Small Agency Services Bulletin - March 2021
| Important Dates | Important Messages | Small Agency Financial Services News | Travel Tips | Contact Us |
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Important Dates
Mar. 25
- Monthly Department of Revenue (DOR) Use Tax Filing due.
Mar. 31
- Correctional Industries (CI) 90 day Standard order cut-off date for delivery by June 30. See website for more order cut-off dates.
Apr. 6
- DES SAFS Workshop featuring DES Contracts & Procurement
Apr. 7
- To reflect in your agency's March monthly financial statements, all invoices and travel reimbursement requests are due to Accounts Payable.
- Correctional Industries (CI) 60 day Standard order cut-off date for delivery by June 30. See website for more order cut-off dates.
Apr. 26
- Monthly Department of Revenue (DOR) Use Tax Filing due.
Apr. 30
- Performance measure actuals for quarter ending March 31 are due.
- Quarterly Department of Revenue (DOR) Use Tax Filing due.
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Important Messages
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource
Keep informed via Washington State's coronavirus response website Coronavirus.wa.gov.
Time to think about the end of the fiscal year/biennium
- Be sure to get all fiscal year 2021 invoices so they can be paid promptly. Belated claims will apply against your fiscal year 2022 spending authority.
- Does your agency bill for its services or send out interagency billings? Create a plan to ensure that June's billings are processed promptly and mailed by mid-July.
Time to think about capital assets
DES encourages small agencies to evaluate internal policies and procedures around capital assets and be sure they include the following:
- An internal written policy for managing small and attractive assets, timely removal of capital assets from inventory, and proper approval of disposal requests.
- A revolving schedule to perform physical inventories every other year. Inventories can be performed anytime - there is no need to wait until June.
- Procedures to follow if a capital asset is lost or stolen.
Visit these websites to find out more about capital assets:
- State Administrative and Accounting Manual Chapter 30.10 – capital assets
- Office of Financial Management capital asset resources
Fund 03K Industrial Insurance Premium Refund Account
DES wants to remind agencies that they may have a balance remaining in Fund 03K Industrial Insurance Premium Refund Account — a fund used to account for all industrial insurance refunds earned by state agencies under the state fund retrospective rating program. Preference on expenditures shall be given to programs that provide incentives for employee safety and appropriate early return-to-work incentives for injured employees.
Below are some ideas about where you can request these funds be used:
- Electronics — such as loaner cell phones for personal safety while in travel status, and/or security cameras.
- Emergency planning and first aid — such as first aid kits and emergency evacuation supplies.
- Ergonomics — such as adjustable work surfaces, padded or gel wrist rests and keyboard trays.
- Facilities related items — such as warning signs, ice/snow supplies to prevent surface slips and card key entries.
- Indoor air quality — such as HEPA filter air cleaners and CO2 monitoring equipment.
- Lifting/materials handing devices — such as fork lifts and portable carts.
- Lighting — such as blinds to minimize glare and task lighting.
- Personal protective equipment — such as hard hats and back-belts.
- Training/education — such as safely videos.
DES plans to distribute two separate rebates in April
DES wishes to thank those of you who use the state's purchasing and fleet card master contacts. By working together, we are able to best leverage available rebates based on the US Bank/Voyager Fleet Card as well as the US Bank/Visa Purchasing Card. DES is sharing these additional rebates with entities who participated by using these contracts.
DES plans to distribute the rebates in April:
- The additional rebates from US Bank/Visa Purchasing Card for 2020 purchasing volume are based on Incentive No. 4 of the US Bank/Visa Purchasing Card contract 00612.
- The additional rebates from US Bank/Voyager Fleet Card for 2020 purchasing volume are based on Incentive No. 3 of the US Bank/Voyager Fleet Card contract 00612.
Both rebates are based on spend volume. Washington qualified for the additional incentive programs based on spending after enough states and public entities joined the multi-state purchasing card programs. We reached these benchmarks through DES' efforts in recruiting both other states and nonparticipating entities within Washington to utilize the contracts – an effort DES is continuing.
If your agency qualifies for a rebate and your agency receives Small Agency Financial Services for budget and accounts receivable, DES will deposit the rebate on behalf of your agency. Each agency's assigned DES Budget Analyst will incorporate the rebate into your next monthly financial status report.
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Small Agency Financial Services News
DES SAFS Workshop featuring DES Contracts & Procurement
Please join us Tuesday, April 6 from 10-11:30 a.m. and meet members of the DES Contracts & Procurement Team to learn about:
- Master Contracts – Search tricks and tips
- WEBS (Washington Electronic Business Solutions) – How to benefit from WEBS
- Procurement options:
- Direct buy
- When an RFP or RFQ are needed / useful, socio-economic requirements (i.e. environmental, supplier diversity, etc.)
- Sole Source Process
- Emergency purchases
- Requesting Increased Spending Authority
- Contract / IT Reporting
- Possible DES Contracts expansion for small agency support
The presentation will last an hour and a half and have time for answering specific questions from attendees. Invitees are encouraged to email questions in advance so we can research and get you the most accurate information.
If you have any specific questions or topics you would like to see covered, please email Gwen McClanahan.
SAFS (Small Agency Financial Services) Team Updates
Did you know? Your DES financial support team consists of ALL of our SAFS team members. Even though you may work with specific SAFS members regularly, other SAFS members often step in to assist and provide continuity of services. We would like you to know about our whole SAFS team. Below is a list of each work group within SAFS, the members you may hear from, and recent news or a message from each team.
| Team | Members | News / Message |
|---|---|---|
| Accounts Payable |
Sarah Parker |
Norma Rosado is our newest Fiscal Analyst 1 and member of Accounts Payable. She has a degree in accounting and we are very excited to have her as a part of our team. Please join us in welcoming Norma to DES! |
| Budget |
Chad Johnson |
|
| Payroll |
Carrie Knudson |
|
| Accounts Receivable |
Kara Skinner |
|
| Administrative Assistance |
Danelle Guerin |
|
DES Payroll statistics for Feb 2021 (40 agencies served)
| Total Employees Paid | 1,264 |
| New Hires / Rehires | 22 |
| Transfer In / Transfer Outs | 6 |
| Separations | 9 |
| Supplemental Payments / Walk Throughs | 1 |
| Overpayments | 4 |
DES Accounts Payable statistics for Feb 2021 (32 agencies served)
| Invoices Received from Agency | 1,150 | 76.72% | $7,989,653 |
| Invoices Paid on Delegated Authority | 342 | 22.82% | $764,832 |
| Travel Requests Paid through TEMS | 3 | 0.20% | $561 |
| Payments Reissued (SOL, Lost Warrant) | 4 | 0.26% | $372 |
| Total Payments Processed | 1,499 | 100% | $8,755,418 |
Travel Tips
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Travel Advice
Experts advise canceling all non-critical travel plans. The World Health Organization has tips about traveling if you absolutely must during COVID-19.
Contact Us
If you would like to know what budget analyst, payroll analyst and HR business partner is assigned to your agency, see our Agency Assignments webpage.
If you would like to get contact information for DES SAFS and HR staff, see our Contacts webpage.
If you have suggestions or feedback about the Small Agency Services Bulletin, please send your comments to SmallAgencyBulletin@des.wa.gov.
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