About Your Department

What You Need to Know Before Purchasing Anything

	Your Responsibilities What You Need to Know Before Purchasing Anything Purchasing Ethics Who Can Purchase? WA Statutes/Authority Delegation Agreement Signatures Confirming Requisitions Special Requirements Commodities Restricted Items Your Purchases Tracking Purchases Receiving Purchases Returning Purchases

Before you purchase anything for your department, there are some basic rules you must know about. Please read through the following information if you are unfamiliar with the purchasing process.

• Purchasing Ethics
  Do not conduct any business with members of your family or with businesses in which you have a financial interest. As a public employee, you are responsible for following UW and State of Washington's ethics rules. Questions about this should be directed to your supervisor or department head.
  
  
• Delegation of Authority
  Be sure that your department administrator (or Principal Investigator or other person authorized to approve expenditures for the budget) has authorized you to acquire goods or services. If you do not have this advance approval, then the University is under no obligation to pay the supplier or reimburse you for whatever you have bought. Delegation of signature authority for sponsored research projects needs to follow Grants Information Memorandum 14. Some federal sponsors require prior approval by the agency before any equipment items can be purchased.
  
  
• Purchasing is the only UW unit authorized to commit to any supplier or individual for items or services that cost more than $3,000 per order. Do not make any commitments or promises to any supplier or individual for more than $3,000. See Confirming Requisitions
  
  
• Special Circumstances/Restrictions
  There may be special rules and regulations for which your department is responsible when ordering and receiving goods and services. For example, there are laws regarding the handling and storage of hazardous materials; and the IRS has rules for determining when an individual can be paid as a contractor rather than through payroll. If you are starting a new purchase for something your department has not acquired before, feel free to send an email to the commodity Buyer to ask if there are any special requirements you need to know about. Please see restricted items.
  
  
• eProcurement @ University Stores
  University Stores offers a wide range of products to the campus community from office supplies, to lab and glassware, medical and dental, custodial and maintenance supplies. Due to the high volume of purchases, University Stores has established contractual relations with vendors, and is able to offer large savings on many of the most commonly used items at the University. When items are purchased using these contracts, there is no limit. eProcurement allows you to place orders up to amy amount approved by your department.
  
  
• Agreement Signatures
  Do not sign any supplier's agreement, even if the purchase is less than $3,000. If the supplier requires that its standard form should be signed, send the agreement to Purchasing for review. Suppliers' agreements protect their interests, and may need to be revised in order to protect the University.
  
  
• Can You Use a Procurement Card (PROCARD)?
  Your department may have a procurement (charge) card to use for small dollar purchases. If the supplier will accept the card for your purchase, this is an easy way to get what you need, have the supplier paid immediately without a lot of paperwork, with the charges reconciled by your department online, so that they can be assigned to the correct budget number.
  
  
• Delivery Dates
  For purchases greater than $3,000, when you have a firm deadline that must be met for receiving the items ordered, please be sure to enter that date on the online purchase requisition, and emphasize your delivery date requirements in the requisition comments. For all purchases, regardless of dollar amount, feel free to contact the supplier once the order is placed, to confirm delivery dates and to have a contact name with whom you can follow up at the time of shipment to ensure that your delivery will arrive on time.
  
  
• Receiving Purchases
  Items are delivered directly to your location. Check them immediately on receipt for any damage, and report it to the supplier. Make sure that the items you receive match the items you requested on the order, and that they work in a satisfactory manner. For invoices less than $10,000 you will receive a copy of the invoice as it is being scheduled for payment; if there are any problems, respond immediately as instructed on the invoice copy. While invoices greater than $10,000 require approval before they are paid, it is not fair to suppliers to hold up approval if you have not had enough time to test the items after receiving them. If there are problems with the items delivered and the supplier will not correct them for you, notify the Buyer who placed the order.
  
  
• Monitor Order Status Online
  PAS (Purchasing/Accounts Payable System) updates the status of your purchase requisitions as they are ordered, and as supplier invoices are paid. Also use the online system to verify that your request has been released to a Buyer: if you are sending attachments or if your department has flagged its requisitions for online approval before going to Purchasing, your request may be sitting in a hold status, unavailable for the Buyer to see or act on, until after the hold is released.
  
  
• Emergency Purchases
  The Washington State legislature recognizes that public agencies, including the University, may need to "make emergency purchases in response to unforeseen circumstances beyond the control of the agency which present a real, immediate, and extreme threat to the proper performance of essential functions or which may reasonably be expected to result in excessive loss or damage to property, bodily injury, or loss of life." If you are acting in accordance with points 1 and 2 above, Ethics and Delegation of Authority, then your department may acquire whatever is needed to respond to the emergency needs, and we will work with you to document the file after the fact.