Procurement Policies, Procedures and Announcements

Procurement procedures are written for three (3) buying processes; two (2) processes for buying which do not require purchase orders, and one (1) process for buying which requires a purchase order.

Buying without a Purchase Order

• The preferred method utilizes the Purchasing Card (ProCard) Program in which individuals use credit cards issued to them for departmental purchases of $4,000 or less (including freight). Reference Purchasing Card (ProCard) Program (Procedure BF-PGC-PR-12) for information.
• An alternative method for purchases that do not require a purchase order, regardless of the dollar value, is the voucher payment program for certain types of goods and services as specified in Reimbursements and Payments Other Than for Travel and Purchase Orders (Procedure BF-PGS-PR-08). Reimbursements are restricted to departmental purchases of $2,000 or less (including freight).

Buying with a Purchase Order

• Regardless of the dollar value, purchase orders are initiated by individuals within departments by entering a Requisition into UTShare. Require compliance with the requirements detailed in Best Value Purchasing Procedures (Procedure BF-PGS-PR01).
• For training tools on processing of requisitions in UTShare, see UTShare Financial Topics - Purchasing Goods and Services.

Buying Process Steps

Regardless of the buying process used, all purchases undergo a four step process; 1) correct initiation of order, 2) validation of receipt of correct goods and/or services, 3) tagging of capital equipment and controlled items, and 4) authorization for payment.

Ordering

• Small orders of $4,000 or less may be done by individuals within departments utilizing a ProCard credit card.
• Orders with a value in excess of $4,000 (including freight) must be secured with a purchase order, and are initiated at the department level with the entry of a Requisition into the UTShare system.

Each method has various advantages and restrictions, and persons placing orders should refer to Best Value Purchasing Procedures (Procedure BF-PGS-PR01), for more information. Requisition entry may necessitate setting up a new supplier in UTShare. Reference Vendor Set-Up and Maintenance (Procedure BF-PGS-PR-11) and UTShare Financial Topics - Manage Vendors, for additional information.

Receiving is a formal method for documenting acceptance of goods from suppliers.  After a purchase order has been dispatched and the items delivered, the items must be received in UTShare.  The receiving process involves recording the items delivered, comparing the shipment to what was originally ordered through the purchase order, and creating a “receipt” in UTShare for the quantities received. 

Departments will perform the desktop receiving process for all items except computing devices (see below).

NOTES:

• Be sure to only “receive” the quantity actually shipped by the supplier. This is important to ensure future quantities remain available for receiving in the event of multiple shipments. As an example, if the PO line is for a quantity of 10 ea, but the supplier only ships 6 ea on the first shipment…but sure to only “receive” 6 ea, not the full 10.
• For items that require receiving, a receipt must be created in UTShare before a payment voucher can be created. If you attempt to create a voucher without first receiving the items, you will get an error message telling you that no receipt is found.

Desktop receiving can be accomplished by using the Receive Items page or the Manage Requisitions page.  The Receive Items page will only allow the creator of the requisition to receive their own line items.  The Manage Requisitions page can be used to receive line items regardless of who created the requisition in the department.

Validation of completeness of shipment and usability of received goods is the responsibility of the department. Return of defective shipments and damage claims are covered in Damages and Shortages (Procedure BF-PGS-PR07).  Desktop receiving will need to happen at the departmental level for all orders with the exception of computing devices that are assigned tags and delivered to Distribution Services. Distribution Services performs the receiving function for computing devices. See Desktop Receiving at UTShare Financial Topics – Desktop Receiving for instructions on how to accomplish this step.

In general, services do not have to be “received” in UTShare as they are not tangible items. Once the services have been completed to the department’s satisfaction, creation of a payment voucher serves as the certification of receipt and subsequent payment for the services. In some instances, the “receive” flag gets set to “on” in UTShare. In those cases you will have to actually create a receipt in the system (or contact your Buyer to have the receipt flag turned off) in order to create a payment voucher.

Some orders may contain controlled or capital items which must be tagged for inventory control purposes. Distribution Services must be notified to provide tags for all controlled and capital items in any shipment accepted by a department, with the exception of controlled computing devices that are delivered by Distribution Services with tags.  Departments must request asset tags by submitting an Asset Information Form (BF-DS-F4) to distribution_services@uta.edu.  Asset Information Forms are required for all other controlled assets (cameras, projectors, TVs, sound systems, and drones with costs of $500 to $4999.99) as well as all capital equipment (generally $5000 and greater) including capital computers.

Controlled items are  listed in Reimbursements and Payments Other Than for Travel and Purchase Orders(Procedure BF-PGS-PR-08 , Section II).

All purchase order payments are to be processed by departments and must be paid for in a timely manner.

• The process for payment authorization for ProCard purchases may be found at, UTShare Financial Topics – Purchasing Card (ProCard).
• If the purchase was done with a direct invoice for non-PO item purchases, the payment authorization process is delineated in, UTShare Financial Topics – Create Non-Purchase Order Voucher.
• If the purchase was done with a purchase order, refer to UTShare Financial Topics – Create Purchase Order Voucher, for information.
• All purchase orders are authorized for payment when the receipt, if required, is completed by Central Receiving or the ordering department. UTShare will run a process to match the invoice/voucher to the purchase order and receipt to proceed with payment to the supplier. For those purchases not requiring a receipt, UTShare will run a process to match the invoice/voucher to the purchase order to proceed with payment to the supplier.

Additional Information regarding Payment Processing

Processing of payments to suppliers in a timely manner is necessary to avoid late payment charges. Refer to the following resources for assistance in payment processing, and, select Procurement Services (Administrative Offices) on the contact us screen to reach your Accounts Payable representatives for additional help, should the need arise.

• The current late payment penalty may be found at Prompt Payment Law Interest Rate.
• Receipts denominated in foreign currency will require conversion to U.S. Dollars. Reference OANDA, for the currency converter service utilized by UTA.

Additional Procurement procedures are available for processes that are unique to specific situations or need expanded delineation of specific requirements or restrictions.

• Transactions with employee restrictions are delineated in Transactions with Employees (Procedure BF-PGS-PR-03).
• Guidelines for the payment of, or exemption from, taxes applied to UT Arlington purchases may be found in Tax (Procedure BF-PGS-PR-04).
• Instructions for acquiring departmental gasoline credit cards for use for UT Arlington vehicles may be found in Gasoline Credit Card(Procedure BF-PGC-PO-01).
• Information on purchasing computing equipment can be found at Emergency Centralized Computer Distribution Procedure (Procedure IT-PR-01).

All state agencies are encouraged to make a good faith effort to increase purchases and contract awards to certified Historically Underutilized Businesses. It is the policy of UT Arlington to maximize opportunities for HUB firms to provide materials, supplies, equipment, and services to the university. The various methods used to promote HUB participation in procurement processes are found in Contract with Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB) (Procedure BF-PGS-PR09). HUB certified suppliers may be found in the following listings.

• Listings of HUB suppliers that have been certified with the Comptroller of Public Accounts may be found at the Texas Centralized Master Bidder List.

Additional resources are available for buying goods and services at UT Arlington.

• Your department's assigned procurement specialist (buyer) may be found at Find a Buyer.
• Employees responsible for preparing requisitions, performing desktop receiving and preparing payment vouchers should attend training sessions offered by Business Affairs Training & Development Training Classes and Events. A variety of detailed training tools are available at Knowledge Services website.
• A list of all the Procedures may be found at Procedures Index.
• A list of all the forms referenced in the Procedures may be found in the Forms/Exhibits Index.