Suppliers should release goods or perform services only after receiving a purchase order number from Iowa State University, e.g., PO-XXXXXXX or supplier contract number SCN-XXXXXXX.

Important Reminder:

If a purchase order number or supplier contract number is not received when the order is taken, the supplier cannot be assured that the person obtaining the goods or services has been authorized to obligate the university. Payment of the invoice will be delayed until a valid purchase order or supplier contract number has been established or identified.

Recommended Practice:

Invoices should be emailed to invoices@iastate.edu.

Potential Delays and Problems:

• If the supplier submits the invoice to the department receiving the goods or services, Finance Service Delivery is unaware that an invoice has been received, so the payment process does not begin. If the buying department receives the invoice, they should forward it to invoices@iastate.edu. The buying department should also notify the supplier to email future invoices directly to invoices@iastate.edu.

Recommended Practice:

Supplier invoices should have a valid purchase order number or supplier contract number and a unique invoice number.

Potential Delays and Problems:

• If the supplier does not provide a purchase order number or supplier contract number, time-consuming research must be performed that may delay processing time.
• If the supplier does not provide an invoice number, one must be created to populate a required system field. This practice makes it more difficult to track which invoices are being paid.

Recommended Practice:

Cost Center Managers must review and approve every supplier invoice for supplier contract or PO payments before the supplier can be paid. It is their responsibility to determine that the goods have been received or provided.

Potential Delays and Problems:

• Supplier payments will be made after all approvals. If the goods or services were not performed, the university could suffer a loss.
• If there is a problem with the product or the performance of a service, add a note in the "Enter Your Comment" section and notify Procurement Services. Procurement Services agents can provide assistance in resolving the dispute with the supplier.
• All Supplier Invoices must be approved by the CCM. Workday does not have a "negative approval" feature.
• Supplier invoices are paid according to the terms of the purchase order or supplier contract. For example, if payment terms are Net 30, the check will not be cut until the 30 days have passed. However, the payment will show as an expenditure upon being approved.

Recommended Practice:

The payment process does not begin immediately after the last approver has approved the supplier invoice. If payment terms are Net 30, the payment will not take place until that period has passed. However, checks are printed (and bank transfers released) Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings (except University holidays) for eligible payments. Checks are mailed from Printing Services the next business morning.

Potential Delays and Problems:

• Weekends and holidays will delay the mailing of the check to the supplier.
• Checks for outside suppliers should not be mailed to campus addresses or picked up by employees unless a valid business need exists. These practices make check fraud more likely, and are an inappropriate use of staff time. Proper planning and awareness of the check writing schedule should make these practices unnecessary.
• Payments by wire transfer and foreign draft require special processing by the Treasurer's Office and our bank.

Recommended Practice:

Usually this goes very smoothly, as the invoice information is printed on the check stub.

Potential Delays and Problems:

• Large companies sometimes use a lockbox service, and the correct information about the invoices is not transmitted to the company. Some suppliers apply the payment to the oldest invoice, rather than the one identified with the remittance. Application errors can also be the result of human error. In all of these cases, Finance Service Delivery assists the supplier with resolving the discrepancies.
• If a check is lost or delayed in the mail and has been outstanding more than ten business days, the Accounting Office will replace a check free of charge. Please contact Compliance at acctweb@iastate.edu if a check needs to be cancelled and payment reissued. The payee name, check number, and amount will need to be provided to identify the payment. The payment may be found with the invoice number.
• If the supplier cannot determine where to apply a check, a copy of the remittance will be provided upon request. Requests may be submitted to invoices@iastate.edu.
• Iowa State University is tax exempt in most states. If sales tax is incorrectly added to an invoice, it will be deducted and the invoice will be short paid.
• If the supplier has not properly recorded adjustments we have included as remittance information, our records will not match. Assistance will be provided to suppliers to resolve such discrepancies.
• The postal and banking systems in some countries are not as efficient as we sometimes expect. Even payments by wire transfer, which happen the same day within the United States, can take several days to reach foreign suppliers. If payment was made by check, the Accounting Office can reissue the check at no charge if more than ten business days have elapsed. For foreign currency drafts or wire transfers, please contact Brad Dye at 515-294-1002.