Payment

• Invoices should be submitted electronically to invoicesonly@northwestern.edu. Please note this does not apply to:
  • Invoices that need to be signed-off on by department or school staff prior to submitting them to Accounts Payable for payment (such as consulting services or construction projects) can still be sent directly to the department or school. The department or school will then need to scan and email the invoice to invoicesonly@northwestern.edu.
  • iBuyNU vendors should continue to send their invoices electronically through iBuyNU.
  • Sponsored subcontract invoices should continue to be sent to ASRSP-subk-EV@northwestern.edu or ASRSP-subk-CH@northwestern.edu, as specified in the subcontract.
  • Invoices that are currently submitted for payment using another University approved system (such as Library subscription and book payments, INVO royalty payments, and Risk Management claims).
• If you are not able to send invoices or other correspondence to Accounts Payable through one of the above referenced email addresses, they should be mailed to:
  
  • Accounts Payable
    2020 Ridge Avenue, 2^nd Floor
    Evanston, Illinois 60208
• A Northwestern purchase order number (PUR) must be included on the invoices
  • If there is no purchase order (PUR) number the vendor must work with the specific department/school for invoice processing.
• To ensure invoices are processed as quickly as possible with limited errors or review needed, invoices should be submitted following the instructions below:
  • The invoice should be attached to an email
    • Do not send emails with an imbedded link to a portal that Northwestern would need to download an invoice from.
      
  • The invoice can be a pdf, word document, or excel file
  • Only send one invoice attachment per email
  • Do not send one attachment with multiple invoices. If multiple invoices are sent in the same attachment, use the attached separator sheet between invoices.
  • Do not send zip files attached to emails

Visit the Northwestern purchase order terms and conditions webpage to view payment and PO terms.

• Vendors are instructed to send invoices electronically to invoicesonly@northwestern.edu. Please note this does not apply to:
  
  • Invoices that still need to be signed off on by department or schools staff prior to submitting them to Accounts Payable for payment can still be sent directly to the department or school.  The department or school will then need to scan and email the invoice to invoicesonly@northwestern.edu.
  • iBuyNU vendors should continue to send their invoices electronically through iBuyNU.
  • Sponsored subcontract invoices should continue to be sent to ASRSP-subk-EV@northwestern.edu or ASRSP-subk-CH@northwestern.edu, as specified in the subcontract.
  • Invoices that are currently submitted for payment using another University approved system (such as Library subscription and book payments, INVO royalty payments, and Risk Management claims).
• If an invoice is received by a department or school directly from a vendor that includes a PUR number, it should be scanned and emailed to invoicesonly@northwestern.edu for processing.
• Ensure that all invoices, regardless if sent directly by the vendor or by the department or school, include a purchase order number (PUR) before they are sent to this inbox.
• If an invoice does not have a purchase order (PUR), the department/school must process the invoices through a payment request - do not send the invoice to Accounts Payable.
• If an invoice references an old purchase order number, the department/school must add the correct purchase order number to the invoice and re-submit the invoice to invoicesonly@northwestern.edu. Also inform the vendor of the updated purchase order number.

• Invoices may be sent back to departments from AP for the following reasons:
  • 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.
  • The emailed send back notification will specify why the invoice was sent back to the department
  • The emailed send back notifications are sent from: northwestern@easyaccess-ap.com. Please do not reply to the message as it is an unattended mailbox
• The most common cause of a match exception is a missing receiver.
• Helpful Cognos Reports for departments:
  • SC016 Open Encumbrance Report and SC027 Match Exceptions Report
• iBuyNU match exceptions reviewed by eProcurement team, all others are reviewed by the AP team.

Every vendor's invoice is due for payment within some period of time after it is generated. This is normally computed as the number of days after the invoice is received. The University's standard for payment of vendor invoices is within thirty (30) days after receipt of the invoice. This is referred to as payment terms of 'NET 30.' The University must pay its obligations in a timely manner. Failure to comply with payment terms often leads to:

• Credit hold, where a vendor refuses to fill any subsequent orders until the outstanding obligation has been paid.
• Less favorable terms, where a vendor charges a late payment penalty or even demands payment in advance.
• Higher prices on future purchases.

A vendor may impose one or more of the above actions on the entire University even if the dispute involves only one department/school within the University. The Accounts Payable department does what is necessary to prevent any of the above from happening while acting within sound financial controls. Departments/schools must ensure that purchases are properly accounted for in NUFinancials to enable the invoice to be paid once it is received by Accounts Payable.

Customer Service phone
847.491.7339

Accounts Payable email addresses:

• To send an invoice to Accounts Payable: invoicesonly@northwestern.edu
• For general Accounts Payable questions: accounts-payable@northwestern.edu
• For electronic funds transfers (EFT) or wires: electronictransfers@northwestern.edu 

Gary Ernsteen
Accounts Payable Manager
2020 Ridge Avenue
Evanston, IL 60208
Phone: 847.491.2781
Email: g-ernsteen@northwestern.edu