Accounts Payable

• Announcements
• Before Submitting a Payment Request
  
  • University Contract Policy
  • Independent Contractors/Workers Classification Form
  • Electronic Signature Card
  • Vendor Information - Electronic W9/W8 Forms
  • Procedures for Payment to Foreign Nationals
• Submitting a Payment Request
  
  • Payments to Vendors - Electronic Payment Request Form
  • Employee Expense Reimbursement
  • Honorariums
• After an Invoice or Employe Reimbursement has been Processed
  • Expense Transfer Form
• Important Reminders
• Staff Directory
• Online Forms
• Documentation/Manuals
• Procurement Card
• Finance Policies

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WEEKLY PAYMENT PROCESSING   Payments to vendors are issued weekly (generally on Thursdays).  Payments are made via ACH (preferably) or check, according to vendor terms.  Generally, payments are issued after services are rendered/products are received.   Requests to process payments outside of the weekly payment run / rush requests should be sent via email directly to Patty Woods - pwoods2@luc.edu. Rush payments may only be made via ACH.  

MILEAGE RATES   Effective 1/1/24, the business standard mileage rate is 67 cents per mile. The moving mileage reimbursement rate continues to be 21 cents per mile.  For historical rates please visit the Mileage Reimbursement Rates page.  

BEFORE SUBMITTING A PAYMENT REQUEST

UNIVERSITY CONTRACT POLICY

All agreements and contracts (including letter agreements) which obligate the University in any manner must comply with the Contract Policy.  Only the President, the Provost(s), the Vice Provost(s), the Senior Vice Presidents and the Vice Presidents (and, collectively, with any persons holding the foregoing titles on an interim basis, the "Authorized Officers") are authorized to sign agreements and contracts for the University within their respective areas of responsibility.  No payment will be authorized for any agreement or contract which is not signed and which does not otherwise meet the requirements of the Contract Policy.  Please see the University Contract Policy for additional details.

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS/WORKERS CLASSIFICATION FORM

Prior to engaging an individual to perform services for the University as an independent contractor, please submit the completed Workers Classification Form and contract to Human Resources for review. (Compensation@luc.edu).  This review is necessary to determine whether the arrangement meets the criteria of an independent contractor.  Accounts Payable cannot issue any payments until this review is complete.   Additional review is required when an individual’s situation changes (ie independent contractor becomes an LUC employee or vice versa), or payments are made to former LUC employees.  Please notify Human Resources when these situations occur. A Workers Classification form is not required for honorarium payments.  An honorarium is a payment made to an individual as a token of appreciation, on a non-routine (i.e. one-time) basis, for a nominal value,  Fees which represent a professional fee for services performed are not considered an honorarium and therefore require the Workers Classification form.  

Except for employee expense reimbursements, all payments to individuals on the LUC payroll must be processed through payroll.  Please complete the PAF and forward to HR-Payroll-Processing@luc.edu.  Employee expense reimbursements should continue to be emailed to Payables@Luc.edu with a completed and approved Expense Reimbursement form.

ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE CARD

Effective February 1, 2023 accounting unit signature cards and other financial application security will be collected electronically and maintained by Financial Systems in a single online application.  Separate signature card forms are no longer required or accepted by Accounts Payable.  Please complete the attached AU Level Access Form to request Signature Authority, BI Financial Reports access, and/or Lawson Requisition Center access for a new AU. Completed forms should be submitted to FinancialSystems@luc.edu.

VENDOR INFORMATION - ELECTRONIC W9/W8 FORMS

New vendors and payees must complete an Electronic W9/W8 Form via our web form portal.  This form should also bb completed by vendors or payees in an inactive vendor status who request to be made active.     The LUC Contact initiates the process:

• Access the form at forms.LUC.edu/w9/
• Log in with your UVID/password.
• Enter the vendor's email address.
• The system will send an email to the vendor with a unique link to access the form. 
• The vendor completes the information securely online. 
• When the vendor submits the form, the LUC Contact will receive a system notification that the form has been completed and submitted to Accounts Payable. 
• Upon setup, Payables will notify the department contact of the vendor number.  

Notes regarding Form W9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and Certification)

• Changes to vendor address or banking information should be submitted using the online W9 form. Requests to update such information will be independently confirmed by the Accounts Payable team with the vendor.
• W9s and W8s are valid 3 years from the date they are signed (not the date it is sent to A/P for the printed forms).
• It is not necessary to have a current vendor complete the online W9 if they have a current W9 on file.

Notes regarding Form W8 (Certificate of Foreign Status)   Foreign Vendor Individual or Entities must provide a Form W-8BEN (Individual) or W-8BEN-E (Entity)     

• https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw8ben.pdf (individual)     
• https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw8bene.pdf (entities)     

Clearly indicate where services are being performed (i.e. abroad or in the U.S.).       

If an individual will be paid for services performed in the U.S., they must fill out the Foreign National Information Form (FNIF). The FNIF and all required documents must be included with the payment requisition.      

• https://www.luc.edu/media/lucedu/finance/pdfs/FNIF_Indpt_Cont.pdf   

If an individual is performing services outside the U.S., the FNIF is not required.       

Payments to foreign vendors with foreign bank accounts should be submitted directly to Cash Management on the EFT form.  

SUBMITTING A PAYMENT REQUEST

PAYMENTS TO VENDORS ELECTRONIC PAYMENT REQUEST FORM

The Electronic Payment Request form must be used to create, route for approval and submit requests to Accounts Payable.  

• Once the payment request is created, all documentation (including invoice, contract, etc.) can be uploaded to the form.
• Approval requests are sent electronically via email.
• The status of the payment request can be viewed on the Homepage/Dashboard.
• Please see FAQ and Instructions for additional details.

Payments to vendors with non-U.S. bank accounts must be submitted directly to Cash Management on the EFT form.  These vendors are not available in the Electronic Payment Request application.  

Payments to employees, other than expense reimbursements, must be submitted to HR.  Employee Expense Reimbursements should be submitted to Payables@luc.edu.  

Payments to students for scholarships and educational financial assistance (including fellowships, prizes, awards, and honoraria) not related to a work/service requirement must be processed through LUC’s Financial Aid Office as they are generally considered a resource when determining a student's financial aid eligibility. Payments related to work/service must be processed through Human Resources / Payroll. 

EMPLOYEE EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT

Employee Expense Reimbursement requests submitted to Payables@luc.edu must be submitted as a single PDF file attached to your email.  The PDF file should have the Expense Reimbursement form and all backup documentation.  Portfolios, individual files, and/or other formats will be returned for resubmission.     Expense reimbursement forms are for faculty and staff reimbursements only.

• All other expense reimbursement requests must be submitted via an Electronic Payment Requisition form.    
• Reimbursement requests on an incorrect form may be returned to the department.    

Employee Expense Reimbursements over $5,000 require two signatures on the form.   All Employee Expense Reimbursements submitted more than 90 days following the date of the expense or the last date of travel will be considered taxable income to the employee and subject to income withholding taxes.   

• It is recommended that expenses be submitted for reimbursement within 30 days after the travel is completed or the expense is incurred to allow time for processing and approvals.     
• Please note the date used to determine if a report is submitted after 90 days is the date the documentation is submitted to Accounts Payable. 

HONORARIUMS

An honorarium is a payment made to an individual as a token of appreciation, on a non-routine (i.e. one-time) basis, for a nominal value, Fees which represent a professional fee for services performed are not considered an honorarium and therefore require the Workers Classification form.  

If you are paying for an Honorarium and reimbursing travel expenses, please submit two separate payment requests: one for the Honorarium and one for the travel reimbursement. Generally, only the Honorarium portion may be subject to 1099 reporting.  

For Honorariums paid to speakers invited by faculty members to make a presentation that occurs in the closed forum of a scheduled course, in addition to the completed Payment Requisition form, supporting documentation such as a statement from the academic area confirming the speaker's name, event date and the amount of the honorarium to be paid, is required.   

Honorariums for individuals on payroll must be submitted through Human Resources.  

AFTER AN INVOICE OR EMPLOYEE REIMBURSEMENT HAS BEEN PROCESSED

EXPENSE TRANSFER FORM

For vendor invoices or expense reimbursements processed through Accounts Payable, it is highly recommended to use the AP Expense Transfer.xlsm to move Accounting Distribution (AU/Account) for a specific invoice.  Instructions and the form can be found here:      https://www.luc.edu/finance/accountspayable/apexpensetransferforminstructions/

• Expense transfer requests must be sent to AP within 60 days of the last day of the month the expense was incurred.  
  • Example:  An expense incurred 4/10 must be submitted to AP no later than 6/30.  
• This form should be sent to Payables@luc.edu for AP transactions.

• ProCard Expense transfers should be sent directly to procard@luc.edu using their form. 

Expense transfers processed through the Accounting Expense Transfer form will only be visible in the General Ledger and will not be reflected in Accounts Payable reporting. 

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

• Payment requests submitted to Accounts Payable that do not conform to the guidelines will be returned to the department for revision and re-submission.
• There should be only one invoice per payment requisition.
• Loyola University does not pay off of vendor statements, proforma invoices, quotes or estimates.  Please obtain invoices from the vendor.  This helps prevent duplicate payments.
• Please encourage your vendor to sign up for ACH payment using the Electronic W9 form. ACH is the preferred method of payment for all requests.  Over 90% of the vendors that complete the Electronic W9 form provide banking information.
• Expense reimbursement forms are for staff and faculty reimbursements only. All other reimbursements must be submitted via a Payment Request form.
• Additional questions can be directed to Accounts Payable at Payables@LUC.edu.