Denton City issues year-end deadlines for invoices, purchase orders and JDE cutoffs

Denton City finance and procurement staff advised department personnel on year-end processing and deadlines, emphasizing that invoices and receiving must be completed by Sept. 29 to record expenses in the current fiscal year and that the JDE financial system will be shut down Sept. 30 for year-end processing.

Matt Hamilton, executive director of finance, opened the presentation by saying the session would cover "year end procedures related to finance, and procurement." Ashley Adams of accounts payable told attendees that "All invoices can be sent to Scanman" and that departments should format submissions with the vendor name and PO number and indicate whether items have been received. She also said the department uses the Q&A function inside JDE as its formal communication channel for invoice questions.

Becky Pugh, the city controller, explained how receiving items in JDE affects which fiscal year records expenses. "You have until 10:00 to go out and receive those," Pugh said of items to be recorded in the current year. She warned that accrual thresholds applied after the fiscal cutoff can move expenses into the next fiscal year: from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15 the accrual threshold is $15,000, and later in the year the threshold rises (Pugh said it moves to $50,000 as the city progresses further from year-end).

Hamilton and the budget staff reiterated that the adopted budget is the legal appropriation for the year and cautioned departments not to assume operating revenue can be carried forward. Hamilton said closing purchase orders and encumbrances helps the budget office anticipate potential appropriation issues and avoid midyear amendments to the city council.

Laurie Huel, the purchasing manager, reviewed procurement deadlines and rules. She said Sept. 5 is the last day to enter requisitions (ORs) charged to the operating budget for the current fiscal year; ORs for capital jobs may still be entered after that date. Huel asked departments to leave purchase orders open if goods or services have not been received and the department expects them soon, because leaving the PO open preserves the audit trail and allows the expenditure to be recorded in the next fiscal year when received. She also noted a forthcoming change in the dollar threshold for noncontract purchases: state law raised the quote threshold from $50,000 to $100,000 effective Sept. 1, but the city must update its purchasing manual and policy before the city can apply the higher threshold internally.

Huel described itemization requirements: all ORs and purchase orders must be itemized to match quotes or contracts (construction and professional services contracts may remain lump-sum). She said sole-source justification forms are valid for one year. She also advised departments to use the Excel OR import, JDE grids and queries, the contract database, and the NIGP coding guides to speed processing. Huel noted a vendor pricing update: Cintas provided revised pricing that departments should review on existing POs.

Logistics and other reminders included: check requests, expense reports and travel advances must be submitted by Sept. 22 to be charged to the current year; per diem rates change Oct. 1 (use fiscal-year 2026 rates for travel on/after Oct. 1; use 2025 rates for travel before Oct. 1); mileage rates change Jan. 1; JDE will be unavailable during the shutdown and is expected to resume Oct. 1; and staff will circulate the presentation and related memos after the session. Presenters also provided contact points and named procurement and budget staff who can assist with ORs, vendor setups and contract questions.

The presentation was informational; no formal actions or votes were recorded during the meeting. Staff directed departments to follow the stated deadlines and to request any exceptions through the purchasing inbox so procurement can route them for approval.