Accounts Payable Services & AP Automation Providers in West Virginia (WV)

How to choose accounts payable service providers in West Virginia

Where to find accounts payable service providers in West Virginia

Paying bills in the Mountain State means dealing with two state offices that many owners don't think about until something goes wrong. The State Tax Division expects use tax on purchases that arrived without sales tax. The State Treasurer expects old vendor checks that were never cashed to be reported. A good accounts payable provider handles both. A weak one just cuts checks.

Most providers are in a few places. Charleston is the capital and the largest city, and its metro is the largest one entirely inside the state. Firms in Charleston tend to work with state contractors, larger employers and companies that deal with Kanawha County and state agencies. Huntington is the second largest city, and its metro reaches into Kentucky and Ohio. Providers there are often used to clients with locations on both sides of the river, which helps if your purchases cross state lines.

Next come Parkersburg, which shares a metro with Vienna and Marietta, Ohio, and Morgantown, home to West Virginia University. Wheeling anchors the Northern Panhandle. Outside these areas, in the southern coalfields, the mountain counties or the Eastern Panhandle, most businesses use a regional firm that drives in when needed or a provider that works entirely remotely. Remote can work well. Just make sure the provider knows West Virginia rules and isn't only following a template built for another state.

West Virginia use tax and 1099 rules your AP provider should handle

Use tax. West Virginia's use tax is 6%, the same as the state sales tax rate. It applies to goods and services used in the state when West Virginia sales tax wasn't paid. Businesses that buy taxable items from suppliers who don't collect West Virginia tax, including out-of-state sellers, owe the use tax themselves. It is reported on Form WV/CST-200CU and is due by the 20th of the month after the filing period ends. If you legally paid sales tax to another state, you can take a credit for it. You can't claim an exemption without a properly completed Certificate of Exemption (Form F0003) on file.

Ask any provider exactly what they do with an invoice that shows no tax. Do they flag it, calculate the use tax and give your bookkeeper a monthly total? Or do they pay it as written? Also ask who collects and stores your exemption certificates. If an auditor asks for them, someone has to find them quickly.

State 1099 filing. West Virginia generally requires state copies of Forms 1099 only when West Virginia income tax was withheld. Those filings go with the year-end withholding reconciliation, Form IT-103. Most vendor payments involve no state withholding, but some do. Confirm the provider knows the difference and can file through the Tax Division's MyTaxes system if needed. Rates and due dates change, so check current figures with the Tax Division before you sign.

Uncashed vendor checks and public contract payments in West Virginia

Vendors don't cash every check. West Virginia's Uniform Unclaimed Property Act treats an outstanding vendor payment or credit memo as abandoned after three years. Unpaid wages become abandoned after one year. Before you report the money, you have to make a good-faith effort to reach the owner. Then you report and send the funds to the State Treasurer's Unclaimed Property Division. Your contract should say who runs the stale-check report each year, who sends the owner letters, who files the report and who keeps the records that prove it was done.

Public bodies have extra rules. Under the county Prompt Pay Act of 1995, registered vendors that supply a county or county agency are entitled to prompt payment. A check is due within 60 days, and late payments earn interest at a rate set by the State Tax Commissioner. The Legislature has also taken up prompt payment bills for state agencies in recent sessions, so check where that stands if you sell to the state. If your provider works for a county office or for a contractor that bills one, ask how they track invoice receipt dates and interest.

Businesses that sell to state agencies must register with the Purchasing Division and pay a $125 annual fee through wvOASIS Vendor Self-Service. That same portal shows payment activity. A provider who already knows wvOASIS can reconcile state payments much faster than one learning it on your account.

Questions to ask West Virginia accounts payable firms before you sign

Compare at least two or three providers with the same set of questions:

• How do you handle invoices that show no tax, and do you prepare use tax figures?
• Who handles the annual unclaimed property review and owner letters?
• Can you work in our accounting system, or do we have to switch to yours?
• Who approves payments, and how is that approval recorded?
• How long do you keep invoices and payment records, and how do we get them back if we leave?

A local firm in Charleston or Huntington can come to your office during a year-end close or an audit. That counts for more than people expect. A national provider may have better software and lower per-invoice prices but less knowledge of West Virginia forms. Many businesses here end up with a mix: national software with a local accountant reviewing it.

Ask for references from clients your size and in your industry, preferably in your part of the state. A manufacturer in the Ohio Valley has different needs than a medical practice in Morgantown. Call the references. Ask specifically about late payments and missed tax items.

On the contract, look closely at pricing per invoice or per payment, minimum monthly fees, and who pays penalties or interest caused by the provider's mistake. Also check how much notice you must give to leave. Make sure the contract says you own your data and will get it back in a usable format.