Contract Submission System Guide for the Office of the Attorney General Users

Welcome to the New York State Contract Submission System (CSS)

The CSS is a secure application which allows State authorities to submit contracts and contract amendments for prior approval or filing to the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC), as required by Public Authorities Law (PAL) 2879-(a) and NYCRR Part 206. OSC will review submitted transactions and respond electronically, maximizing timeliness for each contract transaction which requires approval.

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System Roles

CSS users are assigned roles which permit them to perform certain tasks. Roles within the System generally reflect the functions a user performs in an organization and only allows the user to complete tasks for which they have permission.

Office of Attorney General (OAG) roles are initially assigned when the user is created by an Authorizer in OSC Online Services.

OAG Reviewer Role

Allows user to view, audit and make a recommendation for contracts that have been submitted to OSC for prior approval by a State authority. User can attach document(s) or enter comments in conjunction with recommendation. User can also print transmittal containing contract transaction details.

OAG View‐Only Role

Allows user to view-only contracts that have been submitted to OSC for prior approval by a State authority. User can also print transmittal containing contract transaction details.

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Navigational Guide

Navigation Bar

The navigation bar displays on the left side of every page. It provides quick and direct access to the main features of the CSS.

Home

Provides the ability to view or review (role dependent) all contracts or amendments that have been submitted for prior approval that are available for OAG review.

Search Contracts

Provides the ability to search all State authority contract transactions submitted for prior approval pursuant to PAL 2879-(a) since May 2010. Results display in table format. 

Review History

Provides a detailed list of every OAG action taken on the contract transaction.

Feedback

Provides the ability to submit comments, suggestions and ideas for improvements that will help OSC improve the CSS.

Help

Provides access to an interactive CSS Online Help.

Title Bar

Username

Displays the name of the user currently logged into the CSS.

Apps

Displays the Online Services applications the user is currently enrolled in.

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Internet Browser

The CSS is a secure web-based application that uses JavaScript, cookies and other advanced features of Internet Browsers. If any of the required features are disabled, the CSS will not function correctly. If you are having trouble viewing the CSS, please follow the configuration directions provided below.

CSS was tested with the following browsers:

  • Microsoft Edge
  • Google Chrome

Please ensure that Java and Java Scripting are enabled within your browser settings.

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Contract Search

Allows users to search for contracts and contract amendments submitted to the OSC for prior approval pursuant to PAL 2879-(a) since May 2010 and to view transaction information. OAG users have access to a full history for all State authorities. State authority users will only have access to contracts and contract amendments submitted by their own authority or authority group. An authority group consists of a parent and its subsidiary State authorities.

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Review a Transaction

  1. Navigate to Review Transaction Page
    Click “Review” in the Actions column in the Transaction Available for Review table. Review Transaction page opens.
CSS Manual - AG - Review Transaction

 

  1. Review Transaction
    User reviews transaction header information which contains such data as: Authority Name, Contract Number, Document Type, Method of Award, Transaction Amount, Dates, Vendor Name & Address, Authority Contact information. Contract documents are found under the Attached Documents heading and can be viewed by clicking the document title.
  2. Request OSC Open
    If the OAG requires the authority to upload additional documents or information to the CSS record, click the "Request OSC Open" button located at the bottom of the Review Transaction page, and then enter a reason for the request and click "Submit".  OSC will be prompted to "open" the transaction in CSS to allow the authority to upload additional documents or information for review. 
  3. Attorney General Recommendation
    User selects a recommendation from the Recommendation drop down. User may enter text in comments field if necessary. When the recommendation is Non-Approved, it is necessary to describe the non-approval reason in the comments field provided or to add a note directing the OSC or State authority user to an attached document which provides such description.
    CSS Manual - AG - AG Recommendation
  4. Attach Document(s)
    Click the “Attach Additional Documents” link at the bottom of the Attached Documents section.
    CSS Manual - AG - Attach Documents
    1. Attachment Description – Enter narrative description of attachment (such as “OAG non‐approval explanation”)
    2. Attachment –
      1. Click the “Choose File” button
      2. Navigate to the location of the file to be attached, then select the appropriate file
    3. Click the “Attach” button
    4. Repeat this process if necessary, until all documents have been attached
    5. Click the “Back” button to return to Review Transaction page
    6. A list of documents that have been attached (uploaded) is displayed in this section. To view (download) a document, click on the document title.
      1. There is no limit to the number of files that may be attached
      2. Each file is limited to approximately 50MB
      3. Document, spreadsheet or image file types are allowed (doc, wpd, xls, qpd, pdf, jpeg, etc.)
      4. Files cannot contain a virus. Executable, archived or compressed files types are prohibited (exe, dll, com, zip, tar, jar, etc.)
  5. Completing the Review
    User clicks the “Complete Review” button, system saves all information, and the user is taken back to the OAG Home Page where the contract no longer appears on the Transactions Available for Review screen.

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Conduct a Search

An OAG user may search all State authority contracts and contract amendments submitted to OSC for prior approval pursuant to PAL 2879-(a) by following the steps below:

  1. Select Search Contracts from the menu at the left of the home screen
  2. All contracts are displayed. To query for a specific contract search filters can be used.
  3. Complete any or all of the search filter boxes as the match constraint to be applied to your query.  Search Contracts allows users to create specific queries to return precise results. Multiple criteria are available for filtering. Users may select any combination of filter criterion. Keep in mind that the number of criteria completed will affect the number of results that are returned.
  4. Click “Filter” to submit the query and view your results. Click “Clear” to remove previously completed criteria.

Filter Criteria:

By Vendor Name

Search for contracts and contract amendments by vendor name by typing in all or any part of the vendor’s name.

By Contract Number

Search for contracts and contract amendments by contract number by typing in all or any part of the contract number.

By State Authority

Search for contracts and contract amendments by the name of the State authority that executed the agreement by typing in all or any part of the authority’s name.

By Date Received

Search for contracts and contract amendments by the contract received date by typing in the exact date or selecting the date using the calendar pop‐up.

By Date Completed

Search for contracts and contract amendments by the contract completed date by typing in the exact date or selecting the date using the calendar pop‐up.

CSS Manual - AG - Search Contracts

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Contract Details from Search Results

View Search Results

Contracts and contract amendments meeting the search criteria are displayed.

Results page view options:

  1. Sort results by clicking on any column heading
  2. Scroll through the pages or select a page number to navigate directly to that page
  3. Customize the number of contracts to display per page by selecting "25", "50", or "100"

View Contract Details

Click on a contract number on the Search Results Page to display additional information about the transaction and to find available actions.

Print Transmittal

To print the contract details, click “Print Transmittal” in the lower right corner of the Contract Detail screen or if you prefer, the Review or View Transaction pages. When the transmittal page opens, scroll to bottom of the page and click “Print”. When done, click the “ Go Back” button to return to the previous page.

CSS Manual - AG - Contract Details

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View a Transaction

  1. Navigate to Transactions Available for Review Page. User clicks the “View” link under the Actions column. View Transaction page opens.
  2. View Transaction, Attachments and Attorney General Recommendation.
    CSS Manual - AG - View Transaction
    User reviews all transaction information which contains data such as: Authority Name, Contract Number, Document Type, Method of Award, Transaction Amount, Dates, Vendor Name & Address, Authority Contact information, Attached Documents for this transaction, etc.
    CSS Manual - AG - User Review Transaction
  3. Return to Home Page. User clicks the “Back” button and is returned to previous page.

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Edit My Profile

Authenticated users can update their User Profile information by following these steps:

  1. Click on the drop down next to the user name located on the top left of the Title Bar
  2. Select "User Profile"
  3. Click "Edit" within section that needs to be updated
CSS Manual - AG - Edit Profile

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