Accounts Payable Paper Form Instructions
 Evaluate all payments under $500 to determine if purchases can be made using a procurement card  . A procurement card is the most cost-effective payment method.
Review Requisition Procedure Policy 205 to determine if the payment requires a purchase order (P.O.) instead of the accounts payable paper form.
When submitting an accounts payable paper form, please do the following:
Supply supporting documentation for payments (as per University Policy 3.14, Business Expenses ). Documentation for the purchase of goods and services must support the business purpose of the expenditure. Appropriate documentation includes: original receipt or original invoice containing the date of purchase; vendor name and address; description of goods and services; quantity; unit price; any other required approval documents; and grand total of expenditures.
Staple all original invoices and/or receipts (including all pages of itemized bill) securely to the back of the form. The A/P system combines payments to the same vendor; therefore, your check stub must give the vendor enough information to apply your payment appropriately.
Help Topics and Completion Guidelines
Payee (Section A): Provide the legal name of the vendor/individual to be paid. The legal name must match the name listed with the Internal Revenue Service for the Social Security or Federal Identification Number.
Payee Information (Section B): Payment forms must include information on citizenship, the proper legal name, a permanent mailing address, and a United States taxpayer identification number (TIN). Payment forms cannot be processed without this information.
A TIN is a nine-digit number assigned to individuals, companies, or other entities by the federal government for tax-reporting purposes.
The three types of TINs are:
- Social Security Number (SSN): assigned by the Social Security Administration to an individual for tax and wage-reporting.
- Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN): assigned by the IRS to a resident or non-resident alien required to have a TIN, but unable to possess a social security number. The IRS uses ITINs to identify resident and non-resident aliens (and their dependents or spouses) required to or wishing to file a U.S. tax return.
- Employer Identification Number (EIN): assigned by the IRS to business entities for federal tax reporting. Corporations, partnerships, associations, clubs, and religious, charitable, educational, or other tax-exempt organizations are some examples of entities that will have EINs.
Check "yes" or "no" for all status and citizenship questions that apply to the payee. Fill in the country of citizenship for all payees who are non-U.S. citizens.
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Mailing Address for Check (Section C)
The full mailing address of the payee, including zip code, is required. Only items being paid to the same payee at the same address can be listed on one form. Canada requires postal and province codes. Australia requires a postal code.
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Tax Mailing Address (Section D)
Address for mailing tax forms. A check box is available if the address is the same as the mailing address. For reporting payments, such as services, royalties, or awards, a notation of citizenship and permanent address (not department or campus address) of the payee must be included. The country/recipient/default codes are for accounting use only.
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Special Handling Instructions (Section E): Check the appropriate boxes.
- Enclosure: If a document is to be sent with payment (e.g., dues, registrations, subscriptions, order forms), check "Enclosure". Staple the original enclosure to the front of the form. You must also attach a copy of the enclosure to the back of the form. Except in the case of pre-payments, enclosures are not generally required (even when the vendor asks for them). Do not send the vendor's reply envelopes.
- Return to Department: If a check should be returned to the department or to a person other than the payee, staple a completed campus envelope to the front of the voucher. If a taxable payment is to be returned to the department, a tax mailing address must be provided in Section D.
- Petty Cash: Mark this box if payment is to custodian of a Petty Cash Account.
- Check Pick Up: Check pick up should only be requested on an exception basis. If the department must pick up a check, the pickup location is the Cashier's Office in Day Hall. Include the name(s) and phone number of the individual(s) authorized to pick up the check. Vendors should not be authorized to pick up checks. Be sure to include a tax mailing address in Section D if the check is to be picked up.
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Business Purpose/ Explanation of Payment Request (Section F): An explanation of the business purpose of an expense must be included (attach additional pages if necessary). Descriptions such as "research," "conference," or "business meal" are not considered complete. It may be necessary to explain acronyms/abbreviations. Examples: EACUBO conference "Eastern Association of College and University Business Offices conference," or FCSI meeting "Food Consultants Society International meeting."
Check Stub Information (Section G): Describe the payment in 18 characters or less. If the payment is for pre-registration, indicate the date of the event and the person(s) attending. For invoice payments, do not combine invoices on one line, but list the invoice number for each invoice being paid individually. If you wish to pay multiple invoices on one form, complete a separate line for each invoice. (Processing one invoice per form creates more accurate information in ADW). Vendors require separate invoice information to apply payment properly. Enter the "Total Amount to be Paid."
- 1099/1042 Coding: For accounting use only.
- Pay Date: Pay dates may be included for transactions. For payments over $10,000, departments must enter a PAY DATE based upon terms stated on invoice or contract provisions. (Paying large invoices sooner than necessary results in a negative impact on university cash flow.)
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Commitment Information (Section H): Generally not applicable. Payment forms should not be used for invoices issued against purchase orders from APPS.
Account Distribution Information (Section I): The department account(s), object code(s), project code and DUO (Department Use Only) code. Enter the amount to charge each account. The total charges must equal the "Total Amount to be Paid" in Section G. Review all transactions for federal allowable vs. federal unallowable issues and use appropriate object codes.
- BPS: Accounting use only.
- Process Date: Optional field allowing accounting transactions to post to a future date. For example, when processing a voucher in June for prepayment of July rent, a process date of July should be used to record the expense in the proper accounting period.
- MIR DATE: An optional field for the date that merchandise or invoice was received.
Preparer/ Date/ Phone/ E-mail Address/ Department Name (Section J): The individual to contact with questions.
Transaction Authority Approval (Section J): Original signature of individual with appropriate transaction authority (TA) as defined by University Policy 4.2, Transaction Authority . Cannot be the same person as payee.
 dfa-disbursement-review-mailbox@cornell.edu  or uco-accts-pay@cornell.edu .
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