The mission of the Procurement Department at Alliance College-Ready Public Schools is to provide efficient and responsive procurement services to our 26 high schools and middle schools, and to obtain high quality goods and services at reasonable costs.
Our goals are to:
- Procure as efficiently as possible.
- Provide continuous training and education to our schools and staff.
- Provide knowledgeable advice and consulting services.
- Identify vendors who meet our needs at reasonable prices.
- Process documentation within reasonable time frames.
- Manage issues that may arise between our schools and our vendors.
- Maintain ethical business standards and legal compliance.
Procurement Overview
Alliance College-Ready Public Schools began using the Coupa procure-to-pay system on January 22, 2018. Coupa will help streamline and increase visibility throughout the purchasing, invoicing and payment processes. A few things you need to know in our work together:
- Our payment terms are net 30 days from the day Alliance receives the invoice in Coupa.
- Please register for the Coupa Supplier portal using the invitation sent in a separate email. Coupa is completely free for our vendors to use. Please contact us if you need us to send another invitation.
- All invoices must be submitted through Coupa against a PO. A PO is our formal documentation that the work is approved. We encourage you to wait for a PO to start any one-off services or deliver goods (e.g catering, busses for field trips, etc). Invoices cannot be processed via email.
- By fully adopting Coupa, you will get paid faster and have visibility into payment status. Here is a short video overview of Procurement Process. Click here for an instructional video on how to create an invoice in the Coupa Supplier Portal. 0:53 seconds of this video shows you how to edit your invoice amount and descriptions
Invoice Naming Convention:
The description of all invoices entered in Coupa should follow the naming conventions below. Weekly or monthly invoicing practices should follow your agreed-upon contracted terms.
Weekly or bi-weekly Invoices
We need the dates & description of the service type. ex: 4/2-4/7/20- Special Ed Services, 4/2-4/7/20 Substitute Services, 5/16-5/31/20 Security Services
Monthly Invoices
We need month name & description of the service type. ex: August 2019 Special Ed Services, September 2019 Substitute Services, October 2019 Security Services, June 2020 Food Services
Invoice for a one time service
We need the date & description of the service type. ex: 10/15/19 Bus to California Science Center, 4/13/20 Catering for Meeting
Missing PO Process
If you do not have a PO please follow the process below:
1. Send an email to procurement@laalliance.org and CC the School Operations Manager.
2. Subject should read: “Missing PO – School Name – Company Name”
3. Body should read: “We began/ plan to begin [INSERT SERVICE TYPE] on [MM/DD/YYYY] and still do not have a PO for [INSERT SCHOOL NAME]. Please provide a PO as soon as possible.
Please allow 2-3 business days for a PO to be created.
Vendor Payments
As of July 2018, Alliance manages all Payments through a 3rd party payment system called NVoicepay. Vendors can receive payment via bank direct deposit, check or through a credit card. Each vendor’s first payment will be via check with instructions on how to sign up for the other automated payment options. To sign up, please complete this form. Please note all payments will default to Credit Card if that section of the form is populated.
Full payment for all warranted charges appearing on invoices shall be made within thirty (30) days from Alliance’s receipt of the invoice unless explicitly agreed upon by the Vendor and Alliance.
Consultant Travel
See the “Additional Resources” section for details around expense policies and documentation requirements as we ask our consultants to abide by the the rules that apply to employees.
Contact Us
The best way to get in touch with us is via email. When you send an email, it creates a ticket for us in our customer service portal. We usually reply within 24 hours.
Reach out to procurement@laalliance.org for all purchasing and Coupa questions.
Reach out accountspayable@laalliance.org for any payment or invoice inquiries.
Alliance Payment Policies and Procedures Appendix – Release 3.0
Training Material – Coupa – Common Errors with Legal Entity and Remittance Address
Training Material – Coupa Supplier Portal Vendor Guide
Training Material – Vendor FAQ’s
Training Video – How to Resolve Disputed Invoices in the Coupa Supplier Portal
Training Video – How to Upload an Invoice to the Coupa Supplier Portal
Como Subir Factura En Coupa
Training Video – PO to Invoice in Coupa
Webinar Recording – June 8 Coupa and NVoicepay
Webinar Recording – March 16 Coupa
Webinar Recording – September 6 Annual Spend, Coupa, and NVoicepay
Webinar Slides – June 8 Coupa and NVoicePay
Webinar Slides – March 16 Coupa Vendors
Webinar Slides – September 6 Annual Spend, Coupa, and NVoicepay
External Entity Expense Reimbursement Form
Click on the link(s) below to access current Requests for Proposals:
FY 2024 Servicesby Entity (Pricelist for ERATE 2024 RFP)
Food Service Management Company RFP SY245
SY24-25 Storage Area Network (SAN) & Disaster Recovery Solution RFP
Click on the link(s) below to access Q&A for current Requests for Proposals:
None at the moment.
Click on the Link(s) below to access Alliance Vendor Documentation:
Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form – As of 190102
Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form – As of 190101-Spanish
Blank W-9 (2024) Form
Blank W-9 (2024) Form Spanish
Alliance TB/DOJ Vendor Certification Form
