Accounts Payable

Information for Vendors

Please send invoices directly to the person/department on campus that placed the order. If that option is not available, please indicate which person or department ordered your services and email a digital copy to acctspay@hampshire.edu. You may also mail hard copy invoices to Accounts Payable, The Trustees of Hampshire College, 893 West St., Amherst, MA 01002. If you are a new vendor, or a current vendor who has changed your contact information, please send a current W-9 form, with your remittance address (if different from the address on the W-9) and contact information, to purchase@hampshire.edu.

Information for Employees

Purchase Orders

For detailed information on how to create a purchase order, please request training from the Accounts Payable Office at acctspay@hampshire.edu. Please note that you must be set up correctly in our system through the Business Office prior to initiating a purchase order - efforts to initiate a purchase order without proper training and authorization will fail.

If you are a visiting faculty member or other temporary employee, please contact your departmental coordinator for assistance in making orders and processing payments. Please do NOT ask students to purchase items on behalf of the College, even with promises of reimbursement, as there are generally better ways to obtain the necessary items.

The Purchasing Manual, which outlines our purchasing policies, can be found here. A list of miscellaneous allowed and non-allowed purchases can be found here. Issues pertaining specifically to meals and entertainment can be found here. Please be sure that you are familiar with the College's policies and procedures prior to making any purchases, including items for reimbursement.

Please remember that all purchase orders need to be received in TheHub under "Receive Goods and Services" before corresponding paperwork is sent to the Accounts Payable Office for payment.

Questions? Please email the Accounts Payable Office.

Reimbursements

For detailed information about reimbursements, please see the Reimbursements page. Please note that a reimbursement is a form of invoice; once all the required documentation has been gathered and the appropriate Travel Reimbursement Form or Non-travel Payment Request Form completed, the purchase order process should be initiated.

General Information and Forms

Once you receive a Request for Payment (RFP - usually an invoice or reimbursement request), please initiate the purchase order process accurately and promptly. Once the purchase order process is completed, please receive the item or service in TheHub, write the purchase order number on the RFP, and forward the documentation to acctspay@hampshire.edu for payment. Please allow sufficient processing/mailing time (approx. two weeks) so that the recipient receives timely payment. Reimbursements for travel should be processed within 30 days of completion of the trip.

Reminder: All new vendors will require a W-9 form, phone number, email, and remit-to address for billing (if different from the address on the W-9). Once completed, please send the information to Purchasing via either email or hard copy to the Hampshire College Business Office, Attn: Purchasing, 893 West St, Amherst, MA 01002.

Forms: Commonly-used payment-related forms, as well as additional information, can be found here.

Key points to remember

• As of May 2024, check runs are generally once a week on Thursday mornings; completed, fully processed payment requests must be received by AP no later than Tuesday at noon in order to to allow sufficient time for processing the payment in the current week's check run.
• All invoices/reimbursement requests must have the purchase order number written directly on the document, even if you are submitting via email.
• Please note that we generally will not issue payment until after the item or service has actually been received.
• Once the item or service has been received, please officially "receive" the purchase order in TheHub before submitting the invoice for payment, even if what you are receiving is a service or a reimbursement.
• As the end of the fiscal year approaches (June 30th), please note that goods and services must be charged to the fiscal year budget in which they are received; this may mean accruing ahead (for pre-paid goods and services not received until the new fiscal year), or accruing back (for late invoices received after the end of the old fiscal year for goods/services received before the end of the fiscal year). For questions or help in this matter, please contact Accounts Payable.
• Reimbursement requests require itemized receipts. Signed credit card slips are supportive but not sufficient unless they clearly indicate what exactly was purchased.
• Massachusetts sales tax should be removed, if applicable.
• Please include any contracts or award letters associated with honorariums, grants, or similar payments.
• Please note that quotes or estimates are NOT invoices and cannot be paid, as the price may change prior to the final sale.