For those faculty and staff on campus who approve invoices and expense reimbursements and are responsible for forwarding on these items to accounts payable for payment, PLEASE be aware of the following:
In addition to the time it takes on your end to get invoices approved, coded and sent to accounts payable, it still takes an additional ONE to TWO weeks processing time before the final check or ACH payment gets in the hands of our vendors, staff, students or faculty. The additional processing time includes the following steps:
- Once the invoice or expense reimbursement arrives in accounts payable, it takes time to review the invoice for proper approval and coding to get the invoice processed into Banner to then get ready for payment. This usually occurs on a first-in, first-out processing system. This can be delayed if invoices are not properly coded and approved.
- Once the payment is in Banner, time will lapse until the next check run or ACH batch is prepared and executed, which is typically only done twice weekly, on Wednesdays and Fridays.
- Once the check is cut or ACH is released, there is the additional outgoing mail delivery time (typically two days for ACH) to get to the vendor or other recipient.
ACTION STEP FOR 2017: It would be very much appreciated if approvers around campus can make it a New Year’s goal to review invoices for approval and forward to accounts payable on a WEEKLY basis to ensure timely payments are being made to our vendors. Most vendors require payment within 30 days, while some require it within 15 days.