Accounts Payable

About Accounts Payable

Accounts Payable professionals disburse payments. They are the last step in the purchasing process. All approvals, e.g. purchase orders, receiving, evidence of service performed, must be complete at this point prior to disbursing funds. Account Payable professionals are responsible for paying vendor invoices, not authorizing payments. They also handle payments for travel and conferences and employee reimbursements.

In order to ensure the safeguarding of assets, Accounts Payable professionals perform the following:

Match invoices to receiving documents and purchase orders
Review travel expense reports
Follow up on discrepant invoices
Determine if payments are reportable to the IRS (1099-MISC) and flag accordingly
Ensure that proper sales or use tax has been applied
Review vendor statements (summary of unpaid invoices) and address accordingly
Respond to vendor inquiries

It is the policy of the District to pay all invoices within 30 days of the invoice date.

What Is the Accounts Payable Process?

For goods and services procured through the purchasing process (i.e. generation of a purchase order), the Accounts Payable process is as follows:

For goods received:
- Accounts Payable receives an invoice from the vendor
- Accounts Payable compares the invoice to the PO to confirm whether the amount is within a reasonable tolerance level (10% to allow for tax and shipping variances)
- Accounts Payable checks if warehouse has received goods in Banner
- Accounts Payable enters the invoice into Banner, along with scanning the invoice into Banner
For services rendered:
- If the vendor sends Accounts Payable the invoice, it will be routed to the department for authorization
- When the department receives the invoice, normally directly from the vendor, the department must:
  - Ensure that the purchase order number is noted on the invoice
  - Sign the invoice authorizing payment
  - Forward the invoice to Accounts Payable
  - Accounts Payable enters the invoice into Banner, along with scanning the invoice into Banner

Employee Reimbursements

All purchases should be made through the purchasing process. Although not encouraged, it may be necessary, on rare occasions, for an employee to purchase goods on behalf of CLPCCD. Employees will not be reimbursed for any payment of professional services, e.g. stipends, honoraria, consulting; instead the Contract for Services process must be utilized.

Accounts Payable will reimburse employees for incidental purchases made on behalf of CLPCCD when the employee submits a Disbursement Request form and an original, itemized receipt. An employee may not authorize a reimbursement to him/herself; instead, the employee's supervisor must sign the Disbursement Request form.

Direct Payment

The purpose of generating a purchase order is to create a contract between CLPCCD and the vendor. CLPCCD promises to pay the vendor for the goods or services as long as the vendor delivers the product or renders the service according to the terms and conditions of the purchase order. A purchase order protects not only CLPCCD but also the vendor because a purchase order constitutes a contract between the two parties.

There are occasions where it is not necessary to generate a purchase order, especially when the vendor doesn't deliver a good or render a service in the traditional sense. Examples of when a direct payment is appropriate are:

Conference registrations
Magazine or newspaper subscriptions
Employee/travel reimbursements
Institutional memberships (the District does not pay for individual memberships)
Travel advances

Submit a Disbursement Request form, along with the appropriate paperwork (conference registration form, magazine or subscription notice, original receipt, membership invoice, etc.) to Accounts Payable.

Types of Checks That Accounts Payable Disburses

Accounts Payable Check Run Processing Schedule

Vendor Payments and Employee Reimbursements

Accounts Payable processes vendor payments and employee reimbursement checks generally every Friday. It is the policy of the District to pay all invoices within 30 days of the invoice date.

For internal control reasons, all vendor checks will be mailed directly from Accounts Payable. Checks may not be picked up by vendors or district employees.

Student Enrollment Refunds

Admissions & Records processes student enrollment refunds, which are transmitted electronically through to Accounts Payable. Student enrollment refunds are included in the regular accounts payable check runs. College refund policies can be found here for Chabot College and here for Las Positas College.

Financial Aid

The college Financial Aid Office processes the student financial aid awards, which are transmitted electronically through Banner. A separate disbursement schedule for Financial Aid is posted on the college Financial Aid Office web site.

Cash Requirements

District Business Services will ensure that adequate cash exists in the county treasury prior to signing off on the Accounts Payable check run. In the case of student financial aid, District Business Services will ensure that adequate cash will exist in the local bank account by the time funds are released to the students.

Contact Information

Please send all invoices and payment requests to AccountsPayable@clpccd.org

Please put Vendor name in Subject line, so it can be distributed to the correct AP Technician

Contact Arthi Prasad at (925) 485-5289 for vendor names A,B,T-Z and employee reimbursements, last names beginning A,B,T-Z. Contract Ed Invoices, A/R, Ricoh, Office Depot, Cash Deposits, Amazon.

Contact Nichole Winter at (925) 485-5221 for vendor names L-S and employee reimbursements, last names beginning L-S. Conference Expenses A/C 5220, Travel Expense Claims 5210, Benefits (Kaiser, Anthem Blue Cross,CCIG), all Models, and FedEx invoices. Public Law Agency Group. Cash Deposits, Cash Journals, and Cash Parking Permit Report. City of Livermore. Medicare Reimbursements. LPC Revolving.

Contact Patrick Chappell at (925) 485-5232 for vendor names C-K and Measure A vendors, Scheduled Maintenance, CC Revolving Fund, all District Utilities (AT&T, CALNET, Nextel, Sprint, Spurr, PG&E, City of Pleasanton, Hayward Water Systems), VWR, and UPS.

Contact Khush Grewal at (925) 485-5282 for enrollment fee refunds and all other questions regarding Accounts Payable.