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AP Helpful Hints

Invoice Processing

  •  Virginia Tech is an official agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia and must adhere to the Commonwealth’s prompt pay standards. The majority of invoices are processed 30 days from the receipt of goods/services or the invoice, whichever is later. Virginia Tech is required to maintain a 95% on-time payment compliance rate and has an internal goal of 97%. The university’s prompt pay statistics are reported back to the state quarterly.
  •  Certain types of payments (honoraria, membership dues, subscriptions, utilities, etc.) do not require a HokieMart PO. These payments are initiated through the HokieMart payment request forms. Please review the full listing of PO-exempt payments.
  •  HokieMart receiving should be completed for all PO-based invoices as soon as possible. Please ensure the receipt date matches the date goods/services were actually provided. Payments initiated through the HokieMart payment request forms do not require receiving.
  •  Before payment is processed, the Accounts Payable team will verify that each vendor has a valid form W-9 on file. When working with a new vendor, please ensure that a signed version of the current W-9 form (updated in March 2024) is uploaded to the ‘W8/W9 Dropbox’ on the Controller’s Office website.

Invoice Submission

  •  Forward any PO-based invoices received within the department to vtinvoices@vt.edu as soon as possible. Please allow up to ten (10) business days for processing.
  • Documents should be submitted as one invoice per PDF file with the PO number clearly listed or noted on the invoice.
  • On the invoice, indicate the date it was received by the department to ensure the payment date is calculated correctly.
  •  If you have an invoice that requires special handling, please notate the instructions on the invoice itself.
  •  Please do not submit invoices to vtinvoices@vt.edu multiple times.
  •  It is not necessary to submit non-PO invoices processed through the HokieMart payment request forms to vtinvoices@vt.edu.

Banner Pages & Invoice Storage

The following Banner pages can assist departments with monitoring their budgets, tracking expenditures, identifying open encumbrances, and reviewing payment detail.

  • FGIBAVL (Budget Availability) – Shows real-time budget balance.
  • FGIENCD (Detail Encumbrance Activity) – Displays detail for a specific encumbrance.
  • FGIOENC (Organizational Encumbrance List) – Shows all open encumbrances within a specific fund.
  • FOIDOCH (Document History) – Displays all relevant information for a purchase order (PO), invoice (INV), or check (CHK).

Copies of PO-based invoices are stored in Banner. Copies of non-PO invoices processed through the HokieMart payment request forms are stored in HokieMart. 

Additional Information

  • Expenses on operating funds are open to review and subject to public scrutiny. All expenses on operating funds must be reasonable, necessary, and in support of the university’s mission.
  • Business meal and refreshment purchases using operating funds and/or sponsored funds require advance approval via the Food Approval Form. The Controller’s Office (and the Office of Sponsored Programs if using sponsored funds) will review the specifics of each request to ensure the expense is appropriate on that funding source.
  •  When initiating payment to an individual for services provided to the university, ensure the independent contractor checklist is attached to the request in HokieMart. This checklist is used to verify the individual should be paid through Accounts Payable and not through payroll as an employee of the university.
  •  If a vendor is itemizing travel expenses on their invoice, the university is responsible for ensuring those expenses are accurate and in compliance with university and state policy. Reimbursement for the vendor’s travel is no different than the reimbursement of any other guest travel expenses paid with operating funds.
  • Batch payments may be initiated through Accounts Payable using the Departmental Order for Purchases/Payments (DOPP) Form and Batch Interface Template found on the Controller’s Office website. There should be a minimum of seven (7) transactions to justify the use of the batch payment process.