Payment Processing
The Accounts Payable and Vendor Management Team oversees payments to University suppliers and vendors of the University. There are three ways of making payments to these business partners, most of them are completed through the ConnectCarolina system. Most payments are made after the service is rendered or item is purchased, but in special situations, an advance payment can be made.
How-to Resources
- Making Purchases
- Creating a Purchase Order
- Using the Vendor Invoice Submission Page
- Purchase Order Inquiry
- Creating a Receipt by Purchase Order
- Adjusting or Canceling a Receipt
- Accessing PO Invoices
- Accessing Purchase Order Activity Summary
- Invoice Search by Purchase Order
- Creating a Purchase Requisitions and Receiving (Information on submitting invoice on page 62).
Special Situations
- 703 – Making Advance Payments to Vendors
- Liquidations: Contact the purchasing agent that created the PO from the department requisition.
The ConnectCarolina user information website has multiple training and resource documents, and quick reference cards to assist with entering a campus voucher. Visit the site and search by campus voucher to open the topics relating to campus voucher creation and workflow such as the following:
- Creating Campus Vouchers
- Approving, deleting, closing, and viewing campus vouchers (computer-based training modules)
How-to Resources
- Access Through ConnectCarolina
- Monitoring Exceptions/Errors in Vouchers
- Accounts Not Allowed in an Accounts Payable – Combo Edit (Onyen required)
- Quick Reference Card: Changing Pay Terms on Vouchers
- Naming Conventions for Voucher Invoice Numbers (used for rents, reimbursements, cash advances and petty cash reimbursements, or bills that have an account number but no unique invoice number, such as a utility company).
Other Notations
- Supporting Documentation is required for campus vouchers that matches the voucher details and needs to be uploaded in Connect Carolina. This information will be approved through a department approval path before arriving at Accounts Payable for final approval and payment. Certain funds or vendor types may have additional approval stops before arriving at Accounts Payable.
- Independent Contractor Vouchers must include form 708.1.1f Independent Contractor Checklist, IC Approval email, and vendor submitted invoice (if appropriate) when requesting payment.
- Petty Cash Vouchers require Form 304.1.2f – Uniform Receipt for Payments Made from Petty Cash. Multiple receipts can be reimbursed on one petty cash voucher by adding additional lines and chartfields to the voucher.
- Cash Advance Vouchers should complete two forms, Form 307.1.1f Application for the Advancement of Trust Funds (Cash Advance) and Form 307.1.2f – Cash Advancement Agreement, and, if applicable, Form 307.1.3f Request for Advance of Purchase of Gift Cards and use only the permissible account codes for this:
- 559510 (Cash Advance – OSP)
- 113920 (Cash Advance – non OSP … this account code requires an open item entry code in the chartfield string which is the vendor ID)
- 559511 (Travel Advance – non UNC Employee)
- Electronic Funds Transfer (ACH) is the approved method for paying vendors is by electronic funds transfer (ACH). Vendors with ACH banking information will have ACH shown as an available payment method on the Campus Voucher entry pages. Campus Vouchers paid by check must also include special instructions for check handling if desired. See Policy 704 – Distribution of Checks for Goods and Services and Procedure 704.1 – Distribution of Checks for Goods and Services. Payment terms set by the State of North Carolina are net 30 days from invoice date.
Foreign Wire Transfers
See the Wire Fund Transfer page for details.
Reimbursement Notice
Any work-related purchase must go through the appropriate procurement channels. It is against policy for an employee to purchase an item with personal funds and then request reimbursement.
To reinforce this policy, we will be requesting that sales tax be removed from any employee reimbursement in which the employee bypassed available UNC procurement methods. See the January 11, 2021 memo for details.
Expenses must comply with NC OSBM policies and UNC policies and procedures. Funding sources (chartfield strings) must allow payments for these expenses. Relevant policies and procedures are found in the GO TO section in the right-hand column of ConnectCarolina.Expenses paid on campus vouchers include but are not limited to the following: Rents, royalties, employee and student awards, membership dues, licenses and certificate fees, payments to independent contractors, cash advances, petty cash replenishment, and business entertainment.Campus voucher reimbursements require an explanation as to:
- what the expense is for
- how it relates to the university and
- proof of purchase for the expense (a receipt, invoice with $0.00 balance, or a bank statement).
A Business Entertainment Expense Memo (Finance Procedure 1263.1 – Paying for Business Entertainment Expenses ) is required when an individual is being reimbursed for a business entertainment expense (food related expense), which needs to include the reason for the expense, place of meeting, number in attendance, and names of those in attendance (required for meetings of only 8 attendees or less).
Reimbursements are not allowed for the following items:
- Cell phone expenses. These must go through payroll as a stipend per Finance Policy 1269 – Mobile Communication Device Business Expenses.
- Internet Expenses. See Finance Policy 1227 – Unauthorized Purchases.
- Gift Cards. Gift cards need to be purchased from a cash advance and the cash advance settlement needs to go to Accounting Services.
- Can I pay multiple invoices on one voucher?
- No. Each invoice needs to be created on its own voucher.
- Can I pay a credit memo and an invoice on the same voucher?
- No. The credit memo and invoice need to be created on separate vouchers.
- Can I pay a deposit on a campus voucher?
- No. A deposit needs to be paid on a purchase order.
- My voucher was denied due to a lack of a remittance address, but there is one in the system. How can I get my voucher approved?
- When paying a vendor, documentation of the remittance address is required in order to ensure payment is sent to the correct place. Resubmit the voucher and include documentation of the correct remittance address (updated invoice, email from vendor, etc.)
- Can I pick up the check for a voucher instead of having the check sent directly to the vendor?
- Yes. Please indicate that you would like to pick up the payment in BOTH the invoice and payment comments of the voucher and also include contact information.
Further questions can be addressed to accountspayable@unc.edu, or by contacting Accounts Payable staff directly by email or phone, found in the Accounts Payable Staff Directory.
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