Payments
Accounts payable oversees the payment of supplier invoices, expenses claims and non-payroll payments on a weekly cycle.
Payment Policy
The University makes its payments to creditors', provided they are not in dispute, in accordance with terms of the contract. The University's standard terms and conditions can be found at Terms and Conditons of Purchase. All credit notes will automatically default to immediate payment terms.
Edinburgh University was one of the first to sign up to the Scottish Business Pledge for prompt payment which advocates paying invoices promptly as it has sound business benefits as well as being ethical and fair.
Scottish Business Pledge - Prompt Payment
Staff expenses are paid up to five working days of the expenses claim being approved in People & Money.
UK Payments
The main payment run for all UK payments takes place once a week on a Wednesday. Invoices processed via People & Money by 5pm on a Tuesday will be included in the weekly run.
Supplier and expenses payments are made by BACS electronic funds transfer directly into the recipient's account. A payment advice document is sent to the recipient for information only. Payments made by BACS will enter recipients' accounts the Friday following the payment run.
Overseas Payment
Supplier payments are made in UK pounds sterling (GBP) except where there are unavoidable operational reasons for a payment to be made in a foreign currency including where the recipient bank account will only accept payment in a particular currency. Foreign currency payments are requested within People & Money. Typically a payment will take 3-5 working days to arrive in a recipients' account.
Recipients of overseas payments may not receive the exact same value into their bank account as the value that was sent from the University. This can be due to currency exchange rates, the need for banks to convert our payment into the currency of the bank account or a handling fee by the recipient or intermediary banks.
Urgent/Same Day Payments
If you require a payment to be made outside of the weekly payment run cycle please contact the finance.helpline@ed.ac.uk to discuss the potential options available.
Please note payments outside of the weekly payment run cycle cannot be guaranteed and charges will apply to any urgent BACS transfer due to additional bank charges.
Direct Debits
Facilities exist for making regular payments via direct debit . For more information on making payments via this route, please contact finance.helpline@ed.ac.uk.
Cash Payments
Facilities also exist for making cash cheque payments to individuals who do not have UK bank accounts but need to access the funds whilst in the UK. Please contact finance.helpline@ed.ac.uk if need to use this facility or mark the payment request clearly with a request for 'cash cheque'.
You will be informed when the cash cheque is ready for collection. The recipient should collect the cheque from Charles Stewart House ensuring they bring their passport with them for proof of identification.
Contact the Finance Helpline
https://www.ed.ac.uk/finance/finance-helpline
Tel: +44 (0)131 651 5151
Email: finance.helpline@ed.ac.uk