Authorized Purchases

The Purchasing Department continues to assist the campus community for their purchases of goods and services and would like to remind faculty, staff, and students of best practices and policies that the University have in place.

Recently, Purchasing has seen an uptick in purchases being made without a purchase order (PO). Purchases made without a PO in place results in invoices being sent to Accounts Payable with no PO (Purchase Order). This creates non-value added work in following up with departments to track down who should receive the invoice for processing and approval. In some cases, Purchasing must call the supplier to determine who placed the order. This also can significantly delay the processing and payment process to the supplier. There have been several instances where suppliers have placed on hold on University accounts (which means they will not fulfill any more orders from any University department) because of invoices that have not been paid. This impacts everyones ability to purchase goods and services and creates a significant amount of effort to get it cleaned up with the supplier.

When purchasing goods or services on behalf of the University always be sure to submit a purchase order prior to reaching out to the supplier to receive products/services.  A purchase order works as a contract between the supplier and the University acknowledging that the University agrees to pay for the product/service that is to be received.  A PO also offers protections to the department making the purchase as it lays out the terms and conditions in which the vendor agreements to when conducting business with the University. If you are unsure what type of form to use for your expenditure, please reference the purchasing guide located on the Finance website.

Under policy 55.030 Purchasing says that “No individual outside of the purchasing department has the authority to enter into purchase contracts, or in any way to obligate Ohio University for procurement indebtedness unless specifically authorized to do so by the director of purchasing, the vice president for finance and administration, or the President. Any such negotiations are considered an unauthorized purchase and the individual could be personally liable for the purchase in accordance with ORC section 3.12.” Therefore, each purchase should either be in accordance with the pcard policy and procedures, made via the Payment Request form as outlined on the purchasing guide, or made via a PO.

Purchasing continues to seek out and establish contracts for the University to use in accordance with policy, state of Ohio requirements, various consortium groups, and as part of the Inter-University Council Purchasing Group for the most commonly purchased commodities and services used by the University.

Please review and become familiar with the Purchasing Policy before you purchase any goods or services. It is your responsibility as a University employee who has purchasing responsibilities to be familiar with all purchasing related policies and procedures.

The purchasing website also contains valuable tips and information. Here you will find an overview of purchasing information including:

• How to Buy and Pay for various goods and services
• Contract and Insurance guidelines
• Travel guidelines
• PCard use guidelines
• Supplier Information
• Credit References
• Forms for all of finance
• Relevant announcements and updates
• Employee discount opportunities

As the University continues to navigate through these unprecedented times, the Purchasing Department along with the Contracts Department and Accounts Payable Department encourage you to be in the know and allow us to assist you in making authorized purchases of goods and services as well as making authorized obligations and payments to suppliers. 

Questions?  Contact Finance Customer Care at financecustomercare@ohio.edu.