Duplicate payments are uncommon but recouping them is time intensive for both the IU department and IU Accounts Payable staff.
IUAP has various processes and audits in place to prevent duplicate payments. When multiple copies of any invoice are submitted, each one must be reviewed and researched. This means every duplicate submission delays processing and IUAP’s response time to other issues. This year, IUAP manually reviewed more than 16,000 potential duplicate invoices!
The biggest cause for duplicate invoices? Invoice submission by both the supplier and IU staff. This accounted for more than 27% of the potential duplicates IUAP received. There’s no doubt that staff submit invoices with the intent of being helpful but submitting additional copies of invoices “just in case” significantly slows payment processing.
Be the change! Review the tips below to learn how you can help:
- Do not submit invoices on behalf of suppliers. Suppliers should submit their invoices directly to IU Accounts Payable using one of these methods outlined on the Submit an Invoice to Indiana University page.
- Make sure your supplier has the correct purchase order (PO) number and includes it on page 1 of their invoice. Invoices MUST reference a valid PO number (including the characters “PO”) to be processed in BUY.IU. Submitting an invoice correctly the first time is the best way to ensure prompt processing and payment.
- Check invoice status in BUY.IU. If you (or your supplier) are looking for the status of an invoice, search for the invoice in BUY.IU or use the Accounts Payable Inquiry tool. Keep in mind – it takes 3 business days for most invoices to be processed after submission. If it’s been at least 3 days and the invoice is not found, contact the AP Helpdesk for assistance using the Support Form options “Invoices” and “Invoice submission.” If the invoice needs to be submitted, IUAP will let you know.