Expanded Use of Purchase Orders for Payments
To improve contract compliance and spend management, Purchase Orders (PO) will now be required to make payments against many contracts for goods and services that were previously payable using a non-PO voucher. The following are examples of the contracts that will require a PO for payment:
- Contracts established through Procurement Services via an RFP or RFQ process
- International Student Recruitment Agreements
- Agreements that UTA will execute based on another UT institution's contract (e.g., "piggy-backing").
Requiring a PO for payment will promote improved visibility and audit of vendor invoices to ensure compliance with the terms of the agreement and the contract rates. In addition, it will ensure that adequate funds have been encumbered to cover the University's obligations under the agreement.
There are exceptions to this requirement. Contracts that do not require a PO include:
- Revenue generating contracts
- Revenue sharing contracts (e.g., where the supplier collects fees for service from end-users, not the University directly, and then shares a portion of those fees back to the University with no actual payment from the University to the supplier)
- Contracts that do not come through Procurement Services and are paid as non-PO voucher payment as allowed per Best Value Purchasing Procedure BF-PGS-PR-01, Section IV. H. Purchase of Goods/Services Not Requiring a Purchase Order.
For assistance in determining if PO is required, please email Procurement Services or contact your department’s dedicated buyer.