Purchases from Vendors

Purchases from Vendors under $1,000.00

Purchases under $1,000.00 do not require a purchase order unless required by the vendor. The department places the order with the vendor. When the invoice is received from the vendor, the budget officer or designee verifies that the goods and/or services have been received. The budget officer or designated signer then records the account number(s) to be charged for the goods/services on the invoice and signs the invoice authorizing payment. The signer is responsible to verify that the department budget is adequate to pay the invoice. The department forwards the invoice to Accounts Payable for payment.

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Purchases from Vendors over $1,000.00

Purchase Orders are required for purchases  over $1,000.00 or if the vendor requires a purchase order.  A purchase order should be created through the requisitioning process before the order is placed.  The college is not obligated to pay an invoice for goods/services that require a purchase order if a requisition is not processed at the time of the order.

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Requisitions

To obtain a Purchase Order, the department submits a Requisition Form  to the Business Office.  The requisition must include the signature of the budget officer or designee, the account number(s), an adequate description of goods or services, and the complete address of the vendor.

Departments that require purchase orders frequently may request access to enter their requisitions online. It is the responsibility of the department to ensure that only purchases authorized by the department’s budget officer are entered.

The Business Office verifies that the department has adequate budget for the purchase. Budget revisions are not necessary between object codes within a department’s operating budget. The Business Office is only concerned that the overall operating budget is in a positive position in order to create a purchase order. If the department’s operating budget falls into a negative position, the requisition will not be processed.

Requisitions received or entered by 2:00 PM are processed that day. The purchase order is sent to the department by interoffice mail the following morning

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Purchase Orders

The Business Office generates a purchase order from the information received on the requisition. A purchase order forms the contractual obligation between the college and the vendor where the vendor is obligated to ship goods or provide services to the college in return for the college’s promise to pay the agreed upon price. The purchase order creates an immediate encumbrance against the department’s budget.

The Business Office generates two different types of purchase orders:

Regular Purchase Orders are issued to order goods and services from a vendor. The order is item specific and includes a full description of each item ordered. The purchase order is closed when the items are received and the vendor’s invoice is paid by Accounts Payable.

Blanket Purchase Orders are issued when goods and services are received on a routine basis, such as monthly utilities and maintenance contracts. These blanket purchase orders are authorized at the beginning of each fiscal year. Monthly or quarterly invoices can be paid automatically from this yearly authorization.

Blanket purchase orders are also issued to be kept on file with vendors and repetitiously used similar orders, such as the purchase of sheet music by the Music department or purchase of plants by Facilities Services. These blanket purchase orders authorize the vendor to accept orders from authorized personnel at the college for a preauthorized dollar amount of goods and services over a designated period of time. The vendor invoice will reference the blanket purchase order number.

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Purchase Order Disbursement

Purchase Orders are printed on a three-part form that is disbursed as follows:

· The Vendor/Original copy is sent to the vendor by the requesting department

· The Department/Requisitioner copy is kept in the requesting department’s files.

· The Receiving/Purchasing copy is retained by the requesting department until the goods or services have been received. This copy should be signed and returned to the Business Office along with the invoice. For blanket purchase orders, the Receiving/Purchasing copy is returned when the blanket is closed.

The department matches the invoices referencing a purchase order number to the information contained on the purchase order. Discrepancies in price, quantity or items received are resolved through discussions between the initiating department and the vendor. The budget officer signs the Receiving/Purchasing copy of the Purchase Order indicating that all goods/services have been received and payment of the invoice is approved. This copy is attached to the invoice and sent to Accounts Payable for payment.