Accounts Payable Invoice Automation Solution with AI Integration

THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT Request for Proposals (RFP) No.: RFP062926KJM
CHAPEL HILL
3500 Administrative Office Building
104 Airport Drive Title: Accounts Payable Invoice Automation
Chapel Hill, NC 27599 Solution with AI integration
Refer ALL inquiries regarding this RFP to: Issue Date: June 29, 2026
Name: Kimberly Middleton
Title: Software Category Manager
Due Date and Time: August 31, 2026, at 12:00 PM
Email Address: middletk@email.unc.edu Eastern Time (ET)
OFFER
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (the "University") solicits offers for goods and/or services as
described in this solicitation. All offers received shall be treated as offers to contract as defined in 9 NCAC
06A.0102(12).
EXECUTION PAGE
In compliance with this Request for Proposals, and subject to all of the terms and conditions herein, the
undersigned offers and agrees to furnish any and all goods and/or services upon which prices are offered, at the
price(s) offered herein, within the time specified herein.
Failure to execute/sign offer prior to submittal shall render offer invalid. Late offers are not acceptable.
OFFEROR:
STREET ADDRESS: P.O. BOX: ZIP:
CITY, STATE & ZIP: TELEPHONE NUMBER: TOLL FREE TEL. NO
PRINT NAME & TITLE OF PERSON SIGNING: FAX NUMBER:
AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE: DATE: E-MAIL:
Offer valid for one hundred eighty (180) days from date of offer opening unless otherwise stated here: ____ days
ACCEPTANCE OF OFFER
If any or all parts of this offer are accepted, an authorized representative of the University shall affix its signature
hereto. Acceptance shall create a contract having an order of precedence as follows: special terms and
conditions specific to the RFP, if any; requirements and specifications of the RFP; the University Information
Technology (IT) Terms and Conditions; and the agreed portion of the awarded Vendor's offer (including any Best
and Final Offer(s)). A copy of this acceptance will be forwarded to the awarded Vendor(s).
FOR UNIVERSITY USE ONLY
Offer accepted and contract awarded this date , as indicated on attached certification,
by (Authorized representative of University).
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THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
AT CHAPEL HILL
Request for Proposals No.: RFP062926KJM
______________________________________________________
For internal processing, including tabulation of proposals, provide your company's electronic Vendor Portal (eVP)
Number. Pursuant to G.S. 132-1.10(b) this identification number shall not be released to the public. This page
will be removed and shredded, or otherwise kept confidential, before the procurement file is made available
for public inspection.
This page is to be filled out and returned with your proposal.
Failure to do so may subject your proposal to rejection.
______________________________________________________
Vendor Name
___________________________________________________
Vendor eVP Number
Note: For a contract to be awarded to you, your company (you) must be a North Carolina registered supplier in good standing. You
must enter the supplier number assigned through the electronic Vendor Portal (eVP). If you do not have a vendor number, register at
https://vendor.ncgov.com/vendor/login.
Electronic responses ONLY will be accepted for this solicitation.
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Table of Contents
1.0 Anticipated Procurement Schedule ............................................................................................. 5
2.0 Purpose of RFP ........................................................................................................................... 5
2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 5
2.2 RFP Document ....................................................................................................................... 5
2.3 Interpretation of Terms and Phrases ...................................................................................... 5
2.4 Contract Term ........................................................................................................................ 6
2.5 Contract Type ......................................................................................................................... 6
2.6 UNC System Institutions ........................................................................................................ 6
2.7 Agency Background ............................................................................................................... 7
2.8 Problem Statement ................................................................................................................ 7
3.0 RFP Requirements and Specifications ........................................................................................ 7
3.1 Scope of Work ........................................................................................................................ 7
3.2 General Requirements and Specifications ............................................................................. 8
3.3 Security Requirements ........................................................................................................... 8
3.4 Business and Technical Requirements .................................................................................. 9
3.5 Business and Technical Specifications .................................................................................. 9
4.0 Cost of Vendor's Offer ............................................................................................................... 11
4.1 Offer Costs ........................................................................................................................... 11
4.2 Payment Schedule ............................................................................................................... 11
5.0 Evaluation ................................................................................................................................. 11
5.1 Source Selection .................................................................................................................. 11
5.2 Evaluation Criteria ................................................................................................................ 12
5.3 Interviews, Oral Presentations, and/or Product Demonstrations .......................................... 12
5.4 Best and Final Offer (BAFO) ................................................................................................ 12
5.5 Possession and Review ....................................................................................................... 13
6.0 Vendor Information and Instructions ......................................................................................... 13
6.1 General Conditions of Offer .................................................................................................. 13
6.2 General Instructions for Vendor ........................................................................................... 14
6.3 Instructions for Offer Submission ......................................................................................... 16
7.0 Other Requirements and Special Terms ................................................................................... 18
7.1 Vendor Utilization of Workers Outside the United States ..................................................... 18
7.2 Financial Stability ................................................................................................................. 19
7.3 Vendor Exceptions; Additional Terms and Conditions ......................................................... 19
7.4 Vendor's Representations .................................................................................................... 19
7.5 Personnel ............................................................................................................................. 20
7.6 Security and Background Checks ........................................................................................ 20
7.7 Disclosure of Litigation ......................................................................................................... 20
7.9 Criminal Conviction .............................................................................................................. 21
7.10 Assurances .......................................................................................................................... 21
7.11 Confidentiality of Offers ........................................................................................................ 21
7.12 Project Management ............................................................................................................ 22
7.13 Meetings ............................................................................................................................... 22
7.14 Recycling and Source Reduction ......................................................................................... 22
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Attachment A: Definitions .................................................................................................................... 23
Attachment B: University Information Technology (IT) Terms and Conditions .................................... 24
Exhibit A: University Data Privacy and Security Addendum ................................................................ 35
Appendix A: University Security Program Requirements .................................................................... 41
Exhibit B: AI Terms and Conditions .................................................................................................... 43
Attachment C: Description of Offeror Form ......................................................................................... 44
Attachment D: Cost Form ................................................................................................................... 46
Attachment E: Vendor Certification Form ............................................................................................ 47
Attachment F: Location of Workers Utilized by Vendor Form.............................................................. 48
Attachment G: References .................................................................................................................. 50
Attachment H: Certification of Financial Condition Form ..................................................................... 51
Attachment I: Requirements Checklist ................................................................................................ 52
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1.0 ANTICIPATED PROCUREMENT SCHEDULE
The table below shows the intended schedule for this RFP. The University will make every effort to adhere
to this schedule, but all dates and times are subject to change at the University's sole discretion. All times
listed are in Eastern Time (ET).
Action Responsibility (no later than) Date and Time
RFP Issued University June 29, 2026
Written Questions Deadline July 20, 2026 at 12:00 PM ET
University's Response to Written University August 10, 2026
Questions / RFP Addendum Issued
Offer Deadline Vendors August 31, 2026 at 12:00 PM ET
Selection of Finalists University TBD
Interviews, Oral Presentations, and/or Finalists TBD
Product Demonstrations
Information Security Review University TBD
Contract Negotiations University / Intended TBD
Awardee
Contract Award University TBD
Contract Effective Date University TBD
2.0 PURPOSE OF RFP
2.1 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this RFP is to solicit offers for an Accounts Payable (AP) Invoice Automation Solution with
integrated artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) Accounts Payable (AP) department, is seeking
proposals from qualified vendors for the purpose of obtaining information and bids to implement a
comprehensive AP invoice automation solution. The selected solution will replace the University's current
invoice submission system and must integrate seamlessly with the University's ERP system, PeopleSoft.
UNC-CH is looking to procure a commercially available software solution that streamlines and manages
the entire invoice-to-payment lifecycle. The successful solution must leverage AI to reduce or eliminate
manual data entry, accelerate approval workflows, ensure compliance with University and regulatory
requirements, and facilitate secure, timely vendor payments.
2.2 RFP DOCUMENT
This RFP is comprised of the base RFP document, any attachments, and any addenda released before
contract award. All attachments and addenda released for this RFP in advance of any contract award are
incorporated herein by reference.
2.3 INTERPRETATION OF TERMS AND PHRASES
This RFP serves two functions: (1) to advise potential Vendors of the parameters of the solution being sought
by the University; and (2) to provide (together with other specified documents) the terms and conditions of
any contract(s) resulting from this solicitation. The use of phrases such as "shall," "must," and "requirements"
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are intended to create enforceable contract conditions. As used herein, phrases such as "reasonable",
"necessary", or "proper" shall be interpreted solely by the University.
2.4 CONTRACT TERM
A contract awarded pursuant to this RFP shall have an effective date as provided in either the Notice of
Award or the resulting contract, as applicable (the "Effective Date"). The contract shall have an initial term
of three (3) year(s) from the Effective Date (the "Initial Term"), unless terminated earlier in accordance with
the terms and conditions of the contract.
At the end of the Initial Term, the University shall have the option, at its sole discretion, to renew the contract
on the same terms and conditions for up to seven (7) additional one (1)-year terms. The University will give
the Vendor written notice of its intent to exercise each renewal option no later than sixty (60) days before the
end of the contract's then-current term.
In addition to any optional renewal terms, and with the Vendor's concurrence, the University retains the option
to extend the contract for one (1)-year periods after the last active term.
2.5 CONTRACT TYPE
This RFP will establish an indefinite quantity contract between the awarded Vendor(s) (if any) and the
University. The quantity of goods and/or services that may be used by the University is undetermined. An
estimated quantity based on history or other means may be used as a guide but shall not be a representation
by the University of any anticipated purchase volume under any contract awarded pursuant to this RFP.
The University reserves the right to make partial, progressive or multiple awards (a) where it is advantageous
to award separately by line item(s), (b) where more than one Vendor is needed or desired to meet the
contemplated specifications as to quantity, quality, delivery, service, or geographical areas, and (c) where
other factors are deemed to be necessary or proper to the purchase in question.
Any resulting contract may be used by any other UNC Chapel Hill department, office, school, etc. at their
discretion.
2.6 UNC SYSTEM INSTITUTIONS
Any resulting contract may be extended to any other University of North Carolina System (UNC System)
institution (each an "Institution") to allow Institution to purchase relevant products and services from Vendor
at then-current prices in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract. Use of the contract by
another Institution shall be strictly voluntary.
Execution of a separate contract is not required to participate, unless an amendment to the material terms
of the contract is required by either the Institution or Vendor, in which case the resulting contract shall be
between the Institution and Vendor. Other Institutions shall place their own orders directly with Vendor and
shall fully and independently administer their use of the contract, including contractual disputes, invoicing,
and payments, without any participation from the University.
The University shall not be responsible for any costs, damages, or other obligations incurred by any other
Institution as a result of any use of the contract. It is understood and agreed that the University (a) is not
responsible for the acts or omissions of any other Institution, and (b) will not be considered in default of the
contract due to the acts or omissions of any other Institution, no matter the circumstances.
UNC System institutions currently include the following:
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Appalachian State University
East Carolina University
Elizabeth City State University
Fayetteville State University
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
North Carolina Central University
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
North Carolina State University
University of North Carolina at Asheville
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
University of North Carolina System Office
Western Carolina University
Winston-Salem State University
2.7 AGENCY BACKGROUND
UNC-Chapel Hill's Accounts Payable Department, within the Division of Finance and Operations, is
responsible for ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant processing of vendor invoices and payments on
behalf of all University units. The department supports a diverse vendor base and manages the review and
processing of a substantial volume of invoices to ensure adherence to University and state policies. AP
processes approximately 110,000 invoices per year from a variety of campus and external sources, making
it a critical function in supporting the University's academic, research, and operational activities.
.
2.8 PROBLEM STATEMENT
Accounts payable staff currently face significant operational challenges due to the highly manual processing
of invoices. Each year, we receive approximately 35,000 purchase orders (PO) invoices. These invoices
must be manually linked to the corresponding purchase orders, lines matched and a voucher created. For
non-PO vouchers, staff must manually review each invoice to ensure the correct supplier was selected, all
expenses meet University and State policy before payment can be made.
This manual process is time-consuming, resource-intensive, and susceptible to human error, resulting in
payment delays, increased administrative workload, and elevated compliance risks. The current approach
limits scalability and diverts staff time from higher-value activities.
The goal of this project is to implement automated invoice processing that leverages AI functionality to
streamline and improve the efficiency and accuracy of invoice processing and accounts payable operations.
The solution must seamlessly integrate with Oracle PeopleSoft to ensure smooth data flow and operational
efficiency.
3.0 RFP REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIFICATIONS
3.1 SCOPE OF WORK
The scope of work for this RFP includes, but is not limited to, the configuration, integration, testing,
implementation, training, support and performance monitoring of an automated invoice processing tool.
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3.2 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIFICATIONS
3.2.1 REQUIREMENTS
Means, as used herein, a function, feature, or performance that the system must provide, or a
condition that the Vendor must meet.
3.2.2 SPECIFICATIONS
Means, as used herein, a description of the characteristics of the desired goods and/or services (e.g.,
a specification that documents the function and performance of a system or system component, or a
service to be provided).
The apparent silence of the specifications as to any detail, or the apparent omission of detailed
description concerning any point, shall be regarded as meaning that only the best commercial practice
is to prevail and that only processes, configurations, materials and workmanship of the first quality
may be used. Upon any notice of noncompliance provided by the University, Vendor shall supply
proof of compliance with the specifications. Vendor must provide written notice of its intent to deliver
alternate or substitute services, products, goods or other Deliverables. Alternate or substitute
services, products, goods or Deliverables may be accepted or rejected in the sole discretion of the
University; and any such alternates or substitutes must be accompanied by Vendor's certification and
evidence satisfactory to the University that the function, characteristics, performance and endurance
will be equal or superior to the original Deliverables specified.
3.2.3 SITE AND SYSTEM PREPARATION
Vendors shall provide to the University complete site requirement specifications for the Deliverables,
if any. These specifications shall ensure that the Deliverables to be installed or implemented shall
operate properly and efficiently within the site and system environment. Any alterations or
modification in site preparation, which are directly attributable to incomplete or erroneous
specifications provided by the Vendor and which would involve additional expenses to the University,
shall be made at the expense of the Vendor.
3.2.4 EQUIVALENT ITEMS
Whenever a material, article or piece of equipment is identified in the specification(s) by reference to
a manufacturer's or Vendor's name, trade name, catalog number or similar identifier, it is intended to
establish a standard for determining substantial conformity during evaluation, unless otherwise
specifically stated as a brand specific requirement (in which case, no substitute items will be allowed).
Any material, article or piece of equipment of other manufacturers or Vendors shall perform to the
standard of the item named. Equivalent offers must be accompanied by sufficient descriptive
literature and/or specifications to provide for detailed comparison.
3.3 SECURITY REQUIREMENTS
Personal Information is in scope for this project. Therefore, before a contract can be awarded, the Intended
Awardee must:
3.3.1 Provide at least one of the following, listed in order of preference:
3.3.1.1 current SOC 2 Type II report issued within the last 36 months, complete a
questionnaire provided by the University, and submit accompanying
documentation at any time upon request by the University.
3.3.1.2 A completed Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Tool
(HECVAT).
3.3.1.3 A comparable third-party risk assessment.
3.3.2 Pass an ISO risk assessment and maintain a passing status upon re-review.
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3.3.3 Pass a DGOG review.
3.3.4 Detailed documentation of the Vendor's:
3.3.4.1 Security Policies and Procedures
3.3.4.2 Risk Management Framework
3.3.4.3 Data Security and Privacy Controls
3.3.5 The Vendor shall protect all University information and systems that maintain University
data or in which University students, faculty, or staff interact in accordance with industry's
best practices and all applicable laws and regulations. This includes following the high
protection level of the University minimum security standards or provide the industry
security standard followed and evidence of compliance with that standard.
3.3.6 The vendor must maintain access control to all systems that contain University data.
Authorization should be limited to access on a "need to know" basis, strong passwords and
multi-factor authentication must be implemented. It is required that the Vendor integrates
with the University's SSO for authentication.
NOTE: Copies of security compliance documentation will not be requested until later phases of the RFP
process. Vendor should not submit compliance documentation with their offer.
If the Intended Awardee cannot meet the requirements and/or does not pass the required reviews outlined
above, then the University reserves the right to take any action available to it, including but not limited to the
following: select another prospective vendor, cancel the solicitation and rebid it, cancel the solicitation and
negotiate with a known source of supply.
3.4 BUSINESS AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
The awarded Vendor / solution must meet the following requirements:
3.4.1 The solution must be able to integrate with PeopleSoft.
3.4.2 The solution must be able to handle two and three-way processing.
3.4.3 The solution must be able to read and extract data from invoices, using modern techniques
(e.g., optical character recognition (OCR), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, natural
language processing models, etc.)
3.4.4 The solution must be able to understand and apply UNC policies to invoices.
Vendor shall return with its offer a completed ATTACHMENT I: Requirements Checklist.
3.5 BUSINESS AND TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
3.5.1 INVOICE PROCESSING
* Consume invoices from email for automated, hands-free processing.
* Implement error-handling mechanisms for any invoices not able to be processed hands
free.
* Provide tools to manage confidence level in invoice consumption process so more
invoices can be processed without user intervention.
* Match invoice to the corresponding purchase order in PeopleSoft (phase 1).
* Review invoice to determine owning department for proper processing (phase 2).
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3.5.2 DATA EXTRACTION
* Utilize modern technologies (e.g. OCR, AI, machine learning, and/or natural language
processing) to reach and extract data from transcripts accurately, regardless of document
format.
* Use extracted data to match lines against corresponding purchase order.
* Leverage information from UNC policies to ensure compliance.
3.5.3 DATA IMPORT
* Seamlessly import extracted data into PeopleSoft to create a voucher.
* Implement error-handling mechanisms to address any issues during the voucher creation
process.
3.5.4 DATA REVIEW, CORRECTION, AND LEARNING
* Provide an intuitive interface for users to review and correct vouchers created via
automated process
* Implement machine learning and other AI capabilities to identify and correct errors and
policy violations, and to adapt to different invoice formats, improving accuracy over time.
* Use AI capabilities to incorporate user-provided feedback to improve performance and
accuracy.
3.5.5 ANALYTIS AND REPORTING
* Offer flexible reporting tools to track transcript processing metrics and other operational
data.
* Provide customizable dashboards for real-time analytics and performance monitoring.
* Generate detailed reports on data accuracy, processing times, and error rates.
3.5.6 IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES
* Provide an implementation plan that clearly outlines the timeline and resource allocation
for the successful deployment of the proposed solution in the following phases:
PHASE 1
O
Installation/Product Access
Data Extract and Customer Validation
Data Import Automation
Out-of-the-Box Business Rules
Custom Business Rulesa
User Acceptance Testing
Deployment of the configured solution according to the established
implementation plan and monitor performance. Address any challenges
that may arise to ensure a smooth go-live process.
PHASE 2
O
Installation/Product Access
Data Extract and Customer Validation
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