Purchasing and Purchase Orders

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Purchasing

The Business Operations Office oversees the purchasing of goods and services for the University community. We strive to secure the best price, quality and service and provide new, innovative approaches to streamlining our processes. The Business Operations Office maintains a commitment to excellence through professional ethics and practices.  The office abides by the University’s Purchasing Policies and Procedures while aiming to develop and implement operational procedures that provide the highest level of service.

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Purchase Orders

The Purchase Order (PO) is the official document for all purchasing activities where purchases cannot be made using the University P-Card or Preferred Supplier Agreements. A Purchase Order can only be issued by Business Operations. It is used to place orders with vendors for all materials, parts, supplies, equipment, repairs, services, construction and construction-related items and consultant services and creates a formal contract between the University and the vendor. Generally, the creation of a Purchase Order will occur within 2 business days of the receipt of a complete purchase requisition.

Purchase Order FAQs

The requesting department should submit a completed Purchase Order Requisition, which must be signed by the Department Budget Manager. The PO Requisition is the authorization to initiate the purchasing process; it enables a PO and/or Agreement to be generated, and provides the accounting information to be entered into the Banner System. Only one requisition should be emailed or sent through interoffice mail, to avoid duplicating orders. Any associated purchase support documents (supplier quote and/or contact information, drawings, specifications, etc.) must be included with the requisition. Please refer to the Purchase Order Policy for complete details.

Purchase Requisitions will be returned to the requisitioning department for any of the following reasons:

  1. The organization has insufficient funds
  2. The requisition is charged to the wrong account
  3. The FOAP (Fund, Org, Account, Program) information is missing
  4. The Budget Manager's signature is not on the requisition
  5. The items can be purchased on a University P-Card
For purchases under $4,999 formal competitive quotes are not required. You only need to submit the support documentation with your purchase requisition. Purchases over $10,000 require three formal competitive quotes. Purchases over $20,000 must be competitively bid by Business Operations through a Request for Proposal (RFP). Please see the Competitive Bid Process Policy for more information. 
Business Operations will send the completed PO to the vendor when requested to do so by the department. Departments will always receive a file copy of the PO. Please make sure to check off the box "send to vendor" on the requisition, and provide an email address. If this information is missing, it will be the responsibility of the department to send the PO to the vendor.
First, please notify the vendor that all invoices should be sent directly to Accounts Payable. If you do receive an invoice related to an existing Purchase Order, please write the PO number on the invoice along with your authorization to pay, and send via email or interoffice mail to Accounts Payable. By authorizing Accounts Payable to make payment on the invoice, you are confirming that all products/services have been received. If it is the last or only invoice for the PO, please request Accounts Payable to pay and close the PO.