PURCHASING
70.10
Revised 10-17
Purchasing Services
509-335-3541
OVERVIEW
Departments use Departmental Requisitions to request that Purchasing Services initiate purchases of goods and services.
Departmental Requisitions are used to:
- Initiate acquisition of goods and services by purchase order or contract.
- Initiate acquisition of nonemployee labor for services subject to prevailing wages (e.g., carpentry, electrical, plumbing), unless Purchasing Services provides authorization for a policy exception. See 70.07.
- Initiate establishment of blanket orders for goods and services.
- Initiate establishment of a University contract for goods or services.
- Initiate renewal of blanket orders or contracts.
- Request payment of an invoice for goods or services ordered without authorization by exception to policy. See 70.20.
Purchasing Services conducts most purchasing transactions over $10,000, except transactions for commodities purchased through Facilities Services, Operations. See below.
Departments are encouraged to conduct purchasing transactions up to $10,000 through direct buy purchasing methods, except transactions for commodities which must be purchased through Facilities Services, Operations and for capitalized equipment. See below regarding commodities and 20.50 regarding capitalized equipment.
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
Form Versions
To obtain copies of the form, departments may choose from the following versions:
- PDF version Departmental Requisition. Complete and/or print the form master on 70.10.8.
- Automated template Departmental Requisition. Available from the Procedures, Records, and Forms FileMaker Forms website at:
The Departmental Requisition must be typed or completed electronically.
Alternate Departmental Requisition Records
Alternate departmental requisition records may be substituted for Departmental Requisitions if Purchasing Services approves the alternate requisition record prior to department use.
The expenditure authority must sign and date the alternate departmental requisition record to certify the accuracy.
Purchasing Services maintains a record of all units requesting and using alternate departmental requisition records. Purchasing Services also maintains a copy of the alternate departmental requisition record used by each requesting unit.
Ordering Department Responsibilities
The ordering department determines quantities, minimum technical requirements, and delivery requirements of goods and services.
The department is required to supply justification when a sole source is recommended. (See 70.01 for a discussion of sole source vendor.)
The ordering department is responsible for ensuring that adequate funds are available to purchase the ordered items.
Trade-Ins
See 70.12 for special procedures if existing equipment is offered for trade-in value.
Online Tracking
The ordering department may look up the purchase order number and order status by accessing PAPR. PAPR may be accessed by any employee with an AIS password. See 85.37.
ROUTING AND FILING
Send the original to Purchasing Services, French Administration 220, campus mail code 1020.
The ordering department retains a copy of the signed requisition as a control copy.
COMPLETION INSTRUCTIONS
The numbered instructions correspond to the numbers on the sample in the PDF version of 70.10.3.
1 Campus Mail Code
Indicate the ordering department's campus mail code.
2 Department
Indicate the name of the department (Chemistry, Education, Agricultural Economics, etc.).
3 Date
Fill in the date that the requisition is completed.
4 Dept. Number (Organization No.)
Enter the department's organization number in Dept. Number. Purchasing Services, Accounts Payable, and Central Receiving and Delivery use this number to help track the purchase.
Central Receiving and Delivery delivers the order to the address associated with this organization number.
To find the organization number and associated address for any WSU unit, refer to the WSU Organizational Unit Inquiry (WSUORG), an online Administrative Information System application (see 85.37). If online access is not available, telephone Purchasing Services at 509-335-3541 for organization numbers.
5 Requisition No.
Departments are to establish a numbering system, assigning a separate number to each requisition. The number of characters composing a requisition number may not exceed eight. A number should not include symbols or punctuation. The department and Purchasing Services use this number to track the purchase.
6 Building, Room
If the delivery location is different than the default location for the indicated organization number, indicate where the order is to be delivered, including building and room. Otherwise, leave these fields blank. Include any special delivery instructions in the body of the requisition.
7 Departmental Contact
Indicate the name and telephone number of the administrative or clerical employee responsible for tracking the purchase if the name is different than the default contact name for the organization number as recorded in WSUORG.
8 Technical Contact
Indicate the name and telephone number of the individual who will be using the purchased item.
9 Account Coding
Complete the account coding boxes. When splitting an order between two or more budgets, indicate the amounts for each line of coding under Distribution. Percentage designations are preferred, because the exact cost is not always known. However, amounts may be the appropriate designation when the balance of a grant or contract is involved.
10 Name of Expenditure Authority
Type the name of the individual signing for the expenditure. This individual must have been delegated expenditure authority for the indicated account(s). See 70.02 for an explanation.
11 Signature of Expenditure Authority
The above-named individual signs the requisition, authorizing the expenditure.
12 Item No
This is a consecutive counting of the items ordered, i.e., 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. It is not a catalog number.
13 Item
This is a description of the ordered item. Double space between items. Indicate the catalog number first, the name of the item, then additional description as needed (color, size, etc.). If there are more than ten items, please type "per attached list" in this section and send a neatly typed list containing all the line items on white bond suitable for photocopying. This procedure is recommended for advertisements and for items with long specifications.
14 Quant
This is the total number of described items.
15 Unit
This is a single-quantity description, for example, "each," "cases," "grams," "pkg," "doz," "gal," etc.
16 Unit Price
This is the price for one unit.
17 Amount
This is the extended total, i.e., quantity times unit price.
18 Delivery Needed By
Provide a date if delivery by a specific date is critical.
19 Encumbrance Required By
This is especially important for orders placed in the last few months of a research grant or contract. It is inadvisable to encumber up to 90 days before the expiration of a grant or contract. Encumbrances at the closing periods of a grant or contract must be justified by the requisitioning department or principle investigator. See 40.03 for a discussion of expenditure deadlines for sponsored projects.
20 Department Price Source
Indicate where price information was obtained, e.g., catalog, quotation, telephone conversation, previous order, advertisement, or estimate. Attach a copy of a quotation, if available.
21 Vendor Names, Addresses
Indicate the name, address, telephone number, and fax number of the company to which the order is to be sent. If the order is to be bid, list several potential sources if possible. If a single source is recommended, provide justification. See 70.01.
PRIOR APPROVAL
Certain types of purchases require additional approval before they may be ordered. Reasons for this approval include safety of personnel, matching major pieces of equipment, or state of Washington requirements.
WSU Units/Administrators
The department may route Departmental Requisitions through indicated approval channels (see below) before sending them to Purchasing Services. This may expedite order processing.
Commodity Source of Approval Air Conditioners, Heaters Facilities Services, Operations--Director, Maintenance and Utilities Services; mail code 1150 Biological Safety Cabinets
(Hoods)Environmental Health and Safety--University Industrial Hygienist; mail code 1172; and Facilities Service, Operations--Director, Maintenance and Utilities Services; mail code 1150. Equipment Requiring Support
Utilities or Auxiliary Equipment
(E.g., Autoclaves, Sterilizers)Facilities Services, Operations--Director, Maintenance and Utilities Services; mail code 1150 Personal Services Contracts Dean, director, or principal administrative officer. See also 70.50. Printing and Copying Services See 80.05. Radioactive Materials Nuclear Radiation Center--Radiation Safety Supervisor; mail code 1302. See SPPM 9.50. Research Databases Library Administrative Office--Assistant Library Director, Administration Carpeting, Floor Coverings, Window Coverings,
Furniture Requiring Connections to Building or Building UtilitiesPurchased through Facilities Services, Operations (without Departmental Requisition). See below. (NOTE: Housing and Dining Services submits requests for such commodities with Departmental Requisitions to Purchasing Services. Housing and Dining Services purchases do not require approval by Facilities Services, Operations.)
PURCHASING SERVICES
Purchasing Services verifies that all proposed purchases are appropriate and in accordance with WSU and state of Washington policies. See 70.03 for general guidelines regarding allowability.
QUESTIONS
To look up the status of a Departmental Requisition, access PAPR. PAPR may be accessed by any employee with an AIS password. See 85.37.
- Log in to PAPR.
- Select DEPTREQN to go to the Departmental Requisition subsystem.
- Select QDRID to query by requisition number.
- To view the status of a purchase order, select SRCPORID.
- To view the status of a blanket order, select SRCBARID.
Contract Status
To query the current status of a contract, telephone Purchasing Services at 509-335-3541.
DIRECT BUY PURCHASES
Departments have direct buy authority for allowable purchases up to $10,000.
Departments are encouraged to purchase all allowable goods and services with University purchasing cards. See 70.08. Departments that do not have University purchasing cards are encouraged to purchase all allowable goods and services with Department Orders. See 70.07.
NOTE: Issuance of multiple department orders or purchasing card transactions to circumvent the direct buy limit is prohibited.
PURCHASES THROUGH FACILITIES SERVICES, OPERATIONS
Departments are to contact Facilities Services, Operations to initiate purchases for the following commodities:
- Carpeting
- Floor coverings
- Window coverings
- Furniture requiring connections to the building or building utilities
The department does not submit a Departmental Requisition for Facilities Services, Operations purchasing transactions. See 80.45 for procedures to request Facilities Services, Operations purchasing services.
Exception
Facilities Services, Operations does not initiate purchases of carpeting, floor coverings, window coverings, or furniture requiring connections to the building or building utilities for Housing and Dining Services. Housing and Dining Services submits Departmental Requisitions to Purchasing Services to initiate such purchases.
See the PDF form:
70.10.8: Departmental Requisition
Complete and/or print as needed.