'No PO, No Pay' policy

'No PO, No Pay' is one of University of Leicester’s key financial control measures to ensure that payments are made only to suppliers and contractors where the supplied invoice (paper or electronic) contains a valid official Purchase Order (PO) number (unless a pre-agreed exception applies – see the exception FAQ below) 

'No PO, No Pay' ensures that the University only pays for goods, services and works which have been properly ordered and authorised. It also ensures invoices received by the Accounts Payable team can be processed efficiently to minimise delay to suppliers and contractors. Invoices received by the Accounts Payable team without a valid PO number will not be paid and will be returned to the supplier. 

'No PO, No Pay' requires all invoices submitted by suppliers and contractors to contain an official PO number. In all, but exceptional circumstances, the PO number: 

• will be generated from the University’s corporate purchasing system, and 
• given to the supplier or contractor before making any commitment to spend University monies. 

In exceptional circumstances an Emergency PO reference will be supplied followed by an official PO number generated from our purchasing system within 3 (three) working days. There are exceptions to 'No PO, No Pay' – these are listed below. 

The following expenditure/circumstances do not require POs. This list is under constant review and any further changes will be communicated to our suppliers by email. The Exceptions List currently covers: 

• Telecommunication services (landline and mobile) 
• Utilities (i.e. Electric, Gas, Water, Refuse) 
• Postal services 
• Grant (payments) to research partners and collaborators, where the University acts as lead partner
• Student recruitment commission
• Conference/training registration and accommodation directly associated with an event (normally at the same location with other attendees)
• Rent (where covered by a signed Long-term Lease Agreement) – short term rental requires a PO. 
• Rates (Council and Water) 
• Payment of VAT on goods delivered from outside of the UK, and held at the border until the payment has been made, given that the University has opted out of postponed import VAT accounting
• Vehicle tax
• Payments to or on behalf of Public or Government Bodies – non-procurement related payments only. A PO should be raised in respect of any procurement related spend
• Payments to salary sacrifice scheme providers
• Library publisher payments on behalf of academics, where a (limit) purchase order is not practical
• Payments to individuals (scholarships, bursaries, salaries, travel expenses, prizes, awards and refunds) 
• Gift vouchers for volunteers, e.g. research project participants (pre-approved by the Tax Office)
• Long-service/retirement gifts purchased by the HR Division
• UKVI CAS statements administered by Student and Academic Services
• Student memberships agreed as part of training agreements
• Personal professional membership subscriptions required for role, where pre-approval has been gained from the Director of Finance
• Payments to artists/groups in processing sales of their works and tickets for their shows at the Attenborough Arts Centre
• Purchases from Amazon through the University’s Amazon Business account (that comply with the Procurement Regulations, including using a Mandatory Contract, where there is one)
• Purchasing and Credit card payments, that comply with the P-Card Policy, including low value, generally one-off in nature purchases (below £2,000 over a four year period)

An initial default will temporarily apply to membership subscriptions (Corporate or otherwise), whereby invoices without a PO will be reviewed by the University on a case by case basis. Where such a subscription merits a PO exempt status both the supplier and requisitioner will be informed and our list updated. 

All valid PO numbers, in PDF/paper form, with the exceptions of those mentioned below, are issued in an AAA41nnnnnnnn format, where “A” is an upper-case alpha character, designating department, and “n” is a number. Verbal PO numbers will be quoted as 41nnnnnnnn, i.e. without the 3 alpha characters. 

Purchase orders placed directly by the University’s Catering Services (H4U) and Library Services from their own stock ordering systems will remain valid, as will the University’s Estates Maintenance and Chemical stores paper PO’s in EMA218nnnnn and CHE702nnnn formats respectively. 

College Court Conference Centre PO number format will continue to remain valid also. 

No, POs will usually be emailed to the email address provided in your supplier details, however, they can be faxed or mailed if necessary. PO numbers can also be confirmed over the telephone, but for your own records you should ask for the copy. 

Contact the person who placed the PO initially (details will be quoted on the order) and ask for clarification. If necessary the original PO can be cancelled and a replacement issued. 

Contact the person who placed the verbal or email order and ask for a formal PO, or as a minimum, a PO number. 

POs will only be produced by our corporate procurement system once authorised by the appropriate person. 

The University’s standard payment terms for invoices submitted against a PO are 30 days from date of invoice. 

Invoices may be delayed for payment if conditions exist that lead to the invoice being disputed. 

However, invoices received without a valid PO number quoted will not be paid and will be returned. This may lead to a delay in the payment process. 

You should contact the person who placed the original order instruction and ask them to provide a valid PO number. When obtained you should send a replacement invoice quoting the valid PO number to uolinvoices@leicester.ac.uk as a PDF or mail the invoice to the address provided. 

Note, you should cancel the original submitted invoice in your system as the University will have not recorded this in your supplier account in Accounts Payable. 

Contact the University’s Accounts Payable team on +44 (0)116 252 2400 or email accountspayable@le.ac.uk. 

Invoices may be disputed for a number of valid reasons that may include, but not limited to: 

• PO number quoted on invoice is closed or complete 
• PO number quoted does not match the issued PO 
• Invoice quantities, description, dates or pricing do not match those on the quoted PO number