Before You Buy
Think first about buying internally
- All durable goods purchased at the University eventually
pass through
Surplus Property, often in excellent condition with many useful years of life left in them. This property is available to
departments, an inventory search is available on the website, and property can be viewed in the warehouse.
Then think about buying on contract
- University and state contracts usually offer the best prices.
- Vendors are known and approved, and their performance is monitored.
- Contract vendors have a vested interest in keeping all their University customers happy.
Buying From Outside Vendors
Some purchases may be made directly by departments, but many must be processed by Procurement
Services due to their dollar value or the nature of the purchase.
- Consult the Guidelines
for Competition to determine if your purchase will require competition or other processing
by Procurement Services or if your department may order it directly.
- Reference the other links under "Buying & Paying" in this page's navigation bar for full
information on paying for purchases acquired through all purchasing methods.
There are three methods by which departments may purchase for themselves
those goods and services which do not require processing by Procurement Services. It is important
to understand the restrictions and requirements for each method before making a purchasing decision.
- University Purchasing Card
- The UPC may be used for purchases of $4,999 or less or for
air and rail tickets in any amount. There are, however,
restrictions on the types of purchases that can be made and
a
special procedure must be followed if the price of travel tickets exceeds the individual card
holder's established spending limits.
- Limited Purchase Order
- Purchases of less than $5,000 may be ordered directly and paid automatically by the simultaneous
submission of an LPO, or may be purchased against an existing standing order LPO. There are
restrictions, however.
- Payment Voucher
- Orders of less than $50,000 for goods or services meeting the
requirements for demand payments may be placed directly and paid by submission of a PV.
All other orders require competition and must be processed by Procurement Services:
- Purchase Requisition
- Goods and services which require competition, or are restricted from purchase on the UPC, LPO, or
PV, cannot be purchased directly by the department and may only be acquired through the submission of
a Purchase Requisition.
Following departmental approval, our buyers will review the requisition, seek appropriate competition,
create a Purchase Order to the selected supplier, and place the order.
Paying Outside Vendors
All payments for goods and services must be processed by Procurement Services. The payment procedures vary
depending on the method used to purchase.
Reference the other links under "Buying & Paying" in this page's navigation bar for full
information on paying for purchases acquired through all purchasing methods.
- Invoices for POs and LPOs must always reference the
PO Number and should be sent directly to Procurement Services
-- Accounts Payable for payment processing.
- Vendors cannot be paid for LPOs until they are registered in the Integrated System Supplier
List. Please see Adding a
Vendor for an LPO for instructions.
- University Purchasing Card payments are made directly by the University to MasterCard.
Cardholders keep a log and receive a monthly statement from MasterCard for reconciliation. There
will now be a window of several days each month during which it is possible to
change or split the PTAEO (charged account)
of each transaction which is in the Integrated System from that month's billing.
- Invoices to be paid by Payment Voucher should be sent to the department.
It is the department's responsibility to submit Payment Vouchers promptly and correctly so that vendors receive timely payments,
as required by law. These payments can also be reconciled using reports provided in the Integrated System application.
Standing Orders
A standing Purchase Order allows departments to obtain one PO or LPO for a specified dollar amount
and then place multiple purchases against that order, authorizing payment only for each purchase.
Creating a standing order:
- The total cost of the good or service for a 12-month period determines whether the order requires competition, and what methods may be used to place the order.
- For orders totaling $4,999 or less for the 12-month period, we recommend the University
Purchasing Card.
- It is important that the 12-month cost can be accurately projected when creating a standing
order.
Purchasing against a standing order:
- The vendor must be given the PO Number from an existing, approved Purchase Order in the system.
- Vendors should be instructed to invoice only for the amount of each individual purchase.
Managing a standing order:
- Exercise special vigilance when receiving and when reconciling receipts against paid invoice copies.
- If discrepancies are detected, notify an
Accounts Payable Specialist immediately, so that vendors are not paid for items not yet ordered
or not received in good condition.
- Remember that small dollar purchases add up. If the total amount invoiced against a standing
LPO reaches $5,000, the final invoice will become a problem invoice and will require special processing
by Procurement Services before payment can be made.
Law
As a public institution the University is governed by the
Code of Virginia.
Other laws which directly apply to purchasing are:
Policy
Procurement Services defines policy as what we are required to do, by law, and by the combined policies
of the Commonwealth and the University. All activities carried out and administered by Procurement
Services are subject to these policies:
