There has been increasing incorrect usage of the Other Payment Request (OPR) Specialty Form in the PantherExpress System. Recent internal and external audits have discovered that payments were requested that are considered, under University and federal government policies, to require either competitive bidding or directed or sole source review and approval.
In order to reduce audit risk and to comply with University policies, all purchases of goods should be processed through a purchase order or the OneCard, as appropriate, and invoices for goods should be submitted by the supplier to “upitt.invoices@trustflowds.com”. Purchases of services are generally purchased through a Services Agreement, Conference and Event Agreement, or Research Subcontract Agreement, and payment requests against those agreements should be processed through the appropriate PantherExpress payment form.
The OPR should be used rarely to request payments that do not require a Purchase Order, Services Agreement, Conference & Event Agreement or Research Subcontract Agreement. It should primarily be used for regulatory payments such as taxes, fees and licenses or for exceptional situations that have been previously approved by Payment Processing.
Effective immediately, there will be heightened review and scrutiny by Payment Processing of the OPR and incorrect submissions will be returned for proper processing as Purchase Orders, Services Agreements, Conference Agreements or Research Subcontract Agreements.
For any questions, please contact Purchase, Pay and Travel Customer Service.