Quick Request Entry Page

On this page:

Use this option to enter bid requests submitted by staff. You can select a bid, generate a list of its commodities, and then enter the quantities requested and the accounting distributions to use in Fund Accounting.

Commodities must be linked to a bid before you can access the bid on this page. For information, refer to Commodity Procedures.
Once requests are entered, you can use the Bid List report option to generate bid worksheets for distribution to vendors. For details, refer to Generating Bid Lists for Vendors.

Menu Path: Vendor Bidding > Entry & Processing > Bid Information > Quick Request Entry

Page Sections

The Quick Request Entry page includes the following sections:

Request Search Criteria	Enables you to select an individual bid and list the commodities stored in the bid. You also identify the request's location and the requester.
Request Default Information	Enables you to set up the default accounting distributions for charging the commodities requested. This allows you to use a specific budget unit/account combination for the requests entered. If needed, you can overwrite the defaults for individual commodities. A field is also provided for limiting the commodities that display based on a "starting" commodity number.
List Sort Order	Enables you to specify the order for displaying the bid's commodities by either description or commodity number.
Request Entry Section (untitled)	Enables you to specify quantities for individual commodities. The system automatically calculates the costs based on the unit prices.

Action Bar Items

The Quick Request Entry page's Action Bar displays the following items after you generate a list of commodities for a bid:

Charging Displays the Multiple Charging page, where you can break down quantities into smaller requests and charge them to two or more distribution charging accounts. For details, refer to Multiple Charging Page.

Full Commodity Description Displays the Commodity Description page for viewing a commodity's full description. The Quick Request Entry page's listing only shows the first line of the description, whereas an item's full description can include up to five lines. For related information, refer to Viewing Full Commodity Descriptions.

Pre-Encumbrances and Budget Checking

When users enter requests, the system pre-encumbers the costs of the commodities in both Vendor Bidding and Fund Accounting. Before reserving the amounts, however, the system checks the budgets in the specified accounts in Fund Accounting to ensure that sufficient funds are available.

If a request exceeds an account's cash balance, there are three possibilities, depending on the budget checking setting in Fund Accounting's Organization Chart:

F - Fatal	The system prevents the user from saving the request.
W - Warning	The system issues a warning but allows the user to save or cancel the request.
N - None	The system does not perform budget checking, and the request is allowed, regardless of the current balance.

The pre-encumbrances are held in both systems until a bid is either converted to a purchase order or closed using the Close Bids Page.

If the bid becomes a purchase order, the system liquidates the pre-encumbrances in Vendor Bidding and converts them to encumbrances in Fund Accounting in anticipation of the purchases.
If the bid is closed without being converted to a purchase order, the system liquidates its pre-encumbrances in both Vendor Bidding and Fund Accounting.

Entering bid requests

Select Vendor Bidding > Entry & Processing > Bid Information > Quick Request Entry to display the Quick Request Entry page.
In the Request Search Criteria section, enter criteria identifying the bid.
In the Request Default Information section, use the Organization, Account, Project, and Project Account fields to identify the distribution you would like to use as the default for most if not all requests. Leave these fields blank if you prefer to enter the charging line by line.
In the Start Commodity field, enter the number of the first commodity to display. This lists the commodity specified and then all commodities that follow numerically, while skipping commodities with lower numbers. To list all commodities, leave the field blank.
In the List Sort Order section, select one of the following radio buttons to determine the order for displaying the commodities: Description or Commodity.
Click OK to list the commodities from the bid selected.
In the Request Entry Section's Qty. Requested field, enter the number of units being requested. When you enter a quantity, the commodity's total cost displays in the Extended Price field.
In the Organization, Account, Project, and (Project) Account fields, enter distribution codes for charging the request in the Fund Accounting System.
- If you completed the corresponding fields in the Request Default Information section, the codes from this section default to the distribution fields. You may accept or change the defaults as needed.
- If you did not enter default distribution codes, you must complete the Organization and Account fields for each commodity. The Project and (Project) Account fields only apply if you use project accounting.
- If you want to split the distribution among multiple accounts, click Charging on the Action Bar to display the Multiple Charging page. For details, refer to Multiple Charging Page.
Repeat Steps 7-8 for each additional commodity being requested.
Click OK to save the requests and return to the Year field.
- If the Vendor Bid Profile is set up to enable requests to be pre-encumbered, saving the record automatically pre-encumbers the charges.
- If a request exceeds the budgeted limit for the distribution entered, the system issues either a warning or fatal error, depending on the level of budget checking specified in Fund Accounting's Organization Chart.

Fields

Request Search Criteria Section

Use these fields to display the bid (identified by the year and bid number) and specify the location and requester.

Field	Description
Year	Year identifying the bid, in combination with the bid number.
Bid	Number identifying the bid, in combination with the year.
Location	Code identifying the requester's location, as defined in Security's Location Codes table.
Requester	Staff member requesting the bid. Use Lookup to select the requester. If the name does not display in the Available Requesters page, you can enter the ID manually. This ID will be stored for use in other requests, provided the initial request is saved.

Request Default Information Section

Use these fields to set up the default distributions to display for all commodities in the Request Entry (untitled) section. You may override the defaults when entering requests. If you leave the fields blank, the distribution information must be entered separately for each commodity requested.

Field	Description
Organization	Budget unit to use for line item charges.
Account	Account number for distributing the item's cost.
Project	Project code for the line item charges. This field only applies if you use project accounting.
Project Account	Account number for charging the project expense. This field only applies if you use project accounting.
Start Commodity	Enter the commodity code number of the first commodity to include. This skips all commodities with lower codes. To list all commodities, leave the field blank.

List Sort Order Section

Use these fields to determine the order of the commodities listed in the Request Entry (untitled) section.

Field

Description

Radio Buttons

Determines the order for sorting the list of commodities.

Select:

Description - to sort the commodities alphabetically by the first lines of their descriptions.

Commodity - to sort the commodities numerically by their commodity codes.

Request Entry Section

Use this untitled section to enter the quantities for each commodity requested, as well as their accounting distributions.

Field	Description
Commodity	Number identifying the commodity in the Commodity Codes table. Display only.
Description	Description of the commodity, the first line of the commodity's five-line description. To view the full description, use the Action Bar's Full Commodity Description item. Display only.
Measure	Unit of measure for ordering this commodity, for example, UNIT, GALLON, or CASE/24. This is the default used when you enter bids for an item. However, you can override the default if needed. Display only.
Qty (Quantity) Requested	Enter the quantity that corresponds with the measurement that applies, for example, 12 if the entry in the Measure field is EACH or 1 if the entry is DOZEN.
Unit Price	Price per unit. The price defaults from the commodity's Last Price field in the Commodity Codes table. Display only.
Extended Price	System-calculated total determined by multiplying the quantity times the unit price (Extended Price = Quantity Requested x Unit Price). Display only. The following fields display the distributions entered in the Request Default Information section. If the section's distribution fields were left blank, then you must enter the information for each field that applies. To enter multiple distributions for a commodity, use the Action Bar's Charging item. When more than one budget unit/account is being charged, the distribution fields display the code MULTI. For additional information, refer to the next section, Multiple Charging Page.
Organization	Budget unit to use for line item charges.
Account	Account number for distributing the item's cost.
Project	Project code for the line item charges. This field only applies if you use project accounting.
(Project) Account	Account number for charging the project expense. This field only applies if you use project accounting.