Direct Pay Processing

Pursuant to California State University policy, Accounts Payable is not allowed to pay for:

• Food and Dining Services require pre-approval from Procurement and Support Services 278-2111
• Department or employee reimbursements exceeding $300 require pre-approval from Procurement 278-2111

• Payment to any California State University employee, including students, for services performed shall be paid through campus Payroll.  For more information about this exclusion, please contact the Payroll Office at 559-278-2032.   

• Click here for a list of Direct Pay Allowable Operating Expenses

Prior to an event, if your department plans to purchase food, please submit the Direct Pay/Hospitality form to Procurement for pre-approval. After it has been approved and returned to your department, attach invoice and receipts and send to Accounts Payable for processing. Refer to the Campus Policy Regarding the Payment or Reimbursement of Hospitality Expenses (Including Food, Refreshments, and Food Related Items). 

Payment for services less than $5,000 requires an invoice from the payee and a 204 form. The form must be filled out completely and have original signatures.

You are encouraged to use your department's Pro-card for membership and subscription expenditures when possible.  All other memberships should include a justification, business purpose and benefit to the university.

Purchase Orders

A purchase order issued from the Procurement Department to a specified vendor is for a purchase of a commodity or service(s) at a specified time and price, and under mutually agreed upon terms and conditions. It is a binding contract. A purchase order is required, with few exceptions (see the approved Direct Pay list) for all expenditures of state funds at the university. 

The Procurement & Support Services Department issues all state-side purchase orders. This process begins with a Requisition from the requesting department.

Details on the Requisition process can be found at the Procurement & Support Services website. A Chartfield string is required information for a requisition. Click here  for required chartfield information including, account and department codes.

Blanket Purchase Orders

Blanket purchase orders are designed to accommodate campus needs on an on-going basis for a specified period of time. The blanket establishes the term of the agreement, general provisions, any special terms and conditions, a total cost-not-to-exceed for the effective term, order placing authority, and shipment procedures.  

• May not exceed $10,000 unless competitively bid or a sole source justification has been approved.
• Alterations to increase the amount may be submitted as long as the $10,000 cost limitation is not exceeded.
• Invoices going over the blanket purchase order amount, or that are for goods or services not included in the blanket description cannot be paid without an Alteration.
• All blanket purchase orders are closed at the end of each fiscal year. A new Requisition must be submitted to Procurement for purchases for the next fiscal year. 

Acknowledging Process

Before a payment can be made for goods or services, the invoice must be signed acknowledging that the goods have been received or the service performed. Submit the invoice to Accounts Payable JA 58 for processing.

Order of Paperwork:

• Direct Pay/Hospitality Form
• Vendor Invoice
• Original itemized receipts (include adding machine tape totaling amount to be reimbursed)
• Original approving signatures (no photocopies)
• Send by campus mail to Accounting Services JA58

Employees are required to be enrolled in the non-payroll direct deposit program before submitting a Direct Pay

1. Complete the Direct Pay Form located in My Fresno State>Forms Portfolio
2. Attach original receipt(s) verifying payment was made
3. Send to accountspayable@mail.fresnostate.edu for processing.