Accounts Payable Processes

Canceling and Reissuing Checks

The Accounts Payable office is responsible for canceling and reissuing checks which originate from any Procurement / Supplier business process in Workday. To have a check canceled or reissued, please contact the Accounts Payable via acctpay@uark.edu.

Cash Management

The Accounts Payable office makes every effort to insure that supplier invoices are paid within the guidelines of the supplier’s payment terms. Although there are payments that are due immediately upon receipt of invoice (Example: individuals), most supplier’s payment terms are Net 30. As invoices are entered into Workday for payment, the payment due date will default to 30 days from the supplier invoice date. The Accounts Payable office does have the ability of overriding the default date and moving a payment up as required. Check payments are settled to the supplier 10 days prior to the payment due date; ACH payments are settled 5 days prior to the payment due date.

Accounts Payable currently settles invoices twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday.

Credit Memos

Credit Memos received from a supplier MUST reference the original invoice number OR a Purchase Order in order to be entered and applied into Workday.  Once the credit has been approved, the cost center(s) FDM from which the original invoice was expensed will be credited. This credit will be stored in Workday until sufficient debits are available to use the credit. If a credit is not taken within 6 months, the Accounts Payable office will make every effort to have the supplier send a refund check for the amount of the credit. When a refund check is received prior to there being sufficient debits, the credit memo that was entered in Workday will be canceled. Checks are deposited into the cost center(s) from which the expense was originally paid.

If it is found that it is not possible to collect a refund check OR buy additional inventory from the vendor, the credit memo amount will be handled through the University abatement process.

Supplier Invoice Requests

Supplier Invoice Request (SINVR) is a stand-alone business process in Workday and not tied to purchase orders, contracts, or budget planning. The use of the SINVR feature in Workday replaces what was previously known in BASIS as Invoice Attached, Direct Payment, and UPAY.

These requests are created in Workday by the departmental user using the Create Supplier Invoice Request function. Payments made using this function are not subject to Receiving. SINVRs require supporting documentation to be attached prior to submission.  For more information, see Procurement’s Supplier Invoice Request Rule.

Invoice Requirements

All invoices MUST be billed to the University, not to an individual, and to also include the following additional information, if applicable:

  • The name and address of the supplier
  • Invoice Date
  • Invoice Number
  • Purchase Order Number or Supplier Contract number (if applicable)
  • Itemized listing of purchases (if applicable). This should include a description of the merchandise and/or services, unit price, and extended line total.
  • If supplier remits sales tax to the State of Arkansas, and if the item(s) purchased are taxable, then sales tax should be included on the invoice.

Nonresident Payment

Every effort should be made to contact the NRA Tax Coordinator in Financial Analysis, Management, & Compliance well in advance of any desired payment or reimbursement to a nonresident individual. This step will ensure that the appropriate tax documentation has been secured in order to make a timely and accurate payment and that the University is in compliance with the Internal Revenue Service regulations.

The NRA Tax Coordinator will provide instructions to the requesting department on the appropriate tax deductions for any payment type to an NRA, if applicable.

Please contact NRA Tax Coordinator or visit Payments to Nonresident Aliens.

Receiving

Workday enables departments to provide electronic acknowledgment of orders received via the Create Receipt function. Before a payment will be issued to a supplier, Receiving MUST be performed (if applicable).

There are two types of Receiving that can be performed depending on how the user setup the Purchase Order line:

  • Quantity Receiving (Goods Line)
  • Dollar Receiving (Service Line)

The Receiving function allows the user to post any quantity without regard to quantity ordered. Workday utilizes a three-way matching process to ensure that a payment is complete and accurate; and helps to highlight any discrepancies between the purchase order, receipt, and invoice. 

Workday checks that the quantities and prices on the purchase order matches with the goods or services received via the receipt and charged on the invoice. If these three elements pass the matching rules, then the invoice will approve and can be settled for payment according to its terms.  If any issues (match exceptions) are found, such as inaccurate quantities, wrong prices, etc., the payment will not be released until the match exception is resolved.  See the Match Process Guide for more information, including tips on resolve match exceptions.

Receiving is required on all Purchase Order types.  Receiving may or may not be required on Supplier Contracts (depending on contract type).  Receiving is NOT required on Supplier Invoice Request (SINVR).

Sales and Use Tax

The University of Arkansas is NOT exempt from paying sales or use tax except on those items and/or purchase transactions that are specifically exempted by law.

Sales Tax will be charged by those suppliers located in-state and by out of state suppliers if that out of state supplier remits sales tax to the State of Arkansas.

Use Tax will be calculated by Workday on those purchases where tax is applicable; the supplier is located out of state, and the supplier DOES NOT remit sales tax to the State of Arkansas. Use tax is then remitted to the State of Arkansas by the Financial Affairs Office at the University of Arkansas.

For more information regarding Sales & Use Tax, please visit the AP Sales and Use Tax page.

State Claims

Arkansas State law requires that a claim be filed with the Arkansas State Claims Commission for invoices or services rendered that are more than two (2) fiscal years old. The vendor supplies a copy of the unpaid invoice to: Arkansas State Claims Commission, 101 E Capitol Ave., Ste 410, Little Rock, AR 72201-3823. The commission can be reached at: (501) 682-1619. The claim is reviewed by the commission and is forwarded to UAF for research. The department provides a cost center from which to pay the invoice. The Claims Commission issues payment directly to the vendor. This process can take up to four (4) months to complete.

Training and Customer Support

Accounts Payable staff are available to provide training.