Skip Navigation

Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) - Invoicing Guidelines

Document Number Requirements

  • Invoice numbers must be alphanumeric - no special characters.
  • Use capital letters.
  • No spaces at the beginning or end of your invoice number.
  • An invoice number is limited to a maximum of 45 characters.

Service Period and Period of Performance

  • Service period dates are required if there are asterisks beside the Service Date fields. The service period is the period of time covered by your invoice.
    • Example: Cleaning Service for the month of January 2020 should show the beginning of the service period as 01/01/2020, in the "Service Date From" field and show the end of the service period 01/31/2020, in the "Service Date To" field.
  • The service period for the invoice must fall within the period of performance on the purchase order. The period of performance is the period of time covered by the purchase order.
    • Example: If a purchase order is for cleaning service from 01/01/2020 to 12/31/2020, the period of performance for the entire purchase order is 01/01/2020 to 12/31/2020.
  • Do not bill for services that have not been rendered, unless you have negotiated advance payment terms for the purchase order.
    • Example: If the purchase order has terms of Net 30 Prompt Pay and the invoice is for January 2020 services, you may not submit the invoice until the end of the service period i.e., January 31, 2020.

Purchase Order Number

  • It is important to invoice against the correct purchase order. If you have several purchase orders, please be sure to select the correct purchase order based on the services for which you are invoicing. Failure to do so could result in your invoice being rejected and payment delayed.
    • Example: Purchaser Order ABC has a period of performance of 10/01/2018 to 09/30/2019 and Purchase Order 123 has a period of performance of 10/01/2019 to 09/30/2020. If you wish to invoice for services from December 2019, you would need to select Purchase Order 123 to create the invoice since the service period falls within that purchase order's period of performance.
  • Purchase orders serviced by the Bureau of the Public Debt begin with a 3-character customer identifier. Use a % sign as a wildcard when using Quick Search in IPP.
    • Example: Purchase Order number FSA-18-1234.
Green arrow pointing to the quick search box on the IPP Homepage

Need Help?

Accounts Payable Help Desk
Monday - Friday (Except Federal Holidays)
7:00 AM - 6:00 PM EST

(304) 480 - 8000, Option 7

accountspayable@fiscal.treasury.gov

Return to the IPP Quick Reference Guide