You can send an invoice from your existing accounts system to us, using a PDF or JPEG. These invoices are automatically imported into our finance system and matched against purchase orders.

To be able to do this, your invoice must quote a valid Purchase Order number to be processed. The Purchase Order numbers are:

• BCP Council - BCP followed by 6 digits
• Bournemouth Building & Maintenance Ltd - 8 digits long starting with 52
• Seascape South Ltd - SSL followed by 6 digits

The email address for sending your invoices is invoiceonly@bcpcouncil.gov.uk.

Do not submit enquiries to this email address as it is not monitored.

No purchase order, no pay

We have a no purchase order, no payment policy, as detailed in our Financial Regulations. These regulations apply to anyone acting on behalf of the council, including agencies and partnerships with whom the council does business and for whom the council is the relevant accounting body.

Guidance for submitting an invoice

All invoices should be addressed to:

BCP Council
Civic Offices
Bourne Avenue
Bournemouth
BH2 6DY

If a separate delivery address has been quoted on the purchase order, this can be detailed on the invoice as the delivery/site address, as long as the “invoice to” details are as above.

All invoices submitted should state the relevant Purchase Order number clearly. Any invoice without this detail will be removed from our accounts payable system and will be returned to you.

All invoices should be emailed to our dedicated mailbox invoiceonly@bcpcouncil.gov.uk.

Do not send invoices to the officer requesting the goods, works or services as this will delay the payment.

PDF and JPEG are the only acceptable format (other formats will be rejected by scanning solution).

Only one invoice per PDF file – multiple PDFs (invoices) can be attached to one email.

Where possible, digital PDF files should be directly generated from your finance/accounting system rather than scanned images of a hard copy invoice.

The Invoice Only mailbox is not monitored therefore any invoice queries and supplier statements need to be sent to creditors@bcpcouncil.gov.uk.

Your invoice/credit should be produced electronically and not handwritten – there will be a delay on those invoices handwritten, as they need to be manually validated.

Please ensure that Purchase Order Numbers are quoted on all invoices, statements and correspondence.

Invoices must only relate to a single Purchase Order. Invoices quoting more than one Purchase Order number will be removed from our accounts payable system and returned to you.

Requirements for an invoice

The minimum requirements for an invoice should be as follows:

• a unique identification (invoice) number
• your company name, address and contact information
• a clear description of the goods, works or services provided
• clearly show the net price, VAT amount (if applicable) and the total invoice amount (gross)
• the date the goods, works or services were provided (supply date)
• the date of the invoice
• your VAT registration number (if applicable)
• a valid Purchase Order Number in the format of BCP123456 (BCP followed by 6 numerical numbers)

Our preferred method of receiving invoices is via e-mail as they are automatically loaded onto the system and promptly validated.

If you are unable to send invoices electronically, you can post them to:

BCP Council
Civic Offices
Bourne Avenue
BOURNEMOUTH
BH2 6DY

If you have any questions about any of the processes detailed above, then please contact us at nopo-nopay@bcpcouncil.gov.uk.

Supplier portal

The supplier portal allows you to input invoices supported by a Purchase Order number directly into our payment system. The portal also allows you to view your account online to track:

• whether invoices have been received
• when payment is due
• whether payment has been made

Contact us

For queries and support you can contact us by email at creditors@bcpcouncil.gov.uk.