The PantherExpress System is the cloud-based purchasing tool and preferred procurement and payment mechanism for most goods and services purchased at the University.
A PantherExpress Purchase Order is the preferred method for purchasing most goods and services (excepting travel) and provides the best contractual terms and conditions to protect your department. It also helps to simplify accounting and purchase record-keeping and feeds data to the University Oracle systems used for budgeting.
Any items that can be purchased from a University-wide Contracted Supplier should be purchased using the payment method defined on their supplier page.
Access and Training
Visitthis pageto learn more about obtaining access to the PantherExpress System, as well as training resources.
Making Purchases
The purchaser should use the proper punchout, hosted catalog, standard form, or specialty form to create a purchase order. The appropriate purchasing method is specifiedfor all University-wide Contracted Suppliers on this page.
Once the purchase order is complete, but before submission, the purchaser should always review the information to verify it is accurate. It is especially important that purchasers check the fulfillment and distribution information.
After the purchase order is submitted and has gone through all required approvals, invoices can be charged to the purchase order.
Auto-closure of Purchase Orders
It is best practice that fully-invoiced purchase orders are closed to reduce risk. The PantherExpress System automatically closes all fully-invoiced purchase orders seven days after being fully-invoiced.
A purchase order is considered fully-invoiced when the quantity and item(s) on the order match to the quantity and item(s) on the invoice. A purchase order may close if the total price on the invoice is less than the total price for the purchase order but not if the invoiced price is greater than the purchase order. For other scenarios and more information, please review the Quick Reference Guide.
Invoicing
Once a supplier has submitted an invoice for the purchase order it becomes fully- or partially- invoiced, depending on the situation. After aninvoice has been applied to a purchase order, you may no longer make changes to the account number for that purchase. To redistribute the charges you will have to submit a Journal Entry.
Payments from PantherExpress
Standard Terms
The University’s preferred method of payment is a Virtual Card (VC) in US dollars. Companies that are unable to accept a VC, our preferred method of payment, is ACH deposit.
The University’s standard payment terms for Virtual Card are Net 0 upon final approval of the invoice, ACH are Net 45 and paper checks are Net 60. The University will pay invoices on the corresponding terms to the payment type you have chosen during enrollment with JPMorgan Integrated Payables.
- Virtual Cards – any business that can accept a Credit Card payment via US Dollars through their Bank or Merchant Service
- ACH (Direct Deposit) – Payment made directly to a supplier’s bank account and verified through JPMorgan’s secure system.
Wire Payments and Foreign Currency Transactions
With the transition to our new banking partner, JP Morgan Chase, the necessity to make payments to suppliers and individuals via wire transfer has increased.
Payments to Domestic Suppliers:
JPMorgan Chase does not offer domestic wires but offers the following alternatives:
- Virtual Cards – Can be used by any business that can accept a Credit Card payment in US Dollars through their Bank or Merchant Service
- ACH (Direct Deposit) – Payment made directly to the supplier’s bank account and verified through JPMorgan’s secure system
Payments to Suppliers with Foreign Addresses
If a foreign vendor can accept Virtual Card (VC) payment in US Dollars, they can be set up by Payment Processing in JPM Integrated Payables to accept a VC payment. All others must be paid via wire transfer.
Foreign suppliers must be paid with a wire if they do not accept a Virtual Card payment in US Dollars. Below are the latest, up-to-date guidelines that will help you to choose the proper system to request these payments through, as well as the turnaround time you can expect for your request to be processed. A bank fee of $35 for each transaction will be charged to your department's account and will appear on your level report.
- The University does not under any circ*mstance pay fees to suppliers for accepting Virtual Cards.
- Paper Checks not received in the mail are eligible for void & reissue 6 weeks after issued date.
- Wire Payments Process
If you are paying a foreign individual for payments such as honorariums, per diems, awards, or any type of reimbursem*nts, you will initiate your payment request via Concur.
- All documentation required for wire transfers will now need to be attached to the report key. This includes:
- A completed internal Wire Transfer Request form
- Banking information backup provided by the payee
- The standard expense backup documents you would include with any Concur report
If you are paying a foreign supplier or individual sole proprietor for good or services, you will initiate your payment request via Panther Express.
- Any form can be used now, but proper documentation for a wire transfer will be required to be attached. This includes:
- A completed internal Wire Transfer Request form
- Banking information backup provided by the supplier
- A valid invoice or accepted payment documentation alternative (no statements, proforma invoices, estimates, etc.)
- Please note, you no longer must cancel or reject invoices in Panther Express.Nor will you have to manually close PO’s. You do want to allow the invoice to flow through the approval process into Prism now.
If you do not have access to either system, Payment Processing will accept requests via “paper,” meaning you can fill out the required documentation, which includes:
- A completed Internal Wire Transfer Request form
- Banking information backup provided by the payee
- Documentation explaining what the payment is for (invoice, award letter etc.)
- A completed Disbursem*nt Request form, which can be found on the .
ALL requests for wire transfers are to be sent to paymentprocessingwires@cfo.pitt.edu.
*Please note, wire transfer requests are processed in the order they are received and not immediately. The requests may take up to 5 business days before being received and reviewed. Once approved for payment, it may be additional working days before it gets entered the banking system. All wire transfers are set to be released in 2 business days from the date of entry. Please be sure to use the most current wire request form.
- All documentation required for wire transfers will now need to be attached to the report key. This includes:
OK to Pay
University policy stipulates that departments must approve the release of payment for all purchase orders over $5,000. The “$5,000 OK to Pay” feature in PantherExpress requires that every department must have at least one designated “$5,000 OK to Pay” Approver. When an order over $5,000 is placed, the designated Approver(s) will receive an e-mail informing them that there is a “$5,000 OK to Pay” order pending their payment approval. The Approver can click on the link in the e-mail to access the order in PantherExpress, or they can also go to the Review Area of the PantherExpress Home Page and locate the $5,000.01 - * folder. When the product arrives, the person who placed the order should inform the designated Approver(s) who can release the funds for payment in PantherExpress.
Resources
- PantherExpress System SharePoint site
- Role-based Quick Reference Guides for Department Shopper, Department Buyer, Department Approver, and Specialty Form
- Change Order and Commitment Relief Training
- Dashboards Training Guide
- Saved Searches Guide
- Standard FormDistribution Method Guide
- Invoice Payment Status Guide
- Closing Purchase Orders Guide
- PantherExpress Quick Guides
- Approver Guide
- Department Buyer Guide
- Shopper Guide
- Chemical Guide
