When the department does not initiate the procurement process with a Purchase Requisition or use the P-Card, they may pay the invoice by directly entering the information into the Oracle/PeopleSoft Finance System, except in situations as follows:

• Payments to Individuals
• Rents or Lease payments
• Contract Service Agreements
• Purchases of $10,000.01 and above
• Equipment purchases of $10,000.01 and above
• Payments needing authorization from more than one department, unless an individual is authorized to sign on all departments involved

a. Efficiency

Departments are encouraged to use this method when applicable. With the effort expended in preparing a paper AP Voucher, the department can have the supplier payment entered into Oracle/PeopleSoft and ready for payment themselves on a more timely basis.

b. Process

Once the goods and/or services are received and accepted, and the supplier invoice is received in the department, the department needs to go through a process to review the invoice, check for accuracy, verify the good and/or services were in fact received and are acceptable. The person taking responsibility for this process should approve the payment by signing or initialing on the APPROVED-DATE line once the invoice is stamped.

Each invoice should be stamped as follows:

I/we acknowledge receipt of these goods &/or services.

VENDOR ID #______________________________
SHIPMENT RECEIPT # _____________________
VOUCHER ID #____________________________
APPROVED-DATE_________________________
ENTERED-DATE__________________________
FUNDING_________________________________

(This stamp is available through the Accounting Office by calling 231-7432.)

Fill in the blanks as follows:

VENDOR ID (SUPPLIER ID) #: Determined by looking up the number in Oracle/PeopleSoft. If the supplier is new and/or not currently set up as a supplier in the system emailndsu.accounting@ndsu.eduthe Accounting Office both the invoice and an IRS form W-9 or W-8, and a Supplier ID # will be created for the company you are paying. If emailing the information for setup, please put the name of the supplier in the subject line of the email.  The Accounting Office will then fax or email the new Supplier ID # back to you for minimal delay in paying the invoice.

All remit address changes or supplier name changes will need to be submitted to the Accounting Office.  For accounts payable purposes, the remit address is the most important address, as this is where the checks and ACH direct deposit remittance advice are mailed.

FUNDING: Oracle/PeopleSoft chartfields used to charge the expense (Account-Fund-Dept-Program-Project #s).

APPROVED-DATE: The Accounting Office requires a minimum of two signatures on the invoice; one authorizing payment approval and one indicating who has entered the invoice information into the system. The individual approving the payment should sign his/her initials on this line with the date.

ENTERED-DATE: The Accounting Office requires a minimum of two signatures on the invoice; one authorizing payment approval and one indicating who has entered the invoice information into the system. Once the invoice has been entered into the system, the individual who enters the information should sign his/her initials on this line with the date.

VOUCHER ID #: This is the voucher number generated by the system for each invoice as it is entered.

3. Alphabetize the invoices you plan to enter as a batch.

4. Calculate the batch total (total of all the invoices you will be entering) on an adding machine tape. Initial the tape and write the date on it. (This tape will be used to verify your session total after you have entered your invoices - see #6 below.)

5. Enter the supplier invoice information into Oracle/PeopleSoft Finance.  Contact the Accounting Office by phone (231-7432) or email (NDSU.Accounting@ndsu.edu for instructions or assistance on AP entry.

After entering the invoice, you will see a system-generated Voucher ID # number. Write that number on the line entitled: "VOUCHER ID #". Initial and date the line entitled: "ENTERED".

6. After entering all invoices for a given day, run Oracle/PeopleSoft query NDU_AP63_VOUCHER_BY_USER to verify your input. The query results can be downloaded to Excel, totaled and compared to your adding machine tape; calculated in #4 above.

If your totals do not agree you can make changes to the vouchers you entered and then repeat step #6 to verify the accuracy of your input.

If a payment is entered online in PeopleSoft Finance by a department, it cannot be picked up in the Accounting Office. These payments will be mailed directly to the supplier.

Record Retention: The department is required to maintain all invoices and supporting documentation per the NDSU Policy Section 713 - Records Management; currently accounts payable invoices must be maintained for a total of ten years.

Audit Requests: It is necessary for the department to keep the invoices and supporting documentation filed appropriately and maintained according to the records retention policy, as the department may be asked at any time to pull an invoice and all supporting documentation for audit.

Single Use Account (“SUA”) is a payment process available to pay supplier invoices by PeopleSoft Accounts Payable ("AP") Voucher.  This is a third payment option when paying invoices by PeopleSoft AP Voucher - in addition to checks and direct deposits.  Paying suppliers by procurement card is another option not involving AP Vouchers. 

SUA is called a virtual credit card payment program where instead of paying suppliers by check or direct deposit, they are paid by a one-time credit card payment initiated by PeopleSoft.  Each supplier that enrolls in the SUA program will be assigned with an SUA location in PeopleSoft.  Supplier numbers will not be changed - an SUA location will be added for the suppliers that sign up.  When an AP Voucher is processed with an SUA location code, the voucher is paid by a one-time payment that is electronically generated - similar to direct deposits.  An electronic notice is sent to the supplier and they have to accept the payment.

Similar to the distribution of checks and direct deposits, NDSU departments outside of the central accounting office are not involved in the SUA payment process, other than selecting the SUA location code for a supplier when processing an AP Voucher in PeopleSoft.  The difference between direct deposits & SUA payments is that the SUA payments are processed through a university/state credit card account and are subject to a rebate similar to the procurement card - direct deposits are an Automated Clearing House (ACH) bank account transaction.

NDSU Accounting highly recommends any electronic payment method - SUA, procurement cards, or direct deposits.