How to Close Out Fiscal Year 2025

Dear Colleagues,

As we work together toward financial sustainability, we ask the members of the university community to help us prepare for the close of the 2025 Fiscal Year.  Please observe the deadlines below so that our colleagues in Accounting and Purchasing can close the year as smoothly as possible and complete the annual financial statements in a timely manner.

This message serves as a  reminder to continue to be financially prudent with expenses, purchasing only items that are essential to advance our academic mission. Please use restricted (donor-funded) accounts whenever possible. Thank you for your cooperation.

Procurement Deadlines

Please mark the following deadlines on your calendar:

• Check Requests in BishopBuy – June 12, 2025
  Deadline to enter check requests to be charged to this fiscal year for services incurred in FY25. Please ensure that all approvals in the system are completed in time for the final check run of FY25 on June 26th. 
• Last day to receive goods for FY25 – June 30, 2025
  Goods received/acquired after June 30 will be charged to your FY26 budget regardless of the invoice date. There are no exceptions as this is a matter of externally-imposed accounting rules.  All open orders will be moved to the next fiscal year by the Purchasing Office.  Note that ordering by the deadlines above cannot guarantee delivery by June 30, as items may be back-ordered or face shipping delays beyond OWU's control.     
• Approval of P-Card Transactions & Reimbursements in Concur – July 9, 2025
  All employee reimbursements and P-card transactions incurred prior to July 1st must be entered, reviewed, and approved in Concur by July 9, 2025.  

Other Important Reminders

Clean up of Purchase Orders:  Please begin now the work of closing open Blanket Purchase Orders and releasing encumbered funds; deadline is June 13, 2025.  Departments can check for open purchase orders in either the budget portal or within BishopBuy using the Open PO report. View this video for more information: How to View Open Purchase Orders. To close outstanding balances remaining from blanket purchase orders, please contact Purchasing to have your PO decreased or closed.  If you need help, contact Betsy Reser (x3391).

Requisitions and POs for FY25: Please keep in mind lead times for all orders and our receiving guidelines. Also please adhere to the stewardship guidelines sent to employees in December of 2024. Financial Stewardship Measures | Ohio Wesleyan University. Requisitions should be made for essential items only that are needed in FY25, not future use.

Requisitions and POs for FY26:  As of June 1st, you may begin entering orders in BishopBuy for FY26 by using the "Requested Delivery Date" field in BishopBuy and entering a date of July 1st, 2025 or later. If you have orders that need placed for FY26 prior to June 1st in order to allow delivery prior to the start of the academic year, please let Purchasing or Accounting know. This will allow employees to order things needed for the fall semester without having to budget check this year's budget, and it will encumber the amount in the proper fiscal year. It also will tell the vendor when you expect to receive items or services. This is not suitable for punchout orders or anything that will ship quickly. If items arrive prior to June 30, 2025 they will be posted in the FY25 budget. Please keep in mind that purchase orders are required for all goods and services and entering your POs for FY26 at the beginning of the year will help ensure vendors follow our procedures and include their PO number on their invoice.

Multi-year Service Contracts:  All service contracts that carry over into the 2025-2026 academic year will be expensed proportionally into the correct year.  You cannot incur the entire expense this year if the agreement includes service dates after July 1st.  Please contact Accounting if you have any questions. As a reminder, all contracts should be sent to Purchasing for review prior to contract execution.

Review of Actual Expenses:  Please review all of the actual expenses that have been posted to your budgets.  If you see anything that appears to be posted incorrectly, let Accounting know by July 9, 2025. Any discrepancies after that date will not be able to be corrected.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please review the list of frequently asked questions below. Should you have additional questions, please contact Betsy Reser (x3391). Thank you for your attention and collaboration to successfully close the fiscal year in a timely manner.

How do I access BishopBuy?

BishopBuy is located in my.owu.edu. Or, via owu.edu/bishopbuy. All employees can log in with their OWU credentials. Your user name is without "@owu.edu". Your password is the same for the network or your email. If you have any issues getting into BishopBuy, contact Purchasing.

How do I access Concur to submit a reimbursement request?

Concur is located in my.owu.edu. All employees can login with their OWU credentials. Your user name is without "@owu.edu". Your password is the same for the network or your email. If you have any issues getting into Concur, contact Betsy Reser (x3391) in Purchasing.

How can I be sure an invoice is paid after I enter the purchase order?

Invoices are processed through the Accounts Payable office. Invoices should reference the PO number, and are required to be sent directly to accountspayable@owu.edu  or mailed to Accounts Payable, 61 S. Sandusky St., Delaware, OH 43015. This is the ONLY way payments will be made. Please see our best practice memo for additional information regarding invoice processing: Accounts Payable/Purchasing Best Practices

Can I ask a vendor to invoice me later so the amount will be applied to next fiscal year?

No, all invoices referencing a time of service or delivery date in FY25 will be expensed in the correct year.  This is a matter of accounting principles.

See the Purchasing website or the Accounts Payable website for more information.

Steve Lippiello
VP Finance and Administration and Treasurer
smlippiello@owu.edu | 740.368.3351 (office) | 724.237.2089 (mobile) | 740.368.3009 (fax)