Requesting invoices from suppliers

E-Invoicing is the electronic submission of an invoice.

Electronic invoicing is a mandatory requirement for all new suppliers. Do not request copies of invoices to be sent by any other route as this can increase the risk of potential delays and duplicate payments.

The council offers multiple ways in which suppliers can submit their invoices electronically to suit all types of IT capabilities.

You can find detailed information on what invoices must include on GOV.UK.

Invoices in My Oracle

Automation within My Oracle checks whether the invoice is valid and references a corresponding purchase order (PO) number. Invoices that cannot be matched to a PO will be returned to the supplier unprocessed.

Once invoices have been loaded against the corresponding requisition in My Oracle, you will be able to view the invoice details, including the payment due date, by clicking on the invoice number located within the ‘Life Cycle’.

Instructions on how to do this can be found in the track order life cycle guidance in the My Oracle Hub.

Invoicing guidance for suppliers

Guidance is issued by the Purchase to Pay (P2P) team to support suppliers during the registration process.

All invoicing instructions will be clearly stated on the official purchase order received by the Supplier.

Suppliers can log in to the My Oracle iSupplier portal to view their invoices, status and when they have been paid.

Payment terms

The council’s standard payment terms are 30 days from the received date of a valid invoice. Some contracts have different payments terms where there is a benefit to the council for early payment and where our processes support paying the invoice in a reduced timeframe.

We also aim to pay local Essex small suppliers within 10 days on a best endeavours basis.