403 Accounts Payable

Introduction

This policy is an alphabetical grouping of criteria for use by personnel who make decisions pertaining to invoice payments.

CRITERIA - ALPHABETICAL LISTING

A

AGENCY FUNDS: A fiduciary relationship exists between PSU and other organizations for which it manages agency funds. The Controller ensures that agency funds are disbursed to suppliers only when the invoice or other request for payment is signed by an authorized agency organization representative.

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES: Use of university funds for purchasing alcoholic beverages is limited to:

Alcoholic beverages served at group functions that are part of a university.
Sponsored conference or event where the full cost of such beverages is recovered through resale or charges to the participants or sponsoring group.

The university is responsible for ensuring compliance with all laws and Oregon Liquor Control Commission regulations, including obtaining a one-day license for serving beer and wine. Any external caterer must be approved as a university vendor for insurance purposes and IRS reporting. The university is also required to adopt the minimum risk control rules and policies of the State of Oregon Department of Administrative Services Alcohol Risk Control Policy 125-7-401 when serving alcohol or permitting alcohol to be served at university functions. See Alcohol at University Events policy.

ALUMNI ORGANIZATIONS: Alumni associations may be subsidized only to the extent of providing office space and funds to maintain alumni records necessary for PSU requirements.

ASSIGNED COMPENSATION: An independent contractor may assign his rights to compensation for services rendered to PSU to a third party, e.g., a charitable organization. To comply with tax law, PSU will issue a check to the third party but records the compensation as income to the person rendering the service. The total amount paid to the individual in a calendar year will be reported by PSU to the federal government on a Form 1099.

PSU employees may also contribute through payroll deductions to charitable organizations. Because these contributions are made through payroll deductions, PSU must withhold tax on the employee's gross pay. For more information pertaining to taxes withheld, please contact the Payroll office in Human Resources.

ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT FUND-RAISING EXPENSES: Expenses related to Athletic Department fund-raising are paid from auxiliary enterprise operating funds. Fund-raising costs include travel expenses and entertainment of donors, volunteer workers, and other supporters of athletic programs.

AUDITING SERVICES: The Secretary of State Division of Audits performs auditing services for all state agencies, including state-aided institutions and agencies. Audit costs are paid from institution funds. Use account code 28003 (Audit Expense). Prior written approval from Division of Audits is required before auditing services may be performed by an outside auditing firm.

B

BUSINESS LICENSE FEES: PSU is not required to pay business license fees.

C

CANCELLATION CHARGES: Costs resulting from cancellation of an order.

COMPLETION DATES AND CHANGE ORDERS: Claims for work performed after contract completion date may not be processed until the date has been extended by a change order. An increase in contract amount must be approved by a change order before an invoice reflecting the increase can be paid.

CONFERENCE AND WORKSHOP EXPENSES-EXECUTIVE OFFICE APPROVAL UNNCESSARY: Selected self-supporting instructional program expenses do not require PSU executive office approval if their cost is recovered through participant fees. A participant fee may consist of a single basic fee or fees that are separately identified and collected.

Examples of such programs include those sponsored by the English Language Institute (ELI) and the Oregon Center For Advanced Technology Education (OCATE).

Examples of applicable program expenses include the following:

housing fees
meals
refreshments during breaks
parties
special trips or tours.

CONTRACT CLAIM REVIEW: Wage certifications are required for new construction or repair contracts exceeding $50,000. Performance bonds are required for contracts involving a public improvement. Contract numbers should be referenced in Banner invoices in the commodity field to assist with HB2500 reporting requirements. The Controller or delegates may enter into contracts of varying amounts, depending on the goods or services being purchased. The president of PSU shall provide the PSU Board with an up-to-date list of those authorized to sign contracts with amounts and types of contracts authorized.

CONTRIBUTIONS: PSU has no authority or obligation to make disbursements for voluntary contributions or donations.

CREDIT CARDS: Charge slips from VISA, Master Card, American Express and similar credit organizations are acceptable as support for reimbursement claims if they are sufficiently detailed to permit a proper audit of the transaction (e.g., a charge slip is sufficiently detailed to support a claim for reimbursement of lodging expenses if it contains the same detail required below. The information must be entered on the charge slip by the lodging establishment.
When a vendor's invoice is legally assigned to a bank, payment is made directly to the assignee bank.

D

DATA PROCESSING SERVICES AND PRODUCTS- EVALUATION: Information technology procurement must be based on obtaining the most appropriate hardware, software, and service taking into consideration purchase price, installation costs, compatibility, and maintenance costs, and using fair and competitive procurement practices. Gifts from vendors and products received for testing or evaluation must not influence purchase decisions. For more information pertaining to procurement, please see the Contracting and Procurement Services website.

DISBURSEMENTS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES: When making disbursements to foreign countries, use OANDA, a recognized, accurate online conversion tool to convert a foreign currency total to U.S. dollars. Enter the U.S. dollar amount on the invoice. PSU FAST team working with the State of Oregon Treasury is responsible for ensuring that proper exchange rates are used.

DISCOUNTS: Check each invoice and purchase order for discount terms and take the maximum discount offered.

DUPLICATE INVOICES: Sometimes vendor invoices are copies. Institution personnel authorized to approve payments should determine whether a copy replaces the original invoice in order to approve valid disbursements and avoid duplicate payments.

E

ENTERTAINMENT AND HOSTING EXPENSES: See Non-travel Meals, Refreshments and Hospitality Expenses.

EQUIPMENT LEASE OR RENTAL: Equipment should be rented or leased only in these instances:

It is needed for a short time.
It is highly sophisticated and has low durability or quickly becomes obsolete.
Its value is more than $5,000, and benefits or fixed-term costs associated with leasing make it more attractive than purchase.
Company maintenance personnel are key factors, e.g., data processing equipment.
- Transportation Equipment: Automobiles, boats, aircraft and other means of conveyance may be rented for use in conjunction with approved travel without a prior formal agreement. (See Travel policy.)
- Evaluation for Possible Purchase: Rental or lease of equipment to evaluate it for possible purchase is assumed to be incidental to purchase. The required purchase approvals apply.
- Property Taxes: Taxes on property held under a lease or lease/purchase contract are paid by the lessor (owner), not the lessee (institution).

For more information, pertaining to leases, please see the Accounting for Leases policy.

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION AWARDS: See FPM 403.6, Employee Recognition Awards.

F

FEDERAL GASOLINE TAXES: Employees are reimbursed for federal gasoline taxes paid when making gasoline purchases in emergency situations.

FLOWER PURCHASES: Some flower purchases are considered acceptable expenses. Flowers may be purchased for these uses:

use in classes such as botany or biology
use in home economics courses
use at commencements, convocations, etc.
use in a Student Activities' sponsored function, such as a drama production (cost is charged to a student activity fund)

Review all other charges carefully because they are not normally considered proper expenditures of institution funds.

FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL: Transaction Control Regulations are administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control. The regulations prohibit or restrict commercial and financial transactions involving certain foreign countries. These regulations prevent transactions contrary to the interests of the United States. Specific regulations are listed in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 31, Part 505. For more detailed information and names of countries currently sanctioned, contact the Office of Foreign Assets Control, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Washington, D.C.

G

GRATUITIES: Tips paid by PSU employees for services received while on travel assignments are personal expenses and cannot be reimbursed. An exception is made when reimbursement for hosting expenses is approved prior to travel. In such cases, a gratuity of up to 15% of the meal expense may be reimbursed when supported by a receipt.

Gratuity - Employee Discretion: This prohibition on reimbursing employees applies to all individual gratuities for personal services where paying the tip is optional and the amount of the tip is within the individual's discretion. For example, tips for services related to the employee's lodging or transportation or for meals covered by per diem basis may not be reimbursed. See Non-travel Meals, Refreshments and Hospitality Expenses and the procedures manual.

GROUPS AND GUESTS- REFRESHMENTS, MEALS, TRANSPORTATION AND HOSTING NON-EMPLOYEES: See Non-travel Meals, Refreshments and Hospitality Expenses.

I

INFORMANTS' FEES: State regulations require signed receipts when a request is made for reimbursement for cash payments to informants. Reimbursement without signed receipts is permitted when the following is done:

The receipt is prepared with all pertinent information, including date, payee's name, amount, place and services received, and
An attempt has been made to obtain a signature. Informant fee payments for which signatures cannot be obtained must be listed in chronological order on a reimbursement request. Include a certification signed by the staff member stating the following:
Funds were paid to payee for the purpose indicated.
The signature of payee could not be obtained.
The information or other data obtained was necessary and valuable to the research project to which the charge is being made.

INTEREST ON OVERDUE ACCOUNTS: Interest is paid on overdue private vendor accounts when a claim is not paid within 45 days and the vendor presents a bill for the late payment charge. The 45-day period begins when the invoice is received. Interest may begin to accrue on the 46th day. Late payment charges are limited to two-thirds of one percent per month or eight percent per year and cannot exceed the vendor's usual charge. Late payment charges are recorded with account code 28911 (Late Charge - Vendor Payments). (See ORS 293.462.)

INTEREST ON PURCHASES: Income that vendors acquire through interest on state agency obligations is tax exempt. ("Obligations" are notes or contracts that require deferred, interest-bearing payments, such as installment sales contracts.) Expressed contractual provisions for interest payment -- stated either as a dollar amount or percentage rate -- are required to qualify for the tax exemption.

Interest charged on such obligations should reflect this tax exemption, i.e., the interest rate should be substantially lower than the rate when interest is taxable.

A vendor who does not profit from interest payments has no incentive to offer a lower interest rate because the tax exemption has no value. In such a case, it may be beneficial to arrange for financing through a profit-making third party that will offer a lower interest rate, such as a bank or equipment investment firm. In some cases, legal counsel may be used to word contracts or make arrangements with vendors.

INVOICE ADJUSTMENTS: In normal business practice, vendors issue credit memoranda for adjustments of which they have been advised. Normally the credit memo is applied against a subsequent purchase. It is important to note, when entering the credit memo in Banner that the credit memo and invoice must have the same VP address type.

ITEMIZING PURCHASES: Generally, when an employee purchases materials or supplies and requests reimbursement, all purchases must be documented and records maintained for audit purposes.

L

LEGAL SERVICES: The Oregon Attorney General is the legal representative for PSU (ORS 180.060). Other legal services may be used when authorized by the Attorney General. Requests for legal services and arrangements with the Attorney General for securing other legal services are made through the PSU Controller’s Office. Invoices for legal services or for costs incurred in connection with court or legal actions (e.g., expert witnesses and court costs) are not paid unless approved by the Attorney General or his appointed assistant. Requests for payment must be referred to the Office of Finance and Administration for Assistant Attorney General approval.

LICENSES- OCCUPATIONAL- FEE PAYMENT: See the Membership, Fees, License or Certification Guidelines in the procedures manual.

LOST BOOKS: The individual responsible for a book's safekeeping is charged for its loss. Charges cannot be made to institution funds for lost books.

M

MEALS SERVED AT MEETINGS: See Non-travel Meals, Refreshments and Hospitality Expenses and hosting guidelines in the procedures manual.

MEMBERSHIPS AND DUES: See the Membership, Fees, License or Certification Guidelines in the procedures manual.

MILEAGE: The mileage rate in negotiated contracts, such as for engineering or architectural services, should agree with the current approved rate. Claims for mileage at rates in excess of the current approved rate are allowable when included on invoices for repair services by outside organizations.

P

PERMANENT RESIDENT APPLICATIONS: As part of an employment-based permanent resident application/PERM process, it is allowable to pay for the following expenses:

United States Citizenship and Immigration Service I-140 application fee
All costs incurred for advertising the position as required by the PERM process

For more information pertaining to hiring international employees, please see the Office of International Affairs website.

For more information pertaining to documentation required by Human Resources for new employees, please see the Human Resources website.

PREVAILING WAGE CERTIFICATION: Before payment is made on a contract for a project in which all contracted construction services and related materials exceeds $50,000 for repair, improvement or construction of a building or other public work, certified payroll records are required in accordance with ORS 279C.800 et seq. The certified payroll records must state the prevailing wage rates for workers in each trade or occupation employed on the project, certify that workers will be paid no less than those rates, and contain additional information regarding the individual workers as required by ORS 279C.800 et seq. Certified payroll records are required for both contractors and subcontractors. Certificates must (i) be signed by the contractor or subcontractor or his legal representative, (ii) be notarized, and (iii) be submitted by the contractor or subcontractor to the public agency by the 5th day of the month following the month during which the work was completed. If the contractor or subcontractor does not submit the certified payroll records each month, PSU is required to withhold 25% of any amount earned by these parties until the records have been received. Once the records have been submitted, the withheld pay must be paid within 14 days. Certified payroll records are not required for equipment repairs or for maintenance such as janitorial services and window cleaning.

For more information pertaining to contracts, please see the Contracting and Procurement Services website.

PROGRESS PAYMENTS: Contractor requests for progress payments and accompanying architect or engineer certificates must be checked for proper signature prior to approval. Wage certifications must also accompany the first such request or any request involving work not previously covered by a wage certification. A complete list of sub-contractors should be provided with the first request of each contract as well.

PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS: A property assessment is the value placed on property for tax purposes. Treat property assessments like land acquisitions. Taxes on auxiliary enterprise property may be paid from excess XI-F(1) sinking funds or proceeds from XI-F(1) bonds. Taxes on property used for educational and general purposes may be paid from budget monies or XI-G funds allocated for land acquisition.

PUBLIC UTILITIES FRANCHISE FEE: When business or occupation taxes or license, franchise or operating permit fees imposed on a utility company or city exceed three percent for gas utilities or three-and-a-half percent for electric or steam utilities, the utility company may, via billing, charge the excess percentage on a pro rata basis to customers, including state agencies. Institutions will pay from institution funds (OAR 860-22-0040(1) and OAR 860-22-0040(5)).

R

REAL ESTATE ACQUISITIONS-FEES: Refer invoices associated with land acquisition (e.g., title insurance and property purchase options) to the Controller.

Although the State of Oregon does not normally pay recording fees, it pays lease recording fees. Filing fees associated with the vacating of streets are legitimate charges against state funds.

REFRESHMENTS SERVED AT MEETINGS: See Non-travel Meals, Refreshments and Hospitality Expenses.

RESEARCH SUBJECTS-PAYMENT OF: Persons engaged as research subjects are neither employees nor independent contractors, and payments to them should be processed as regular invoices using account code 25140 (Research Subjects). Research subjects are not covered by SAIF. Agreements with research subjects should state clearly that SAIF coverage is not provided and that the subjects are ineligible for Worker's Compensation in the event of injury or illness. For more information pertaining to research, please see the Research and Strategic Partnerships website.

For more information pertaining to research incentive payments, please see the procedures manual.

REWARDS TO STUDENTS: PSU may offer rewards to students for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals who tamper with fire equipment, turn in false alarms, destroy or misuse university property, and engage in similar conduct (J. McKeever, Assistant Attorney General, letter to J. Casby, 06/01/87).

S

SAFETY DEVICES: When the department head involved considers a safety device a necessity, and the employee may not work without it, the expense may be paid from institution funds. If the device is not required as a condition of employment, the employee bears its cost. Safety devices and other equipment purchased by the state remain state property whether used by one or several employees.

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS-PRESENTATION OF CLAIMS: ORS 293.321 has established a two-year limitation for presentation of claims.

STIPENDS: A stipend is a subsistence allowance paid to a person engaged in a training or research program. Stipends may be paid in advance or arrears, depending upon terms of the agreement with the granting agency.

STUDENT PROPERTY LOSS: Normally, PSU has no responsibility for replacing a student's property that is lost or destroyed through no fault of a PSU employee. For insurance questions, please contact Risk Management.

STUDENT REFUNDS: Refunds of tuition, fees, housing charges, or deposits paid by a student are made to the student only. Such refunds may not be made to a third party even when evidence indicates that the third party may have provided the funds.
Exceptions may be granted by the Director of Student Financial Services if circumstances warrant special treatment. For more information pertaining to student refunds, please see Student Financial Services website.

T

TAXES: State of Oregon agencies are exempt from paying federal taxes on purchases of gasoline, oil, etc. If an employee paid for a product and is seeking reimbursement, or if the product was purchased and possession taken in another state, taxes may be paid. Agencies are exempt from paying state, city or county taxes in some instances. PSU is subject to real and personal property taxes on property owned but not used for institutional purposes, such as miscellaneous rentals. State-owned property which located within an irrigation district is subject to taxation by the district.

See Equipment Lease or Rental section, for information regarding personal property taxes on leased or rented equipment.

TELEPHONE CHARGES- LONG DISTANCE- BUSINESS: Business-related, long-distance telephone charges may be paid from institution funds. An employee on travel status may be reimbursed for one long-distance call to a family member on the first day of travel and every second day thereafter. An employee on travel status may also be reimbursed for a long-distance call to a family member to advise the relative of a change in travel schedule or to convey a message through that relative to the employee's office or a to business associate when the office or associate cannot be reached directly during regular office hours. See Travel policy and procedures manual for information on itemization and receipt requirements.

TRANSPORTATION CHARGES: Vendor invoices should not include freight charges for purchases made "FOB destination" unless the purchase order, or separate contract, indicates the vendor can add prepaid freight charges. The freight charge should be deducted from the payment if the invoice includes such a charge for which there is no prior agreement to pay.

V

VEHICLE REPAIRS: When a private vendor repairs a state vehicle, the vendor invoice for parts and repair must identify the vehicle. Either the vehicle license number or the Motor Pool's vehicular unit identification number may be used for identification.

VISA PETITION FEES: The fee for a visa petition to classify a non-immigrant as a temporary worker or trainee is an allowable expenditure. Reimbursement of expenses the alien incurs while procuring a visa through the American Consulate is an allowable expense.