Helpful Hints for Our Vendors

The following information is provided for our vendors to clarify our payment procedures, resulting in a more streamlined payment process. We welcome your suggestions for additional information to include on our website. Suggestions can be e-mailed to us at disburse@berkeley.edu. Thank you!

• Invoices should be submitted directly to the Disbursements Office. Sending invoices to campus departments will delay the payment as it adds additional steps to the payment process (see exceptions below):

Via e-mail:

E-mail interfaces automatically to our imaging system. Please follow these instructions exactly:

Create an e-mail to ucinvoice@berkeley.edu

Attach invoice using PDF or similar file type. If the invoice is multi-pages, please include all pages.

Only one invoice can be accepted per e-mail. If more than one invoice is attached to an e-mail it will be returned.

In the subject line of the e-mail:

• Type the Purchase Order Number followed by the # sign and then type the Invoice Number followed by underscore. Do not enter spaces.
• For example, PO# BB00027195 and Invoice # J156987 should be inserted into the subject line as: BB00027195#J156987_

Do not use the body of the e-mail for questions/comments or other correspondence. Only the attachments are viewed. Please send email correspondence to disburse@berkeley.edu.

Via postal mail and courier delivery, our address is:

University of California, Berkeley
Disbursements Office
Warren Hall, Room 159
2195 Hearst Ave.
Berkeley CA 94720-1101

• The following departments have unique payables processing procedures which require that vendors send the invoices directly to the departments. Invoices for these departments SHOULD NOT be sent to the above Disbursements Office address, as it will delay the processing of your payment:
  • Physical Plant - Campus Services
  • Facilities Services/Capital Projects
  • The Library
• Our Customer Service phone number is 510-643-2199. Customer service representatives are available to assist you between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday.

• We are not a tax-exempt organization. The University of California is subject to State–administered sales and use tax laws to the same extent as private individuals or businesses.

• If you need UC Berkeley's Taxpayer Identification Number, you may obtain it from UC Berkeley’s W-9 form.

• A Purchase Order number is required on your invoice. BearBuy is UC Berkeley’s online procurement system. Purchase Orders from the BearBuy system start with BB followed by 8 digits, for example BB00001234. Old Purchase Orders beginning with a 1, 2 or a J will not be valid after December 31, 2012. Invoices without a purchase order number will be returned to you.
• Be sure that your invoiced items match those on the purchase order. If the quantities differ, or if lines on a purchase order have been combined on your invoice, the transaction will require additional research which may cause a delay in payment.
• Invoices are generally processed within 10 days of receipt in our office. Depending on the dollar amount and type of purchase, invoices are routed to campus departments for online authorization. Once the approval is completed, the payment will be generated according to the payment terms.
• Provide your company's taxpayer ID to Disbursements. The Berkeley Financial System cannot process a payment without a valid taxpayer ID number. This ensures that you have a unique vendor number in our system and that our external reporting is done properly.
• Know your vendor number and include it on your invoices if possible. If you are not sure what your vendor number is, contact Customer Service and a Customer Service representative will provide it to you. Refer to your vendor number when making inquiries to our office.
• We offer EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) as a preferred payment method. With EFT, the payment is deposited into your bank account 2 business days after the payment is approved. EFT eliminates payment delays and the risks involved with paper checks such as loss, theft, etc.  The EFT form and instructions are available on our website. Print a copy of the form, fill it out and mail it to our office.  EFT will become effective 30 days after we receive the completed form. For each EFT payment issued, we will email, or send via US Mail, an EFT remittance advice form showing the payment details.
• Payments for most UC Office of the President (UCOP) departments are processed through UCLA (see exceptions below). If you have payment questions on invoices for UCOP departments, you should contact the department, or call the UCLA Accounts Payable office at 310-794-0197.
• We continue to process invoices for the following UCOP departments:
• College of Natural Resources
• Forest Products Lab
• Integrated Hardwood Range Management
• Communication Services
• School of Public Health
• Water Resources Center Archives
• Energy Institute
• Institute of Transportation Studies
• LHS-GEMS
• Refund checks for overpayments should be made payable to UC Regents and sent to our mailing address (see above).