7.4 Invoices with Special Considerations

Accounts Payable may receive other types of invoices for processing. These invoices result when there is a need to process a credit to Rutgers, recurring payments, pre-payments or invoices that fall outside the general invoicing structure, amongst others.

• Credit Memos- Credit memos are issued by the supplier to return funds owed to the University, generated from duplicate payments, overpayments, or incorrectly issued payments. They will be scanned and validated through DMR and go through the regular invoicing process in RU Marketplace, including routing to exception queues. A purchase order must be open in order for a credit to be processed against it. Accounts Payable may re-open a closed purchase order or line in RU Marketplace and Finance Management in order to apply owed funds to the purchase order and the UDO.

• Invoices $5,000 and over and all subawards- Invoices $5,000 and over and all subawards require online approval in RU Marketplace based on the unit’s approval hierarchy. See Approve an Invoice.

To process an invoice $5,000 and over and subawards:

1) The invoice goes into a queue for Invoice Review/Approval.

2) The system recognizes when the amount of a processed invoice is $5,000 and over and subawards and sends the designated unit approver a notification to take action.

3) The unit approver must open the invoice and approve it from their actions menu. Until this is done, the invoice remains with “In Process” status and cannot route for payment. The expense is not reflected in Oracle until the invoice is approved in RU Marketplace.

4) Additionally, any invoice valued at $1M or greater shall be approved at the invoice level by the Executive Vice President-Chief Financial Officer and University Treasurer and, in addition, by any one (1) of the following University Officers: the Chair of the Board of Governors, President, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Executive Vice President for Strategic Planning and Operations and Executive Vice President- Chief Operating Officer, or Secretary of the University.

5) Once online approval is complete, the invoice changes to “Payable” status, and is passed to Oracle for further validation for accounting/payment. Payment is issued in Oracle based on invoice due date and supplier terms.

6) Accounts Payable runs weekly clean-up reports to identify invoices still requiring online approval from the unit. Designated approvers and business managers are contacted to take action. This helps accounting processes to post expenses in appropriate open periods. In cases when the designated approver has changed, Accounts Payable could forward the invoice to the new authorized approver so that they may see approval actions in RU Marketplace. If an approver has permanently changed, the unit should contact the UPS Help Desk to update the approver information.

Pre-payments – Pre-payments are payments that a supplier may need before the goods or services are delivered, such as a deposit to start work on a project. The supplier must provide an invoice which should be attached to the pre-payment request. These payments have immediate payment terms and Accounts Payable expeditors process pre-payments as acknowledgements to the unit that their request is acceptable. See Pre-Payment Request Process Instructions.

To initiate a pre-payment:

1) In RU Marketplace, the unit will complete the pre-payment request under Forms/Supplemental Forms. The request must include a valid a purchase order number.

2) The requisitions will route to the AP Prepayment Review Queue, where expeditors review. Pre-payment terms must be reflected on the contract or the supplier’s invoice to constitute a valid pre-payment. If they do not qualify, the requisition will be rejected and the invoice must submitted thru the normal channels.

• Small Businesses –Some suppliers are small businesses and by nature may not be equipped to produce generic invoices that would be valid for Accounts Payable processing. (e.g. A local pizza store may issue a handwritten receipt without an invoice number). An invoice processor can then add an invoice number following a naming convention when processing in the interface. Additionally, small businesses depend heavily on quick payments, therefore payment terms can be adjusted as needed.

• Utilities – Some regularly recurring invoices for utilities, (e.g. PSE&G, municipal water) can go through a purchase order or a Check Request. Utility payment terms are immediate.

• Wire Transfers – A wire transfer is an electronic payment for an invoice that has been submitted for processing. Wire payments are only for international payments. Accounts Payable processes invoices with wire transfer forms with the assistance of University Treasury. All domestic wires must be approved by the Treasury Department. Selection of wire payment does not initiate a wire payment. The appropriate wire requisition form must be completed.

To initiate a wire transfer payment:

1) The domestic or international wire form can be found in the form repository in RU Marketplace and is routed to the Wire Review Approval Queue for an AP Expeditor, Supervisor, or Manager to sort and review by date submitted.

2) The AP Expeditor reviews the requisition to ensure the following items have been provided or that the invoice has not been paid before approving:

• A valid purchase order number

• Matching invoice amount between the attached back up documentation and the requisition

• Confirmation that the invoice has not been paid; Invoice status should show as “In Process”.

Once confirmed, the requisition is forwarded to University Treasury

3) Accounts Payable reviews the request for valid banking information, approves and routes to Treasury for their review and processing.

4) The approved requisition will be routed to the Wire Invoice Processing Approval queue, and then AP will book the expense through RU Marketplace.