds”?

Vendor Lookup/Review Vendor Page Municipality Code Look-up or M131 or agencies own portal. Tax Identification Number (TIN)

Portal Add Page

Vendor Name Legal Business Name ONLY Do not enter a Doing Business As (DBA) name Do not use any punctuation except “&” and hyphens (-) Never use prefix titles such as Dr, Mr, Ms etc. Legal Business name exceeds 40 characters use Name 2 Refer to the Agency Vendor Manual for acceptable word abbreviations

Vendor Contact Information Enter the vendors designated Primary Contact Please provide the contact information for the executive at the organization. This individual should be a person who makes legal and financial decisions for your organization. Enter the Primary Contact’s email address Vendor Self Service Not a required Field – Family Health Care Providers

Federal Reporting Information All Vendors are defaulted 1099 Reportable All Vendors are defaulted to 07 – Non-Employee Compensation (Can be Edited) Enter the nine-digit Social Security Number, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) or Employer Identification Number. Shortcut – enter TIN before all other information!

Address Information Enter the Vendor’s Remit To address A Lock box (PO BOX) is considered an acceptable Remit-to address. Foreign Vendors cannot be added through this portal. County is Not required

Requesting Agency Requesting Agency = Business Unit Enter the name of the individual from the Business Unit who is submitting the Vendor Add Request. This is the email address which will receive the email notifying the Requesting Agency Contact once the vendor has passed the IRS TIN match verification.

Staging Table ID Assigned Save the Record and press Add to enter another Vendor The system assigns a Staging Table Vendor ID. This is not the NYS Vendor ID. The Staging Table Vendor ID is used to track the vendor as they move through the validation steps of the vendor add process.

New Vendor Validation Vendor TIN/Name Validation with IRS Vendor Notified of Vendor ID Number, Business Unit is Notified the Vendor has passed TIN matching Federal Special Designated Nationals Listing Once the information is entered in SFS a series of validations will be performed to ensure you are legally eligible to do business with New York State. Upon completion of that step you will receive an email notification of the 10 digit vendor number assigned to your business. We anticipate you will receive notification within 48 hours of entry by the agency.

Approved Vendor DO NOT REPLY e-mail The Tin Mismatch report

Registration Errors Vendor Exists on the Staging Table TIN already exists on Staging Table. Vendor Exists on the Vendor File TIN already exists on Vendor File. Invalid TIN/Name Match Vendor name does not match IRS records for the TIN. (DBA or the use of abbreviations) The TIN is incorrect for the entity. (typographical error) The TIN was never issued according to the IRS. Valid Duplicate TIN Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued the same number as a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) and a Social Security Number (SSN). Specially Designated National Failures Individuals and organizations with whom United States citizens and permanent residents are prohibited from doing business.

Foreign Vendors The Vendor Management Unit (VMU) will add all foreign vendors Business Unit will initiate this process Collecting the appropriate IRS form TIN Required The vendor has no physical presence in the US, and is supplying goods or materials. Complete the New York State Foreign Vendor Registration form Refer to the Foreign Vendor Guidance on the OSC website.

Vendor Maintenance Self-Service - Upon being registered as a vendor, the Vendor is invited to Self- Service Manage user access authority Manage their own record Addresses, Contacts Track payments and invoices Manual Paper Process – Vendors who do not have an e-mail will maintain their information using the applicable forms. After enrollment, the file will contain the necessary information agencies need to conduct business with vendors. Each Vendor will be invited to participate in self-servicing their own file record. Self service will be a quick and easy method for keeping your information up to date. It will also supply you, the vendor, with a means to track the status of your purchase orders, invoices, and payments 24 hours a day - 7 days a week. You can access the information you need, when you need it, from wherever you are without the need for a state employee to be available to supply it to you. The Vendor Management Unit (VMU) in the Office of the State Comptroller’s Bureau of State Expenditures will be responsible for maintaining information for those vendors not enrolled in the self-service process.  

Unique Vendors Suzi picks back up

Single Payment Vendors Unique Vendors Single Payment Vendors Revenue Refunds “KRA” or “CRA” batch types Unique Business Reasons Business Units must Apply for a Single Pay Vendor ID Refer to Agency Manual and the Single Pay Vendor ID Guidance on the OSC website.

Unique Vendors Debt Service Vendors Regular Vendors with a ‘DS’ in the Vendor Number

Unique Vendors Business Unit Vendors Emergency Vendor ID -0400000001 Subject to daily audit The BU must also register the Vendor in the Vendor File. Advance Accounts Interagency Billing Refer to Agency Manual, the Single Pay Vendor ID and Interagency Vendor ID Guidance on the OSC website. VMU assigned vendor id for each advance account. Agencies should find the advance account with vendor id beginning with "04". Agencies need to use the vendor id assigned to reimburse the agency advance account Hit Interagency billing for examples

Unique Vendors Land Claims Business Unit Vendor ID and Location Requests and Approval Submit Contract to OSC The Bureau of State Expenditures will process payment and if necessary set up alternate payee locations. Refer to Agency Manual after the SFS Go Live.

Special Situations No TIN listed on the M131 Social Security Numbers Masked Payroll Vendors All zero’s listed as the TIN Entities who are not 1099 reportable Foreign Vendor Municipalities Amish Native American/Indian Nation What triggers Last Updated date to be updated on M131 file? Know that there is contact information on the M131 – Contact tied to the address information. SED Notes

Things to Remember Vendor Name – If the Legal Business name exceeds 40 characters use Name 2 Enter the Legal Business name Do not enter a Doing Business As (DBA) name. Do not use any punctuation except “&” and hyphens (-) Enter the initials with no spaces punctuation Address– Enter the vendor’s Remit-to Address Standard USPS street abbreviations Apply for Single Payment Vendors Is there going to be further vendor outreach specifically in reference to the transition period (addresses need to be changed in two places since vendor master file does not edit CAS)? Also, as we get closer to Go Live is there going to be vendor outreach regarding the blackout period and what is planned as far as payments during that period?

Questions????