Employee Accounts

Rice University provides employee accounts to faculty and staff where charges for goods and services are billed; a service that allows our employees to "charge it" to their account by participating departments, and pay later.

Employee Billing

Accounts are billed electronically on the first business day and due on the last business day of each month. Employees having charges due will receive an e-mail from the Cashier’s Office, informing of the amount due on their employee account. The e-mail provides a link to Esther where employees will access the Payment Suite where account statements, transaction activity, and payment methods are available int he Payment Suite.

  • Current charges outlined on the statement are due on the last day of the month.
  • Past Due charges indicate unpaid charges billed on a previous statement. Charges summarized as Past Due on the statement that remain unpaid on the 10th of each month are the charges that will be submitted to Payroll for deduction.

Paying the Bill

Options available include:

  • Electronic Check - Electronic version of a check that directly links to your bank account for payments. Using an e-check allows you to avoid the convenience fee assessed on credit card and debit card payments.
  • Credit Card- Visa, Master Card, Discover and American Express are accepted through our online suite. A 2.95% convenience fee is added to online payments using this method to assist with the exchange fees associated with credit card processing.
  • In-person - Debit Card payments (no charge), check payments, and cash payments are accepted in the Cashier's Office.
  • USPS Mail - options are available on our US Mail & Couriers page.
  • Payroll Deduction - as described below.

Payroll Deduction

Charges submitted for payroll deduction in no way indicate account delinquency. In fact, it’s a service that some employees prefer. Due dates are provided on employee statements to allow the employee the opportunity to pay on their own, should they choose to do so. When they choose not to initiate payment themselves, that’s when the Cashier's Office steps in and takes care of balances due through the deduction process. There are no additional cost to the employee for this service.

How Payroll Deduction Works:

  1. Charges sent for Payroll Deduction are charges summarized as Past Due on the latest issued employee statement, remaining unpaid as of the 10th of each month.
  2. The charges are provided to the Payroll Department where they will be deducted from the next paycheck issued (generally the final payrolls during a month).
  3. A payment for the deduction will be added to the employee account by the 1st business day of the following month.

Access the Payment Suite

To review your statements and account activity, log into Esther and select Employee > Employee Account Information/Payment Suite.