How to Purchase at Vanderbilt

Purchase to Payment Process at Vanderbilt1Business-to-business purchasing and payment does not follow the same process as personal purchasing and payment.Purchases at Vanderbilt are planned and approved before the supplier is notified of the purchase.

Overview2The supplier should bill (i.e., invoice) Vanderbilts Disbursement Services department for the purchase at the same time it ships the goods to you.Disbursement Services usually has 45 days from the date of the invoice to pay it.

Overview3Three steps:The Purchasing ProcessShopBuyPay

Identify supplier(s). Choose supplier and product.Pay the supplier.

DisbursementsProcurementPurchase item(s)eProcurement, Requisition

Purchase to Payment ProcessStep 1: You create a requisition containing the item(s) you want to purchase.Paper requisition- A-req, C-reqeProcurement requisitionRequisition with proper signatures goes to Procurement Services.

Purchase to Payment ProcessStep 2: A Purchasing Agent uses your approved requisition to create a Purchase Order (PO).The purchase order is sent to the supplier.

Purchase to Payment ProcessStep 3: The supplier sends the goods to you and the bill (invoice) to Vanderbilts Disbursement Services department.

Goods go to you.Invoice goes to Disbursements.Purchase to Payment ProcessStep 4: You check the shipment against the packing slip.

Step 5: Disbursements creates a voucher for the invoice and pays it if it matches the PO.

8Department creates requisition and sends to Procurement.Procurement uses req to create PO and sends PO to supplier.Supplier ships goods to you and sends invoice (bill) to Disbursements.Disbursements enters invoice into AP/PO system and creates voucher; Disbursements pays invoice if it matches PO.Summary: Purchasing to Payment ProcessThe transaction steps are similar to the PO process, but condensed:Purchases are approved in advance by the department.The receipt of goods and payment happens simultaneously, instead of in two separate steps.The vendor provides the purchaser with the invoice (or bill) instead of sending it to Disbursement Services.For P-Card Purchases