Subaward Invoice Approval Process

Once your subaward is officially approved and executed and the work on the project begins, the subrecipient will begin to invoice us for reimbursement. At this point, we (ORA) will have already setup a standing purchase order (PO) in Marketplace which is how we will process approved invoice payments to the subrecipients.

Subrecipients will have been instructed to send applicable invoices to:

UMaine Subawards Email: umsubawards@maine.edu

OR

University of Maine, Office of Research Administration, 5717 Corbett Hall, Orono, ME 04469-5717

If by any chance, you (the PI) are receiving the invoices directly and you notice the UMaine subawards email is not copied on the email, please let us know immediately and forward the invoices to us so we can begin the initial review process for you. We will always review the invoices first and then send to you for final review and approval.

Invoice Review Process:

  1. ORA receives a new invoice from the sub-recipient.
  2. Initial review of the invoice begins; please see “ORA Subaward Invoice Checklist” attached for details on what we will be initially reviewing. This checklist will be included for your records when we send the invoice to you for approval.
    • If we find that the invoice is not compliant, or there is an error that justifies requesting an updated invoice, we will request this from the sub-recipient directly. Common issues we see that may justify a request for a new invoice include, but are not limited to: incorrect invoice formatting, date errors, indirect rate calculation errors, expenses that are not allowable and/or allocable within the scope of work and budget per the award, etc.
  3. Once we have completed our review we will compile an invoice packet to email to you to review, approve, and return to us (or let us know why you cannot approve the invoice as is). We will note any red flags we see on our end for you on the checklist. The email subject line will reference our subaward number, our sub-recipient abbreviation and the billing date range of the invoice (e.g. UMS2323-UNE May 2017).

Invoice Approval Process:

The invoice packet will be comprised of the following items. We ask that you carefully look over our comments on the checklist, review the invoice and activity report, and return the approval sheet to us within one week of receipt.

  • Approval of Sub-Recipient Invoice sheet
    • The approval sheet is where you approve the invoice with your signature and the date of approval. The subaward number, title of the award, subrecipient PI and GL chartfield(s) with amounts to be applied are noted on this page.
  • ORA Subaward Invoice Checklist
    • The checklist gives you a breakdown of what we have reviewed and this is also where we will make any notes and/or red flags for your review. It will also note information regarding the subaward and invoice (e.g. subaward number, invoice billing period, PIs, indirect rate, etc).
  • The Invoice from the Sub-recipient
    • The subaward invoice is generally one page, but can be multiple pages depending on the invoice formatting and if additional expense backup was provided (or requested by us).
  • Activity Report
    • The subcon invoice report provides a breakdown of the budget, expenditures (invoices) to date, and remaining balance by expense category. These should match and reiterate what the sub-recipient provides on their invoice. It also provides the project number that the expenditures have been applied to. If there is more than one project number assigned to your award/subaward, we will provide an aggregate invoice report so that you can see the full picture of the entire subaward budget, expenditures, and remaining balance by expense category.

Once you have reviewed and approved the invoice packet, please sign and date the approval sheet and return it to us by email (preferred) or campus mail (addresses noted above) within one week of receipt. Electronic signature on the invoice is allowed, however, email message approval is not allowed. If there are any concerns that will delay the approval of the subaward invoice, please let us know so that we can make notes and/or help find a solution to your concerns.

Once we receive the signed and dated approval sheet from you, we will then receive on the standing purchase order in Marketplace and submit the invoice to Accounts Payable to complete the payment process to the subrecipient. Unless otherwise negotiated, payment terms are net 30 from the invoice date. Once the invoice has been processed for payment by Accounts Payable, you will see the invoice expense in PeopleSoft GL for your project account under account codes 60250 and/or 60270. For each invoice expense applied, the PO balance encumbered will decrease.

This process will be repeated every time a new invoice is received.

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