Payment documents are required to post and fulfill projects for special resources that cannot be purchased through our vendor directory or directly through a website.
A payment document will list the items, expense, vendor, and (if applicable) due date of your project cost. Common payment documents include quotes, bills, invoices, or purchase orders. Teachers will need payment documents both when they create a project and when they have funded their project.
When creating a project:
You can add your payment document on the WHAT page of your Special Request or virtual trip or visitor project. To see the option to upload a file, click "I cannot purchase my item online."
Payment documents are unique to each vendor. Teachers often need to call or email their vendor to get a payment document for their project. Below, you’ll find a checklist of things your payment document should include. Each piece of information will help our team approve and fulfill your project if it’s fully funded:
- Official company letterhead
- At least one form of vendor contact information (email address, physical mailing address, or phone number)
- Itemized pricing for each part of your project’s expense--don't forget important details like size and color, where applicable
- Cost of shipping, even if the shipping cost is $0, and tax, if applicable
- Date of the event or when the payment is needed by, if applicable
Once you’ve uploaded your payment document to your project, continue through the rest of the project creation process and submit your project for review.
After your project is fully funded:
After funding, we’ll ask you to upload an updated payment document. You can do this from the Projects page on your account; scroll down until you see your project listed with the "Upload payment documents" button.
- For DonorsChoose to pay vendor directly, reach out to get an updated payment document and upload through your teacher’s page.
- For DonorsChoose to reimburse you, complete the purchase and upload the itemized receipt. (please note: for gift card requests, unless specified as incentives, please purchase the resources and upload an itemized receipt)
Why do I need an updated document?
Projects can be live on our site for several months and price quotes are usually valid for a limited amount of time. In order to make sure everything goes smoothly when we send payment we want to be sure we have the most up-to-date pricing.
If the pricing hasn’t changed, can I use the same document from when I created my project?
Confirm with the vendor that there’s been no change in price and leave a message noting "The vendor has confirmed the price is the same" in the "Additional Information" section of the payment request form.