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202: Purchases
Property Management Policy & Procedure Manual
Section 200: Equipment Acquisition
Effective: 03/01/1979
Revised: 11/15/2010
Purpose
To ensure that equipment purchases are made in accordance with applicable federal and state law; and Oregon University System and Oregon State University policies.
Applicability
All equipment (other than vehicles – see PRO 501: Vehicles) purchased with state, local, or sponsored funds for which title vests with OSU or the sponsor upon acquisition.
Policy
Equipment purchases using state, local, or sponsored funds must be made in accordance with applicable federal and state law and Oregon University System and OSU policies. Equipment purchases over $5,000 must be made through the Purchasing department. Use of the procurement card for purchases associated with account code 40199 Construction in Progress [Equipment] is allowable.
Departments may purchase equipment out of multiple indexes. However, this practice is prohibited in two instances:
- Equipment purchased by Service Centers and Auxiliaries must be funded solely by the unit and must be used solely in support of the service department for which it was purchased.
- Equipment purchased on a grant or contract where the sponsor retains title, either fully or conditionally, must be purchased solely from that grant or contract.
Equipment Purchased with University or Sponsored Funds
Coding Requisitions
A departmental requisition must reflect the proper account code and must be used to classify purchases. See GCG 204-02: Cost Classification: Assigning Account Codes and GCG 205: Expenditure Account Codes in the Grant, Contract & Gift Accounting Manual because sponsors with grants and contracts may have a lower threshold for equipment purchases.
Determination of Factors Affecting Installation or Use
The requesting department is responsible for determining all factors affecting the installation or use of equipment, including, but not limited to:
- utilities availability
- space requirements
- floor loading capacity, and
- building accessibility
Obtaining Approval for the Purchase of Used Equipment
Before purchasing used equipment, an individual must obtain approval from the department chair, dean, director, or designee. Approval may be given in a memo or as a statement on the requisition.
Capital Budget
Most purchases require equipment to be in an approved capital budget. If the equipment is not budgeted, the supervisor’s or sponsor’s approval may be necessary before purchasing.
Equipment Purchased with Sponsored Funds
See PRO 902-02: Ordering, Receiving & Tagging.
Procedure
Equipment Costing $5,000 or More (General)
| Responsible Party | Action |
| Department: |
|
| Purchasing Department |
|
| Department: | |
| Property Management |
|
Equipment Costing $5,000 or More (Service Centers and Auxiliary)
| Responsible Party | Action |
| Department |
Note: Process Purchase Orders and Invoices on an operating index using account code 40199, 'Asset Under Construction.' |
| Purchasing Department |
|
| Department |
|
| Property Management |
|
NOTE: See PRO 401: Depreciation of Equipment for additional information when replacing existing equipment.
Equipment Costing $5,000 or More Purchased with Agricultural Research Foundation (ARF) or OSU Foundation (OSUF) Funds
| Responsible Party | Action |
| Department |
|
| Purchasing Department |
Note: Departments do not have delegated authority to make purchases over $5,000 unless approved by the Purchasing Department, regardless of the source of funds. |
| Department |
If Banner is not used, then submit a Fixed Asset Data Entry (FADE) form to Property Management including a copy of the invoice and the check request. FADE forms are available on the Inventory Control website. See PRO-Ex3 for a sample FADE form. |
| Property Management |
|
Cross Reference
See the Procurement and Contract Services (PaCS) Website for more information on purchasing requirements.
Additional Information
Automatic-pay vendors
Due to a high volume of OSU purchases, certain vendors have been designated "automatic pay" by Accounts Payable. They submit invoices directly to Accounts Payable, where they are input and paid without routing to departments for approval. The expense is then distributed to departmental indexes using journal vouchers. Accounts Payable makes every effort not to use automatic payments for equipment expenditures-such invoices, when identified, are forwarded to department accounting personnel for payment through the regular Banner invoice process.
To assist Accounts Payable in making that identification, the person making the purchase should give the vendor the 40101 account code along with the Banner index code to be charged. Despite all efforts, we recognize that the information will not always get to the vendor, nor will it always get from the vendor to Accounts Payable. Department accountants should review automatic payments as they occur and enter journal vouchers to correct any incorrectly coded purchases.
Oregon State University VISA procurement card purchases
The VISA procurement cards may not be used for the purchase of equipment or equipment upgrades. VISA instructions detailing the restrictions on individual purchases, etc. are supplied with each card. Please refer to these for further information.
Wire Transfers
Wire transfers do not create an origination tag in the fixed asset module. If a payment must be made via wire transfer, use account code 40199 and a journal voucher to redistribute to the appropriate transaction code.
Multiple Invoice Function in Banner
The multiple invoice function in FIS Banner under FAAINVE does not create an origination tag in the fixed asset module. If a payment must be made via the multiple invoices function, use account code 40199 and a journal voucher to redistribute to the appropriate transaction code.