Early Payment Discounts
Early Payment Discounts (EPDs) let your department save money by paying a vendor faster than VCU’s standard 35-day turnaround. In exchange for quicker payment, the vendor discounts the invoice.
What is an EPD?
As a financing method, certain VCU vendors are willing to offer Early Payment Discounts to receive their payments faster than the university’s standard 35-day terms. If VCU can pay within the vendor’s discounted window, the invoice is paid at a reduced amount — saving the department money.
Who sets up EPDs?
Purchasing negotiates EPDs with vendors and coordinates closely with Accounts Payable and Treasury to confirm each discount is feasible based on cost/benefit and cash management policies. Departments don’t set up EPDs themselves — but whether a discount is actually captured depends heavily on the department.
How an EPD is “taken”
For VCU to capture a discount, the invoice must:
1 Be fully matched in RealSource — the invoice must exactly match the department's PO and Receipt (or the One Time Payment Request).
2 Be paid by Treasury within the vendor's discount window (for example, 15 days).
The department is the key. Capturing an EPD depends on you creating a proper PO and processing receipts promptly and accurately in RealSource, so the required 3-way match can happen in time.
Example
A vendor offers a 2% EPD on invoices paid within 15 days (vs. the standard 35). On a $100 invoice that's properly matched to the PO and Receipt:
$100 invoice − 2% = $98 paid
Once paid, the Banner PO line is automatically reduced by the $2 discount.
Which vendors offer EPDs?
From the RealSource homepage, open Quick Links and select Early Payment Discount Vendors for the current list.
Need help? Submit a ticket through RamsCentral: VCU IT Self Service > Enter IT Portal > Submit a Request > Procurement Services > Accounts Payable. Open RamsCentral →