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	Issue 6 November/December 1998
Table of Contents
	1. How Do You Find Your SAPweb Requisition if You Don’t Know the Req Number?   2. Approver Practice Labs Offered December 21 & 22   3. New Quick Guide for Approving SAP Requisitions  4. Revised Summary Statement and Detailed Transaction Report User Guide  5. New Material Group for Internal Providers   6. Frequently Used Expense G/L Accounts  7. Frequently Used Material Groups  8. Revised SAP Documentation Index Page  9. SAP User Group December 10  10. IAP Session on New Purchasing Methods, January 7 *CANCELED* 11. Update on Summary Statement/DTR Reports  12. Summary Statement/DTR Presentation to be Repeated December 14

1. How Do You Find Your SAPweb Requisition if You Don’t Know the Req Number?

Right now, you have to know the requisition number in order to look up a requisition in SAPweb. An expanded lookup function is currently being developed for SAPweb, but it isn’t ready yet.

So, what to do in the meantime?

First of all, always write down the requisition number SAPweb gives you. You may want to print out a copy of the requisition via "Display a Requisition" for your files.

If you do not have the requisition number, you will need to find someone in your department (or in the Business Liaison Team (BLT) or Procurement Office) who can look it up for you directly in SAP (via the SAPgui interface.) Using the SAPgui, you can search for requisitions via a variety of criteria.

One of the most useful ways to search for requisitions in SAP is by the userid of the creator. This procedure, described below, is documented on page 10 of the "Quick Guide for Requisitioning in SAP." (The Quick Guide, which has a green cover, was distributed in training and is also available from the SAP documentation pages.)

Procedure for Finding Requisitions by Userid of Creator

1. Fastpath: /nme5a

From the MIT Financial System menu: Purchasing Requisition Req. Search Displays Req. by SAP Req.#

2. Click the Dynamic Selections button.
Result: The "Field Choice for Dynamic Selections" screen is displayed.

3. Select the boxes to the left of "Name of the user who created the object" and (farther down) "Requisition date." Then click the Selections button.

4. A second "List Display of Purchase Requisitions" screen appears. In the Created by field, type an asterisk (*) followed by the creator’s userid. In the Requisition Date fields, enter the date range on which you wish to search.

5. Click the Save button . You are returned to the original "List Display of Purchase Requisitions" screen.

6. Select any additional criteria for narrowing the search, e.g., Assigned Requisitions, Closed Requisitions, Partially Ordered Requisitions, Released Requisitions Only, and click the Execute button.

Result: SAP displays a list of requisitions that meet your criteria.

7. To print the list display, follow the menu path: SystemListPrint and click on the Print button.
 

2. Approver Practice Labs Offered December 21 & 22

Practice labs are being offered for requisition approvers who want to repeat the requisition approver exercises. Instructors will be available to assist with questions.

This is not new material &endash; it is simply an opportunity to practice the class exercises in a TA’d lab setting.

Unlike the requisition class exercises, you can’t log onto the training Playground system from your office and repeat the approver exercises. This is because approvals require a special workflow set up that is not possible in the Playground system.

Approver Lab Schedule:

Monday, December 21, 1:30 pm, W89 Professional Learning Center

Tuesday, December 22, 9:00 am, W89 Professional Learning Center

Tuesday, December 22, 1:30 pm, W89 Professional Learning Center

Prerequisite: prior attendance at an approver class.

If you’d like to attend, please go to the training web pages and fill out an on-line registration form. The URL is <http://web.mit.edu/sapr3/training/> and the title of the course is "Approver Practice Lab."

3. New Quick Guide for Approving SAP Requisitions

A new Quick Guide is available for requisition approvers. A copy will be mailed to everyone who has already attended the "Approving Requisitions" course. Anyone else who needs a copy may either print it out from the web page at <http://web.mit.edu/sapr3/docs/reqs/> or request it from the Copy Technology Center.

4. Revised Summary Statement and Detailed Transaction Report User Guide

The paper version of the Summary Statement and Detailed Transaction Report User Guide and the associated web documentation on these reports have been revised to reflect the recent enhancements to these reports. See the SAPR3 Documentation pages at <http://web.mit.edu/sapr3/docs/fo_reports/> to view this documentation..

5. New Material Group for Internal Providers

A new material group has been created for use in all Internal Provider requisitions:

3000. 3000    MIT Internal Provider

      Previously, Internal Provider requisitions did not require a material group to be entered. However, a material group is needed for proper routing of Internal Provider requisitions for approval. Therefore, the new material group number was added.

      Please use Material Group 3000 in all future Internal Provider requisitions.

6. Frequently Used Expense G/L Accounts

There are hundreds of G/L Accounts, but here are some that are frequently used for expenses. These will be useful for creating requisitions.

For a complete list of G/L Accounts: http://web.mit.edu/sapr3/objcodes.html

Sorted by G/L Account

 

G/L Acct	Obj Code	Description
420050	415	Travel Expenses
420060	416	Travel-No O/H
420070	417	Travel-Foreign Expenses
420080	418	Travel-Unallowable Cost
420106	598	Audio Visual Expense
420166	522	Entertainment
420184	448	Graphic Arts Expenses
420220	460	Maint & Repairs
420226	419	Materials and Services
420254	569	Non-Reimbursable Expenses
420258	468	Office Supplies
420260	469	Outside Purchases
420262	470	Outside Services
420286	476	Physical Plant Expense
420298	481	Professional Services
420318	435	Recreation Related Expenses
420352	499	Special Expenses
420392	523	Xerox Expense
420600	500	Subcontracts-Subject to O/H
420610	501	Subcontracts
420620	502	Subcontracts-No O/H
420710	437	Consultants
420720	438	Contract Services
420800	426	Books
420875	484	Publications
420890	503	Subscriptions
420920	812	Postage Mailing & Shipping
421000	462	Meetings Unallowable
421010	463	Meetings Allowable
421200	447	Food
421205	581	Alcoholic Beverages
421586	808	Memberships and Dues
421588	809	Miscellaneous
421750	814	Telecomms-Radio Comm
421753	816	Telephone-Basic Mthly Service
421759	818	Telephone-Toll Calls
421762	819	Telephone-Data Facilities
421765	820	Telephone-Moves & Installs
421766	821	Telecom-Consolidated Charges
421771	852	Telephone Equipment-No O/H
421774	862	Telephone Equipment-Minor
421809	859	Fabricated Equipment-No O/H
421818	850	Equipment-No O/H
421827	860	Equipment-Minor
421833	442	Equipment Rental-No O/H
421836	857	Furnishings
421900	886	EDP Expense
421925	892	Software
422065	953	Travel Advance & Tickets

 
 

7. Frequently Used Material Groups

Material Groups are commodity classifications required when you create SAP requisitions. The most commonly used Material Groups are in the table below.

For a complete list of material groups see the Web page at <http://web.mit.edu/is/blt/mgroups.htm>.

Sorted alphabetically:

 

Group#	Material Group Description
1890	Books & Magazines
1060	Catering Services
1320	Chemicals
1000	Computer Equipment
1360	Computer Supplies
1780	Construction Expense
1635	Design Services
1430	Electrical Supplies
1420	Electronic Supplies
1920	Furniture and Furnishings
1440	Grounds Supplies
1450	Hardware Supplies
3000	Internal Provider (MIT)
1010	Lab/Scientific Equipment
1460	Laboratory Supplies
1840	Maintenance Contract
1470	Mechanical Supplies
1760	Mechanical Systems
2150	Miscellaneous
1310	Office Supplies
1630	Printing
1110	Professional Services
1090	R&D Services
2080	Repairs
1650	Reprints
1525	Sensitive Items
2090	Software Shrinkwrap
1770	Structural Systems

 
 

8. Revised SAP Documentation Index Page

We’ve revised the main documentation contents page <http://web.mit.edu/sapr3/docs/> to make it easier to find what you are looking for: "Getting Started" and "Getting Help" are now separate topics.

"Getting Started" focuses on what you need to get set up to use SAP and basic concepts. "Getting Help" contains Frequently Asked Questions supplied by Business Help and other help-related topics.

9. SAP User Group December 10

The December SAP User Group meeting will be held Thursday, December 10, 2-3pm, in Room E25-111. Two topics will be presented:

• Presentation on Facilities Changes: The Facilities Department (formerly known as Physical Plant) is in the process of converting many of their key operations to SAP. Some of the system changes are visible only within Facilities, but in December a new method to process Facilities work orders will result in changes in how Facilities charges show up on your Summary Statement and DTR (starting with your January statements). These changes will be explained by staff from Facilities.

• Reporting Tips: By now, everyone has seen the Summary Statements and DTRs produced from SAP. But did you know that you can enter a project number in the project field of the summary statement selection screen and get a summary statement for the project rolled up in one report? There are also ways to get rolled up reports on cost objects that aren’t related as parent/children. There is also a way to save your report selection criteria for later use, so you don’t have to enter the same criteria every time. Bob Davine, School Coordinator, will demonstrate these useful reporting techniques.

10. *CANCELED* IAP Session on New Purchasing Methods, January 7

Since Information Systems is giving an IAP event called Overview of Purchasing on the Web, the IAP session announced here has been canceled.

This article originally read:

"An IAP session on new purchasing methods &endash; ECAT, the VIP Card, and SAPweb &endash; will be held January 7, 2-3 pm, in Room 56-114.

Staff from the MIT Procurement Department and Management Reporting will discuss the various purchasing methods, MIT's basic guidelines for purchasing, and give you some tips on how to reduce purchasing problems. A live demo of SAPweb will be given.

These streamlined purchasing methods are available to both MIT staff and graduate students, subject to your department’s guidelines for use. The decision on which method(s) will be used in department is up to the department’s faculty and Administrative Officer.

All members of the MIT community, especially graduate students, are welcome."

11. Update on Summary Statement/DTR Reports

In November, for the second month, two sets of accounting statements were mailed to account supervisors and addressees:

• The familiar "classic" statements.

• New statements printed directly from SAP.

The purpose of mailing both statements is to let departments become familiar with the new statements and give feedback to the reporting team. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Please send them to reporting@mit.edu. Reconciliation should still be done using the "classic" statements.

The developers have continued to improve these reports. Below is a list of last month’s changes.

 

Description	Status
The requisition number has been added to the DTR text for BOC, VWR, and Office Depot transactions (SAP document type"WE.")	Done
Line item text has been added to customer billing transactions (SAP document type "DR.")	Done
For non-PO payments, the DTR text now shows the full vendor name.	Done
For one-time vendors, the DTR text now shows the name of the vendor.	Done
Commitments: You can now "drill down" on commitments in the on-line statements, and a column for the G/L account number has been added to the Commitment Listing.	Done
On the Summary Statement, some student-related expenses are showing up under "Computation Expenses." A correction to move these to the correct G/L account group is in process.	In Process
There have been requests to make the G/L account order on the DTR match the Summary Statement. This change will take some time to implement.	Being investigated
Starting in early December, you will be able to run the DTR report for multiple fiscal periods.	In Process
Sort order for purchasing transactions: There have been requests to sort purchasing transactions by vendor name rather than the current document type/document order. This enhancement will be implemented for the November accounting statements.	In Process

 

12. Summary Statement/DTR Presentation to be Repeated December 14

The November 23 presentation by CAO and Management Reporting staff on SAP statements was well attended, and we have been asked to offer this session again.  It will be repeated on:

Date:  Monday, December 14
Time:  1:30 - 2:30 pm
Room: 10-250

The presentation will cover:

Current status and future plans for SAP statements

Key differences between the old and new Summary Statements and DTRs

How commitments differ between the old and new DTRs

Advantages of using the on-line statements

Additional information you can get from the on-line statements

Where you can find documentation

Where to send feedback on the new statements and where to get help

Anyone who uses the Summary Statement and Detailed Transaction Report is invited to attend.

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