Year End Hard Close - FMS Availability
The SWIFT Financial Management System (FMS) will be unavailable on Friday, August 18, 2023, beginning at 6 pm for hard close. The system will become available on Monday, August 21, 2023 at 6 am.
What happens at hard close?
First, the fiscal year (accounting year) is closed and agencies can no longer enter an accounting date prior to July 1, 2023, meaning nothing further can be processed against that year.
Second, any unencumbered balances in BFY 2023 appropriations, depending on the appropriation type, are either closed or rolled forward. Exceptions include continuing or education aids appropriation types where the closing process does not affect unencumbered balances. After the close, agencies can make payments against encumbrances and can cancel encumbrances if no longer needed. Agencies can still deposit receipts to the closed budget fiscal year.
Reminder to Buyers:Please be aware the system downtime includes the Supplier Portal. Avoid scheduling solicitation events to close early next week as responders may need extra time to submit bid responses.
Purchase Order Close - Friday, August 18, 2023
As part of the year-end cleanup on SWIFT, the Purchase Order Reconciliation (PO Close) job is scheduled to run Friday, August 18, 2023. The PO Reconciliation job closes purchase orders that have been fully matched by setting the Status to "Complete."
For addition information on this job, see the SWIFT Procurement Year End Processing Tips.
Remember, you can prevent the PO Reconciliation job from closing a purchase order by selecting the "Hold From Further Processing" checkbox on the purchase order header page.
Prepare for Major Tax Updates
New taxes included in this notice may have significant impact to SWIFT transactions financially and in terms of the number of transactions affected. If possible, try to get the taxable items delivered no later than September 30, 2023. Taxable items delivered on or before September 30, 2023, benefit from the lower tax rate and these purchase orders do not need to be updated. Sales and use tax rates are based on the agency’s Ship To Location listed on the purchase order.
Notice on New Local Tax
The Minnesota Department of Revenue will be administering the following new sales and use taxes effective October 1, 2023:
The sales and use tax rate changes apply to sales made on or after October 1, 2023. They will be in addition to all 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.
Agencies entering purchase orders for the new fiscal year, prior to the October 1, 2023 tax effective date, will have the old rate calculated and will need to update their purchase orders.
Purchase orders entered in SWIFT on or after October 1, 2023, 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 the 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 the Sales Tax Settings on an Existing Purchase Order quick reference guide. You can also view the Update Sales Tax on an Existing Purchase Order video.
Impact of New Local Tax
Please see the Minnesota Department of Revenue tax notice for the appropriate city for guidance in handling purchase orders and payments during the transition period.
Impact on Accounts Payable
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 on or after the tax effective date. 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 October 1, 2023, 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 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 and EPM Data Warehouse Training
The SWIFT Training team offers training through a variety of methods. There are SWIFT training guides and training videos, EPM training guides, webinars, labs, eLearning, and individual sessions (by request through the SWIFT Help Desk).
Find current SWIFT training in Learning Management. Enter "SWIFT" in the Find Learning text entry box.
|
MODULE |
WEBINARS/eLEARNING
|
DATES |
|
INTRO |
Introduction to EPM Data Warehouse/SWIFT webinar |
10/12/23 |
|
INTRO |
Introduction to SWIFT Navigation webinar |
9/12/23; 10/17/23 |
|
INTRO |
Overview of SWIFT Reporting webinar |
9/7/23; 10/4/23 |
|
INTRO |
Introduction to SWIFT eLearning |
Anytime |
|
AP |
SWIFT Create Vouchers Overview in Accounts Payable webinar |
9/20/23 |
|
EPM |
Build a My Dashboard for SWIFT Reports in EPM lab |
9/7/23 |
|
EPM |
Create a SWIFT All Expenditures Report in EPM lab |
10/4/23 |
|
EPM |
SWIFT EPM Formatting Your Report lab |
9/14/23 |
|
EPM |
SWIFT EPM Create and Save a New Analysis lab |
9/28/23 |
|
EPM |
SWIFT EPM Create and Save the Manager's Financial Report lab |
9/20/2023 |
|
EPM |
Understand the SWIFT Data in the EPM Data Warehouse webinar |
10/4/23 |
|
EPM |
Use SWIFT Standard Reports in EPM lab |
9/13/23 |
|
PO |
SWIFT Create Purchase Orders webinar |
9/19/23 |
|
SS |
Strategic Sourcing Part 1: Create, Post, and Approve Events webinar |
8/29/23 |
|
SS |
Strategic Sourcing Part 2: Analyze and Award Events webinar |
8/29/23 |
|
SS |
SWIFT Strategic Sourcing eLearning |
Anytime |
SWIFT Help Desk
Contact the SWIFT Help Desk for any SWIFT-related questions or issues.
Email: SWIFTHelpDesk.MMB@state.mn.us
Phone: 651-201-8100, option 2
Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (closed holidays)
When contacting the SWIFT Help Desk, make sure to include details about your question or issue, including:
Additional assistance can be found on the SWIFT Training Guides and Resources page.
