FAQ's

Frequently Asked Questions

GrizMart is the university’s online electronic procurement system hosted by SciQuest which allows campus faculty and staff to easily search and shop online for products and services.

In order to increase effectiveness and decrease costs, the University of Montana partnered with SciQuest, the leader in electronic procurement solutions in Higher Education, in the development of GrizMart to deliver one-stop-shopping impact across its campuses, empowering its end-users to buy against contract suppliers in an online private marketplace. GrizMart automates labor and paper intensive procurement and accounts payable tasks such as order creation and invoice processing which frees staff time to focus on more strategic priorities as well as makes the procurement experience easy, efficient, and effective for its end users.

1. By having GrizMart consolidate many vendor websites and products into one area, the university is able to leverage buying power for better prices.

2. The amount of searching for products is reduced; users will be able to avoid checking multiple sites and instead compare prices within GrizMart itself.

3. GrizMart will provide electronic storage for purchase orders and invoices which can be looked up anywhere and not just a file cabinet.

4. GrizMart is web based increasing usability and portability across computer systems.

5. Procurement rules and regulations still apply; however, they have been built into the GrizMart solution for end user convenience.

To gain access to GrizMart, we recommended participating in our Training Course. Review Training for details. If you need to logon to the GrizMart site, you can find it by going to the university’s A to Z index then going under G for GrizMart or click on any icon labeled “Shop GrizMart” within this site. If you forgot your password please send an email to Grizmart.

If you forgot your password please send an email to Grizmart.

After you have clicked on the shop GrizMart icon you will be taken to the GrizMart main page.Click on create an account in the lower right hand corner; fill out the information and submit to GrizMart administration for review. Note: when you choose a user name it is case sensitive so please be aware.

That will depend on your role. Most users will be classified as shoppers. Shoppers have the ability to browse and add products to a cart. Shoppers will not be able to check out the cart, this will be up to a requestor. Requestors are users that will be able to shop and make requisitions for purchases of goods. Requestors can also have a shopping cart assigned to them by a shopper. A requestor will be able to choose to submit or deny that order.Once an order is in the system it will need to be approved to be successfully submitted as a purchase order. Depending on indexes you may oversee, or processes you control, you may be an approver. If that is the case GrizMart will notify you when there is an item that needs approval.

Please reference our training site to register for a GrizMart class.  Classes are held the 2nd Tuesday of each month.

Requests for training can be made by emailing any of the listed names on the GrizMart training webpage.

Please email Grizmart with your questions and we will get right back to you.

To return items, please contact the vendor directly to find their preferred method. After you have returned the item, please mark it down as returned in the receipt section of GrizMart.

You do not have to receive goods in GrizMart.

Unless maintenance or an unforeseen outage occurs GrizMart is available to do business at all hours.

Scanning and attaching documents to an order is important because it provides a permanent audit trail that is viewable by all parties that can access the order. Scanning streamlines the procure-2-pay process reducing processing time as well as the opportunity for lost or misplaced paperwork. To scan a document, locate an active scanner. After scanning the document, please save the file as a .pdf. Other formats are permitted but this format is the mostly widely accepted. Once the file is saved you will want to have the file in a place that is accessible by the add attachment screen in GrizMart. You can attach documents to GrizMart orders in several ways. The most common is to click on the comments tab from within your requisition and then click Add Comment. In the comment screen at the bottom you will see attach file. Click on the browse button and find your file. Provide a brief comment and click on the Add Comment button to complete the attachment process.

To create an order where you will be using multiple departments’ accounting/indexes, fill out the order as normal, place your items in your cart and then add the correct accounting/indexes to the order. Once you have added the shared accounting/indexes you will want to have one attached sheet or email containing the approval of the individuals in charge of the shared accounting/indexes that are not yours. Once you have this attached and all of your information is filled in, assign the cart to a procurement officer (They have authority over all indexes) with a note that lets them know the reason this cart is being assigned to them. They will place the order and then you can track it like any of your other orders.

The Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM 2.5.603(2)) indicate that for purchase below $5000 the payment method should be the ProCard. You can use your Procard for any vendor that accepts a credit card as a method of payment. You can use your ProCard outside of GrizMart. However, for GrizMart participating vendors (online catalogs), we would prefer that you purchase from within GrizMart using your index.

  • Go to Banner – FAIVNDH
  • Enter vendor number if known (If not known use the drop down arrow  on  the right to search for vendor number)
  • The Fiscal Year will default to the current year.
  • Everything entered and or paid will be displayed.
  • If you know the specific invoice number, dollar amount or check number: Enter F7 to clear the screen, tab to the specific field and enter known information then F8 to execute the search.  Everything matching your entered information will display on the screen. The check date and check number should be displayed on the vendor invoice line.
  • If a check date and number are not displayed , look to see if the invoice due date has past the weekly Thursday check run if not then the check will soon be issued . If it has there may be a problem and have the vendor contact AP at 243-2516.
  • If the vendor wants to know what address the check was mailed to :Highlight the invoice in question then  go into Options at the top of the page and click on View invoice information then Control Page Down , this screen will display the address where the check was mailed to. 

** If the check number starts with a 1 it is a system generated check.  If the check number starts with ! it is an ACH direct deposit to the vendors bank account.  If the vendor needs any additional information about the payment please have them contact AP at 243-2516.

When a user is creating an order that is from the Non-Catalog Request under $5,000 Form, you have the option of reviewing and changing the distribution methods. When you are in the form look for a field called distribution. Make sure you have a vendor selected first, then select the check box to customize order distribution. You should see a fax and an email field appear. These may have data in them already. By checking either or both, this signifies to the system to how it should send the order. When you check these boxes for fax or email you can change the number or addresses to something else if that is where the order needs to go to. For other orders that are not using one these two forms please comment on the order to what you would like procurement to set them to. If you desire to send the PO to multiple email addresses, simply use a semi colon to separate them.

Initiate your purchase in GrizMart the same way you do for any other requisition. After creating your shopping cart, click the Proceed to Checkout Button. Click the Summary Tab and then the Edit button under the General Section. Change the Accounting Date field to a date of later than July 1st. You may then proceed with your purchase as normal.

If the invoice is in GrizMart then you do not need to keep a paper copy of your invoice, all invoices in GrizMart will have the scanned invoice attached if it existed as paper copy beforehand. If it is an electronic invoice then the invoice screen inside GrizMart will display all the information needed for the end user. All invoices should be originating in GrizMart from this point forward. Anyone with a GrizMart login can access the invoices.

Staples.com and the Staples retail stores are geared toward the individual consumer and often offer temporary sales prices to attract people to the store or to their website to capitalize on impulse buys. Staples Business Advantage (the contract UM has with Staples) does not offer temporary sale prices since they are offering consistently lower prices on the items we use every day. There is often a disparity between Staples.com/retail store vs. Staples Business Advantage as they are separate entities. Unfortunately, there is not an easy way to achieve pricing parity between these two entities. Please buy from one of our 3 office supply preferred vendors: Staples Business Advantage Office City (local vendor) Office Solutions and Services (local vendor)

We ask that all invoices be sent to Accounts Payable. If a vendor mistakenly sends you the invoice, Please ensure the purchase order number is listed on it and to Accounts Payable via campus mail. Please do not attach invoices to purchase orders or send via any another method. We have an invoice automation solution in place which requires that we have the original hard copies as we scan every invoice and make them available for your viewing within GrizMart. We ask for your cooperation in this endeavor so that we can ensure timely payments to our vendors as well as to provide you outstanding customer service.

If you receive an invoice electronically from the vendor via email , please forward to this address:montana.invoices@trustflowds.com and
request the vendor to send the invoice to that  address in the future.  DO NOT scan paper invoices and then forward to this email address, send them to Accounts Payable.

If the vendor does not send an invoice to UM and the work has been completed, you will need to create an invoice and submit to accounts payable so they can upload into the system.

Contact Accounts Payable for more info.

To accomplish this you will want to make sure that your indexes are split on to multiple lines. When you are creating the requisition and are on the accounting tab make sure you do not enter the accounting at the top. Scroll down to the line item and add the accounting there. Make sure you have multiple line items to split this accounting.This will allow Accounts Payable to pay on a specific line to a specific index.

First the item must originate from a non-catalog form. This would be accomplished by filling out the form and then putting the amount that is supposed to go on the first index you want to split out, then scrolling up to the top of the form and by the green go button making sure the dropdown is on add and go to cart. Click go. After you are taken to your cart open the form again (Click on the name of product service or the sheet of paper icon), make the change to the dollar amount that is supposed to go on the second index, scroll back to the top of the form on the available actions drop down choose add and go to cart again. ****Do not choose save****. Click go. This will add a second copy of the form with the dollar changes to your cart. You should have two of them in there now. Repeat as necessary. Next click proceed to check out and make sure that each line item (not the header record) has the appropriate index and account tied to it. For instructions on how to do this please refer to the FAQ on multiple indexes.

To change the accounting on an order that has been submitted a JV will have to be sent over. Since the purchase order is now in Banner the accounting cannot be changed except through a JV. This can be noted and reflected on the GrizMart PO but not sent over to Banner again.

To create multiple commodity descriptions you will need multiple items in your cart. Each item in your shopping cart represents one commodity description in Banner. Hosted and Punchout catalog items are on a one for one basis. If you are using a form that form represents one item. If you are putting multiple items from one quote on for example a non catalog order under 5k this will show up as only one commodity line. To get multiple commodity lines for this order you will need to fill out the items on separate forms. This can be done by creating the first form and then a new one for each item, or it can be done by filling out the first form and then copying it to the cart however many times you need and changing each form to the specific item.

To create a non mailer check please use the additional comments section in the Non PO Payment form in GrizMart, by adding "Non Mailer" and how you would like to be contacted.

What is a prepaid expense? Prepaid expenses are items over $500.00 that are paid during the current fiscal year but are actual costs for the next fiscal year.  All items or services must be received or provided after June 30 to be considered a prepaid expense.  These expenses are recognized as an asset (prepaid) in the current fiscal year and as an expense in the next fiscal year.  Examples of prepays are Subscriptions, Memberships, Leases, Rentals, Contracts, Licenses.

NOTE: Prepays must be initiated at the time of the requisition (purchase order). Please do not wait for the payment to initiate action.

Section 1: Determining if an item is a PREPAY.

1)       Is this a grant expense? If yes, NO PREPAY

2)       Is this other than a 62xxx expense? If yes, NO PREPAY

3)       Is the dollar amount over $500? If yes, continue

4)       Does the time frame cross fiscal years?

  • Our fiscal year runs from July 1-June 30. Any other time frame will cross fiscal years.
  • Examples: January 1-December 31
  • December 2012- November 2013
  • If the time frame crosses fiscal years, a prepaid exists.

5)      Will this be paid monthly? If no, continue; if yes, NO PREPAY

6)       How many months are prepaid?

  • Please keep your calculation as simple as possible. Use whole months.
  • How many months in the first fiscal year?
  • How many months in the following year?
  • Using an example from above:
  • FY13 December 2012 to June 2013 is 7 months. 7 of the 12 months is current year expense
  • FY14 July 2013 to November 2013 is 5 months. 5 of the 12 months is prepaid Expense

7)       Calculate the dollar total to be applied to current expense

  • Continuing the example:
  • Total expense $9,968.00
  • Monthly allocation $9,968.00/12 = $830.67 per month
  • Current year expense $830.67 X 7 months= $5,814.69

8)       Please calculate the dollar total to be applied to PREPAY

  • Total expense $9968.00- 5,814.69 = $4,153.31

9)       Proceed to GrizMart. You now have the necessary information to complete a PREPAY.

Section 2: Filling out a form and accounting order for GrizMart PREPAYs

1)      Fill out the relevant form as usual until it is time to enter the dollar amounts.  Enter the dollar amount you have calculated in Part 6 of the section 1 steps.

2)      Choose Add and go to cart at the top of your screen then click GO.

3)      Click on the piece of paper icon to reopen the form.

4)      The only change that needs to be made is in the dollar amount box.  Change the dollar amount   to the amount you have calculated in Part 7of the section 1 steps.

5)      Go back to the top of your screen and use the drop down arrow next to the “SAVE” message and choose  Add and go to cart click GO.

6)      You will now see “2 lines” for your purchase and the total should equal what you want paid.

7)      Proceed to checkout

8)      Click on the accounting codes section.  (It should be highlighted by a red exclamation point near the top of your screen.)

9)      Once on the accounting codes screen, scroll down to line item 1.

10)   Click EDIT to the far right to add the accounting for the current amount.

11)   Enter the accounting for the 1st line just like you would on any order in GrizMart.

12)   Hit SAVE

13)   Scroll down to line item 2

14)   Click EDIT to the far right to add accounting for the PREPAY amount.

15)   Enter the accounting for the 2nd line, this time add “PREPAY” to the activity code field

16)   Hit SAVE

17)   Continue following the regular GrizMart process for completing an order.

18)   Submit the requisition or assign the cart to an individual in your department who can.

19)   The prepay is now complete.

If you are going to request a foreign vendor payment in GrizMart please make sure when you are filling out the Non PO Purchase form to indicate on this form in the additional comments section that it is for a foreign vendor. Procurement or AP will then know to not allow GrizMart to create an encumbrance and instead start the wire process for that vendor. Please be sure to include all needed information on the form.

An encumbrance in simple terms is an amount reserved on a purchase from your funds to let you know you have an obligation to pay that amount at some point in time. The reserved funds will remain reserved until an invoice comes in which takes those funds to make a check to go out to the vendor the purchase was from. If the invoice was for the full amount of the purchase then the encumbrance is released and the order is done. If the payment is partial, part of the encumbrance will remain until the rest of the payment has been made or there is a request to remove the encumbrance from the order.

To get a contract service for an individual paid within GrizMart, you will first have to complete the PO with the procurement officer.  After the PO is complete, please add a comment to the Accounts Payable person that will be in charge of paying this (They are assigned by First letter of vendor to see a list of who gets what click here: AP Person List) letting them know that the work is complete and to create an invoice to pay the individual.  If you do not comment, AP is not automatically notified, and will not see that the individual needs to be paid.

Sometimes when a user is in GrizMart and they want to buy an item from a punchout vendor, they click to go to the site and hang in a limbo state. The site never connects and looks like it is just thinking. Most of the time this is due to an issue with the security level of the browser vs. the security coding of the punchout. The browsers doing what they are supposed to do are blocking you from seeing content that may be unsafe. You need to to unrestrict this protection though for the punchout site, so it will display correctly. To do that you need to display unsafe content just for this site only. If you are having troubles doing this or don't feel comfortable, your IT staff should be able to assist with these steps.