BASIC PURCHASING
A.
Overview
1.
The
Purchasing department, in accordance with Georgia law and the Board of Regents’
Business Procedures Manual, is to obtain competitive pricing on institutional
purchases in excess of $5,000. Purchases shall be awarded to the lowest
responsible bidder within considerations of quality, conformity to
specifications, discounts, delivery, price or that, which is the best value to
the institution. Any variance to this procedure will occur only under certain
circumstances and in accordance with state laws and regulations.
2.
Important:
It is against MCG policy to split purchases into smaller units to
circumvent the $5,000 threshold requiring competitive solicitations (RFQ, RFP).
End users are not to make purchases with the intent to circumvent the $5,000
threshold requirement. Reference is made to the Official Code of Georgia,
Sections 50-5-50 through 50-5-81, which govern purchasing for the State of
Georgia.
3.
Definition of “Split Purchase”: A split purchase occurs when the total cost of
a single item or multiple items from one source, is more than $5,000 and the
purchase is broken up into multiple transactions with the express purpose of
circumventing the $5,000 threshold.
4.
If one can
ANTICIPATE (i.e. know in advance) a need
to make a purchase greater than $4,999.99, one will need to contact Purchasing
for further guidance as soon as possible after the need is realized.
5.
Example of a “Split Purchase”: A department knows it has a repetitive need
for $2,000 worth of the same product every month for a year (therefore actually
anticipating a need for $24,000 worth of products) which exceeds the $5,000
threshold. Under such circumstances, contact the Buyer in Purchasing Services
(706-721-2216) for guidance and/or to establish a contract.
6.
Statewide
and agency contracts are mandatory for those items furnished by the contract
vendor.
7.
Frequent
delays in the production and distribution of certain goods by manufacturers and
vendors (furniture and equipment) demand that requisitions be initiated at
least 30 to 120 days in advance of date wanted. Failure to plan for future
needs is not deemed as an adequate reason to procure goods or services on an
emergency basis. Justification of any emergency needs must be
completely and clearly stated in the Header Comments filled of the REQ.
8.
No
department or individual at the institution has the authority to solicit goods
or services without the consent of Purchasing and the issue of a Purchase
Order. No employee, for him or for any business in which he or any member of
his family has a substantial interest (25% or more), can transact any business
with the agency of his employment.
B.
Areas of Responsibility / Order of Operations
To make a
purchase the department must:
·
Enter
on-line requisitions (REQ)
·
Review
Account & category codes, descriptions, chart fields, vendor and buyer
names and profile ids, if equipment
·
Process,
edit and budget checking programs (if errors, contact the appropriate person in
budget office for resolution)
·
Process
approval program is appropriate
·
Fax any and
all attachments referencing the REQ required per the type purchase
·
Receive
direct delivery of goods and services (notifying Receiving of the need for a
RECEIPT in the system: Po number, line
number(s), quantity per line
Special
Approval Departments
·
(IT and
sponsor funded equipment, radioactive material, employment ads, and live
animals)
·
Run custom
queries to view available REQs
·
Review
request for compliance
·
Change REQ
status to Approved to make a note in the Header Comments
· Notify requestor if REQ has a problem or is denied
Purchasing
·
Run two
custom queries – non-equipment and equipment for available REQs for sourcing
(the REQ must contain a buyer and vendor name, be budget checked and approved
before Purchasing can process it).
·
Review the
equipment list for completeness and compliance to IT, SPA and Asset
requirements
·
Review
non-equipment list for completeness; catalog #, specifications, size, etc.
·
Notify
requestor if REQ requires a change order, cancellation or deletion
·
Prioritize
purchase orders by date and process
·
Identify
Rush/Over Night orders (departments are required to notify the buyer via e-mail
with the REQ number)
·
Process
Purchases or
functions (see individual procedures)
·
Advertisements
·
Change
Order, Returns & Replacements
·
Equipment
Purchases
·
P-card
·
Repairs
·
Request for
Quote (RFQ), Request for Information (RFI), Request for Proposal (RFP)
·
Service
Contracts
·
Special
Approval Commodities
·
Used
Equipment/Trade-Ins
On-Campus
Services – Process IDR
·
Audio/Visual
services and repairs – Electronic Maintenance
·
Film
processing – medical Photography
·
Graphics/Design
work – Medical Illustration
·
Signage and
Building Maintenance – Facilities Management
·
Photocopying
and service – Copy Services
·
Printing
jobs – Printing Services
Improper
Purchases
·
·
Awards,
gifts, invitations
·
Flowers and
cards
·
Novelties
for give away
·
Personal
employee moving fees
·
Personnel
agency fees or Retail store memberships
C.
Required P-Card Purchases
See detailed
purchasing processes at http://www.mcg.edu/supply/purchasing/documents/HowToPurchase.pdf
D.
Sales Tax Exemption and Finance charges
MCG has
Sales Tax exemption status and does not pay finance charges
E.
Electronic Requisition (REQ)
Some
transactions will not show on reports until after nightly posting has run. The
issuance of a PO, once it is Budget Checked (BC), Approved and Distributed is
in real time and can be cross-referenced to the REQ through the Inquire panel.
REQs must be Approved, BC and Posted before they can be canceled.
v
REQ Form
o
Category, Long
Description, Qty, Unit of Measure, Unit Price, Due Date
o
Ship To –
only change if item or service is to be delivered directly to the
requester/area
v
Line Detail
o
Buyer,
Vendor, Vendor Catalog
o
Equipment
for $1,000 to $4,999 must be assigned to a Small Value Property (SVP). Equipment $5,000
and over must be assigned to an appropriate capital profile with useful life
v
Schedule
o
Account code, Fund, Department ID, Program,
Class, Project/Grant if appropriate
o
Distributed By – Change to AMT is 1 ea/job
with multiple payments
v
Header
Comments
o
Special
notes & Instructions, References, New vendor information, Additional
description
v
Default
o
Use only for
multiple line request (must be completed first before any other panel is used)