No PO, No Pay

The Kentucky State University Purchasing Policy mandates that “The procurement of all goods and services must be based on a purchase order issued to the supplier prior to the delivery of the goods or commencement of the service.  Except when approved in writing by the Director of Purchasing, when placing orders using a university issued corporate credit card, use of a Purchasing Card (pCard), or when paying approved direct expenditures.”

Benefits of "No PO, No Pay"

  • Ensures that purchases are authorized before goods or services are supplied.
  • Enables the University to process invoices efficiently thus ensuring a positive payment profile with suppliers.
  • Allows accurate timely reporting, budgeting and forecasting across the University.
  • Removes potential risk to the University by formally agreeing to the terms of engagement before the supplier/contractor commits to delivery; i.e. have favorable T&Cs with all our purchases.

Requesting Expenditure

In accordance with the University’s “No PO, No Pay” policy, any invoices received from a supplier that do not clearly state a valid Purchase Order provided by the University will be rejected and returned to the supplier. The only exceptions to this relate to good and services listed on the Direct Expenditure list below.

Invoice Processing

Invoices received with a valid PO number will be automatically routed for review/approval for payment through the requesting department payment.  Invoices received without a valid purchase order number (or an incorrect purchase order reference) will be returned to the vendor and disputed by Kentucky State University. The Supplier should contact the University employee who requested the goods or services to research unpaid invoices.

Invoices

All invoices must be sent to Kentucky State University in one of these two ways:

  1. Hardcopies addressed and mailed to Kentucky State University at the address below:

Kentucky State University
Attn: Accounts Payable Department
Academic Services Building (ASB)
400 East Main Street
2nd Floor, Room 241
Frankfort, KY 40601

-or- 

2. Email PDF invoices to accounts.payble@kysu.edu for quicker processing.

Do NOT send duplicate invoices or invoices via both methods as this will possibly delay payment.  All Invoices MUST reference the specific Kentucky State University PO number sequence.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What is No PO, No Pay?

No PO, No Pay is one of Kentucky State University’s key financial control measures to ensure that payments are made only to suppliers and contractors with a supplied invoice (paper or electronic) containing a valid official Kentucky State University purchase order (PO) number.

Q2: Why a No PO, No Pay financial control measure?

No PO, No Pay ensures that the University only pays for goods and services that have been properly ordered and authorized. It also ensures invoices received by University Accounts Payable representatives/departments will be processed efficiently to minimize or eliminate payment delay to suppliers and contractors. Invoices received by Kentucky State University without a valid PO number will be rejected, disputed and not paid.

Q3: How does No PO, No Pay work?

No PO, No Pay requires that Kentucky State University issue POs for all goods and services PRIOR to goods being ordered or services performed.  Invoices submitted by suppliers and contractors will then have a PO to reference and an official PO number to include on each invoice. In all instances requiring a PO, the supplier will need to be registered in the University's financial management system. 

Q4: What happens if I receive an Invoice without a PO # included on the invoice?  

First consider if the invoice is for a Direct Expenditure, which includes payroll related expenses, expenses that are Perkins fund reimbursable and XXX.  If it is, you should submit the invoice to Accounts Payable to process accordingly, otherwise you may simply disregard the invoice and let the supplier know that you cannot process the invoice without a PO # included. 

If there was never a PO issued, the vendor will have to work with the original requestor to determine next steps. The requestor will have to submit a requisition into the University’s financial management system (Banner), submitting the Unauthorized Commitment form and having the supplier re-invoice after they receive this confirming PO.  This is different from how Kentucky State University has handled in the past where we have routinely just created a PO after the fact to make the payment.  The new Unauthorized Commitment PO process will indeed take place after the fact, but it will require additional approvals from University senior leadership to process so that they are aware of the deviation from university policy. This is NOT the way we want to conduct business and is only used when the required process is not followed. Vendors who routinely provide goods and/or services without a PO will be removed from Kentucky State University's vendor list and unable to do future business with the University. 

Accounts Payable Department
Julian M. Carroll
Academic Services Building
Suite 241
400 East Main Street
Frankfort, KY 40601

Hours
Monday - Friday
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Contact Us
(502) 597-6994
accounts.payable@kysu.edu