This page provides an overview of invoice processing in order to support schools and units in efficiently and effectively processing invoices to pay suppliers. Suppliers may reference the Topic Overview: Do Business with Stanford for related information and actions they are responsible for with regard to invoice processing.
To ensure timely and accurate invoice processing and payment per the terms specified on the purchase order (e.g., Net 30 days from the date of the invoice) by Accounts Payable (AP), preparers should confirm that:
- The supplier completed their record and included all government forms and confidential data through Stanford’s Supplier and Payee Request Portal or Supplier and Payee Registry (depending on the supplier/payee type).
- The charges are appropriate for the account and that the PTA is valid both at the date of invoice creation and at the time of upload. Refer to Topic Overview: View PTA Details for Oracle Business Intelligence (OBI) reporting tools that can be used to research PTA details.
- Please note: If the PO does not include shipping and handling charges and applicable sales tax but these charges appear on the invoice, AP will apply the reciprocal use tax and process the invoice without requiring departmental action.
- The PO has sufficient funds to pay the invoice. Refer to the Requisition and Purchase Orders Query tool to view PO details such as the total amount remaining on the PO. If the invoice line amount exceeds the PO line by:
- More than $250: The invoice will be placed on hold and the department will need to add funds to the PO through a change order to release the hold for invoice payment processing.
- $250 or less: The invoice will not be placed on hold and will be processed for payment without requiring a change order.
- The document is an invoice. Documents that cannot be processed by Accounts Payable include statements, estimates or quotes, proforma (preliminary) invoices, copy of contracts, past due or prior balance only invoices, order acknowledgements, sales orders, bills referencing payment to a third party, and packing slips or lists.
- The invoice is addressed to Stanford University and includes a remit to address, which must match the address in the supplier’s record.
- There is a Stanford Purchase Order (PO) Number referenced on the invoice and the invoiced items must match the lines on the purchase order. If the quantities differ, or if lines on a purchase order have been combined on the invoice, the school or unit must provide instructions for invoice processing.
- The appropriate additional approvals or certification of certain purchases are complete. Refer to the section below for more information on purchases requiring receiving or additional approvals.
Periodic Payment Orders
A Periodic Payment Order authorizes Accounts Payable to make a fixed payment at fixed intervals for a specific period of time. This method is useful for equipment rental or maintenance, where the charge remains constant unless something unusual occurs. In these instances, a Periodic Payment Schedule is established by Procurement in consultation with the requesting department and supplier. Under a periodic payment order the requesting department's responsibilities include:
- Verifying that Accounts Payable pays only valid charges for services or goods the department receives.
- Maintaining records for audit purposes.
AP will review the department’s request for a periodic payment order to ensure it meets all required criteria.
To support best practices in financial stewardship on specific types of purchases, departments are required to review and complete additional steps depending on the purchase type or amount to confirm and approve that the goods and services have been received.
Pre-authorized invoices, which are submitted by certain suppliers to Accounts Payable (AP) or other departments without a PO for utilities or certain recurring services (sometimes referred to as “feeder” invoices), do not require any additional approvals.
Please refer to the table below for additional steps and action required, depending on the type of invoice.
| Type of invoice | Additional steps and action required |
|---|---|
| Capital Equipment | Receiving is required for this type of invoice. Receiving can be completed as soon as goods arrive so as to expedite invoice payment processing.
If these actions are not taken, the invoice will be placed on hold by AP and the appropriate approvers will receive a notification with instructions to release the hold. |
| Subawards | This type of invoice will be placed on hold until the Principal Investigator (PI) for the subaward certifies that the charges on the invoice appear reasonable, and progress to date on the project is satisfactory and in keeping with the statement of work. For more details, refer to Managing a Subaward. If these actions are not taken, the invoice will be placed on hold by AP and the appropriate approvers will receive a notification with instructions to release the hold. |
| Goods or services $10,000 or greater | This invoice amount requires that these invoices be placed on a department approval invoice hold until confirmation by the authorized approver that the goods or services have been received. If the below actions are taken before the invoice is processed by Accounts Payable, the invoice will not be placed on a department approval hold.
Please note that taking any of the actions described for Capital purchases or Subawards also meets the department approval requirement described here, so additional action would not be required in those cases. |
Once goods/services have been received/rendered respectively in accordance with university policy, suppliers may submit invoices (indicating the appropriate Stanford purchase order number) to Stanford through one of the options below. Invoices for purchases made through Stanford's catalog purchasing methods (SmartMart Catalog Suppliers and Amazon Business) are electronically sent by the supplier to AP for payment processing and the invoice copies are not visible to schools and units in Requisition and PO Query tool, but the invoice details can be searched for and viewed in SmartMart Catalog Suppliers.
To avoid confusion and duplication of efforts, please use only one option to submit an invoice. Before uploading an invoice, departments should check the Requisition and Purchase Orders Query tool in the Invoice Payment Details section to confirm it has not already been submitted. Refer to the section below on monitoring payment status and hold status to confirm that AP received the invoice for processing or submit a support request.
| Method | When to Use | Directions for Supplier |
|---|---|---|
| Email invoice | For the most efficient invoice processing, suppliers can submit invoices by email. | The supplier emails invoices in individual PDF files (one invoice per PDF) and can attach multiple PDFs, if needed by email to: @email. PDF files containing multiple invoices will not be processed. Please do not use the body of the email for questions, comments, or other correspondence. Only the attachments are viewed. Refer to How To: Email or Mail an Invoice to Accounts Payable for more information. |
| Upload invoice | Departments can, at their discretion, require the supplier to submit invoices directly to the department for review and uploading. Departments must upload invoices on behalf of suppliers when:
| The supplier provides the invoice to the school or unit department contact, who uploads the invoice directly to the PO using the Requisition and Purchase Order Query tool. Refer to How To: Upload an Invoice for more information. |
| Mail invoice | As mentioned above, in most cases suppliers should email the invoice or have the school or unit upload it on their behalf. If the invoice is mailed, suppliers should factor in additional time for post office processing. Suppliers who needs to submit a refund to Stanford can mail a personal check or money order, made payable to Stanford University, to the same address used to receive invoices (see next column). Refund checks must include a note indicating the PO and invoice number that is being refunded. | The supplier mails invoices to the following address (See How To: Email or Mail an Invoice to Accounts Payable for more information): Stanford University Accounts Payable P.O. Box 20410 Stanford, CA 94309-0410 United States |
Please note: The above invoice submission methods do not apply to certain suppliers who submit invoices directly to Accounts Payable (AP) or other departments without a PO for utilities or certain recurring services. For questions related to these exceptional invoice submission methods, please submit a support request.
Upon receipt of an undisputed invoice, Accounts Payable (AP) ensures:
- Invoices are paid according to the terms specified in the purchase agreement (see below for details on payment methods and terms).
- Payments comply with federal, state, and local tax laws, with proper tax withholding and transaction reporting.
- If an invoice is placed on hold, notifications are sent to the preparer and department uploader (if applicable). If the hold is not resolved for 28 days or more, notifications (where applicable) are also sent to the financial approver.
Invoices are processed after resolution of any holds, unless additional approval is needed. To place an invoice on hold, departments should submit a support request to AP, including the PO number, invoice number, and reason for the hold. To release a hold, departments should submit another support request, providing a reason for releasing the hold. Note that releasing one hold does not affect other holds that may be in place (e.g., insufficient PO amount).
Invoice payment methods and terms
Suppliers and independent contractors can request the following payment methods during the onboarding process (with the exception of J.P. Morgan (JPM) virtual card payments).
| Invoice payment method | Payment terms | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual card payments, administered by J.P. Morgan (JPM) and their payment partners, Boost, Billtrust, Bora, Iteration Matrix (IM) | Net five (5) business days | Suppliers receive a unique sixteen (16)-digit virtual account number for invoice payment via email. Processing fees apply per supplier's merchant acquirer. Some payments are processed by a JPM intermediary, minimizing supplier efforts and ensuring quicker payment. Suppliers can enroll by submitting a support request to the Financial Support Center. |
| Electronic payments directly to supplier’s domestic bank account (ACH) | Net thirty (30) business days | Payments are issued Monday to Friday, with a plus one (+1) business day post date. A remittance email with payment details will be sent. Existing suppliers can change their payment method based on classification. Payees outside the U.S. may request ACH to a U.S. bank account. If an ACH payment has been made to a supplier, but the ACH payment is rejected or returned, the following steps will occur:
|
| Wire transfer (foreign bank account) | Immediate terms | Available for foreign suppliers needing payment in non-USD currency. Departments must upload invoices and select the Rush and Wire transfer options, along with a PTA (non-sponsored) for payment handling fees. Payments are processed Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays. A remittance email will be sent. Existing foreign suppliers can change their payment method based on classification. If a wire payment has been made to a supplier, but it is rejected or returned, the following steps will occur:
|
| Check | Net thirty (30) business days | Payments are printed on a Monday through Friday schedule, excluding holidays, and sent via US mail. Allow one to two weeks for delivery. For foreign addresses, wire transfer is recommended with a thirty-five dollar ($35) fee. If a check is uncashed after payment, refer to Topic Overview: Outstanding Stanford Issued Checks (Escheatment) for more information. |
Invoice status overview
From the time an invoice is submitted to the time it is paid, transaction preparers and approvers may want to check the status:
- Invoice payment status is either Paid or Pending.
- Pending invoices have a hold status of On Hold or No Hold.
- No Hold: Invoice will be paid automatically per terms (typically Net 30).
- On Hold: The invoice hold must be cleared before payment.
Tools to monitor status
OBI Dashboard: Procure to Pay Dashboard and Reports (P2P)
- The Procure to Pay at a Glance report provides separate sections for On Hold invoices and for Pending invoices (including both On Hold and No Hold).
- The Purchase Order and Related AP Invoices report shows payment and hold status for all invoices tied to selected POs.
- Users can click an AP Invoice Number in any P2P report to view detailed status.
Requisition and Purchase Order Query: Users can view invoice images, payment status, and hold status in the Invoice Payment Details section on the PO Details page. Invoice image displays varies by invoice submission source:
- Supplier‑submitted or department‑uploaded invoices: An image displays when the invoice number is clicked. Please note: Before uploading an invoice, departments should check the Invoice Payment Details section to confirm it has not already been applied to the PO. If the department uploads a duplicate of a supplier-submitted invoice, the Upload status shows as Discarded in the Status of Uploaded Invoices Associated with this PO section.
- Amazon Business and SmartMart Catalog Suppliers invoices: An invoice image is not available. Users can click the invoice number to see the amount and the matched line.
Pending Transactions (Incorta): Provides a consolidated view of pending purchasing and business expense transactions, with action links in some cases.
An invoice may be placed on hold by Accounts Payable and require action to release the hold. Refer to Resource: Managing Invoice Holds for a table of the most common types of invoice hold notifications that require action, what they mean, and how to release the hold.
This Resource page also includes descriptions of invoice holds that do not prompt a hold notification email and typically do not require action, but may display in the Hold Reason field of the Requisition and Purchase Orders query tool.