UMass Boston

Central Business Unit

UMass Boston from the water

 

The Central Business Unit (CBU) is a shared-services department providing financial, grant, personnel, event, and administrative support to Academic Affairs units as workload demands and CBU capacity allows. Our mission is to provide excellent service to our customers, and ultimately serve UMass Boston students.

If you are not currently a customer and are an Academic Affairs unit interested in our services, please email us at CentralBusinessUnit@umb.edu to request a meeting with our team to discuss how we can best support your operations.

Following are the services currently offered by the CBU. We are always evolving and expanding, so if you don't see what you need on our list, please ask!

HR

  •   Enter ePAFs for various actions including new hires, funding changes, and other data changes.
  •   Complete AddComp preapproval and payment request forms.
  •   Assist with paperwork for hiring work study and/or graduate students.
  •   Assist with PageUp for posting open positions.

Financial

  •   Submit employee travel and other expense reimbursements.
  •   Invite new vendors to register with UMB so they can invoice and/or receive payment.
  •   Pay invoices on Purchase Orders.
  •   Purchase items through BuyWays.
  •   Request honoraria for special guests.
  •   View and report on revenue and expense activity in Summit.
  •   Assist with annual budget development.
  •   Provide monthly budget updates.

Purchasing

  • Add Vendor
  • Supplies or Equipment
  • Travel Support
  • Contract Submissions
  • Invoice Payment

Grants

  •   Complete Pre- and Post Award forms for ORSP.
  •   Complete grant proposal budget forms.
  •   Obtain signatures on forms.
  •   Submit subaward invoices.
  •   Assist with submitting final contracts/POs for consultants or services.

Event Support

  • Catering orders
  • Donating Tracking
  • Room reservations
  • RSVP tracking
  • Graphic Design/Flyers
  • Honoraria
  • Other support

Administrative

  •   Request signatures through DocuSign.
  •   Create spreadsheets/collect data and update existing data.
  •   Take monthly minutes at meetings.
  •   Assist with events (limited – please ask).
  •   Web page updates
  •   Other administrative, financial or grant services assistance.

We are always evolving, but we do not provide a staff member for dedicated in-person coverage within a unit.  However, we will endeavor to assist your unit in finding other options to meet those needs.

For general questions, contact CentralBusinessUnit@umb.edu