SWIFT Update October 17, 2024

U.S. Bank Virtual Payments Plus Program in SWIFT 

The State of Minnesota continues to partner with U.S. Bank and the U.S. Bank’s Virtual Payment Plus program in SWIFT. Virtual Payment Plus utilizes U.S. Bank’s commercial credit card program. It allows suppliers who have opted into the program to receive payments via secure delivery of automated Visa card payments.

Minnesota Management and Budget, working with U.S. Bank, annually reviews and identifies a list of suppliers we believe are suitable for this program and contacts them. Enrollment is optional and is limited to suppliers receiving payments via state warrant. Suppliers receiving payments via ACH or non-business entities are not included in the enrollment campaign.

Benefits of This Initiative

This initiative is beneficial to both the State of Minnesota and our suppliers.

Key benefits that State of Minnesota receives from expanding our card program are:

• Reduced costs from a streamlined payment process
• Improved cash flow
• Increased credit card rebates from U.S. Bank based on level of spend

Key benefits our suppliers receive from accepting Visa payments from the State of Minnesota include:

• Accelerated payment and improved cash flow
• Reduced paperwork and streamlined accounts receivable process
• Real-time email notifications for each card payment
• Complete remittance detail to support efficient receivables posting
• No changes or modifications to their existing card acceptance procedures

How it Works

The current payment process for suppliers enrolled in this program remains unchanged. Vouchers to suppliers enrolled in Virtual Payments Plus will default to the virtual payments pay cycle with net pay terms of 000. With the new payment process, our suppliers will receive an email notification for each payment instructing them of the card account, the amount to process using their Point-of-Sale device/software, and other pertinent details of the transaction.

Contact Information

Agencies may receive questions from suppliers that have enrolled in the U.S. Bank Payment Plus Program. Please refer suppliers to the US Bank Payments Plus Processing Guide. Suppliers can also contact PaymentPlus@access-online.com or call 855-268-5386. 

For expired payment authorizations (45 days), contact syscomp.mmb@state.mn.us to request the payment to be reissued.

Budget Reminder: Search for Unfinished Budget Journals

While entering budget journals in the Commitment Control module, you may be called away or your session may time out. The Budget Journal Entry page can be used to search for budget journals that are not fully processed. You should perform this search on a routine basis to ensure that there are no budget journals waiting to be processed.

When you do the search, change the Budget Header Status search parameter to “not =” and select “Posted” from the drop-down menu. In the Source field, enter your 3-digit agency code (also the first 3 characters of your business unit).

If you determine that the journal is no longer needed, go to the Budget Lines tab of the journal. Select “Delete” from the Process drop-down menu. Then, select the Process button.

Review and Update Events in SWIFT

The Office of State Procurement recommends that agencies regularly review their events in SWIFT’s Strategic Sourcing module.

• Make sure that your agency reviews events that are not in a Status of "Awarded," "Cancelled," or "Not Awarded" on a regular basis.
• Events in any other status need to be updated to a "Valid" Status.
• In the Event Workbench, search by "Event Status." You can also set the Default Search Options to assist you to find events to review and possibly update.

The Strategic Sourcing reference guides and videos provide information on ways to update an event such as the following topics.

• Cancel an Event
• Close Line
• Create a New Round
• Create a New Version
• Edit an Event

You can find them on the Training and Support Resources webpage.

Please contact the SWIFT Help Desk if you have questions about reviewing and updating events in SWIFT’s Strategic Sourcing module.

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 Sessions run 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m., unless otherwise noted.	DATES
INTRO	Introduction to SWIFT Navigation webinar	10/15/24
INTRO	Introduction to SWIFT eLearning	Anytime
INTRO	Overview of SWIFT Reporting webinar 9/10/24 Time, 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.	10/10/24; 11/7/24; 12/12/24
AR	SWIFT Accounts Receivable Part A: Direct Journal Deposits webinar	1/7/25
AR	SWIFT Accounts Receivable Part B: Apply Payments to Invoices webinar	1/8/25
AR	SWIFT Accounts Receivable Part C: Maintenance Worksheets	1/9/25
AP	SWIFT Create Vouchers Overview in Accounts Payable webinar	11/5/24
BI	SWIFT Billing Part 1 webinar	11/13/24
BI	SWIFT Billing Part 2 webinar	11/14/24
EPM	Build a My Dashboard for SWIFT Reports in EPM lab	1/16/25
EPM	Create a SWIFT All Expenditures Report in EPM lab	10/3/24
EPM	Create a SWIFT All Receipts Report in EPM lab	10/16/24
EPM	Introduction to the EPM Data Warehouse for SWIFT webinar	10/23/24
EPM	SWIFT EPM Create and Save a New Analysis lab	10/9/24
EPM	SWIFT EPM Formatting Your Report lab	12/19/24
EPM	SWIFT EPM Manager's Financial Report	10/30/24
EPM	Use SWIFT Standard Reports in EPM lab	1/16/25
EPM	Understand the SWIFT Data in the EPM Data Warehouse webinar	12/3/24
KK	SWIFT Budget Journal Administration webinar Time, 9:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.	10/23/24
PO	SWIFT Create Purchase Orders Overview webinar	10/1/24
SC	SWIFT Create a Supplier Contract Shell webinar Time, 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.	1/7/25
SS	SWIFT Strategic Sourcing Part 1: Create, Post, and Approve Events webinar	11/14/24
SS	SWIFT Strategic Sourcing Part 2: Analyze and Award Events webinar Time, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.	11/14/24
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:

• Your Business Unit
• Description of the issue/question
• SWIFT 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 Guides and Resources page.