In order for payments and reimbursements for goods and services to be processed, the appropriate voucher must be completed.

The P.U. White Invoice/Voucher has now been divided into two separate forms; one for employees and one for non-employees. Request for payments for goods or services to employees should be requested on an Employee Voucher. Request for payments for goods or services to either non-employees or vendors are made by completing a Vendor/Honorarium Voucher with the exception of student and travel expenses which are made by completion of the graduate student  voucher, undergraduate student voucher or Business Expense Report voucher as detailed in the following paragraphs.

For payments made for services rendered to those who are not University employees, please see the Managing Labor section of the Financial Management Office website.

A graduate student voucher or undergraduate student voucher is used for payments to students for both educational and non-educational expenses. These expenses can include but are not limited to travel, research support, and supplies for events. Please note that students must not be paid for services rendered on a student voucher. For services rendered, students must be approved for work and must be entered into the time collection system. For further details, please see our section on time collection for students.

The Business Expense Report (travel voucher) is used for requesting payment for expenses related to University business travel. Please see the Reimbursement and Forms section under Travel for details.

Reimbursements:  Payments to individuals or employees.  To avoid tax consequences, these requests must be supported with actual receipts and an explanation of business purpose.  The Accounts Payable System has been loaded with employee and student address information, and these are the addresses to be used for checks.  Special check handling requests should be kept to a minimum as it requires additional data elements and slows down processing time.

Independent Contractors:  Individuals, businesses or organizations providing services to the University are considered independent contractors.  Accounts Payable must report their annual cumulative payments to the Internal Revenue on Form 1099.

In all cases, we require a W-9 to be completed by the individual.  This protects the University from any penalties resulting from any reporting of incorrect tax ID numbers.  The current penalty is 30 percent of the paid amount, any social security tax, and a fine of $50.00 per return.  Accounts Payable must also provide an address on all returns; this address will be used for tax reporting.

Vendor Purchases:  Non-Employee, Non-Student payments for goods and services not contracted through the Purchasing Department.

Petty Cash:  A separate policy exists for replenishment of Petty Cash funds and appears below or can be obtained by calling the Accounts Payable main telephone extension.

Employee Moving:  Payments for moving expenses are reportable to the IRS and require all supporting documentation as well as the Employee Moving Reimbursement Form, whether paid to an employee or third party.

Student Payments:  Payments to students generally fall under educational or non-educational payments.  For tax purposes, these categories have been printed on the Student Invoice.

Prizes and Awards:  All prizes and awards follow the same rules as payments to independent contractors.  If they are for students or employees, a W-9 is not required as they have completed a W-4 and Accounts Payable will be updated with this information.  Student prizes will be discussed in detail under the student invoice section as well as non-resident alien rules.

Wire Transfers and Foreign Drafts:  Under certain circumstances, vendors or individuals require payment in foreign currencies or funds wired to bank accounts.