Disbursement Vouchers Notes and Attachment Guidelines

Required documentation to support an expenditure for a Disbursement Voucher (DV) within UAccess Financials must be attached electronically to the Notes and Attachment tab in accordance with the considerations below. Attaching the supporting documentation will increase compliance during the approval process and decrease the turnaround time of reimbursement/payment.

Quality of scanned images are acceptable for record retention purposes in alignment with the University of Arizona Certificate of Scanned Images established with the State of Arizona as the digitized original record for state requirements.

Additional Benefits of Initiative

• Users within the route log can view documentation prior to approval.
• Accounts Payable can process invoice and/or reimbursement timely when the business purpose and supporting documentation meet policy requirements.
• Reduction in printing paper DV Cover Sheets, postage, courier services and overall paper flow across the institution.

Image Quality

• Scanned documents must be of good quality (Example: 200 dpi) without blurring of the images and amounts must be readable by the approvers of the expenditure.
• Multiple media formats are supported, including PDF, jpeg, Excel and Word.
• Pictures of receipts via a mobile app such as Evernote, Genius scan or a mobile device camera are acceptable and may be attached and must be of good quality.

Handling of Security Sensitive Data

• Users should ensure they are familiar with University Information Security requirements. Information that is considered sensitive in nature, such as Social Security Numbers, banking information and full credit card numbers should not be imaged and attached to the Disbursement Voucher and should be handled securely.
• HIPAA classified information or any regulated data must never be attached in UAccess Financials.
• Documentation attached in error should follow the Removal of Security Sensitive Data guidelines.
• Security sensitive documents should continue to be delivered via Accounts Payable Secure Upload or may be mailed directly to Accounts Payable at 888 N. Euclid Ave. Rm. 502, Tucson AZ 85721.
• Do not redact security sensitive data from information provided to Accounts Payable as this data is required for 1099 reporting and/or payment details. Examples:  W9, Award, ACH electronic deposit forms, Subject payment or ICON or substitute ICON forms. Exception: Full credit card numbers should be redacted to only display the last four-digits, prior to imaging the document.

Record Retention Requirements

• Business units are responsible for maintaining all original receipts or supporting documentation until the Disbursement Voucher is in FINAL status and record retention requirements have been met as defined by Financial Services in collaboration with Records & Archives.
• Retain original itemized receipts for 90-days from the date the Disbursement Voucher is finalized. After 90-days, the original paper record copy may be properly destroyed at the discretion of the business office from which the record originated.
• The digital record attached in the UAccess Financials Disbursement Voucher Notes and Attachment tab is the official University record.
  • FEDERAL EXCEPTION: Per federal regulation 48 CFR, § 4.703(c3), if a record involves a federal grant expenditure and a paper original was converted to an official digital record scan, retain the paper original for 1 year after the official digital record scan was created. Upon completion of the 1-year period, the paper record copy may be properly destroyed at the discretion of the business office from which the record originated.

Best Practice for Maintaining Financial Documents

• Once documentation is attached to the Disbursement Voucher, staple all supporting documentation together and write the DV number and the UAccess Financials creation date on the first page of the packet.  
• Store supporting documentation by the ‘create date’ of the Disbursement Voucher in UAccess Financials for ease of retrieval as needed.
  • NOTE: DV Coversheets are not required to be attached or printed. Please consider the reduction of printing paper by setting up an internal process that eliminates printing/storing of DV coversheets and electronically received receipts/invoices.
• Electronically received receipts should be stored in a consistent location within the department business office such as a shared folder, Office 365 or Box. Please keep in mind if the document is security sensitive in nature and contains banking, SSN or credit card numbers it must be handled appropriately based on Information Security requirements.
• After record retention requirements are met, the department business office may destroy the non-official record.

Process Steps

Converting Hard Copy Documentation to Digital

1. Scan or take a picture of the receipt/supporting documentation.  A mobile app such as Evernote, Genius Scan, or a mobile device camera can be used when a scanner is not available.
2. Save the file or the picture of the receipt/supporting documentation in a department secure location, such as a shared folder, Office 365 or Box.
3. Save the file with a naming convention that makes sense, such as the following:
   1. Date MMDDYYYY (Example: 04092020)
   2. Vendor name (Example: 04092020JasonsDeli)
4. Initiate a Disbursement Voucher
   1. See UAccess Financials Reference Guide (section 2a)
5. Notes and Attachment TAB
   1. Add a note indicating a summary of what is being attached. (Example: Jason's Deli receipt and attendees)
   2. Search for receipt/supporting documentation in the shared location (step 2)
   3. Verify correct documentation is attached.
   4. If selection was incorrect click “Remove Attachment”
   5. Click “Add”
6. Review the DV and route log and make any appropriate changes and the click “submit”

Process for Combining PDF Documents

• Place all documents/receipts in one folder and
  • Adobe Acrobat Pro/Pro DC: File > Create > Combine files into a single PDF

Emergency Disbursement Requests

• When creating a Disbursement Voucher and payment must be made immediately, please email Accounts Payable with the business purpose for the urgent request and any specific instructions.

Please contact Accounts Payable at 520-621-9097 or FNSV-Accounts-Payable@arizona.edu with any questions regarding attaching documents to the Notes and Attachment section of a Disbursement Voucher.

Frequently Asked Questions

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