When the department initiates the procurement process with a Purchase Requisition, which is sent to the Purchasing Office for Purchase Order creation and distribution, the invoice for goods and/or services is paid by attaching it to a Receiving Report and sending it to the Accounting Office for payment, or they may pay the invoice by directly entering the information to the Oracle/PeopleSoft Finance System, except in situations (see Direct Entry to Oracle/PeopleSoft).

When a Purchase Requisition is created by the department, per NDSU Policy Manual Section 404, a Purchase Order is generated by the Purchasing Department and a copy is sent to the department.  (If the department has not been trained on entering an Accounts Payable Voucher involving a Purchase Order, a Receiving Report should be used.) 

A Receiving Report form, downloaded from the Accounting Office web site, is used by the receiving agent to enter the date received, quantity and condition of the goods, and authorization for payment.

The original invoice(s) should be attached to the Receiving Report and forwarded to the Accounting Office for processing. If the original invoice is missing, attach a copy noting the reason the original is not available. When capital equipment or minor IT (Information Technology) equipment is being purchased, the fixed asset inventory document should be completed by the department and sent along with the Receiving Report to the Accounting Office.

The Receiving Report is found on the Accounting Office web site. If partial shipments are received, or if partial payments are necessary, the Receiving Report can be used for all payments. The Receiving Report should be identified as either a "partial payment" or "final payment".

The remittance portion of the invoice, or duplicate invoice, should be attached to the Receiving Report. This remittance invoice will be sent to the vendor with the check to identify what is being paid.