Purchasing
Purchasing Do's
- Make sure to check with your department chair to make sure funding is available.
- Purchase from within the approved vendors list (we have many vendors!). Adding a new vendor will take more time to process your order. Vendors who do not accept purchase orders may not be allowed.
- If you don't have the exact pricing on something, include an estimated amount.
- Call the business office for questions that this guide does not cover.
- Do not make out of pocket purchases for anything! (You bypass all purchasing policies and assume the risk of covering that expense yourself). If a situation calls for you to be reimbursed, this should be pre-approved (via PO) before you buy anything.
- Do not send a purchase requisition without accounting information. (Which department is going to pay for that expense?).
- Do not accept "donations" without first checking with the Business Office. (Regardless of it being monetary or tangible goods).
- Do not make any purchasing commitments (verbal or written) with any entity without first obtaining acknowledgement of your approved Purchase Order.
- (Site) Dept Chair will fill out the purchase request PDF (download PDF first then fill out) with the following information:
- Vendor name, address, phone number, fax number and email, if available.
- Choose correct budget account code(s).
- Quantity, description of item(s), per unit price, sales tax, shipping and total.
- Check funds from the site budget to ensure fund availability.
- Include any backup documentation.
- Dept Chair signs off on the purchase request and hands to site secretary or designee.
- (Site) Secretary or designee will submit and check for the following:
- Purchase request information entered into QCC system to submit. A requisition number is created.
- Check budget and process a budget transfer if necessary to cover the expense.
- If the vendor is new, the business office will need to check if the vendor can be used.
- If any backup documentation is included, the requisition number is written on backup and mailed (or scan and email) to business office.
- (Site) Principal or Supervisor will receive purchase request through QCC to review.
- (DO) Business Office will check for:
- Purchase request filled out correctly with necessary approval information and account code(s) to charge.
- If backup was required, will wait for mailed (or emailed scan) backup from the site.
- Purchase requisition turns into a purchase order with a PO number generated and will get printed.
- (DO) PO then gets approved by the Superintendent.
- (DO) Copies of the PO will be distributed to the vendor (to fulfill the order), site (to confirm their PO has been processed), business office, and shipping (Shipping department will need a copy to verify against the items when they are delivered, shipping will not release any items without a purchase order).
Open Purchase Order
An "open" purchase order is a PO that remains open for an extended amount of time with multiple payments applied to that PO over time. These type of POs are usually used by MOT and IT departments. The process to establish this type of purchase order is the same as a regular PO but must include the words "Open Purchase Order" , the fiscal year (ex. Open purchase order 15-16), and a list of authorized signers allowed for purchasing on that PO, as the last item description.
Purchase Order Status
Approved purchase requisitions that arrive at the business office will get processed(and sent out) on Tuesdays and Thursdays (click here to view workflow). Once the purchase order is completed, your orange colored department copy will get sent back to you soon after. If you don't receive your orange copy in about 1 to 2 weeks, please contact your department chair or site secretary (they are your contact point and will call the business office if needed to check on status).
FAQs
Q. What is the difference between a Purchase Request and a Purchase Order (PO)?
A. Many people are familiar with the term "PO" when talking about items that are purchased by the district. A Purchase Request is the initial document/form that is turned in to be approved so that it becomes a Purchase Order (that is, an approved purchase request). When someone says "I turned in a PO for some supplies" what they really mean is that they turned in a Purchase Request (turned in for approval) for supplies and once it became approved, a Purchase Order was created and sent to the vendor (the business office sends the PO to the vendor) to purchase those items.
Q. How long will it take for my Purchase Order to complete and receive my items?
A. Typically the PO cycle can range from 1 to 3 weeks. Remember that when you turn in your request to a department chair or secretary, it will still travel through the site principal, administrator for specific funding, the business office for review and processing and then finally Superintendent approval (see workflow). If there is incorrect information, budgeting errors, or vague information (or just don't follow the proper purchasing protocol) on the initial request, it could and will delay your order. Please consider this and plan well in advance for any purchases you will be needing.
Q. Is it a supply (Object 4300) or non capital equipment (Object 4400) or capital equipment (Object 6400)?
A. Lasts more than one year?
YES = Check next criteria NO = Supply
Repair rather than replace?
YES = Check next criteria NO = Supply
Independent unit rather than being incorporated into another unit item?
YES = Check next criteria NO = Supply
Cost of tagging and inventory small percentage of item cost?
YES = Check next criteria NO = Supply
Exceeds minimum dollar value ($5,000) of capitalization threshold?
YES = Capital Equipment NO = Check next criteria
Exceeds minimum dollar value ($600) of non capital threshold?
YES = Non capital Equipment NO = Supply
Q. What is considered a "Public Works Project"?