Dear Departmental Administrators,

We are pleased to announce that the University of Toronto has successfully launched Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payment pilot project. Pilot vendors started receiving EFT payments on August 11.

This pilot project vetted select Canadian currency vendors to transition from payments by paper cheque to direct deposit, offering increased payment speed while reducing processing costs for the University and vendors. Thirty-three vendors were selected for the EFT pilot due to their transaction volume and spend and have been onboarded to the Enterprise Service Centre.

In late August, we will be conducting a survey with participating vendors to gather feedback on potential improvements for future EFT rollout to additional vendors. Please stay tuned for more details on Phase 2 and future onboarding plans.

Interested in viewing participating vendors and learning more about changes for users? Visit Financial Services’ webpage for details.

Questions? Please contact Kirin Jeffery, EFT Project Manager, at kirin.jeffery@utoronto.ca for specific questions.

Thank you to everyone who has helped to make this project a success, and we look forward to future phases of this exciting project.

Sincerely,

EFT Pilot Project Team

Dear Departmental Administrators,

The University of Toronto is excited for the upcoming launch of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payment on August 11, 2022.

This pilot project has vetted select Canadian currency vendors to transition from payments with a paper cheque to direct deposit payments, offering increased payment speed while reducing processing costs for the University and vendors. Vendors were selected for the EFT pilot due to their transaction volume and spend.

The onboarding process for this pilot project was highly successful, and we will conduct a survey in August with participating vendors to gather feedback on potential improvements for future EFT rollout to additional vendors.

The EFT pilot project represents minimal change to business processes for departments.

Details to Remember: 

• As part of the process to move vendors on to EFT payments, a special final cheque run for EFT vendors will be processed on August 9, 2022.
• All invoices (except holdback invoices) pertaining to the pilot vendors entered in the system before this special payment run (regardless of due date) will be paid via cheque. Any invoices entered in the system after this special run will be paid via EFT when due.
• EFT vendors will start to receive EFT payments on August 11.
• EFT vendors may be blocked from posting entries briefly for the payment method change process.

Interested in learning more about changes for users? Visit Financial Services’ webpage for details.

Questions? Please contact Kirin Jeffery, EFT Project Manager, at kirin.jeffery@utoronto.ca for specific questions.

Thank you to everyone who has helped to make this project a success.

Sincerely,
EFT Pilot Project Team

Dear Departmental Administrators,

The University of Toronto is pleased to announce that the pilot project for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payment is scheduled to launch on August 11, 2022.

This project has vetted select Canadian currency vendors to transition from payments with a paper cheque to direct deposit payments, offering increased payment speed while reducing processing costs for the University and vendors. Vendors were selected for the EFT pilot due to their transaction volume and spend. This pilot project will provide a foundation for future EFT rollout to additional vendors.

The EFT pilot project represents minimal change to business processes for departments.

As part of the process to move vendors on to EFT payments, a special final cheque run for EFT vendors will be processed on August 8, 2022.

All invoices pertaining to the pilot vendors entered in the system before this special payment run (regardless of due date) will be paid via cheque. Any invoices entered in the system after this special run will be paid via EFT when due.

Vendors may be blocked from posting entries briefly for the payment method change process.

Interested in learning more about changes for users? Visit Financial Services’ webpage for details about:

• Participating vendors
• An overview of the project
• Highlights for Financial Administrators
• Documentation and Simulations Related to the EFT Initiative and FIS reporting and processing
• Contacts

Questions?

Please contact Kirin Jeffery, EFT Project Manager, at kirin.jeffery@utoronto.ca for specific questions.

Sincerely,
EFT Pilot Project Team

Hi everyone,

Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration (EASI) would like to update you on the latest major production releases and updates for U of T’s Administrative Management Systems.

The following are major changes from December 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022:

Enterprise Shared Services

Microsoft Office 365 Security Enhancements (March – June)
As part of the Secure U(ofT) program, and a collaborative initiative between Information Security and EASI, the University recently implemented a series of essential protections to secure data and collaboration tools in Microsoft Office 365 with the help of vendor BlueVoyant. This was an accelerated effort, with an aggressive timeline, as heightened security risk due to the current geo-political situation has amplified the need to enhance security protections.

Microsoft License Renewal (June/July)
Microsoft business applications and collaboration tools are the underpinnings of key institutional systems such as UTORmail+, SharePoint Online, and Teams. The agreement between U of T and Microsoft was renewed by the M365 team in May after a year of discussions and negotiations. The new agreement will provide U of T with access to additional Microsoft features and applications as well as enhanced security across our tenant while managing the overall costs of these services. The M365 team is now focused on transitioning from our legacy licenses to the new licenses by the end of July.

Research Information System

SIG System Rebuild (May)
U of T’s internal system used to manage the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Institutional Grant (SIG), was rebuilt and incorporated into the upgraded My Research Applications & Agreements (MRA)  as a modernized block grant management tool. This rebuild replaces the University’s outdated SIG system and brings many benefits to the U of T Research and Innovation community, including:

• Consolidating the application submission process for funding programs into one system with a single set of credentials.
• Improving the user experience through a user centric design that optimizes navigation.
• Moving block grants to a newer technology will ensure continued access to an automated allocation and award set-up tool.

Human Resources Information System

Kronos
Kronos, a convenient, cloud-based time and attendance system, eliminates the use of paper timesheets and the need to forecast employee hours through online approval processes. Following are the most recent updates:

• In April, the EASI Kronos team restarted the implementation of Kronos Timekeeper module for nine departments – the largest at any one time.
• On May 4, the ITS EASI UKG (Kronos) Implementation Teams channel was launched. This space caters to HR and Payroll administrators leading the Kronos implementation for their departments and serves as a repository for users seeking answers to frequently asked questions. The channel provides easy access to implementation reference materials, deadlines for major implementation tasks, upcoming events, implementation tips, and allows a safe space for users to post questions and share ideas on the implementation process.

Financial Information System

Compensation Planning Tool

• Initial Launch (February 15)
  On February 15, 2022 the Planning & Budget Office, in partnership with EASI, launched the new “made @ U of T” Compensation Planning Tool with improvements to the previous SAP tool (B6). This approach has delivered improvements to the financial planning community, while retaining the robust security, performance, and familiar interface of the SAP platform. The tool provides an improved user experience, a holistic view of compensation, salary increase scenario planning, and simplified compensation projections. The enhanced app also facilitates long-term compensation planning (up to 6 years).
• Progression Through the Ranks (PTR) Pool Calculation (June 1)

On June 1, the Planning & Budget Office in partnership with EASI launched PTR Pool calculation. This enhancement allows users to view updated salary data for more accurate calculation, along with an enhanced user experience and reporting features.

Fiscal Year End 2022 (May 2)
Multiple teams from EASI and Financial Services worked together to ensure the 2022 FI Fiscal Year End event was successful. One year after implementation, the benefits of the SAP S/4HANA environment continue to reduce overall processing time. This year, additional reports using real-time data were added to Fiori Launchpad Reporting, allowing users to proceed with business operations during the fiscal year end closure period. Throughout the year, the teams worked to optimize system efficiencies and reengineered programs that ran faster with as much as a 30 per cent decrease in processing time for some programs.

Facilities & Services

SAP Plant Maintenance and Asset Manager Applications (June 1)
Facilities & Services (F&S), in partnership with EASI, launched the SAP Plant Maintenance and Asset Manager applications on June 1. These applications will support F&S in improving the stewardship of campus buildings and utility assets. Benefits include a mobile work order for trades and engineering staff, user-friendly tools to manage work orders, and a central repository of building and utilities equipment data. This repository will enhance asset tracking and aid in repairs and maintenance, as well as provide improved reporting capabilities. This implementation is the starting point for F&S to move towards more preventive and predictive maintenance, and to improve the reliability of campus facilities and the client experience for the university community.

Dear AMS GUI users,

Please note that the Administrative Management System (AMS) will not be available for GUI users from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Friday, July 8, 2022. This outage will allow for the preparation for the across-the-board (ATB) increase for USW staff. More information can be found in the Memorandum of Agreement, on the People Strategy, Equity & Culture website.

All other AMS web-based systems, including Administrative Academic Appointments (AAA), Expense Reimbursement Direct Deposit (ERDD), My Research, Capital Project Portal, Invoice Workflow, Employee Self-Service (ESS), Manager Self-Service (MSS), EvoSuite Applications, SAP Asset Manager Mobile, and Fiori Launchpad Reporting will be available during this time.

See our System Availability page for ongoing information on system status.

Sincerely,

Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration