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External Billings

PPD-0202

The Office of Finance is responsible for sending invoices to external entities.  An invoice, or also referred to as a billing, is considered external if the charges are to be paid by non-institutional funds, or by an outside source other than a granting agency.  All external billings must be reviewed and approved by the Office of Finance prior to an employee making a commitment. This is a necessary review of proposed services to prevent unfair competition with readily available outside sources.

I. Purpose

To provide guidelines for the policy regarding invoicing and collecting for customers external to VIMS in compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and support of internal controls essential for the proper use of state funds.

II. Scope

All departments considering external business should contact the Institutional Accountant in the Office of Finance.  Prior to offering external services, rates for services must be reviewed and approved by the Chief Financial Officer.  The centralization of external billings ensures consistency in the application of accounting procedures, improves efficiency, and provides for better cash control.  The Office of Finance’s responsibility is to invoice all external parties in accordance to the specifications of the responsible department and subsequently collect the funds.

III. External Billing Procedures

Invoicing external parties are processed monthly.  Units are required to provide the Institutional Accountant with either a draft invoice or specifications to create an invoice within two (2) days upon completion of the service.

The following information is REQUIRED for all external billings (please obtain complete information prior to providing any service and send to the Institutional Accountant):

  1. A copy of the commitment agreement** is required (in lieu of the commitment agreement, the following can be used)
    • Purchase Order
    • Email containing all pertinent information
    • An “agree to pay” document such as an EMS confirmation agreement, etc.
  2. When using one of the above suggested forms, the following information must be included.
  • Billing detail (description of service provided, date of service, amount to be charged)
  • Full name of person(s) responsible for payment of the bill
  • Full billing address (including zip code), phone number (including area code) and email address

**Use of a commitment agreement will allow for optimal collection effort.  A standard commitment form for use by the VIMS community is located on the VIMS Forms website.  For questions or concerns, please contact the Institutional Accountant.

BE ADVISED:

If complete billing information to include commitment agreement is not provided, the ability of the Institute to collect outstanding debt is not supported.

If after sending three external bills, a payment has not been received, it is necessary for the Institutional Accountant to forward this information to the Office of the Bursar, University Loan & Collections for William & Mary to continue collection efforts through. Departments will be notified via e-mail if this occurs.

Note: The Commitment Agreement is available in VIMS Accounting and Purchasing Toolbox (See Accounting Forms) in a fillable format.