Frequently Asked Questions - Accounts Payable

This is the preferred method of payment and part of an effort to reduce checks and eliminate paper waste and inefficiencies. It is not required. This will also decrease the time it takes to complete payment and is more convenient than handling a check.

Payments will be processed as credit card transactions, so your standard merchant fees will apply. There are no direct fees imposed by the client or the issuing bank.

It is not the client's intention to absorb fees associated with your merchant service provider.

The new payment process keeps that card account with a credit limit of $0 until an invoice has been approved for payment. Once it is approved, the card will be funded with the exact amount due. You will also receive a remittance, which is an electronic confirmation that the card is ready to be charged. This technology makes keeping a card on file completely safe.

For security reasons, the remittance advice, which authorizes payment, only identifies the last 4 digits of the card; upon receipt of the remittance, you will have the complete card information in order to process the transaction.

Your terms will remain the same; however, you do gain the float. Funds are typically deposited within 48 hours after processing the transaction.

Your invoicing, current procedures and client contacts will remain the same.

For security purposes, we do not have account or billing information on file. We will note that additional information is required.

Please discuss this with your Client Accounts Payable contact or the Client Program Administrator.

The client will contact you with the card information to keep on file. At that time, you can provide your internal Card Authorization Form to the client and retain the form with the card information. The remittance is your ongoing authorization to process the card for the exact amount indicated.

The Electronic Payment Request (ePRF) is the official process in OMNI for submitting Non-PO payments, including most departmental payment requests except wire transfers.

No. Cash advances do not encumber funds on a budget, so departments must account for the outstanding cash on their reconciliation. Cash advances can be viewed on the Departmental Ledger in BI under “Other Assets.”

Employee cash advances, for non-travel purposes, are typically used for change funds. Employee cash advances can only be requested by Faculty, A&P, and selected USPS employees. OPS employees and graduate students are unable to request employee cash advances.

Employees who wish to refund the university for a temporary cash advance can make payments via cash, money order, or personal check. Checks and money orders should be made payable to Florida State University.

Physical payment should be submitted along with a completed Departmental Deposit Form using the permanent advance (168300) or temporary advance (168400) account code. Do not use an expense (7XXXXX) or revenue (6XXXXX) account code to return unspent funds.

This payment can be placed in the drop box outside of the Office of Student Finance at A1500 University Center. If payment is unable to be dropped off, it can be mailed to:.

Florida State University Accounts Receivable
P.O. Box 3062397
Tallahassee, FL 32306-2397

Please review the Employee Cash Advance guidance found on the Controller’s Office website for assistance with submitting an ePRF for cash advances.

• 168300 – permanent advances, or
• 168400 – temporary advances

Expense (7XXXXX) or revenue (6XXXXX) account codes should NEVER be used for unspent funds.

The expense (7XXXXX) account code that most closely associates with the purpose of the cash advance should be used. For example, 740355 is for human subject participant incentive payments.

Contact your SRA Grants Accounting Coordinator immediately. Repeated failure to follow the cash advance procedures for incentive payments may result in payments being denied and/or the employee not being reimbursed.

The amount of cash requested should be reasonable based on the timeline for disbursing funds. For example, if you plan to disburse $1,000 per month for 6 months, you don’t necessarily need $6,000. The first month can be replenished after it is disbursed to reuse for future disbursements. As a general rule, the cash should not exceed your immediate disbursement need (30-60 days).

A cash advance extension will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. A new Temporary Employee Cash Advance Request Form must be completed with the remaining balance, updated expiration date, and be approved by SRA. Only human subject incentive payments requiring cash payments will be allowable as an employee cash advance. In addition, Employee cash advances are no longer available to procure gift cards. 

Cash advances should be reconciled monthly, with funds either being replenished or the cash advance partially closed if additional funds are not needed.

If a custodian has disbursed a $500 cash advance and they only want to replenish $300 for their remaining payments, they can partially replenish/close the advance. In this example, the $300.00 would be partially replenished. The $200.00 would be partially closed in a separate voucher. See “Employee Cash Advance- Partial Close” job aid.

No, the university does not provide cash advance checks to suppliers.

Yes, every cash advance requires “special handling” when inputting the ePRF, to state the name, phone number, and address of the custodian. The assigned custodian or designee will be contacted by Disbursement Services when the check is ready.

Custodians are set to receive their participant incentive cash advance via check. For situations where the custodian is receiving the cash advance in installments and conducting research abroad, please request a Direct Deposit Form by contacting CTL-epayments@fsu.edu.

Unencumbered payments with greater than eight distribution lines may be submitted via spreadsheet upload. If you have eight or more unencumbered payments to a single vendor, then the spreadsheet upload method is the preferred way of processing those payments. Spreadsheet upload is useful for processing payments for expenditures such as rent, utilities, and similar payments. Payments associated with a purchase order may not be submitted for payment via spreadsheet upload.

No, non-duty Stipends must be submitted through the Office of Student Finance.

Yes. Accounts Payable will provide Voucher IDs for the payments. It is the requesting department’s responsibility to attach backup documentation to the payment vouchers.

Yes. Please ensure the future invoice date is provided and enter the scheduled payment due date into the upload template.

Vouchers that have been marked as special handling (on the Payments tab) are set aside by the Controller’s Office.  The individual noted in the Message field will be called/emailed/messaged when the check is ready and given the option to have the check sent through Campus Mail via Mail Code or sent to an address of their choosing. If special accommodations are required regarding the delivery of a check, please contact Accounts Payable.

This form, which can be found on the Controller's Office Forms page, is the means by which departments request a stop payment on a supplier or travel expense-related payment. There are two options with this form. The payment can be cancelled and reissued, or a full stop can be issued. For any changes of address or changes to any specific supplier information, please email CTL-APVendors@fsu.edu for assistance.

A payment cancellation closes the voucher and reverses the initial accounting entries, returning the expended funds to the department. A reissue will generate another check or EFT to the vendor, without taking additional funds from the department.

No, a check payment cannot be canceled and reissued on the same day. Checks will be reissued the following Wednesday after cancellation.

All checks are processed on Wednesday and are sent to Postal Services by 1:00 PM. Any requests for special considerations must be made before 12:00 PM of the same day.

The quickest and most efficient method for getting payment questions answered is to email Accounts Payable. This email is monitored constantly throughout the business day, and a representative will provide the requestor with the most accurate information.

Florida State University offers a virtual payment as one of the quickest methods of receiving a payment. These payments are essentially a virtual “credit card” that is good for one-time use in the specific amount of your invoice. As the payee, once your V-Card process is set up with FSU, you will receive an email notification on how to process individual payments for outstanding invoices. If you are not receiving these emails or have outstanding payments, please contact Accounts Payable.

If your payment was not retrieved in time, FSU can cancel and reissue your payment via the V-Card Portal again. You will receive an email just like the original. Follow the same instructions to collect the payment from Wells Fargo.

Florida State University offers a secure delivery option through Dropbox, allowing suppliers to manually process payments using the provided information. Dropbox verifies the recipient’s email and consent before delivery. Payment information is sent securely in two separate emails: one with the payment details and another with login information.

To switch a payment from check to EFT, please contact vendor services at epayments@admin.fsu.edu. Be prepared to provide them with:

• A voided check which confirms the account/routing number on your form.
• A signed letter from a bank representative on bank letterhead which confirms the account/routing number
• A signed letter from the company's CFO/member of executive team on company letterhead which confirms the account/routing number

Payments made via EFT by Florida State University will post from FSU’s account the same day they are processed. However, the amount of time it takes for the payment to post to the payee’s bank account is entirely up to the payee’s bank. If Florida State University has processed a payment via EFT and it is not showing up in your account, please contact your financial institution.

An advance payment is a payment made before goods or services are provided.

A progress/milestone payment is a partial payment made to a supplier for work completed pursuant to a specific progress or milestone in a defined project. Instead of paying the full amount at the end, the payments are made as the project progresses.

To safeguard public funds, Florida Law requires that goods and services be inspected and received before payment is made. When the university commits to a purchase from a supplier, the supplier is expected to have adequate resources or working capital to provide the requested goods/services. Advance payment to a supplier can incur additional costs for the university, present a risk of loss of the funds advanced in case of supplier bankruptcy, and can reduce the university’s ability to negotiate in the event of a dispute.

Requests for advance payments should be initiated with Procurement Services prior to entering a requisition. Procurement Services will coordinate final approval from Accounts Payable. Additionally, Accounts Payable will review all advance payments request exceeding $10,000 to ensure compliance with policy and proper documentation.

The department must justify that the advance payment is in the best interest of the university and that there is adequate protection to ensure the goods/services will be provided. Specifically, the department must describe the:

• Savings the university will experience by using this supplier (confirm if quotes were obtained and what method of procurement was used), or
• Savings for prepaying multiple years, or
• Industry-specific payment standards, etc.

• The requisition must be accompanied by documentation explaining the justification for advance payment.
• A valid justification explaining the benefit to the university, i.e., discounts, favorable payment terms, etc.
• A detailed quote providing a breakdown of advance payment terms.

Advance payment approval should be requested during the requisition process. The approval should be attached to the requisition.

The following types of expenditures do not generally require advance payment authorization:

• Approved Procurement Card purchases
• Approved Travel Card purchases
• Charter travel (bus or plane)
• Entertainer, speaker, or similar fees
• Insurance premiums
• Monthly lease payments
• Annual subscription payments
• Annual membership dues
• Annual maintenance agreements (i.e., if full payment is generally expected annually at the beginning of the agreement term)
• Registration fees