Frequently Asked Questions

Purchasing

P-Card

I’m receiving a date error in Emburse – how do I fix this?

You’ll need to review the dates of all transactions on the ER, and then edit the “start and end” dates of the ER. Once you’ve doe that, you will then need to click on each line that has the warning on it and click on “edit” then on “save” – this simply refreshes the line to no longer have that warning.

What do I reconcile within Emburse?

When you click on your eWallet – you need to focus on the “credit card” section. If you do not have a transaction in this section, then you are not ready to reconcile it yet. Unlike Infor, you can “hold” receipts in a queue to pull from – that does NOT mean they are ready to be reconciled.

I’m owed money from the University (I had a positive number when I reconciled) – where is my check?

Please reach out to Payment Services at acctspay@liberty.edu for more information on the status of your check. You will need to provide them with the following details: Your name, LUID, ER#, and the amount you are expecting.

If you need to add guests and would like to use the CSV file upload, here are some pointers to make it a smooth experience:

-Make sure you use the template – do not make any changes to the “headers” as all of them must be included in order for it to work

-If you are adding internal guests, you can use the “login name” column for their email address – you do NOT need to complete any of the other fields for them as they will auto-populate once added to Emburse

-If you are adding an external guest, do NOT add an email; simply add first and last name, and their title/company if applicable. If you are doing this for students, that would not be applicable (just their first and last names)

-For all of these options, you do not have to fill in the amount; you can leave that column blank, and it will auto-populat,e splitting it evenly among all guests – or you can do the math and split it as it was on the receipt (typically for smaller groups)

-Make sure you save the file as a CSV file – or it will not upload – also, it can only hold up to 100 people, then you will have to put any “spill over” in the receipt section.

If you want an ER returned to you, you can do this yourself now.

Go to your “submitted” section, and as long as it hasn’t been exported, you can click on it and then click on “recall” on the top right side.

Contracts

How do I submit a contract request?
For information on how to submit a contract request, please watch this video.

What is the status of my contract?
You can utilize the Contracts Dashboard for any questions you have regarding the status of your contracts. Please watch this video for further guidance

Why is a Certificate of Insurance required?
Please follow the guidance on the importance of insurance documentation in contract compliance and risk management.

What qualifies as a “contract”?
A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties, characterized by mutual assent, consideration, capacity, and legality of purpose. It typically involves an offer, acceptance, and an exchange of something of value (consideration) between the parties, with the intent to create legal obligations. These obligations may encompass goods, services, rights, or duties, and are enforceable by law.

In essence, any document that contains terms and conditions or a link to terms and conditions that creates an obligation between the parties constitutes a contract and needs to be reviewed by the Contracts Team.

Please review the Contract Administration Policy in the Procurement Document Library for additional information on the contracts process and policy.

How do I submit an Independent Contractor request? What is the ICA process?
An Independent Contractor (IC) must be pre-authorized through Human Resources prior to engagement. The University is required to qualify and prove the status of an IC based on the scope of the work and the individual’s ability to successfully meet the stringent criteria required by the IRS, DOL and State mandated qualifying tests.

Before submitting an Independent Contractor Contract through buyLU the Independent Contractor Qualification Questionnaire must be submitted to and approved by Human Resources.

Fill out and complete the IC questionnaire. You will receive the signed IC questionnaire back within 2-3 business days.
If the IC questionnaire is approved, and a background check is required, your prospective independent contractor will receive a link from First Advantage to be completed.
Submit your IC contract with the attached final IC questionnaire and supplemental documentation through BuyLU for Contract Administration’s review.
Proceed through the normal contract and procurement process.

Payments

How to pick up my check?

Once you receive the email from LU Payment Services, your check is ready to be picked up. Pickup is available on Fridays from 2-4 PM from the Cashiers Department in the Student Services Center (GH 1896). Cashiers Department is located at the end of the room. If 2-4 PM does not work, please note that there may be a longer wait for check pickup. The email notification will provide additional information.

How do I check my payment status?

If an invoice has not yet been created on your PO, it is likely that no invoice has been provided to Payment Services yet.
If an invoice has been created on PO, it will be paid by the due date list in BuyLU once it moves out of ‘Pending’ status to ‘Complete.’
Invoices marked as Prepaid/Full Paid in Advance due date will be listed further down the invoice in BuyLU under ‘Pay Date.’
Payment cannot be issued until an invoice moves from ‘Pending’ status to ‘Complete.’ This can happen if the receipt has not been created yet or the amounts are not matching up with the receipt and/or P0. A comment/create receipt request may be sent to the end-user to confirm that the payment is approved.

Email questions about payment status to Payment Services at acctspay@liberty.edu.

Why do I need to create a negative receipt?

Negative receipts are important to create if the item has yet to be received or to correct the amount reported to have been received. If an invoice is a prepaid for a good, only post receipts once the item has been received. If it’s a prepaid service, receipts can be created before, during, or after the service is complete. The receiving of the service will not affect the monthly accruals.

How do I reverse a receipt?

A negative receipt is created like a positive (regular) receipt. The only difference is that you would put a negative sign (-) in front of the number.

Can I enter a receipt before goods are received?

Receipts are not to be created until the item is received. An invoice should not be signified as payable if the agreement has not been satisfied.

What are the invoice payment deadlines for the Fiscal year-end?

Towards year-end, an announcement goes out with general guidance/timeframe for getting requisitions, purchase orders, and invoices finalized for the year-end budget. Last year, invoices to be paid out of the FY22 budget were requested to be provided by mid-June. (Note: Next year’s guidance could differ).

Can we overnight payments?

Yes, our team can overnight payments if it is detrimental to the department’s operation if not paid on time. Please reach out to the AP Processor for guidance.

How will we know when a process changes?

AP & Procurement are working to ensure the web page is up to date. If you have a concern, please follow this link to the Procurement Survey so that we may collect data to create improvements.

Can we use other payment terms aside from default Check Net 45 when vendors are signed up for the ePayables?

Yes. Payment terms can be modified from the default Check Net 45 terms for vendors that are signed up for ePayables. Click here to access the ePayables form. For assistance with the ePayables registration process, reach out to Payment Services at acctspay@liberty.edu.

What is a vCard payment method?

vCard is an alternative secure payment method that allows vendors to sign up to receive payments by a virtual card. Vendors that choose to receive payment via vCard will receive email notifications from VISA when a payment is ready to be retrieved. (Once the vendor accesses the link, there are a few more steps before the vendor can access the card number to retrieve payment. VISA email provides further guidance on this.)

When a company wants to send an invoice, what’s AP contact information?

We prefer invoices to be emailed to the AP department. If that’s not possible, please use the address below:

Address?
- 1971 University Blvd, ATTN: Payment Services, Lynchburg, VA 24515
Title of Person?
- Payment Services
E-mail Address?
- acctspay@liberty.edu
Phone Number?
- (434)592-3165 and select Payment Services

How do I pay an individual?

A majority of individual payments that are not in the scope of reimbursement for employees/others should review the HR Policy for further guidance.

Why is a W-9 needed? Will the supplier be set up for 1099 withholding and reporting?

Information provided by the supplier during the setup process will help determine if 1099 withholding and reporting is appropriate. W9 are required to assist with the yearly 1099 IRS reporting requirement.

Note: Reimbursements are not 1099’d. Eligible payments over a certain amount generate 1099 per IRS requirements.

How do I request another copy of my 1099?

Liberty University employees should email 1099 requests to HR at hr@liberty.edu. For non-employees, please email your request to Payment Services at acctspay@liberty.edu.

Travel

Suppliers

How do I request a supplier in BuyLU?

Once logged into BuyLU, navigate your cursor to the left side modules until you see suppliers. Hover over suppliers, scroll down to requests, and then select Request New Supplier.

How do I register to become a supplier in BuyLU?

Suppliers are eligible to register based on the current needs of the University. If you are selected to register, you will receive a secure BuyLU invitation link to register within our system.

Do I need a W-9? What is a W-9?

Yes, Liberty University requires a W-9 from all domestic suppliers. A W-9 is a tax identification form used to report payment information to the IRS.

Do I need a W-8? What is a W-8?

Yes, Liberty University requires a W-8 from all international suppliers. A W-8 is a tax identification form used to report payment information to the IRS.

Do I need a COI? What is a COI (Certificate of Insurance)?

Yes and no. A certificate of insurance (COI) is a document provided by a broker to show that your business is insured. Suppliers will need to provide a COI if they are performing work on campus, driving vehicles on campus, etc. Our Risk Management department has listed COI guidelines within the following two links:

Entities – COI Requirements For Entities
Individuals – COI Recommendations For Individuals

What are the payment terms offered by Liberty University?

The payment terms offered by Liberty University are available on our Payment Services page.

How do I access my supplier profile?

Each supplier is provided a login link to access their supplier profile within BuyLU upon registering. If you are having trouble locating your login link, please contact suppliermanagement@liberty.edu.

When will my supplier be available for purchases?

Each supplier has to complete a “registration workflow” in order to become active within BuyLU. This workflow checks the supplier for certain information from multiple areas of Finance to ensure the supplier is set up correctly.

What is required when I need to update my supplier information?

The Supplier Management team requires an updated W-9 upon submitting the request for a supplier information change. This ensures our information is always up to date in BuyLU. To request a supplier profile update, send an email to suppliermanagement@liberty.edu. In the subject line, please indicate “Update” and the supplier’s name and Supplier ID Number.

The supplier’s profile is inactive. How can their profile be reactivated?

To request the reactivation of a supplier profile, send an email to suppliermanagement@liberty.edu. In the subject line, please indicate “Reactivate” and the supplier’s name and Supplier ID Number. It is required that a new W-9/COI will be provided upon request.

My supplier was invited to the portal several days ago. Why aren’t they active?

This is most likely caused by the supplier not completing the registration process. Suppliers need to be made aware that BuyLU will be sending an automated welcome registration email link. Sometimes, this automated email will be filtered to the junk/cutter folder. If you would like a new registration email invitation link sent, please contact suppliermanagement@liberty.edu.

Enterprise Sourcing

BuyLU

Who will be able to place orders through BuyLU?

All employees have the role of “Shopper” and have the ability to shop and add items to the shopping cart. Only designated employees will have the role of “Requester” to submit the shopping cart. The shopping cart will then route to “Approvers” for review and approval to make the purchase. (For more information, refer to the BuyLU Purchasing Manual in the Procurement Document Library)

How can I become a “Requester” to be able to submit carts in BuyLU?

Required Finance courses (100,102, & 210) must be completed first. Instructions to register for courses are under Course Descriptions.
Once Finance 210 is completed with 100%, submit a BuyLU Permissions Request from the Finance Portal and attach approval from your level 4, 6, or 8 financial approver or ask the financial approver to submit the request on your behalf.
Once we have verified the information in your request, we will forward your ticket to IT so the permissions can be granted. Once the permissions are granted successfully, it will take overnight for your new permissions to be available in BuyLU.

How do I add a frequently used FOAPAL for me to select during checkout?

This can be accomplished by clicking the person icon in the upper right corner of BuyLU and selecting “View My Profile.” Then select “Default User Settings” and “Custom Field and Accounting Code Defaults.” Select the “Code Favorites” tab and the “Add” button. (For more information, refer to the BuyLU Purchasing Manual in the Procurement Document Library)

How do I configure my email notifications from BuyLU?

This can be accomplished by going to “View My Profile,” then select “Default User Settings,” then select “Notification Preferences.” Users can customize these settings to change the type of notifications and/or emails they receive for each function listed. To change the notification settings, choose from the Notification Preferences menu in your user profile: Choose one of the options by clicking on it. To change this setting, select the “Edit Section” link that is located in the upper right of the screen. Then select the “Override” radio button and choose an option from the dropdown menu next to “None.” (For more information, refer to the BuyLU Purchasing Manual in the Procurement Document Library)

How do I remove an item from my shopping cart?

You can remove items from your cart in several ways.

You can remove an item by using the view cart option at the top of the screen and clicking the trash can icon next to the item you want to delete.
You can access your cart from the slide-out menu (Shop / My Carts and Orders / Open My Active Shopping Cart). Click the box to the right of the item you wish to remove. Activate the drop-down menu next to “Perform an action,” and choose “Remove Selected Items.”
You can also remove an item by selecting the “Remove” button within the item in your cart. (For more information, refer to the BuyLU Purchasing Manual in the Procurement Document Library)

Why was my requisition returned?

An email notification should have been sent stating the reason of the return at the bottom of the email. The return reason is also listed under the History tab on the requisition.

How can I see which commodity codes map to specific LU account codes?

The UNSPSC (Commodity) Codes Lookup is a report that can help you identify which commodity code to use for your purchase.

Questions for Procurement at LU

Common Inquiries