Departmental payment process (operation & maintenance)
Send the invoice to the Accounts Payable Processing Centre
- Reception of goods / services and the invoice by the manager or their team
- Send the invoice to the Accounts Payable Processing Centre
- Invoice processed into SAP by the Accounts Payable Processing Centre
- Electronic Section 34 approval by the Cost Centre Manager
- Issuance of Payment
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It is the responsibility of the Cost Centre Manager (or requisition authority) to:
- Clearly indicate the **essential information** on the invoice (details below);
- Respect the Payment on Due Date (PODD) guidelines by submitting the invoice to the Accounts Payable Processing Centre in a timely manner; and
- Attach the relevant supporting documentation to the invoice (time sheets, written approvals, etc.).
Accounts Payable strongly discourages clients to accumulate invoices to send in bulk. Submit invoices when received so Accounts Payable has sufficient time to ensure payment within the 30-day threshold. Please see below for details on the Payment on Due Date (PODD) Policy.
Invoices are to be sent to the Accounts Payable Processing Centers through the iService Catalogue — Finance and other Related Services using the following categories:
Essential information for invoices paid against a contract:
- ESDC invoice reception date;
- Goods Receipt (GR) or Service Entry Sheet (SES) number:
- Purchase Order (PO) number; and
- Reception date of the goods or the completion date of the services, if the invoice is received before the reception/completion date. This date will be used to determine the payment issuance date.
Essential information for invoices paid against a funds commitment:
- ESDC invoice reception date;
- Earmarked fund (commitment) number and line item; and
- Reception date of the goods or the completion date of the services, if the invoice is received before the reception/completion date. This date will be used to determine the payment issuance date.
For employee reimbursements, please refer to the iService Catalogue — Finance and other Related Services section for 'Payment/Reimbursement to employees'.
For details on acceptable use of Funds Commitments, refer to the the Acquisition Card and other Payment Methods page on iService.
What do we mean by Invoice reception date?
- The 30-day payment calculation begins upon reception of the invoice in the department. If there is no reception date indicated on the invoice, the processing centre will use the invoice date with 7 calendar days added on. The 7 days is to account for the invoice’s potential transit time in the mail. An incorrect reception date could result in interest fees payable to the vendor and would affect the cost centre manager’s PODD compliance results. Therefore, the reception date is a necessary piece of information to include on the invoice.
- If the vendor must amend the invoice, please ensure to include the revised reception date on the new invoice.
- In cases where the goods/services are not completed when the invoice is received, the date for the payment calculation should then be the date on which the goods have been received or the services completely rendered.
What is the Payment on Due Date (PODD)?
- The PODD's purpose is to ensure that vendors are paid on time. In accordance with the Government of Canada Directive on Payments, suppliers are to be paid within 30 days, starting when the invoice is received and the goods or services are accepted. The Departmental PODD compliance is one of the items evaluated annually by the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) as part of the Management Accountability Framework (MAF).
Invoice Handling Best Practices Guidelines (PDF Version, 217 KB)