Two Tips for Faster Responses

Tips from the "Ask Finance" Team

Contributed by Joey Carls
Our aim in the Finance Solution Center is to provide prompt and accurate service. Your email to “AskFinance” launches our data collection and research process which may include engagement with subject matter experts. 
As those monitoring cases through the Customer Portal can attest, this sometimes involves a flurry of messages between multiple individuals as we troubleshoot and collect information. 
We want to remind you of two ways you can help us respond promptly.

Multiple recipients listed in your email to AskFinance

When individuals reply to these email messages, duplicate cases are generated with AskFinance which not only causes confusion but also slows our response times. The Accounts Payable processing team also experiences duplication with similar email messages directed to vendor-invoices@virginia.edu.

If you wish to have specific persons involved in the case, it is best practice to make a note to that effect in the body of your email. Please avoid adding multiple recipients to the To, CC, and BCC lines. The User Success Team will loop in all necessary individuals as we seek a satisfactory resolution.

Provide a high level of detail for agents

When contacting AskFinance, a few common details will be useful as agents review your case and determine how best to support you. Please consider including any relevant information including:

• What are you trying to achieve?
• Which systems, processes, or policies are you using to support this outcome?
• Have you consulted resources on the UVAFinance website to seek support?
• What unexpected results or system errors have prevented you from achieving your goal? Have you encountered this issue in the past?
• What document or transaction numbers (e.g. ER-00012345) are related?
• What other pertinent information (e.g. documents, communications, screen captures, report parameters)?

The inclusion of as much detail as possible will reduce the amount of back-and-forth exchange with the User Success Agent assigned to your case and should result in a more swift resolution to your question or issue.

As always, we welcome your feedback. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to me directly at jcarls@virginia.edu Also, watch this space for upcoming posts from me: the team has updates to share with you regarding our continuous improvement journey!
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Related information: Updates from the UVAFinance Solution Center (see especially the Q/A section!)