Your APSS Update: July 13, 2018

IT Approval is necessary to ensure technology purchases can be supported by IT, are compatible with our operating systems, secure, and ADA compatible. IT can also ensure we are finding the best solution(s) at the best price and to avoid duplications. To meet these requirements, technology purchases should be researched and coordinated early in the procurement process with the appropriate business unit’s central IT department.

Here are a few points to keep in mind as you plan for technology purchases:

Software purchases are made via One Card or Requisition based on the criteria stated on the Payment Reference Guide
Purchases of computing equipment must follow campus policy, please contact your campus IT department for additional guidance.
If purchased on a One Card, IT approval and receipts are required to be attached to the reconciling expense report.
When requesting a requisition you will need to obtain IT Approval before a purchase order will be generated to pay the supplier.
When you need IT Approval please start with your divisions IT Pro. If you do not know who your IT Pro is contact the IT Help Desk for your business unit.

Any IT and Telecom purchases, irrespective of dollar value and including no-cost items, must be reviewed and approved based on the requirements established by UM Policy #12004 and must meet all other unique IT/Telecom-related requirements and technology standards in place at each business unit prior to the purchase.

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Purchasing Tip: How can my department minimize paying sales tax?

If you plan to purchase goods and services for University business from Missouri suppliers take a second to flash the University of Missouri Sales & Use Tax Exemption Letter when you are at the register. By providing this letter, you can save the University from paying for state and use taxes.

Did you know?

You MUST use the full page letter on the link above (alterations are not valid)
You may be asked to provide your University ID card
Credit card size reproductions are NOT VALID
This applies to state sales tax and use tax only (other taxes will still apply)
Suppliers are not required to honor the letter
Some states may not have sales tax or the exemption does not qualify

Are you purchasing from a supplier in one of the states below? No problem, the University has already worked with each of them to obtain the documentation they require for a sales tax exemption. Please click HERE to obtain the correct document to show at time of purchase.

Florida	Idaho	Illinois	Kansas
Kentucky	Michigan	Minnesota	North Dakota
Ohio	Rhode Island	Texas	Wisconsin

Making a purchase for personal reasons? If so, do not present the University tax exemption letter as you can receive sanctions from the University as well as substantial penalties under state law.

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Travel Tip: Can my department be more restrictive than University travel policy?

Policies and Restrictions…no one really likes them; but they are put in place for our own good. Once the policy is set, those enforcing should not be more restrictive.

For instance, if the speed limit sign says 70, an officer cannot pull you over for driving 60. The same is true with University policies, the department cannot be more restrictive.

For example: Policy 22603 for Meals states “Meals will be reimbursed on a per diem basis according to CONUS rates published by the General Services Administration for the travel destination…” This means that a department cannot restrict the amount of the Meal Per Diem a traveler can claim if the traveled on University business.

However, a department can work with their travelers to set a maximum travel allowance (encompassing all travel expenses) prior to travel. This should be in writing and show the traveler’s agreement to the maximum allowance. It can then be used later as supporting documentation. In this case the travel components are recorded in accordance with University polices and then the Expense Report is adjusted to the maximum by entering a single line “Expense Adjustment”.

As with many of the University policies, the Meal Per Diem policy is based on IRS regulations for consistent application by the University and the IRS on behalf of the traveler.

While we don’t always know or understand the reason for a policy or restriction, it is always best to follow it and then read up on it to find the answers to our questions. We are here to help, should you ever have a scenario that needs interpretation.

As far as the speed limit, best to watch the speedometer!

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Tech Tip: Adobe Acrobat .pdf file tricks

Lots of folks work with .pdf documents. They are great for sending and receiving documents created in various media without needing to have the source software. They are also handy for helping to prevent editing of documents you wish to send without the ability to change.

That said, they are sometimes a bit cumbersome to work with. Especially if you want to combine .pdf files, arrange pages in a different order, or even rotate them so they are not upside down or sideways. Hopefully the example below is helpful as it will walk through how to do all those things at one time.

Let’s say you have three .pdf files you’d like to combine. We’ll call them Attachments A, B, and C. The trouble is, once you combine those files, the pages will be out of order, so you wish to reorder them. Also, some of the pages are not going in the right direction, so that will need to be fixed as well.

The first step is to combine the files. While holding down the CTRL button, left click on all three files, then right click, you should see a menu like the one below.
Next, select “Combine files in Acrobat”. You will see a screen like the one below:
In the screen above, can change the order of the attachments by left clicking one and dragging it up or down. In this case, we want the order to be ABC vs. ACB, so I’ll move B up one position by left clicking on it and then selecting the “UP” green arrow. See images below.
Now that the Attachments are in the ABC order we want, we just hit Combine Files. This will put all three Attachments in one .pdf file. At this point, you could save the file with a new name and be done. For example purposes, let’s look at the result as I want to show you how to reorder pages and rotate them after you have combined multiple files. Below, you’ll see thumbnails off all six pages of the combined file. You can see that it pulled the results in as follows:Attachment A had pages 1 and 4, Attachment B had pages 3 and 6, and Attachment C had pages 2 and 5. On top of that, page 4 is sideway and we want it rotated counterclockwise by 90 degrees to match the rest of the pages.
To reorder the pages, you’ll see a “Page Thumbnails” icon in the upper left hand corner of your browser like the image below. Click on it.
This will expand the panel to show all your pages like the image below.
To reorder pages, don’t ask me why it works like this, as it is a bit counter intuitive, but click on a different page than the one you want to move with your left mouse key. Then, click and hold the left mouse key on the page you do want to move and pull it up or down to whatever position you want it to be in. Then let go of your left mouse button. Follow this procedure until you have all the pages moved to the position you want them in. For example purposes, you can see by the image above that the original order was 1,4,3,6,2,5.After reordering below, they are 1,2,3,4,5,6. However, page 4 is not vertical like the rest.
To reorient page 4, right click on it and select “Rotate Pages”, like the image below.
Then select the dropdown menu called “Direction” and select “Counterclockwise 90 degrees”.Then click “OK”.
Lastly, save your file.

At this point, you will have combined three separate .pdf files, reordered their contents, and arranged them all so the text is horizontal and readable.

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Reviewed 2020-03-02

Table of Contents:

Travel News: Travel and Expense Module Improvements

Finance Policy News: Why do I need IT approval?

Purchasing Tip: How can my department minimize paying sales tax?

Travel Tip: Can my department be more restrictive than University travel policy?

Tech Tip: Adobe Acrobat .pdf file tricks

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