Procurement of goods and services must comply with the established purchasing methods as defined below. Employees who procure goods or services and fail to follow the policies described below should be prepared to accept full responsibility for the payment for those goods and services.
1. Purchase Order (PO)
A PO is the preferred method of purchasing goods and services. Presenting a PO to a supplier constitutes a legal offer to purchase products and services, and clearly establishes deliverables such as types, quantities and prices prior to the actual delivery of the goods and services. Acceptance of a PO by the seller typically forms a contract between the buyer and the seller and no such contract exists until the PO is accepted. There are various types of requisitions/PO's. Please follow this link for guidelines.
2. Purchasing Card (P-Card)
Approved Purchasing Card purchases include the following:
- Advertising
- Airfare
- Conference registration
- Hotel
- Membership dues
- Purchase at a retail location when no registered supplier is established
- Purchases from a secure online supplier that does not accept purchase orders
- Renewal of a periodical subscription
- Rental vehicle
- Travel meals
- Travel expenses (tolls, baggage fees, parking)
The Purchasing Card should be used primarily for travel, however, limited purchases at retail locations for emergency supplies, or on secure websites for goods and services where a PO is not accepted are allowable. Cardholders must adhere to the individual card transaction limits, the policies outlined in the Purchasing Card Manual, and this Purchasing Policy. Most other purchases should be made using the requisition/purchase order system. Please see this link for more details.
3. Reimbursements
Occasionally it is necessary to purchase an item using personal funds and then request reimbursement from the University. This includes employee, Board of Trustees member and non-campus advisor reimbursements, as well as, non-employee travel reimbursements. This is acceptable only under the following conditions:
- The individual does not have a University issued Purchasing Card (If an employee has a University issued Purchasing Card, it must be used.)
- The University issued Purchasing Card does not work
- The University issued Purchasing Card is not practical to use (For example, certain travel related expenses such as parking meters or tips for baggage handling.)
- The items purchased are goods, not services or honorariums
- Itemized receipts must be submitted with the request
- Travel related expenses are reimbursed only after the travel has been completed