2025 Key notes

On this page

• Use of Shared Services
• Getting postings in the correct period
• SoftCo - the invoice automation system
• Cambridge University Endowment Fund postings
• Nil Net Book Value assets
• Concur Barclaycard and Out of Pocket expense claims
  

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Use of Shared Services

To help Shared Services prioritise work for the year end, institutions using Shared Services should:

• submit 2024/25 items for processing five working days prior to the closure of AP (by close of business on 8 August)
• separate items to be processed in 2024/25 from those relating to 2025/26
• continue to send internal trading AP invoices to Shared Services as soon as they are received for processing in 2024/25, even if it is after the 8 August deadline.

2024/25 invoices will be prioritised if you alert Shared Services to them.

Other reminders which are especially important over the busy year-end period:

• only flag work as urgent where this is genuinely the case
• recoding tasks can be carried out in the institution, however if recoding is required by Shared Services, a request can be made

Other than for supplier invoices, which should go into the SoftCo invoice automation system as soon as they arrive, institutions should hold back items for 2025/26 until after the current year-end deadline. If they are submitted beyond this time, clearly mark them as relating to 2025/26, and be aware they may not be processed until after the 2024/25 work is complete.

Getting postings in the correct period

In prior years the external auditors have found several transactions processed in the incorrect financial year. Institutions must review their accounts to make sure transactions are processed in the correct financial year.

Examples for institutions to look out for are:

• Sales invoices – review sales invoices raised in the 2024/25 Financial Year to make sure that the related goods/services were provided in the 2024/25 Financial Year
• eSales – check that income received from eSales is in the correct period for the related goods or services provided. The Finance Division will be doing a review of income from eSales to correct transactions that are in the wrong financial year
• Purchase invoices - review purchase invoices processed in the 2024/25 Financial Year to make sure that the related to goods/services have been delivered or used in the 2024/25 Financial Year

SoftCo - the invoice automation system

All supplier invoices should be submitted to SoftCo as soon as they are received. Institutions and Shared Services must ensure that invoices are processed through SoftCo and entered into CUFS as soon as possible.

Prioritise 2024/25 SoftCo invoices prior to the closure of the AP module for the year on 15 August at 5pm.

For SoftCo implications on cut-off, see Invoices processed via SoftCo in the Accounts Payable module

Cambridge University Endowment Fund (CUEF) Postings

The postings of the July distribution and the June/July revaluation are detailed below.

July CUEF distribution

The accrual for July CUEF distribution will be processed into institution accounts on the 21 August. This will allow institutions to review deficits within their accounts before the closure of the General Ledger on 1 September.

The correction of the accrual for the July distribution will be processed through Adjustment Period 1 after the General Ledger has closed to institutions. This will have no effect on institutions’ July period balances.

June/July CUEF revaluation

The June/July revaluation will be posted into institutions’ accounts on 9 September after the General Ledger has closed for institutions. This will be posted into the July period and will show on the final summary report.

Nil Net Book Value assets

An area under recurrent scrutiny from the auditors is the number of assets on the Fixed Asset Register with a Net Book Value (NBV) of nil. There is currently circa. 4,000 assets with nil NBV, some of which were purchased almost 40 years ago. It is therefore vital that these assets are physically verified to ensure that they remain within the University’s ownership and are still in use.

Concur Barclaycard and Out of Pocket expense claims

Ensure all Concur claims (Barclaycard and out of pocket) relating to 2024/25 have a Claim Date of 31 July 2025 or earlier. From 1 August, any claims going into CUFS with a claim date later than 31 July 2025 will go into the August GL period.  Finance approvers can check and change the claim date in Concur by going to Details/Claim Header when reviewing a claim. This is likely to be important for any claims submitted in the first two weeks of August with 2024/25 spend on.

Ensure all claims relating to 2024/25 are fully authorised at least two days before the AP closure date (preferably more) and that any advances are fully recovered. If possible don’t mix 2024/25 out-of-pocket expenses with items relating to 2025/26 (August) on the same claim.

Expense claims that are dated before 31 July 2025 that haven’t been transferred to CUFS will be accrued by the Finance Division on AZZY.FJAQ. The Finance Division will do this by 1 September 2025.