Receivables Management FAQs

Payment instructions, including ACH, Wire and Check information, can be found at the bottom of each invoice.

For Check Payments, make checks payable to “Georgetown University” and please ensure that the customer number and invoice number appear on the check.

Mail checks to the following address:
Georgetown University
Revenue and Receivables
3700 O St. NW
Lower Level, White Gravenor
Washington, DC 20057

1. Perform a search in GMS using the customer name or number
2. Under the ‘Categories’ section on the left, select ‘Revenue’
3. Click on the search result that references the customer number (e.g. CUS-12345) to navigate to the customer profile
4. Click on the ‘Invoices and Payments’ tab and then the “Invoices” sub-tab
5. Locate and hover over an invoice number to print, and click the related actions button […] to the right of the invoice number
6. Select ‘Customer Invoice’ and ‘Print Customer Invoice’
7. A PDF of the invoice will download, and it will be available in your GMS reports folder to view and send to your customer

It is important to have customers include the 9-digit customer number along with payments. The customer number begins with the letters ‘CUS’, followed by a dash (-), and five numbers following the dash (e.g. CUS-12345). Additionally, to properly apply the payment to the correct invoice, the customer should also include the 11-digit invoice number that begins with ‘CINV’ (e.g. CINV-123456).

The payment will be applied to the customer’s account and will be available for future invoices. However, on-account payments are not automatically applied to future invoices, and require manual application of payment by Revenue and Receivables. We strongly encourage invoice generation prior to payment in order to recognize revenue in a timely fashion.

No. Revenue is booked when a customer invoice is generated and approved, not when the payment is deposited. As such, we recommend generating invoices in a timely fashion in order to have the revenue properly recognized.

When a customer invoice is generated, the approved invoice creates a debit to AR and credit to Revenue. The revenue is booked to the worktags on the contract, specifically, the worktags associated with the contract line used when creating the invoice. The revenue can be viewed in GMS by running a budget to actuals report and reviewing the ‘Other Sources of Revenue’ for the dates the invoices were generated. When the customer remits payment, the deposited payment credits AR.

Invoice – the default treatment, will recognize revenue at the time of billing (invoice creation). If the contract stipulates billing will occur while work is being performed, then the revenue treatment will typically be invoice.

Accrued* – allows for revenue to be recognized at a different frequency then billing. Use this option if invoicing will not be performed regularly, and there will be periods where work/service has been performed, but no invoice has been generated.

Deferred* – allows for revenue to be recognized at a different frequency then billing. If the contract stipulates that billing will occur in advance of the delivery of products and services, then the revenue treatment will typically be deferral.

*Note: For both accrued and deferred revenue treatment, a revenue recognition schedule is necessary to properly recognize revenue on a monthly basis.

Accounting guidance states that revenue is recognized (recorded) when it is earned. Sometimes that does not coincide with the agreed upon billing terms. A revenue recognition schedule is needed when revenue will be earned at a different rate/schedule than the billing terms. For example, a contract that is performing work over an entire year but billed quarterly. A revenue recognition schedule aids in recognizing the revenue throughout the year, where the customer is only billed quarterly.

A revenue recognition schedule should be created for contracts with accrued or deferred revenue billing treatment. The revenue recognition schedules are created after a contract has been approved.

For more information, view this step-by-step instructional video on how to create a revenue recognition schedule.

Billing schedules help expedite the invoicing process by allowing you to predefine billing criteria, such as dates and amounts, in order to quickly generate an invoice. Billing schedules reference payment terms from the contract, so a contract must be approved prior to creating a billing schedule. Billing schedules do not run automatically, requiring you to still generate invoices from the billing schedule. However, users may prefer this method rather than creating ad hoc invoices which require you to populate specific billing terms for each invoice.

Billing schedules are NOT typically useful when:

• There are very few invoices that need to be created under a given contract, OR
• The amount to be invoices for any given period is unknown

For more information, view this step-by-step instructional video on how to create a billing schedule.

Ad Hoc Invoice (new window)

1. Perform a search in GMS using the customer name or number
2. Under the “Categories” section on the left, select “Revenue”
3. Click on the search result that references the customer number (e.g. CUS-12345) to navigate to the customer profile
4. On the customer profile, click on the “Invoices and Payments” tab, and then the “Invoices” sub-tab. This will display all invoices already created (and their status) and offer the option to create an invoice
5. Click the “Create Invoice” button
6. Populate the invoice header with the required fields, such as Invoice Date and Payment Terms.
7. On the “Invoice Lines” section, select the Contract Line to invoice
8. Enter the “Extended Amount”
9. Repeat steps 4-5 if you would like to include multiple lines on one invoice
10. Click “Submit”

If the invoice was created in error, please “Cancel” the invoice.

If the invoice was created properly, but needed adjustment, please submit “Create Adjustment (new window).”

Customer invoice adjustments can be initiated to make changes to an approved invoice in GMS, such as increasing or decreasing the invoice amount for a specified reason (e.g. change in rate). To create an invoice adjustment, search for the invoice that you wish to adjust, click the related actions icon, and navigate to the ‘Customer Invoice’ selection. Next, select the ‘Create Adjustment’ option to begin the process.

Enter the required fields to initiate the adjustment by selecting the appropriate date, credit or debit, and adjustment reason, then click “OK”. On the “Create Customer Invoice Credit Adjustment” section, make the appropriate invoice adjustments. For instance, for a change in rate intended to reduce the amount due of the original invoice, submit a credit adjustment and enter the amount to credit on the invoice line. Once submitted, the invoice adjustment will be a separate invoice on the customer’s account.

An allowance for doubtful accounts is posted as a bad debt expense on an annual basis. The allowance works to offset foreseeable write-offs of uncollectible receivables.