Paying an Invoice

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, these 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. These vendors should continue to send their invoices electronically through iBuyNU.
• Sponsored subcontract invoices. As specified in the subcontract, sponsored subcontract invoices should continue to be sent to ASRSP-subk-EV@northwestern.edu or ASRSP-subk-CH@northwestern.edu.
• 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 valid (open) PUR number, it should be scanned and emailed to invoicesonly@northwestern.edu for processing.

Before Submitting

• 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.

Other correspondence that needs to go to Accounts Payable, including statements and credits, should be emailed to Procurement@northwestern.edu.

Please note that invoicesonly@northwestern.edu is not a monitored inbox and should only be used to submit invoices that are ready for processing.

Please direct questions to Accounts Payable Customer Service at 1-7339 or accounts-payable@northwestern.edu.

Procurement and Payment Services has identified some exceptions for certain transaction types that are considered low dollar and low risk, where a formal Purchase Order may not be as necessary. These guidelines are only meant to clarify payment options for certain services: they do not change any other Northwestern or department/school policies and procedures. Please review the Alternative Procurement and Payment Methods document.

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.

All University expenditures and costs should be charged to their proper source of funds within 90 days of their occurrence. Expenditures and costs over 90 days will be posted only on an exception basis. Processing of all reimbursement requests, on both sponsored and non-sponsored accounts, should adhere to the 90-day rule. Departments/schools must use the 90 Day Exception Form to process transactions that are more than 90 days old.