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Invoice Processing

Purchase Order (PO) Invoices

Invoices submitted by suppliers are matched with the approved purchase orders generated from the Smart Source system, and then paid. Drexel University standard payment terms are 30 days from the invoice date. Invoices with a valid university purchase order (U0XXXXXX) are only accepted thorough email. Paper invoices will be discarded.

Suppliers are required to submit invoices, through their Supplier Portal in Total Supplier manager (TSM), or through the Digital Mailroom (DMR) at drexel_university@edmamericas.com. Orders submitted through DMR take three (3) full business days to upload in the payment system for processing by Drexel University Accounts Payable.

Format for Invoice Submissions - Digital Mailroom (DMR)

Invoices submitted to drexel_university@edmamericas.com must conform to the following:

  1. Purchase Order (PO) number (U00XXXXX) must be written on the invoice.
  2. File must be one of the following file types: .PDF, .DOC/.DOCX, .TIF/.TIFF or .JPEG/.JPG.
  3. Email must have only one attachment.
  4. Size of the attachment must not exceed 5MB.

Please do not send statements to drexel_university@edmamericas.com. Payments cannot be made from statements. Email statements to acctpay@drexel.edu.

Please do not send inquires or duplicate invoices to drexel_university@edmamericas.com. This is an invoice processing address, therefore you will not receive a response.

Purchase Order Electronic Invoices (e-Invoices)

What is e-Invoicing?

  1. Electronic submission of invoice data from supplier to the Smart Source System.
  2. Currently accessible for Smart Source catalog suppliers only.
  3. Electronic invoices where the PO is greater than $5,000 will route to the appropriate department's invoice approver for acknowledgement of receipt of goods or services.

Check Request Payment Processing

Check Requests are allowable only in limited circumstances. Please review the Check Request Guide [PDF] and the Frequently Asked Questions below to see what is allowable for processing on a check request form in Smart Source.

A manual Check Request Form [PDF] should only be used for highly confidential payments.

Frequently Asked Questions

I think that I have an invoice, but how can I be sure?

If the words "packing slip" or "order acknowledgment" are written somewhere on the document, then it is not an invoice. An invoice must be generated by the vendor seeking payment and should be sent to drexel_university@edmamericas.com. Please make sure that the purchase order (PO) number (U00XXXXXX) is written on the invoice.

I have an invoice, now what do I do?

Vendors are instructed on the purchase orders to send all invoices directly to drexel_university@edmamericas.com. If, by chance, a vendor sends the invoice to your department, confirm the purchase order number is on the invoice and forward the invoice immediately to drexel_university@edmamericas.com. Delays in forwarding the invoice to drexel_university@edmamericas.com will delay payment and possibly impact future shipments from the vendor for the entire University.

If the purchase order is not on the invoice, add it directly to the invoice and send to drexel_university@edmamericas.com. Putting the purchase order number in the email or subject line will not work. No one is reading the invoice; it is scanned and then automatically uploaded into the system. If you do not know the purchase order number, please contact the University-affiliated person who placed the order.

What if I don't have a purchase order?

Procurement Services will assign a purchase order number (U00XXXXXX) and forward the purchase order to the vendor for requisitions submitted through Smart Source. A Purchasing Card (P-Card) may be used for purchases under $5,000. Please visit Procurement Services policies for more information.

When do I use a Check Request?

There are a number of items that should be paid via a check request in the Smart Source system. The following should be completed as a check request in Smart Source for non-confidential check payments:

  • Honoraria
  • Licenses
  • Awards and prizes
  • Dues and Memberships
  • Non-Employee Reimbursements
  • Employee Reimbursements (Non-travel related)
  • Payments for foreign vendors in foreign currency - must include a current conversion which will be updated when Treasury makes the payment.

Once you have determined the check request is the proper form for payment, select the Check Request Form in Smart Source. Refer to the Check Request Guide [PDF] for further assistance. Check requests that are not listed above and are of a confidential nature should be submitted on a paper Check Request Form [PDF] and emailed to smartsource@drexel.edu.

You can use a check request through Smart Source when there is not a standard invoice, as with licensing agencies, conferences sponsors, journal publishers, etc., and they do not accept a P-Card. If the supplier accepts P-Card and the transaction is within your transaction limits and compliant with P-Card policy, the P-Card should be used for payment.

If the supplier is not incorporated and they are providing any service on U.S. soil, a tax determination will be required. Please refer to the Tax Office website.

A check request should not be used for consulting services or independent contractor payments as these types of purchases should be done on a non-catalog order form in Smart Source.

If you have an invoice in hand for goods or services that have already been provided without an established purchase order, you will not submit the invoice for payment on a check request. The correct form to use for these payments is the Confirming Order form in Smart Source. Please refer to the Confirming Order Guide [PDF] for further details.