Accounting Policies & Procedures Department of Finance SOPP# 130 Accounts Payable – Invoicing & Receiving Page 1 of 6 SOPP # 130 (Accounts Payable) Prepared By: Audit Assurance Division Effective Date: 08/14/09 (Rev: Jan. 2011) Approved By: Commissioner of Finance Title: ACCOUNTS PAYABLE - INVOICING AND RECEIVING Purpose To provide a means to ensure uniformity in payment processes Policy INVOICING  Each invoice should be entered separately, reflecting the proper vendor name and number, purchase order reference, invoice number and invoice date.  If an invoice is to be paid from more than one object or project, enter each set of object and project on a separate line on the same screen.  Any changes in amounts being paid on an invoice (e.g. partial liquidation of an invoice, or a percentage of payment) should be indicated on the invoice or attached via a supplementary sheet, and initialed. The original invoiced amount should still be clearly shown.  Invoice numbers for utility, telephone and other recurring items should consist of the account number as it appears on the bill, followed by a hyphen and the month and year. For example i. WAPA: 012345-012345-082009 ii. Innovative: 0123456789-082009 iii. Contracts: Contract number -082009  The description field should include the following: WAPA bills - “water, 082009; electricity 082009” Telephone bills - “telephone number 082009” Any additional information is at the discretion of the department. When paying for more than one month, each bill should be itemized in the comments area. The total of all the bills should be the amount owed on the last billing invoice. This would include the bill number, bill date, and the total being paid for each bill, as well as a summary total of all the bills. A full copy of each bill should be attached. Accounting Policies & Procedures Department of Finance SOPP# 130 Accounts Payable – Invoicing & Receiving Page 2 of 6  Each document should be referring to one utility account.  Circumvention of the procurement process is strictly forbidden and is punishable under the procurement laws.  Payments directly to departments and agencies and/or agency related accounts are strictly forbidden. The only money to be paid to the department or agency should be the petty cash fund which should not exceed $1,000 in most cases. Any need for additional funding should be requested through the regular channels.  Pro-forma invoices and quotes are not acceptable as proof of the cost and amount due for payment. They can only be used for requisitioning. Pro-Forma invoices and statements are not valid as payment invoices. Each purchase should be accompanied by the actual vendor paid receipt. This does not include the occasional instances in which a pre-payment is required.  Ordering the items or services after the purchase order is received, would limit the time it takes, (after the department or agency receives the goods), for vendors to get payments. Batching -  Include no more than fifty invoices to be paid, in each batch. This will not hinder any one payment from going through. A batch by definition means more than one.  Do not mix local and federal payments in one batch for simplification of the process. Addresses -  Always include the vendor address. No vendor address means that the check cannot leave the Department of Finance  Always verify the vendor remit address  Always include the name, address and receiving officer of the department or agency or subsection thereof, that is doing the purchasing. This will enhance the effectiveness of delivery by the vendor. Accounting Policies & Procedures Department of Finance SOPP# 130 Accounts Payable – Invoicing & Receiving Page 3 of 6 Invoice Entry -  The invoice date entered on the AP Invoice entry screen must be the invoice date actually documented on the invoice itself.  Invoice received date should be the date the invoice is received in the department. TIP: For invoices with dates before the beginning of the current month, set the invoice received date as the current date received, so that it can be defaulted for payment at end of the current month.  The due date is the default date set by the system. This will enable the quickest delivery of payment. Validity –  Always use the invoice and the invoice number provided by the vendor. Should the vendor not provide a numbered invoice, please request it.  Departments and agencies must not assign invoice numbers on vendor invoices. Telephone, utility and contractual rental fees are exceptions typically granted. Invoice Sufficiency – To avoid duplicate invoices:  Partial Payments – Partial payments should be clearly identified and initialed. The invoice number would be the original invoice number followed by P1, P2, or P3 based on the number of partial payments being made.  Local and federal partial payments should be indicated by being ended with an L (for local) or an F (for federal).  All change order billings, approved by Property and Procurement, must be accompanied by the approved change order documentation, including: the periods of work performed, or the dates of service, the authorized signatures, the amount of the billings, and the original contract number. Accounting Policies & Procedures Department of Finance SOPP# 130 Accounts Payable – Invoicing & Receiving Page 4 of 6 Receipting  All receipts used must have the vendors’ name and address.  Valid Receipts - Gift cards and meal tickets or tabs are not acceptable as receipts. Please request a receipt for all purchases. Reimbursements –  Reimbursements for haphazard purchases should be done through the petty cash system.  Should the reimbursement requested exceed the normal petty cash amount, a justification letter from the department or agency head is required.  Alcoholic beverages are not reimbursable expenses on travel reimbursements. Receiving Reports –  Goods should be physically received, and services performed before batches are released to Accounts Payable of the Department of Finance for payment.  Signed and dated receiving reports or bill of lading documents should be scanned into the ERP system, by the receiving officers. The area to record and scan the receiving reports can be found in the ERP system under  GVI Department Menu,  GVI Department Purchasing,  PO Receiving File Maintenance.  A receiving report and/or a bill of lading must always accompany any new product purchased  Goods received or services rendered should be clearly described or listed.  Receiving reports are not required for recurring invoices (utility bills and rental payments). Purchase Orders  An approved purchase order number is auto-generated by the ERP system; therefore scanning of the physical purchase order is not required.  Always click the buttons “release” and “approvals” on Accounting Policies & Procedures Department of Finance SOPP# 130 Accounts Payable – Invoicing & Receiving Page 5 of 6 completion of entry of a batch being submitted for payment.  Always follow up on batches to ensure swift movement through the system. Responsibilities Departments and Agencies are responsible for:  Batching entries in sets of no more than fifty (50) line items.  Applying the correct object code to match the expense.  Ensuring that batches are being paid from the correct bank account.  Indicating clearly what is being paid for and how much  Including the vendor and department or agency’s name and address  Entering signed, dated receiving reports in the system  Following the procurement processes  Including only authentic, allowable invoices and receipts for payment  Ensuring that haphazard purchases are paid through the petty cash system  Following up on batches to ensure payments are timely and accurate. Department of Finance - Accounts Payable is responsible for the following:  Reviewing paid invoices for validity, sufficiency, and authorization  Ensuring that checks for vendors with acceptable documentation are released for payment within one week.  Verify that payments are being charged against the correct accounts  Alerting departments if checks are going from the wrong bank account code (e.g. misapplying federal expenditures in the general fund bank account. Procedure Departments and Agencies will: 1. Enter invoices for payment as soon as goods or services are received, and the corresponding documentation is available 2. Enter no more than 50 invoices in a batch if available 3. Enter all documentation (receiving reports and invoices) into the system 4. Ensure that the correct bank codes are being used Accounting Policies & Procedures Department of Finance SOPP# 130 Accounts Payable – Invoicing & Receiving Page 6 of 6 5. Ensure that all documentation is covered under the applicable procurement and/ or grant laws 6. Verify that the dates on the screen are correct and applicable 7. Ensure the total being paid is clear 8. Remember to always click on the release and approval buttons to send payment through. 9. Reference ERP system Procedure Manual on Website http://www.usvifinance.info/html/VisionERPmanuals.html Department of Finance will: 1. Verify that the Departments and Agencies have complied with all the rules and regulations surrounding their purchase 2. Verify that the purchase order, the receiving report, and the invoice are matching 3. Review the invoices to ensure that the purchases are valid and authorized, and are for the amounts being paid. 4. Certify and approve payments of invoices Revision History Revision # Date Description of changes Requested By 0 04/03/2009 Initial Release JL 1 08/05/09 Review VC 2 08/15/09 Update to include recurring bills JL 3 12/18/09 Final review CME, DJ, JL 4 9/16/10 Update invoicing procedures JL, CME, WM 5 01/25/11 Updated API procedures AED 6 01/27/11 Reviewed updated documentation VC