For Vendors, Suppliers, and Individuals

Training and Policy Guidance

Anyone seeking to do business with or be paid by the University needs to be set up as a vendor.

PaymentWorks is the vendor onboarding and management system used by Columbia to invite vendors (entities and individuals) new to the University in addition to existing vendors that have not yet completed the PaymentWorks onboarding process. Vendors receive invitations from Columbia to register and will be able to enter all of their information safely and securely.

New Vendor Onboarding

You will receive an email inviting you to register with PaymentWorks and complete the New Vendor Registration Form.

The New Vendor Registration Form asks for the following:

Enter business details such as address, tax information, banking, insurance, etc.
Enter Columbia-specific information or make updates if it changes.

It is important to use the invitation link you receive via email to begin vendor registration with Columbia University via PaymentWorks. If you are not the right person to complete the New Vendor Registration Form, please forward the email invitation to the appropriate contact at your company.

If you already have a PaymentWorks vendor account but have not registered with Columbia, you must receive an invite from Columbia in order to connect accounts. You need to complete all of the required fields on the New Vendor Registration Form, including the Columbia-specific information.

Below is a sample invitation email. Click the highlighted link in your email to begin the registration process.

When completing the PaymentWorks New Vendor Registration Form, most of the requested information is standard for all customers who use PaymentWorks. However, in addition to this standard information, Columbia requests additional details outlined below.

US Entities and Individuals

Diversity information (U.S. Entities Only)

You are required to indicate if your business is a certified diverse business (such as a minority-owned, woman-owned, or veteran-owned business).

If you select Yes, you must choose the applicable diversity certification type, indicate the expiration date of your certification and/or the last date of your Certification Attestation/Affidavit, and then upload the actual Certificate and/or Attestation documentation.
Other fields may also be required based on the applicable diversity certification you select.

For More Information

Office of the President: Columbia's Commitment to Diversity
Facilities and Operation: Minority, Women and Locally-owned Business Enterprises
Facilities and Operation: CU Grow Program

Payment Information

If you indicate that you are using a U.S. Bank, you must select if your Payment Method is ACH (Preferred) or No ACH.

If you select No ACH, you must select the Non-ACH Method (Wire or Check). The Non-ACH payment method requires additional approvals—you will be required to provide Check or Wire Payment Method Comments/Justification.

Foreign Entities and Individuals

W8 or W9

Be sure to upload the correct W-8 or W-9 form using the Choose File button in the W-8 BEN or W-9 Tax Information section. You can upload any W-8 form that applies, including a W-8BEN, W-8 ECI, W-8 IMY, W-8 EXP, or 8233. If you have a Social Security Number (SSN), an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), or a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), upload form W-9. Visit Find a Tax Form (LINK) for assistance.

Please review the completed and signed forms for accuracy and completeness prior to uploading. If your name or address on the form does not match the one you entered in the PaymentWorks New Vendor Request Form, the request will be returned.

If you upload a W-8 form, be sure to enter the W-8 Signature Date in the Additional Information section of the New Vendor Registration Form. The W-8 Expiration Date is the Signature Date plus three (3) years. The expiration for form 8233 is the last day of the current calendar year.

Finally, print to or save the W8 or W9 form as a PDF with no editable fields and upload this version to your New Vendor Request. Tax forms that contain editable fields are not allowed by the IRS and will result in the return of your submission.

Tax Obligation

Foreign Entities and Individuals that perform their work or activities on U.S. soil are responsible for their tax obligation. Vendor payments will include withholding of taxes payable to the IRS.

Payment Information

If you indicate that you are using a foreign bank as your Bank Location, you must select if your Payment Method is Wire or Wire Not Available.

The Wire Not Available payment method requires additional approvals that will require you to enter a Foreign Wire Not Available Payment Method Comment/Justification in order to be paid by check.

If your payment method is Wire, you will be required to indicate if you are using an Intermediary Bank. If you are using an intermediary bank you will need to provide additional bank details including Intermediary Bank Name, Intermediary Bank Account Number, Intermediary Bank SWIFT Code/IBAN Number.

Regardless of whether you are using an Intermediary Bank, you will be required to provide the Beneficiary Bank IBAN Number or enter NA and populate the SWIFT Code in the Banking Section.

Facilities Supplier of Goods and Services

If you select Facilities Supplier of Goods and Services as the Vendor Classification, you must enter a Company Signatory Name, select Primary or Authorized signer, and choose a Primary Trade & Specialty and Union Type.

Union Status

In the Union Status dropdown, you can select Union, Non-Union, or Both. Indicate Both if some parts of your business are unionized while others are not.

You can track the status of your connection to Columbia and other customers you may have registered with using PaymentWorks.

Log in to your PaymentWorks account. Your onboarding status appears on the Home or Customers page.

PaymentWorks will only display the invoices you submitted to Columbia that were Paid or Rejected—not those that are in process.

Inquiries regarding invoice or payment status should not be made through PaymentWorks.

To view your invoices being processed by Columbia, refer to the Columbia Finance AP Payment Status & Remittance Tool where you can use the ARC Vendor ID Lookup tool to search for your Vendor ID Number in our financial system (ARC). You need this number to look up payment status or remittance information within the tool.

Instructions for Existing Vendors

After you have submitted a New Vendor Registration Form, your Company Profile will be created. This is where you can update your business or personal information as needed.

To review and/or update your registration information, click the Profile icon with your initials and select Company Profile. Refer to the Updating Company Profile Information web tutorial.

As a PaymentWorks vendor, you may need to edit information specific to your registration with Columbia that does not apply to your other customer(s).

Log in to your PaymentWorks account and navigate to the Home or Customers page to view your list of Customers.
Click the View/Edit Form link for Columbia University next to your Connected status.
The registration form will appear for you to edit information.