Devon County Council’s purchase order policy
We have a ‘No Purchase Order, No Pay‘ policy. This means that invoices received without a correct and valid purchase order (PO) number quoted will not be paid.
This is a key financial control measure, and forms part of our approved Financial Regulations, ensuring that all spend is correctly authorised in our payments system. This also helps to speed up the processing of invoices for suppliers and ensures fair and consistent terms and conditions on goods, works and service.
No Purchase Order, No Pay policy
If you supply goods, works or services to us you must ask for a valid PO number from your council contact when an order is placed.
You must not accept verbal or written instruction to supply goods, works or services from any member of staff without a valid PO number unless it falls within the exceptions listed below.
If a Devon County Council employee requests goods, works or services from you without giving you a valid PO number:
- refer them to this policy
- do not accept the order until they give you a PO number.
Invoices that do not quote a PO number will be returned to the supplier without obligation to pay.
Cooperating with this policy is one of the best ways to make sure your invoice is paid promptly.
Exceptions to our purchase order policy
The following expenditure or circumstances do not require purchase orders. This list will be under constant review and changes will be communicated to suppliers by email.
- Banking related charges.
- Bursary payments.
- Fuel card purchases.
- Grants.
- Payments by procurement card (in accordance with financial regulations).
- Payments made for insurance claims.
- Payments on behalf of public bodies.
- Payments to non-business individuals (reimbursements, damage claims etc.).
- Postal services.
- Property service charges.
- Rents or property acquisitions.
- Scheduled payments or agreements for services made for:
- adult care (CareFirst)
- children’s care (Eclipse)
- transportation (TRAMS)
- academies (schools funding)
- Telephone (landline/mobile).
- TV licences.
- Utilities (gas/water/electricity/oil).
Getting a purchase order number
Council staff must provide you with a valid PO number for the supply of goods and services. If you do not have a PO number do not proceed with the order; please contact the council department making the purchase and ask them to provide one.
If you have a question about an invoice or about the No Purchase Order, No Pay policy, contact the council department who placed the order.
Supplies to DCC maintained schools only
Maintained schools are not included in the No Purchase Order, No Pay Policy. There will be no change to the way you manage purchase orders you receive directly from schools. Schools process your invoices themselves, so please continue to send your invoices to the school that commissioned the work and follow their requirements.
Format of invoices
To make sure we process and pay all invoices on time:
- Email them (in PDF or Word format only) to the email address detailed on the PO. Any supporting documents should be within the same email and not sent separately.
- Document filenames should not contain invalid characters (\ / : * ? < > |) to allow it to be imported.
- Invoices should be electronically typed and not handwritten.
- Always quote a relevant valid PO number.
- Don’t submit links to invoice documents (for example from your accounting software) as these cannot be automatically read.
- Don’t submit both electronic and paper copies of invoices.
- If you are contacting us to follow up on late payment, please do not resend the invoice unless this is specifically requested by someone from Devon County Council.
- If you don’t follow these criteria there will be a delay in processing your invoice and making payment to you.
What to include in your invoice
Please make sure you include all the following:
- Your company name and address.
- Your VAT registration number, if you have one.
- The unique invoice number.
- The invoice date.
- A relevant valid PO number.
- Contract reference starting CP, if applicable.
- Addressed to Devon County Council.
- The name of the service area requesting goods or service, or council contact person (you can find this on our PO).
- A full description of the goods or services supplied.
- The quantity, description, unit price, net value, VAT rate, VAT value and line total for each line item.
- Invoice totals of net, VAT and gross.
Where goods or services do not have VAT, this should be shown clearly.
Payment terms
Our standard payment terms are 30 days from the date of a valid and undisputed invoice.
Please note that the 30-day timer will not start unless the invoice submitted is valid and undisputed. In order to be valid, the invoice must comply with our invoicing policy and by quoting a valid PO number.
Suppliers must note that they are at risk of not being paid if their invoices do not include a valid PO number or, at best, they will experience a delay in receiving payment.
While we are willing to work with suppliers with differing payment terms, these must be communicated in advance of works being contracted so our payment system can be updated.