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The University of Alabama is changing the contract review process for software purchases!

Beginning April 8, 2024, all compliance-related reviews for software purchases will occur PRIOR to loading any contract documents into the UA Contract Portal. You will no longer complete and submit the Software IT form when you submit a contract for review and execution. This assessment replaces the previous form and will allow for a compliance review to be complete by personnel across campus who are responsible for privacy, compliance, security, risk management, cyber insurance, and other risks, as appropriate, in advance of submitting the contract for execution.

This assessment will have to be COMPLETED AND APPROVED before loading information or contract documents into the UA Contract Portal for Contract Management. A pdf of the approved review will be required.

For assistance with answering questions or navigating this assessment, go to the Compliance Contract Review Portal. Please contact privacy@ua.edu for assistance.

Adding Additional Vendors to your Contract Record

The Procurement Contract Portal allows up to 3 additional vendors per contract record.
Located under the Additional Vendor Details section of the Contract Information tab, simply provide the additional vendor contact name and email address as well as the vendor signer name and email address, and your contract will be routed for additional signatures.

After entering the first vendor, select the number of vendors you need to add from the dropdown box.

Stop! Before you upload your agreement to the Procurement Contract Portal you should ask your vendor for the following information:

  1. The legal name of the company. This is the name you should input as the “Vendor Company”.
  2. The start and end date of the contract. The start date is not the date that you upload the agreement to the portal.
  3. If a Vendor Disclosure Statement is required (contracts over $5,000 and all Professional Service Agreements) the name and email address of the person who will complete that form for the vendor. You will need this information to initiate the Vendor Disclosure Statement form. Remember, you need a completed Vendor Disclosure Statement to submit in the Contract Portal.
  4. The name and email address of the person who is authorized to sign the contract on behalf of the vendor. This is the information you should input as the “Vendor Signer”.
  5. What is the name and email address of the person from the vendor’s company that Contract Management should contact with questions? This is the information you should input for the “Vendor Contact”.

Uploading the correct information at the beginning of the process helps Contract Management execute your agreement in a timely manner.

Contract Business Terms

  • September 11th, 2023
  • in News

Before uploading your contract to the portal you should always review the business terms. This is the specific portions of the agreement with contract details that you have discussed with the vendor.  You should read your agreement carefully to make sure the terms listed are what you agreed to and that the only blank space in the document is the signature line.

The business terms can include:

  • Start date
  • End date
  • Length of the Contract
  • Cost

Contract Management reviews your contract submissions to ensure compliance with Alabama law and University of Alabama policy. We do not know the specifics of your discussions with the vendor and rely on what is contained within the contract. Please take a moment to make sure that what is written matches what was discussed with your vendor.

Do You Know What the Status of Your Contract in the Contract Portal Means?

  • July 10th, 2023
  • in News

Under Review – The Contract Administrator is in the process of reviewing your contract or negotiating terms with the vendor.
Pending Approval – The Contract Administrator sent this to another department for internal approvals.
Approved – Whoever the Contract Administrator sent the contract to for internal approval has approved it, and the Contract Administrator is negotiating terms with the vendor.

  • It is often assumed that the contract is ready for signature, but this all depends on whether the vendor ultimately accepts the terms we are requesting.

Pending Signature – The contract is waiting to be signed by the vendor or the University’s signatory.

How to Contract for Professional Services

  • March 3rd, 2023
  • in News

Are you responsible for submitting Professional Services Agreements and Guest Speaker Agreements?  If so, we want to help you!  The Professional Services Guidelines webpage is a great resource for viewing basic requirements, the submittal process, the review and signature, and for guidance on the payment processing. In addition, we have included below some common mistakes that we see with the PSA and GSA:

  • PSAs/ GSAs must be submitted before the date of service.
  • An Independent Contractor form that has been approved by the tax department will need to be attached (when contracting with an individual).
  • The dates of service and amount to be paid must match in the PSA/GSA and IC form (if applicable).
  • If the contractor provided you with a document that requires signature, do not initiate a PSA/GSA. Submit the document through the Contract Portal for review and approval.

We are also working on a new training course. Stay tuned for information about PSA and GSA training opportunities!

Portal Emails

  • June 13th, 2022
  • in News

Emails sent through the Procurement Contract Portal are saved and organized into their corresponding contract record. This applies to direct messages to and from the Contract Administrator assigned to your record as well as automated notice and reminder emails that are created as part of the portal’s workflow.
As shown in the email message below, although the message you receive indicates that it is “From” contracts@ua.edu, your message does not originate at this address. Contracts@ua.edu simply acts as an intermediary between the Portal and the End User. It is the embedded link, contained in the email, that saves a copy of both the outgoing and incoming emails to the matching portal contract.

It is essential that the embedded link remain in the subject line of all email messages. To ensure this simply select “Reply” or “Reply All” to the messages you receive from the portal. This will return your response to its corresponding record and alert your Contract Administrator of the incoming message. An email sent to contracts@ua.edu without the link will not make it to the portal and might not be seen in a timely fashion.

If you have questions regarding the Procurement Contract Portal or would like to schedule a training session for your department, please contact Julie Love.

Replying to Emails from Contract Management

  • November 3rd, 2021
  • in News

While software is a wonderful tool for organization and efficiency it insists that you follow its rules. The Procurement Contract Portal is no different, especially when it comes to emails. When you receive an email regarding your contract submission you will notice a couple of things you might not see in other emails.

A subject line that includes an ID number.

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This number contains an embedded link that connects this email and any response to your contract record ensuring that all communication regarding this particular contract is stored with the contract. If the subject line of the email is changed in any way the email will not link to the record and will not reach the Contract Administrator assigned to your record.
A reminder on how to reply.

click reply all

Selecting “reply all” to the message keeps that embedded link in place and ensures that your response goes to the assigned Contract Administrator and links to your record. You can always add additional individuals to the message and attach documents as needed but you must select “reply all”.

If you have any questions regarding emails or anything else related to the Procurement Contract Portal, please feel free to contact Contract Management at 348-5230.

Contract Path

  • August 3rd, 2021
  • in News

Have you ever wondered how many places your contract travels before a signed copy returns to you?  Check out the Contract Path Guide for more information.