New Payment Processes
August 9, 2021
As announced in our last newsletter, a New Invoicing System has been implemented. This new process instructs vendors to email invoices when there is a PUR number to invoicesonly@northwestern.edu whenever possible. If invoices are received by department or school staff, those with PUR numbers should be sent to invoicesonly@northwestern.edu. Those that do not have PUR numbers need to be submitted for payment using the Payment Request process.
Vendors should be reminded to NOT send multiple copies of the same invoice to invoicesonly@northwestern.edu, and they also should NOT send the same invoice to department and schools staff, as well as directly to staff in Accounts payable, in addition to sending the invoice to invoicesonly@northwestern.edu.
As part of this new invoicing system, Accounts Payable has the ability to email invoices received to department and school staff if it cannot be processed. These email notifications will come from northwestern@easyaccess-ap.com, which is an unmonitored system email address. Please do not reply to the email, but rather contact Accounts Payable at 847.491.7339 or accounts-payable@northwestern.edu if you have questions.
These new rejection emails will provide the specific reason that the invoice is unable to be processed, along with instruction on how to resolve the send back. We ask that end-users carefully review the email and complete appropriate actions in a timely manner to allow payment to release to the vendor. Examples of when invoices may be sent back to departments from Accounts Payable are as follows:
- The PO number is not valid, PO number is closed, PO is not listed, PO is over tolerance, invoice does not match the listed PO, blanket does not have enough funds, a duplicate invoice has been submitted, the PO was not set-up as an amount only order, AP needs additional information to process the invoice, the remittance address is not on file, or the vendor does not accept US dollars.
If you have questions about the updated email or any questions regarding invoices, please contact Accounts Payable at 847.491.7339 or accounts-payable@northwestern.edu. Visit the Payment page for more details about invoice processing.