Suppliers

Finance processing system 

Purchase order numbers beginning PO36

When we order goods or services from you, we'll issue you with a unique 10-digit purchase order number with the prefix PO36. You must quote this number on your invoice to us.

Contact reference numbers beginning CON

If we have given you a contract reference that begins CON, you must quote this reference on all your invoices for that contract period.

Sending invoices and credits by email

You can send invoices and credits as PDFs to our email [email protected]. Each document must be a separate PDF. You can attach multiple documents in one email. We won’t reply to emails sent to this address as it is an automated inbox. 

Suppliers should use [email protected] for accounts payable queries and submission of statements.

How to become a Belfast City Council supplier

For information on how to become one of our suppliers, go to our Tenders page.

Information to include on invoices

• If you are supplying goods or services, you must include a unique 10-digit purchase order (PO) number, starting with PO36. We will give you the number when ordering goods or services from you. You should not submit an invoice until we give you a PO number. 
• If supplying a service for council employee business travel, you must include a T1 reference number. This unique reference should include 10 digits - five zeros and five numbers, for example, 0000010247. You should not submit an invoice until we give you a T1 reference number.

Business and trading information to include on an invoice

• Your name, trading name and full address.    
• Our billing address.
• Your VAT registration number (if applicable).    
• Time of supply (referred to as Tax point) if this is different from the invoice date.
• Unique invoice number.    
• Detailed description of the goods or services you are supplying.
• Invoice date
• Your bank details. 

Unit price, discount and VAT information on an invoice

• Unit price or rate (excluding VAT).    
• Discount applied to the account.
• Total quantity of goods.
• Freight charges.
• Rate of VAT being applied.    
• Total amount of VAT charged.
• Total amount payable (excluding VAT).    
• Payment terms.

Invoice queries

By email

Email [email protected]. In your email, you must include:

• your unique purchase order number (10-digit number starting with PO36) 
• your unique T1 number (starting T1 followed by10 digit-number - five zeros and five numbers for example 0000010247)
• the net, VAT and gross breakdown.

If you don't have a purchase order number, you should ask the person who placed the order with you before you send us your invoice. 
 

By phone

Call 028 9027 0319 and select option one. If your call is not answered, leave a voicemail stating your company name, contact name and phone number. We will call you back.

Invoices that cannot be processed

If we receive an invoice with incomplete information, we will return the invoice.  We will contact you to explain the reason for returning an invoice and advise you what to do next.

If you need to contact us about an invoice, you should email [email protected] and include:

• your unique purchase order number (10-digit number starting with PO36)
• your unique T1 number (10- digit number - five zeros and five numbers, for example, 0000010247)
• date your invoice was sent 
• unique invoice reference number

Receiving payment

We aim to pay all invoices within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice.

Payments can be made by BACS or cheque. BACS payments are made daily and cheques are issued every Wednesday. We will only issue cheques in exceptional circumstances. 

If you are usually paid by cheque and would like to receive payment by BACS, you can email your request to [email protected]. A member of staff will contact you to validate your information.

We will send payment confirmation, quoting the invoice number, the amount paid and the date you will receive payment by email.

Contact and billing details

Central Transactions Unit

Email [email protected], call 028 9027 0319 or visit: 

6th floor, 9 Adelaide
9-21 Adelaide Street
Belfast
BT2 8DJ

Changes to your company or personal details

If you need to update or amend your registered details, call us and speak to our CTU Data Officer or email [email protected]. You can also tell us about changes when we order goods or a service from you.

All changes to your data must be independently validated by our CTU team and completed in line with our internal guidelines.

Fair processing notification

National Fraud Initiative 

Level 2 Fair Processing Notice

Belfast City Council is required by law to protect the public funds it administers. It may share information provided to it with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds, in order to prevent and detect fraud. The Local Government Auditor audits the accounts of the council. 

The Comptroller and Auditor General is responsible for carrying out data matching exercises under his powers in Articles 4A to 4G of the Audit and Accountability (Northern Ireland) Order 2003. Data matching involves comparing computer records held by one body against other computer records held by the same or another body to see how far they match. This is usually personal information. Computerised data matching allows fraudulent claims and payments to be identified. Where a match is found, it may indicate that there is an inconsistency which requires further investigation. No assumption can be made about whether there is fraud, error or other explanation until an investigation is carried out. 

The Comptroller and Auditor General currently requires us to participate in a data matching exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. We are required to provide particular sets of data to the Comptroller and Auditor General for matching. Details are set out by the Northern Ireland Audit Office (link opens in new window).

The use of data by the Comptroller and Auditor General in a data matching exercise is carried out with statutory authority. It does not require the consent of the individuals concerned under the UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). 

Data matching by the Comptroller and Auditor General is subject to a Code of Practice. For information on the Comptroller and Auditor General’s legal powers, see the Level 3 notice on the NIAO (link opens in new window) website.

For information on data matching at Belfast City Council, contact  Head of Audit, Governance and Risk Services on 028 9032 0202 extension 4643.