What Accounts Payable Setup Should I Consider for Grant Management?

Before you can process requisitions and purchase orders, create and match invoices, or process payments, there is some minimal required setup in the Lawson Accounts Payable application.

Note: Lawson recommends you use the Accounts Payable User Guide to assist you with the setup of Accounts Payable.

In order to use Lawson Accounts Payable for Grant Management, be sure to complete the following setup.

  • Use Vendor Group (AP00.1) to define vendor groups.

  • Use Vendor Class (AP00.3) to define vendor class.

  • Use Process Level (AP00.5) to define process levels.

  • Use Vendor (AP10.1) to define vendors.

As you create vendors for Grant Management in Accounts Payable, there is additional setup to consider:

Subcontractors

Your institution may use subcontractors to complete portions of a grant-funded activity. For each award that uses subcontractors, the subcontractor must be defined as a vendor in Accounts Payable and on Award Subcontractors (GM03.2). As the grant-funded research is completed, you can use subcontractor purchase orders to pay the subcontractor. This lets you track the amount spent by the grant on subcontractor activities.

Vendor Diversity

Purchasing Agents may need to identify vendors who are qualified as small businesses or certified by some other business diversity program and report procurement statistics about those vendors. This can be a required step in application for some grants.

To track and report vendor diversity information, you can define diversity codes on Diversity Codes (AP13.2). Once defined, you can select a diversity code on any of the following Accounts Payable forms:

  • On Vendor (AP10.1), you can assign a diversity code as a default code for a vendor.

  • On Vendor Location (AP10.2), you can assign a diversity code as a default code for a vendor location.

  • On Vendor, Company Codes (AP10.5), you can assign a diversity code as a default code for a vendor company.

  • On Basic Invoice (AP20.1), you can assign a diversity code for a particular invoice or override a default value from the vendor.

You can run Vendor Activity (AP211) to report on vendor purchases based on an a grant activity. Each vendor involved on an activity will have its purchasing dollars summed. Optionally, you can break out dollars by diversity code.

You can run Vendor Invoice Audit Report (AP135) to report a history of all changes to a vendor, including a vendor-company's history of diversity codes assigned by selecting Vendor Audit (V) or Both (B) in the Report Option field.

Vendor Contacts

In the practice of grant management, you may need to access multiple contacts in subcontracting functions such as purchasing, billing, administrative, technical, and others. Vendor Contacts enables grant-funded organizations to define subcontractor vendors with multiple contacts.

You define contact codes on Contact Code (AP13.1). You assign contact codes to vendors on Vendor Contact (AP14.1). Use AP14.1 to set up and maintain additional contacts for a vendor or vendor locations. Use Vendor Contact Address (AP14.2) to enter and maintain address information for the vendor contact you define on AP14.1.

The vendor contacts you enter on these forms are in addition to the contact name defined on Vendor (AP10.1) and Vendor Location (AP10.2), Contact tab.

Vendor contacts are available to Requisitions and Purchase Order. For example, you can select to print vendor contact information on a purchase order. In the vendor listing report, you have the option to include vendor contact information.

Vendor Certification

Certification codes are setup on Certification Code (AP13.3). Certifications are assigned to vendors to indicate that they are in compliance with a specific certifying agency related to their industry. While defining a vendor, you can use Certification Code Assignment (AP14.3) to attach valid certification codes to a vendor.

You can use Subcontractor Monitoring Rpt (PO240) to monitor certification letters or audit reports for subcontractor vendors. This report lets you evaluate all the subcontractor purchase orders and exclude vendors that have had no transactions since they were last certified, or recent transactions that have not been audited.

Pay Immediately

In grant administration, you may want to pay an invoice immediately, or prior to its due date.

You can select a default status of pay immediately on Vendor (AP10.1), or Vendor Location (AP10.2), Basic Invoice (AP20.1), or Payment Schedule Adjustment (AP30.3). When you select pay immediately, a status of pay immediately defaults to all invoices created for the vendor or vendor location. You can also choose to process only invoices with the status of pay immediately on Cash Requirements (AP150).