Accounts Payable Updates

Approval Reminders: L1 / L2 / L3 Approver Responsibilities

It is important to note that each individual within workflow are responsible for ensuring that travel expenditures are authorized, accurate, and comply with policy. The Expense Approval Roles and Responsibilities provides additional details

What NOT to Include with Expense Reports

To protect sensitive information and remain compliant with data privacy standards, do not upload any the following in attachments:

• Sensitive or confidential documents not required for payment processing
• Medical records or HIPAA-protected data
• Social Security numbers (SSNs)
• Credit card or banking account information
• Names or identifying information of research subjects

Electronic Wire Requests

Most goods and services can be purchased through NUFinancials using a non-catalog Requisition or a catalog Requisition utilizing iBuyNU so an official Purchase Order can be issued to the vendor.  In some cases, a Payment Request (PRQ) or the corporate card may also be appropriate.

In addition, domestic vendors and individuals can enroll in electronic payment methods (NUQuickPay/Concourse for individuals and paymodeX or ePayables for vendors).

An electronic wire request should only be used when the money must be sent electronically but there is no University program available (primarily international vendors and individuals).

The typical service standard for wire requests to be processed is one to two weeks. This timeframe allows for thorough processing and review to help maintain consistency and accuracy.

Expense Report and Payment Request (PRQ) Best Practices

To ensure a smooth review process:

• Please try to limit the number of attachments on ERs (Expense Report) and PRQs (Payment Request) to a maximum of three PDF attachments, with all receipts merged into a single PDF and arranged in the same order as the expense lines.
• Exclude any sensitive information (e.g., SSNs, W-9, Passport, or banking details).

Our Accounts Payable team strives to complete approvals within one week; however, timelines may vary based on volume and workflow, so please plan accordingly. Our customer service team at accounts-payable@northwestern.edu is happy to assist with inquiries as opposed to sending an inquiry to several staff in PPS which leads to duplication of efforts.

NUquickpay/Concourse Email Comes from Chase

Please note that for NUQuickPay/Concourse payments, once a PRQ (Payment Request) is approved, a notification email from donotreply@jpmorgan.com will be sent to the payee with the subject line “You Have Received a Payment From Northwestern University.” The payee must accept the payment by setting up a Chase profile within 14 days. If the payment is not accepted within that timeframe, the system will automatically generate a check and mail it to the physical address listed on the supplier’s NU profile.  Please let your payee know that they may have to check their ‘spam’ email folder.  It is also very important that you make sure the payees address in NUFinancials is correct just in case a check is printed and mailed by Chase because it was not accepted within 14 days.