1. Introduction Signing In Navigating Through VSS Maintain Supplier Information Searching for Invoices Searching for Payments Special Scenarios Time Out Messages Glossary How to Contact Us You may continue through the presentation slide-by-slide, or you can use the above links to go to a particular section. To return to the Table of Contents, use the scroll bar to return to Slide #1. State of Connecticut Vendor Self-Serve Accounts Payable Division Table of Contents

2. What is Vendor Self-Serve? Vendor Self-Serve (VSS) offers convenient online access to Core-CT, the State of Connecticut’s financial system, which is used by most State agencies. As a participating VSS vendor, you will only have access to information specific to your business.

3. Signing into VSS The Core-CT VSS sign in page is accessed from the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) VSS web site. VSS web site It is recommended that you make this web site a favorite in your web browser and always access Core-CT VSS from this link.

4. Signing into VSS Click the link to sign in

5. Signing into VSS A case sensitive User ID and password are provided to vendors enrolled in VSS. If you have trouble signing in, please contact the Accounts Payable Division at osc.apd@po.state.ct.us or (860) 702-3400.

6. Signing into VSS Enter your User ID Enter your password Click Sign In

7. Navigating Through VSS VSS consists of three main areas, however, the navigation menu on the left of your screen contains two sections, Maintain Supplier Information and Review Payment Information.

8. Navigating Through VSS You can click the arrows in the menu bar to display the page names, or you can click the hyperlink titles, which will open another view of the menu. From here, you can use the left-hand navigation menu or the icons.

9. Navigating Through VSS The Maintain Supplier Information section contains vendor address(es), alternate payee name(s), phone number(s), and email address(es).

10. Maintain Supplier Information The address description is used to help identify addresses. The above example shows the addresses for XYZ Company. When the description is a name, such as ABC Division, it signifies there is an alternate payee name associated with that address. A 1099 Address holds the legal name of a business and/or the owner’s name. Click on the description name to go to the address details page. XYZ COMPANY PO Box 123 100 Alphabet Lane ABC Division 1099 Address

11. Address Details Page XYZ COMPANY ABC DIVISION 321 MAIN ST HARTFORD 06106 ABC DIVISION In this example, ABC Division is an alternate payee name. All payments that use this address will be made payable to ABC Division rather than XYZ Company. If you need to update any of your address information, please contact our vendor file unit by emailing osc.apdvf@po.state.ct.us. Include ‘VSS vendor information update’ in the subject line.

12. Navigating Through VSS The Review Payment Information section contains two areas, Invoices and Payments. In the Invoices section, you can review pending and processed invoices that have been entered into the system. The Payments section shows payment information for invoices that have been paid.

13. Searching for Invoices The Invoice ID should correspond to your bill. If you do not provide a bill, the agency has developed a system to create an Invoice ID. In either case, the system needs an Invoice ID. The system also needs an Invoice Date. If you have provided the State with an invoice, the agency has been instructed to date- stamp the invoice upon receipt and use that date when entering the invoice into Core-CT. For this reason, the invoice date in the system may not be the same as what you expect. This makes the use of the date range very important. The Invoice Amount is also a searchable field. This is the least recommended method of searching, due to the variables that the agency can apply when creating the voucher. However, for certain vendors who mainly receive large grants, this, combined with the date range, may be the best method of searching.

14. Searching for Invoices XYZ COMPANY The From Date will default to a month from the current date The To Date will default to today’s date Type over the dates to change them, or select new dates from the calendar. Searching by date only will list all invoices within that time frame. It is recommended you search within a small range, such as one month, and do not exceed one year.

15. Searching for Invoices You can also search by invoice number. XYZ COMPANY

16. Searching for Invoices If you enter part of an invoice ID in the From Invoice Number box and leave the To Invoice Number box blank, the system will search for all invoice ID’s equal to or greater than the invoice ID in the From box. The system evaluates characters in the following sequence – from low to high: special characters such as ‘, %, /… 0- 9, A-Z, a-z. So, searching for invoice number 122833 like this will produce… XYZ COMPANY

17. Searching for Invoices …436 results. This is because it is showing all invoice numbers greater than 122833 that have ever been processed. Click the Set filter options hyperlink to go back and modify your search criteria. XYZ COMPANY

18. Searching for Invoices XYZ COMPANY In order to limit the number of results, search by the invoice number and a date range. Searching this way produces…

19. Searching for Invoices … 7 invoices. Results are displayed by Invoice Date, with the most recent first. XYZ COMPANY

20. Searching for Invoices You can click on the Invoice Number column heading link to sort results by Invoice Number. The invoice entered in the search criteria should then be listed first. The Business Unit column indicates which agency created the voucher. If you need to contact the agency about a pending invoice, provide them with the voucher ID to assist them in locating your invoice quickly. A list of Accounts Payable contacts is available here. It is sorted by Business Unit.here XYZ COMPANY

21. Searching for Invoices If the invoice you are searching for does not have an invoice date within the dates you enter, the search will produce a list of invoices not related to the invoice number you entered. The above search yields… XYZ COMPANY

22. Searching for Invoices XYZ COMPANY Invoice number 122833 is not included because it has an invoice date of 7/22/09.

23. Searching for Invoices If you enter an invoice ID in both the From Invoice Number box and To Invoice Number box, the system will search for only exact matches. XYZ COMPANY

24. Searching for Invoices From the Invoice List, you can view the details of each invoice. Click the Invoice Number hyperlink to open the Invoice Details Page XYZ COMPANY

25. Invoice Details Page XYZ COMPANY (Continued on next slide)

26. Invoice Details Page (cont.) If the voucher was processed and produced a payment, the Payments Made section will be populated. The Recon Status indicates if a check has cleared. Recon means the check was cashed and cleared the State’s bank account on the Recon Date; Unrecon means the check is still outstanding. For Electronic Funds Transfer (ACH-EFT) or Wire payments, this field should not be used to determine payment status.

27. Invoice Details Page (cont.) ACH-EFT payments should be deposited in your bank account within one business day of the payment date. If you do not receive the payment, notify the agency’s Accounts Payable contact. Find the business unit on the Invoice List Page to see which agency the payment is from. Then look up the business unit on the Accounts Payable list of contacts available here. There is also a link to the contacts list on the VSS website.here Similarly, if you need to have an outstanding check reissued, inform the agency’s Accounts Payable contact.

28. Invoice Details Page (cont.) Clicking the reference link will open the Payment Details page, which is also accessible through the Payments section under Review Payment Information.Payments section

29. Payment Details Page XYZ COMPANY PO BOX 123 HARTFORD 06106 A pay status of paid means the voucher was processed and a payment was issued.

30. Payment Details Page XYZ COMPANY PO BOX 123 HARTFORD 06106 If a payment is voided, the Pay Status will be Stop or Void. To see if the payment was reissued, search for the invoice number in the Review Invoices or Review Payments section.

31. Searching for Reissues Reissued payments are created from the same voucher, so they will have the exact same invoice number. XYZ COMPANY

32. Searching for Reissues If a voided payment was reissued, a search by invoice number will produce two (or more) results. The line with a Paid Status of Canceled is the original payment. The line with a Paid Status of Paid is the reissued payment. Both lines will have the same Invoice Date, Gross Amt, Scheduled Pay Date, and Voucher ID. To see when the reissued payment was paid, click the hyperlink under Invoice Number. XYZ COMPANY

33. Searching for Reissues The reissued payment was dated 8/7/10. Since the invoice now has two payments associated with it, both will be visible in the Payment Schedule and Payments Made sections. XYZ COMPANY

34. Looks Like a Reissue, but is it? XYZ COMPANY At first glance, this invoice looks like it was voided and reissued. The key distinction here is that the two lines have different Scheduled Pay Dates. Click the Invoice Number hyperlink of the Paid invoice.

35. Looks Like a Reissue, but is it? XYZ COMPANY The payment that looks like a reissue is actually a payment for $0 that had to be processed for accounting purposes. All of these types of payments will have a payment date on the last day of a month. The original payment was voided and not reissued to you.

36. Closed Vouchers XYZ COMPANY Sometimes it is necessary to void and close a voucher. This means that a payment was originally processed, but it was later voided and not reissued. If you need information about why a payment was voided, contact the Accounts Payable Contact person at the agency.

37. Closed Vouchers XYZ COMPANY The Invoice Details Page shows two payment schedules, but only one payment. Since the Payment Status is Not to be Paid, you can conclude this invoice will not produce a new payment.

38. Journal Vouchers XYZ COMPANY When doing a search, you may see some invoices that look like they were voided, but they are not really true invoices. This is an internal accounting practice we employ to correct accounting entries. They will always be for $0.00 with a Paid Status of Canceled. The Invoice Number should have a J or JV in it. If you click the Invoice Number hyperlink to open the Invoice Details Page, you will see that the voucher did not produce a payment…

39. Journal Vouchers XYZ COMPANY

40. Adjustment Vouchers This invoice is for a credit. It gets combined with another invoice to net a payment. To see which invoice it combined with, click the Reference hyperlink XYZ COMPANY

41. Adjustment Vouchers The two invoices combined to create a payment of $3,486.92. XYZ COMPANY PO BOX 123 HARTFORD 06106

42. Review Payment Information You can also search for payments by invoice number, payment reference number, or payment date. This search works a little differently than in the invoice section. It searches as “contains” instead of “greater than”. It is case sensitive. So, searching for payments as in the above example results in… XYZ COMPANY

43. Review Payment Information XYZ COMPANY … just one payment.

44. Review Payment Information The From Payment Date defaults to two weeks preceding the current date The To Payment Date defaults to the current date XYZ COMPANY As with the Invoice Section, you can also search by dates. We recommend keeping the date range as small as possible and less than one year. You can change the date range by typing over the defaults or selecting new dates from the calendar.

45. Review Payment Information XYZ COMPANY If you know the payment reference (also called the check number), you can search by that as well.

46. Review Payment Information XYZ COMPANY Click the payment reference hyperlink to view the Payments Details Page (which is also accessible from the Invoice Details Page).Invoice Details Page

47. Payment Details Page XYZ COMPANY PO BOX 123 HARTFORD 06106

48. Timing Out If you leave your browser window open, your session may expire. If you get this warning, you should not click the hyperlink. Select the VSS web site from your favorites and sign in there.

49. Timing Out If you forget and click the hyperlink in the warning message, you will see this screen. Click the sign out link and go back to the VSS sign in page from your favorites.

50. Cookies Message You may also see this message occasionally. As with the time out screen, do not click the hyperlink. Simply select the website from your favorites again.

51. Glossary Jump to Page: Address List Address Details Review Invoices Search Invoice List Invoice Details Review Payments Search Payment List Payment Details

52. Address List Page Fields Definitions Description – A short description that is used to identify a particular address. There are three types of descriptions.  Delivery Line – indicates the delivery line of an address that will be used on transactions combined with the primary vendor name.  Payment Alternate Name – indicates that the address record contains an alternate payee name that will replace the primary vendor name when this address is selected in a transaction.  1099 Address – this description is used for an address to record a vendor’s legal business name if it is different from the primary vendor name. Address sequence number – a system generated number that identifies a particular address record. Use this number when contacting the OSC vendor file regarding updates to vendor information. Effective Status –  Active – an effective status of active indicates that the address information is available for use by an agency.  Inactive – address information that is not valid will be set to inactive. Any information in the inactive address cannot be used in system transactions. Return to Glossary

53. Address Details Page Fields Definitions Address 1, 2, 3 - used to indicate to the USPS (United States Postal Service) where to deliver the item. It should conform to their standards, which could include an “attention to” line at the top – not as part of the vendor name. The last address line will be the delivery address. Alternate Payment Name1 and Name2 - names in which payments will be made payable. If the Alternate Payment Names are blank, a payment will be made payable to vendor name. Email ID – used for dispatching purchase orders. Telephone Information - lists the types of phone numbers for the company. Date Change Will Take Effect - the date the address took effect. Return to Glossary

54. Review Invoices Search Page Fields Definitions From Invoice Number and To Invoice Number - the numbers displayed on the document that was submitted to agencies for payment, or the number assigned by the agency to identify invoice submitted. From Date - defaults to one month preceding the current date. To Date - defaults to the current date. From Amount and To Amount - the amount of your invoice submitted for payment. If the agency had to create multiple lines on the voucher for accounting purposes, you may have a difficult time searching this way. Return to Glossary

55. Invoice List Page Fields Definitions Invoice Number – This field should identify to the vendor what is being paid. This field could be a vendor invoice number or other identifying information entered by the State agency. Invoice Date – Date agency received the vendor invoice. Gross Amount – The amount of the voucher before discounts or other adjustments are applied. Approval Status – Refers to the status of the voucher  Pending - indicates a voucher has been entered in the system and is pending agency approval.  Approved – voucher has been approved by the agency for payment. Scheduled Pay Date – The date payment is scheduled to be paid. This date is generated by the system, may be changed by the agency, and is not a guarantee of payment. Business Unit – Identifies the State Agency that created the voucher. Voucher – A system generated number that references the voucher associated with a vendor invoice. Paid Status –  Unselected - indicates a voucher has been entered but is not yet ready for payment.  Paid – The voucher has been processed.  Canceled – used when a payment has been voided. For more information on a voided payment, such as re-issue date if applicable, review other results with the same invoice number. Return to Glossary

56. Invoice Details Page Fields Definitions Invoice Number – This field should identify to the vendor what is being paid. This field could be a vendor invoice number or other identifying information entered by the State agency. Invoice Date - Date agency received the vendor invoice. Scheduled Pay Date - The date payment is scheduled to be paid. This date is generated by the system, may be changed by the agency, and is not a guarantee of payment. Discount End Date – The last day to process a payment in order to take advantage of a discount Approval Status - Refers to the status of the voucher  Pending Approval - indicates a voucher has been entered in the system and is pending agency approval.  Approved for Payment – voucher has been approved by the agency for payment. Payment Status –  To be Paid – voucher has not been processed yet  Not to be Paid – voucher was voided  Paid in Full – voucher was processed Invoice Total Box: Gross Amount – the total voucher amount Discount Amount – amount deducted from the voucher amount Net Amount – voucher amount less the discount Return to Glossary

57. Invoice Details Page (Cont.) Fields Definitions *If voucher was entered with multiple lines for accounting purposes, there will be more than one line in each section* Invoice Line Details (these fields are not filled in for all invoices): Item ID – if goods were ordered from a catalog, the item ID appears here Description – short description of what was ordered or services to be performed Quantity – number of items ordered UOM – Unit of measure Unit Price – price per unit Amount – voucher line amounts. The sum should total the gross amount. Payment Schedule: Scheduled to Pay -The date payment is scheduled to be paid. This date is generated by the system, may be changed by the agency, and is not a guarantee of payment. Payment Number – A unique system generated number that links the voucher to the payment. This is not a check number or payment reference number. State agency staff cannot see this number; it is only visible in VSS. Gross Amt – The amount of the voucher before discounts or other adjustments are applied. Currency – USD indicates US dollars Return to Glossary

58. Invoice Details Page (Cont.) Fields Definitions Discount – For vendors with discounts offered, the system will calculate the discount amount. If paid by discount due date, the payment will be issued with the discount applied. Method – Type of payment, the most common types are check and ACH- EFT. Status –  Unselected - indicates a voucher has been entered but is not yet ready for payment.  Paid – The voucher has been paid.  Canceled – This status is used when a payment has been voided. For more information on a voided payment, such as re-issue date if applicable, review other vouchers with the same invoice number. On Hold – A voucher may be put on hold by an agency for various processing reasons. This happens very rarely; please contact VSS help desk or the State Agency you do business with for additional information if you see a ‘Yes’ in this field. Wthd Hold – This field is associated with Federal reporting. It should always be ‘No’. Contact the VSS help desk if this field has a ‘Yes’. Return to Glossary

59. Invoice Details Page (Cont.) Fields Definitions Payments Made: If voucher is still pending, this section will be blank Reference – Check number or payment reference number for ACH-EFT. Clicking the hyperlink will open the Payment Details Page Date – Payment Date Amount – The amount of the payment. This amount may represent several combined invoices. See Payment Details for more information. Recon Status – status of the payment at the bank  Recon - indicates the check payment cleared our bank, or was cashed.  Unrecon – check is outstanding, or not cashed.  For ACH-EFT or Wire payments, this field is irrelevant  A voided payment will be displayed as recon Recon Date – For a check, this is the date the check cleared the State’s bank account. Purchase Orders: Purchase Order – the purchase order ID number, if applicable PO Date – Date the PO was created Receipts: If there is a receipt associated with the invoice, this section will be populated Received Date – Date goods were received at agency Receipt Number – system generated ID number Return to Glossary

60. Review Payments Search Page Fields Definitions Invoice Number - the number displayed on the document that was submitted to agencies for payment, or the number assigned by the agency to identify invoice submitted. Payment Reference Number – the system generated number assigned to each payment. For checks, this may be referred to as the check number. From Date - defaults to two weeks preceding the current date To Date - defaults to the current date. Return to Glossary

61. Payment List Page Fields Definitions Reference - an assigned generated number or check number. This number will display as the same number for all invoices that are combined into one payment. Invoice Number - the number displayed on the document that was submitted to agencies for payment, or the number assigned by the agency to identify invoice submitted. Payment Date - the date of the payment. This date will appear on all invoices that are combined to make up this payment. Amount - the total amount of all invoices included in this payment. The amount will appear the same for all combined invoices that make up the payment. Payment Status  Paid – The voucher has been processed.  Void / Stop –used when a payment has been voided. For more information on a voided payment, such as re-issue date if applicable, review other results with the same invoice number. Return to Glossary

62. Payments Detail Page Fields Definitions Payment Reference – Appears under Vendor Name. The check number or payment reference number for ACH-EFT Invoice Number - This field should identify to the vendor what is being paid. This field could be a vendor invoice number or other identifying information entered by the State agency. Payment Date - Date of payment Method - Type of payment, the most common types are check and ACH- EFT. Pay Status –  Paid – The voucher has been processed.  Void / Stop – used when a payment has been voided. For more information on a voided payment, such as re-issue date if applicable, review other results with the same invoice number. Amount - The amount of the payment. This amount may represent several invoices combined. See payment advice section for more information. Paid To - Who payments were made payable to Address, City, State – Where payment was sent From - Bank payment was drawn. Return to Glossary

63. Payments Detail Page (Cont.) Fields Definitions Payment Advice section: Invoice - If more than one voucher was combined into a single payment, there will be multiple invoices listed here. Gross Amount - The amount of each voucher Discount - For vendors with discounts offered, the system will calculate the discount amount. Discount Taken - If voucher is paid by the discount due date, the payment will be issued with the discount applied. Paid Amount - The amount of the payment after deductions. Payment Message – entered by the agency to help identify payment. Return to Glossary

64. Contact Us If you experience any problems using Vendor Self-Serve, our help desk is available Monday – Friday, 8 AM – 4 PM. (860) 702-3400 or osc.apd@po.state.ct.us You may also view a list of frequently asked questions and their answers here.here