TO: University Business Managers, Campus Unit Finance Leads, Research Information
FROM: Justin Hanford, Voucher Supervisor, Accounts Payable and Travel Services
We are sending a reminder to follow the naming convention for all bills/documents that lack a unique invoice number. Please make sure you are following the naming convention noted below to prevent delays in final approval. This will also ensure that duplicate payments are not being sent out.
- The bill has an account number but no invoice number (such as one from Duke Energy): In order to distinguish between bills with the same account number, please put the vendor account number and add three letters of the billing date month and two digits of the year. For example, if the vendor account # was 12-3456789 and the billing date is 09/23/23, the invoice number would be 12-3456789SEP23.
Note: If the vendor account number has spaces, please ignore them and type the account number as one uninterrupted string. For example, account#: 7188-12 0545 01 dated 9/23/23 would be: 7188-12054501SEP23. - Rent payments: Created invoice numbers should include the month for rent (often one month ahead of payment month), a two-digit year and the amount of the rent along with the vendor name printed on a piece of paper with invoice number. For example, if we are paying a rent payment of $1,500 for November 2023 for Rental Corporation, the invoice # would be RentalCorporation1500.00NOV23.
- Reimbursements: The created reimbursement invoice number will be the last name of the payee, amount (including cents), three letters of the expense month and a two-digit year. For example, if we are reimbursing Mark Smith for a $20.34 purchase, occurring last month (September 2023), the invoice number would be SMITH20.34SEP23.
- Stipend: The stipend invoice number will be the last name of the individual, the amount (including cents), three letters of the current month and two-digit year. For example, if we create a voucher for Mark Smith for $1,890.58 in November 2023, the invoice number would be SMITH1890.58NOV23.
- Cash Advance and Petty Cash Reimbursement: The cash advance invoice number will be the last name of the employee, the amount (including cents), three letters of the current month and two-digit year. For example, if we create a voucher for Mark Smith for $560 in November 2023, the invoice number would be SMITH560.00NOV23.
- Standard vendor invoice that lacks a unique invoice number or account number: If the vendor issues an invoice that does not have a unique invoice number or account number, use the vendor name, the amount (including cents), three letters of the bill date month and a two-digit year. If XYZ News issues an invoice for $500 dated 11/20/23 but there is not a unique invoice number listed, the created invoice number would be XYZNews500.00Nov23.
For additional guidance, please see the Naming Conventions for Voucher Invoice Numbers guide on the Finance and Budget Payment Processing webpage.
If you have questions about this format, please contact Accounts Payable at accountspayable@unc.edu