Monthly Archives: February 2023

New Requirements by FedEx for International Shipping Services

To campus employees who use FedEx international shipping services:

Effective March 1, 2023. FedEx will require the sender to provide a Harmonized System (HS) code and an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number for all commodities shipped internationally. Proper use of these codes will prevent high shipping costs, delays, and returns.

What are HS Codes and EORI Numbers?

  • Harmonized System Code is an internationally standardized system of describing and classifying goods.  It is used by customs authorities to identify and apply the correct duties, taxes, or restrictions on items.
  • Economic Operator Registration and Identification number is assigned to companies that are shipping and/or receiving goods within the European Union (EU).

How will this impact my international shipments?

  • If you are processing a shipment on your desktop or through the FedEx website, you will need to provide the HS code and EORI number.
  • Distribution Services’ Shipment Request Form has been updated to include fields for HS code, Detailed Commodity Description, and EORI number for international shipments.

How can I learn more?

Distribution Services will send campus FedEx account holders additional information on how to process these shipments. This will include a visual guide with screenshots of the FedEx website and which fields need to be filled out.  It will also include instructions on how to identify your HS codes, detailed commodity descriptions, and EORI numbers.

If you have any questions, please contact Tony Diaz at 4-1590 or Phil Perez at 4-1594 in Distribution Services.

Strategic Sourcing – Contracts & Procurement Services & Finance Connect – Friendly Reminders:

Your Strategic Sourcing team has a few friendly reminders to help you have a successful Fiscal Year End!

As we have just past mid-year, our recommendation is to review your current open Purchase Orders (PO) to verify a few things:

      • Did you receive the items you ordered?  If not, please let our team know.  
      • Do you still require the POs showing on your open encumbrances? If not, please submit a Change Order to close POs that are no longer needed by your department.
      • Have you paid all invoices applicable to your open POs? If so, please submit a Change Order to close.
      • If you have the final invoice for your PO, please make a note on the invoice or payment approval to notify our Payment Services team. We can close the PO once the payment has been made.

The Finance Support team will be hosting an Encumbrance Management Workshop soon! Join us at 2:30pm Friday, March 17, 2023 to learn all about the lifecycle of a PO. We’ll review tools available in CFS and the Finance Data Warehouse that aid in managing PO encumbrances, concluding with some hands-on review and open Q&A.

Please share this message with any staff or faculty you feel should be notified. Feel free to reach out to our Strategic Sourcing team for any questions at strategicsourcing-c-ps@sjsu.edu.

Wishing you all a great rest of the month!

2022/23 Fiscal Year End Planning and Deadlines

The 2022/23 Fiscal Year End Deadlines have been published on the Finance and Business Services website.

Please review the schedule now and plan ahead to ensure transactions are recorded in the proper fiscal year by meeting these deadlines.  Your commitment to following this schedule enables the campus to meet financial reporting and audit requirements of the State Controller’s Office, CSU Chancellor’s Office, and various other agencies.

In addition to the deadlines Google Doc, we’re excited to share some newly developed resources with you.

  • The FABS Fiscal Year End Deadlines Calendar. Want to see key deadlines on your Google calendar? No problem! With our new calendar, all SJSU employees can easily toggle on/off the campus’ published fiscal year end deadlines.
  • Encumbrance Management Workshop. Join FinanceConnect at 2:30pm Friday, March 17, 2023 to learn all about the lifecycle of a PO. We’ll review tools available in CFS and the Finance Data Warehouse that aid in managing PO encumbrances, concluding with some hands-on review and open Q&A. No registration is needed, just log in and join us via Zoom!

The Finance and Business Services team will review the schedule and answer inquiries in our Spring 2023 What’s Up event. A Save the Date will be sent soon!