June 15, 2001

Based on North Carolina Accounting System (NCAS) user feedback and to prevent concerns with delays in vendor maintenance, the Office of the State Controller (OSC) will continue allowing agencies to continue using the current VADD and CHGE paying entities for both matching and direct pay entities until further notice. One minor change that NCAS users who add or change vendors will notice beginning on June 15, 2001 will be in NCAS group codes. If your agency is viewing new vendors through the VRS or VOS screens, group codes will be assigned numerically (01, 02, etc.) rather than the current alpha group codes (A, B, etc.). Questions regarding group codes should be directed to the OSC NCAS Help Desk at (919) 875-HELP (4357).

In order to assist vendors with the new Vendor Self Registration process in E-Procurement, However, we ask your cooperation in encouraging all matching vendors (those who receive Purchase Orders) to register and verify existing information using the E-Procurement Self Registration site available through the NC @ Your Service State Portal (www.ncgov.com). It will be critical for them to register prior to the E-Procurement Service implementation if they wish to continue to receive purchase orders from the State of North Carolina.

Vendors who have received a purchase order in the last year or who have recently had changes to their profile in NCAS will have their current information converted from the NCAS system to the new E-Procurement Service vendor database. These vendors will receive a notification letter from the NC E-Procurement Service requesting that they verify this information through a registration process. register and providing them with their initial username and password. These letters will be mailed weekly in a phased approach beginning the week of June 18^th, to be completed by July 31^st and will provide the vendors with an initial username and password.

Once these vendors receive their invitation to register, they should go to the site to verify the information that was converted from the NCAS system, as well as make any corrections, additions, or deletions to their information prior to your agency beginning use of the E-Procurement Service. Once they have verified all information and accepted the terms of use, they will be ready to participate in the NC E-Procurement Service. New vendors or those who did not have their information converted can register at any time, but must do so before they can receive any electronic purchase orders through the E-Procurement Service. Questions regarding the Vendor Self Registration process should be directed to the E-Procurement Help Desk at 1-888-211-7440 or email Ephelpdesk@ncmail.net.

One minor change that NCAS users who add or change vendors will notice beginning on June 15, 2001 will be in NCAS group codes. If your agency is viewing new vendors through the VRS or VOS screens, group codes will be assigned numerically (01, 02, etc.) rather than the current alpha group codes (A, B, etc.). Questions regarding group codes should be directed to the OSC NCAS Help Desk at (919) 875-HELP (4357).

We appreciate your continued cooperation as we work together to determine best business practices for the E-Procurement process. Please circulate this memo to all staff who use the vendor file.

cc: E-Procurement Team