Purchase order payments:

Upon receipt of goods ordered or completion of services rendered, a department must send the signed blue copy of the purchase order (P.O.) to Accounts Payable (A/P). A/P must have the signature from an authorized person in order to process the invoice when it arrives.

Invoices received by any department within the University should be forwarded to the Accounts Payable Office (UNA Box 5001) along with the signed blue copy. The vendor does not send an invoice to both the department and A/P.

If the invoice being paid represents a partial payment of the P.O. or a blanket purchase order release is to be made, forward invoices and a signed copy of the purchase order marked “partial payment.” You should indicate items to be paid and total amount. To finalize the purchase order, forward the signed blue copy of the purchase order with the invoice and mark “close purchase order.”

When invoices are received directly from the vendor in A/P, the invoices will be matched with the purchase order used to place the order. In order to accomplish this, a P.O. number must be on the invoice. Invoices received in A/P with incorrect or missing P.O. numbers will delay processing since the backup documentation cannot be easily located. If A/P receives an invoice but does not have the signed P.O. on file, the invoice will be faxed to the department for their review and request for approval to pay.

If a product is received by the department, or services completed, the signed copy of the P.O. can be sent to A/P without an invoice. If an invoice is later received by the department, the invoice should then be sent to A/P if the P.O. number is noted on the invoice.

Payments without Purchase order:

If payment is not to be made from a purchase order, (e.g. travel reimbursement, periodical subscription renewals, items less than $200), a disbursement requisition must be prepared and accompanied by an invoice. This requisition, with all proper approval signatures, must be submitted to Donna Tipps, Controller, at Box 5001. If approved, the invoice will then be forwarded to A/P for payment. The University can not reimburse sales tax or alcoholic beverages.

Allow 10 working days to process payments. Please plan accordingly. A/P is unable to process items immediately unless Evan Thornton or Donna Tipps approves a manual check. This will only occur on rare occasions. Processing time for all disbursements may be longer during the first two months of Fall and Spring semesters as volume increases with preparation of student refund checks.

The Business Office requests that departments not “promise” a check to a vendor or student by a certain time. We cannot guarantee that any check will be written within a specified time. If time is of the essence, please contact us before relaying disbursement information to anyone.

You may contact Blair Hampton (ext 5152) or Courtney May (ext 4443) in the Accounts Payable Office with specific questions concerning a disbursement.