Invoices must meet certain criteria in order for Stanford University Accounts Payable (AP) to process an invoice and schedule payment per the terms specified on the purchase order (e.g., Net 30 days from date of invoice). For information on invoice criteria, refer to Topic Overview: Purchase Order Invoice Processing. If invoices do not meet the criteria or if the purchase order (PO) details do not match the invoice details, the invoice may be placed on hold within the Oracle system.
There are three major reasons why an invoice may be placed on hold within the Oracle system. Identify one and follow the suggested ways to release the common invoice holds.
- Invoice holds due to insufficient amount on purchase order or variance between invoice and shipment amount exceeds limit
- Invoice holds due to closed PTA
- Invoice holds resulting in past due invoice
Refer to Resource: Managing Invoice Holds for hold notification details for the most active AP Holds.
Release the Most Common Invoice Holds
Before You Start
- Identify a reason listed above.
Suggested Resolution:
- Initiate a Standard Change Order to add funds, or request moving the invoice to another PO
- Refer to How To: Change a PTA on an Approved Purchase Order for more information
- For questions about a specific hold, refer to Topic Overview: Purchase Order Invoice Processing, Managing Invoice Holds section.
Suggested Resolution:
When processing an invoice, AP matches the invoice to the PO and to the Project-Task-Award (PTA) being charged. The PTA is subject to validations to ensure that the PTA is active, within specified date ranges and is therefore "chargeable." To understand the validations and department responsibilities, please refer to Purchase Order Invoice Processing.
When an invoice is on hold for a closed PTA, creating a Standard Change Order will allow Purchasing to change the PTA. If there are no invoices on hold or pending payment, a Change PTA can be performed by someone in the department. For more information, see How To Change a PTA on an Approved Purchase Order.
Stanford University's standard PO terms are Net 30, unless approved otherwise, and invoices are paid based on the approved PO terms. Invoices will be paid by the 30th day after the invoice date. If an invoice has not been paid according to the terms, it may be a result of one or more reasons below:
| Reason | Next Steps |
|---|---|
| Invoice does not meet Stanford requirements |
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| Wire information for the payment has changed or is missing |
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| Remit To address for the payment differs from Stanford’s records |
Note: Changing the address on the invoice is insufficient. |
| Invoices are mailed and delayed in process |
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| Duplicate invoices in the system — both invoices applied to the PO and result in insufficient funds |
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| Duplicate invoices in the system — a new invoice is required for payment |
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| Invoice was received and/or uploaded after the payment due date (Adding the invoice to the Purchase Order may take a few days and delay payment until after payment is due) |
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- Some notifications ( Invoice > $10,000.00) may direct approvers to a page in Oracle allowing them to authorize the release of the hold. If this is not available, submit a support request to request release.
- Invoices between $5,000.00 and $9,999.99 may be put on a 5 day temporary hold and notification is sent to the Purchase Order Preparer and invoice uploader, if available.
- For questions about a specific hold, refer to Topic Overview: Purchase Order Invoice Processing, Managing Invoice Holds section.
- Use the Requisition and Purchase Orders Query tool in Oracle to determine:
- PO total amount and line item amount(s)
- Total amounts invoiced against PO
- The assigned Buyer
- To access this query, launch Oracle and open SU Inquiry Tools and Forms.
- For further questions, submit a support request to the Financial Support Center.
Requisition and Purchase Orders Query also allows:
- Initiate Finally Close Process or Review Ineligibility to Finally Close. For more information, see How To: Finally Close a Purchase Order (PO)
Note: PO must have had activity (invoices) to be able to Finally Close. PO should not receive any invoices after closing. - Change PTA or Review Ineligibility to Change PTA. For more information, see How To Change a PTA on an Approved Purchase Order
- Cancel a PO or Review Ineligibility to Cancel PO. For more information, see How To: Cancel a Purchase Requisition or Purchase Order (PO)
Note: PO must be approved but not had any activity (invoices) to be able to be canceled. PO should not receive invoices after canceling.
