Accounts Payable 101 A.K.A. Everything you want to know about AP but

Accounts Payable 101 A.K.A. Everything you want to know about AP but were afraid to ask!!

What do we do in the Business Office? We process payments with your NYS funds for: Goods/services secured with a Req/PO/SFR or Contract Personal reimbursements to employees/non-employees Fellowship payments and Awards to students Book stipends for students Hosting reimbursements Sodexo department meal card replenishment Plaza Travel airfare/lodging Small Claims Travel, employee and non-employee Moving Expenses (audited by us, paid by HR)

The Process in a near Perfect World When you need to purchase some goods/services, you create a Requisition in the BU Business System you and your approver then approve your Req The approved Req transmits electronically to the Purchasing Department for further review if it passes their review, a Purchase Order is created If the Req is over 2,500, you send the approved Req with your back up documentation to Purchasing for review When you receive your PO (you have to look for it in BUBS), you place your order for goods/services When you receive your goods/services, you create a short form receipt in BUBS with the words “OK to Pay” be specific with items and/or amounts The invoice for the item(s) ordered is received by the Business Office directly from the vendor and is paid because all of the steps above have been done!

The Process in the Most Perfect World You use your NYS Procurement Card a.k.a. P-Card

E-mail address for AP Items [email protected] manned by JoAnne Arsenault To be used for: Invoice submission-please do not send invoices to an individual unless requested by an AP staff memberforward to this e-mail/fax 7-6263/send interoffice General Accounts Payable inquiries Questions regarding information sent to you from AP PO/Short form receipt information requested by AP Vendor questions about payment Was a check cashed?

BUBS Global Document Search AWESOME-BEST SEARCH TOOL EVER Overall search for Req number PO number Contract number Short Form Receipt Vendor name Employee name (last name space first name) Non-Employee name (first name space last name) Voucher number Payment information

BUBS Global Document Search

SUNY Financial Toolbox You can look up: Requisitions POs Short Form Receipts Vendors Chart of Accounts (your NYS funds) UNSPSCs (United Nations Standard Products & Service Codes)

The SUNY Financial Toolbox This is your best friend when looking up anything in BU Business System (on right):

Need to find a vendor? Check in SUNY Financial Toolbox Vendor name or SFS ID number search Check Vendor listing on BUBS Portal For our vendors that are better known by different names (DBAs) and not the vendor’s legal business name This is not a listing of every vendor in the NYS System there are hundreds of thousands of millions approved vendors (OK, maybe not millions ) Plaza Travel M & K Webster Inc Still don’t know if your vendor is an approved vendor? E-mail supplier listserv you will need the vendor’s tax identification number to inquire [email protected] or [email protected] Need to add a vendor to the BU Business System? Purchasing Web, Vendor Selection, NYS Vendor Management System link for process and info needed link

Proper Invoice A proper invoice is a written or electronic request for payment submitted by the vendor that must contain the following information: Vendor name Name of NYS Agency that ordered the goods or services Description of goods or services requesting payment for (may be in narrative or code values format) Quantity of goods, property, or services delivered or rendered* Amount requested Purchase order (PO) number, if applicable, as provided by ordering agency. When an invoice does not contain the above information, agencies must reject the invoice and notify the vendor within one business day to resubmit a proper invoice with the necessary information. *Consistent with New York State Finance Law §§ 109(1) and 179-e(5), vendors should only invoice an agency once the goods, property, or services have been delivered or rendered. If the goods, property, or services included on an invoice have not been delivered or rendered, agencies should return the unpaid invoice and notify the vendor within one business day to resubmit a proper invoice once the goods, property, or services have been delivered or rendered. By accepting an invoice before the goods, property, or services have been delivered or rendered, agencies may lose available early payment discounts or lose short term interest by paying the invoice earlier than necessary

Invoices A invoice should contain the following information: NYS Vendor ID number Invoice Date Unique invoice number as described in Section 5.B – Unique Invoice Number Requirements of this Chapter in the Guide to Financial Information, NYS OSC Payment terms being offered, if other than Net 30 Any other information the agency may reasonably require as communicated in the contract or PO Need to be sent by the VENDOR to the Business Office you/we cannot ever create an invoice for a vendor ever!! Most Vendors are net 30 days---Plaza Travel is net 10 days!!! Should never be received by the Business Office without a valid NYS PO referenced BTW, your name is not a valid PO, and neither is the date or 12345!!! Per NYS Finance Law, all should come directly to the Business Office, not individual departments. Clock starts ticking when an invoice is stamped in by us (interest paid?) here’s our address: Binghamton University Business Office, PO Box 6000 Binghamton, NY 13902-6000

Personal Reimbursements No PO needed-NYS Standard voucher instead Need either N number (if employee); SS# or Drivers License # and State if issued in the USA (if non-employee) and correct current home address including zip code Need original receipt(s) and proof of fiscal liability if paid with credit card/debit card/check Need backup documentation (flyer, names of attendees, etc.) as to reason for purchase We also reserve the right to request a statement from the employee being reimbursed explaining why the NY State process (Purchase Order To Vendor or New York State Procurement Card) could not be used to purchase the item(s) Can only audit a new employee’s moving expenses, process travel or personal reimbursements with his/her N number assigned by NYS Payment info can be found in BI All of this info is on the AP website

Simple Sample Spreadsheet to track POs

Business Intelligence This is where you will find: all of your pending payment & payment information (or lack thereof) PO balance information Reqs that are “stuck” and not zeroed down but still encumbered against your accounts Who should have access to BI? Anyone who needs to know if someone/vendor has been paid Anyone who needs to keep track of the Reqs/POs that have been generated This quick BI tutorial is not a substitute for actual Business Intelligence Training. The next BI class is Tuesday, November 26 th @ UCTD from 1-2:30 pm UCTD consulting hours are held on Tuesdays-Thursdays, 9:00-11:30 am please call ahead

How can I tell if/when something was paid? Business Intelligence Account Summary-overall account info, pending/actual payments, Travel, Personal Reimbursements Voucher Inquiry-payments including vendors and employees Transaction Summary-All transactions and pending transactions any PO/Contract/Req/check number Always clear the zeros from the Account field unless using your 8 digit account number in the search Add check date and number columns if needed

Please do not Order anything without a NYS P-Card or valid NYS PO to charge at time of ordering-YOU may become fiscally liable for any purchase made outside of the NYS approved purchasing methods Purchase gift cards of any kind (and expect reimbursement) ever ever ever ever ever ever ever! Buy anything with a Gift Card or “points” and expect reimbursement for that item. Forget to do a short form receipt against your PO when you receive your items Forget to send backup documentation for: Hosting Any Food purchases-Hosting guidelines, Pizza, Wegmans Rental car/hotel Personal reimbursements Fellowship/Stipend payments

Other helpful sites Business System Portal Accounts Payable website https://www.binghamton.edu/business-office/ http:// www.binghamton.edu/accounts-payable/news.html Purchasing website https://www.binghamton.edu/purchasing/

Questions? Rose Hassett 7-4660 [email protected] Amy Cordi 7-3747 [email protected] JoAnne Arsenault 7-2037 [email protected] Kyle Kocan 7-3980 [email protected]