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    SWIFT Update March 11, 2021


    SWIFT System Availability During Update

    The SWIFT system will be unavailable beginning Thursday, March 18 at 6 p.m. until approximately noon on Monday, March 22 for a system update. In addition to SWIFT, two other systems will also be affected during the SWIFT system update. The Appropriation Maintenance Application (AMA) will not be available. Although the Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) or data warehouse systems will be available, the data will not be updated Friday, Saturday, or Sunday during this system update. Please plan your system work accordingly.

    Reminder to Buyers: Please be aware that the system downtime will include the Supplier Portal. Avoid scheduling solicitation events to close during this time, as responders may need extra time to submit bid response.

    Catalog Punchout Sessions and Agency Deadlines for Implementation

    Implementation of Catalog Punchouts is currently in the second phase of rolling out to agencies. Punchout sessions for Phase 3 have been scheduled for March 24th and 25th. Select the link here to review the offered Punchout sessions and review the Catalog Punchout schedule.

    New Transit Sales and Use Tax for Le Sueur County

    Effective April 1, 2021, the Minnesota Department of Revenue will administer the Le Sueur County 0.5% Transit Sales and Use Tax.
    Changes to the sales and use tax rate will apply to sales made on or after April 1, 2021 (in addition to other taxes in effect). Local sales tax applies to retail sales made and taxable services provided within the local taxing area (county/city limits). The tax applies to the same items that are taxable under the Minnesota sales and use tax law.

    Purchase Orders entered prior to April 1, 2021
    Agencies that enter purchase orders prior to the April 1, 2021 tax effective date will have the old rate calculated, and they will need to update their purchase orders.

    Purchase Orders entered on or after April 1, 2021
    Agencies that enter purchase orders on or after April 1, 2021, will calculate the new tax rates for each county/city. Existing purchase orders and/or their vouchers will need to be adjusted to pay the correct tax if delivery occurs after various dates. Please note that dates will be different based on whether goods or construction materials are being delivered. Check the tax notice for the affected city for the correct dates.
    For assistance in changing the sales tax on a purchase order, please consult the Update Sales Tax Settings on Purchase Orders Quick Reference Guide.

    Impact of New Local Tax
    Please see the Minnesota Department of Revenue tax notice for the appropriate city or county for guidance in handling purchase orders and payments during the transition period.

    Impact on Accounts Payable
    •    If the Invoice Date is on or after the tax effective date, vouchers entered in SWIFT on or after the tax effective date will calculate the new tax rates for each county/city.
    •    If the Invoice Date is before the tax effective date, SWIFT will exclude the new tax rates.
    Please review the tax calculation carefully prior to payment on all vouchers with Ship To locations within these jurisdictions.

    Impact on Purchase Orders
    SWIFT will be updated with the new tax codes for all existing Ship To addresses located in the affected cities.
    • New purchase orders created on or after April 1, 2021 will calculate the new rate of tax for the ship to addresses within those counties/cities.
    • Existing purchase orders may or may not need to have the tax code updated on the PO if the payment can be processed during any allowed grace period(s)—again, see the general notice for each county/city.
    Previously, any Ship To addresses in affected cities may have used the tax code of 0000, State Tax only. To calculate the new combined rate, state and local tax rate, the tax code(s) on the purchase order must be updated to the new tax code(s) from the 0000 tax code. Because of the various transition rules, these codes will not be updated by SWIFT and must be updated by the purchase order buyer.

    SWIFT Training and Resources

    The SWIFT training team is offering online training through webinars, one-on-one sessions, and video tutorials.

    • Quick Reference Guides and Training Videos: Please check the Training and Support Resources page for the quick reference guides and training videos/ You will find reference guides covering all modules on SWIFT. We are adding new training videos in the most commonly used modules.
    • Webinars: We are offering modified online versions of our classroom training. They are shorter and meant to provide basic demonstrations of the SWIFT modules. If you are newer to SWIFT, please consider taking the Introduction to SWIFT: Navigation webinar before enrolling in a module-specific webinar.
    • One-On-One Sessions: If you would like one-on-one training on a SWIFT module not offered through a webinar, please email SWIFT.Project@state.mn.us to request a one-on-one session.

    To find and enroll in SWIFT webinars, open the Self Service or Administrative Portal and select the ELM tile. On the Learning Management page, select Find Learning on the left menu. On the Find Learning page, enter “SWIFT” in the Description field and choose Search. Seats are available in the following webinars:

    Webinars

    Date 

    Time 

    Introduction to SWIFT Reporting

    March 17, 2021

    9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

    Strategic Sourcing, Part I: Create, Post, and Approve Events

    March 24, 2021

    9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

    Strategic Sourcing, Part II: Analyze and Award Events

    March 31, 2021

    9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

    SWIFT Create Purchase Orders

    April 6, 2021

    1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

    SWIFT Create System-Generated Contract Documents Electronically

    April 21, 2021

    1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

    SWIFT Help Desk

    Contact the SWIFT Help Desk for any questions, concerns or issues you have with SWIFT:
    651-201-8100, option 2 or by email  SWIFTHelpDesk.MMB@state.mn.us Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday; closed holidays. When emailing the SWIFT Help Desk, be sure to include all details regarding the issue. 

    Information to include with your message:

    • Issue Description
    • Business Unit
    • Module (Accounts Payable, Purchase Orders, etc.)
    • Transaction ID (Voucher ID, PO ID, etc.)
    • Error Message Print Screen
    • Additional assistance can be found on the SWIFT Training Guide page.

    SWIFT Update Mailing List

    The SWIFT Update is sent to the SWIFT Newsletter subscription list. Use the links at the bottom of the page to subscribe or unsubscribe to the SWIFT Newsletter subscription list.

    Printing the SWIFT Update

    • If you are experiencing issues printing this update, download a PDF version and print that version
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