There is a certain procedure to follow with each item processed in the Office of Procurement & Auxiliary Services. All functions of the Department – Purchasing, Accounts Payable, Inventory, etc. – have a distinct set of steps that should be followed. Knowledge of these procedures will help all documentation to flow smoothly through those processes.
- Accounts Payable Procedures
- Requisition Completion
- Changes to Existing Purchase Order
- Travel Authorizations
- Procurement Processes
- Procurement Card
- Travel Card
Receiving Procedures
- Once merchandise is received, immediately review the purchase order to determine if it is complete and if it requires an equipment number.
- If a PO is incomplete, and the department chooses to pay the invoice, mark the items received and indicate the quantity of those items. Make a photocopy of the Accounting Copy of the PO and sign and date the copy, then forward it to Accounts Payable with the invoice.
- If a PO is complete, sign and date the Accounting copy of the PO and forward to Accounts Payable with the invoice.
- If the PO contains equipment, please contact Kristi Rohr to acquire an inventory number for the item(s). Record the equipment inventory number on the Accounting copy of the PO and forward to Accounts Payable with the invoice.
Overpayment of Purchase Order Items
The Accounts Payable Department is authorized to overpay a purchase order item with department head approval of an invoice if:
- Budget is sufficient
- The overpayment is equal to or less than 10% of the original amount or $100, whichever is less, and does not violate any purchasing limits.
- Overpayments that exceed budgets or are more than the above limits must follow the same authorization as the original requisition through purchasing.
Checks
- Accounts Payable checks are currently written on Wednesday and Friday, and are usually mailed the same day, or on the next working day.
- Approved purchase orders and requisitions will be paid with 45 days of receipt of invoice in accordance with State Procurement law.
Purchase requisitions are required for all purchases of material, equipment or services for Delta State. Equipment and supplies should not be placed on the same requisition. The approval processes are different and require different lead time.
- Enter a requisition into Banner as per instructions given in training sessions. Requisitions must be completed and approved before Procurement can process.
- Requisitions that have attachments (ie quotes, order forms, receipts, etc.) must be received in Procurement before the requisition can be processed. A note to the Procurement Services office must be typed in the body of the requisition to alert them that attachments are being sent. The attachments may be faxed to Procurement referencing the requisition number.
- Total purchases between $5,000.00 and $75,000.00 require 2 quotes. Quotes are to be of exact items, service or comparable.
- Purchases greater than $75,000.00 are to be publicly bid.
Increases or decreases to existing purchase orders are allowed as long as they do not conflict with state purchasing laws. It is requested, however, that these change orders are processed with sufficient lead time to allow Procurement, Accounting, and Receiving to process the change before an order is placed. Lead time in this case would normally be two (2) working days after all approvals have been secured and the requisition is received in Purchasing. Other modifications may include adding additional line items, or changing account/object codes.
Procedure
| A. | Send a memo to Procurement indicating the reason for change, original purchase order number, and the change to be made. |
| B. | The memo may be emailed to Procurement. |
The Office of Procurement & Auxiliary Services shall be responsible for the procurement of commodities and equipment needed by Delta State University in compliance with Section 31-7-13 Mississippi Code of 1972, annotated, and with the policies and procedures established therein in conjunction with the policies of Delta State University.
Authority
Section 7-7-23, Mississippi Code Annotated, 1972, states:
“Purchases of equipment, supplies, materials, or services of whatever kind or nature for any department, officer, institution, or other agency of the state, the cost of which is to be paid from funds in the state treasury on State Fiscal Officer disbursement warrants, may be made only by written purchase orders duly signed by the official authorized to do so, on forms prescribed and furnished by the State Fiscal Officer. Purchases of such equipment, supplies, materials, or services, as specified herein, made without the issuance of such purchase orders shall not be deemed to be obligations of the state unless the State Fiscal Officer, by general rule or special order, permits certain purchases to be made without same.”
Procedure
| 1. | Purchases wherein the total amount of the request does not exceed $5,000.00 may be made on the open market via a requisition sent to Procurement, so long as the items are not covered by a competitively bid contract.
Please remember that the Procurement Services Office will first call to verify pricing before the purchase order is issued. Use of telephone quotes are welcomed. |
| 2. | Purchases that involve a total dollar amount of more than $5,000.00 but no more than $50,000.00 require two (2) written, signed quotations. The quotations must be on the quotation form provided by the Purchasing Department or on the vendor’s letterhead stationary.The user departments may decide to call vendors for written quotes. Facsimile quotes are acceptable. If the low quote is accepted, the department need only attach all the quotes to the requisition form and forward to Procurement. If the request for quotations are mailed out by the Office of Procurement Services, the vendor is given seven (7) working days to reply and if sufficient quotations are received and all approvals are in order, a purchase order should be mailed within three or four days. |
| 3. | Purchases which involve an expenditure of more than $50,000.00 may be made from the lowest and/or best bidder after advertising for competitive sealed bids. If the user department has accepted the low bid, a purchase order can be issued. If the low bid is not accepted, a written signed justification letter explaining why the low bid was not accepted must be sent to the Office of Procurement Services so that it can be forwarded to the Office of Purchasing and Travel along with a P-1 form requesting an exemption. If a trade-in is involved in the transaction, the Office of Procurement Services is required to also submit an 873 form along with the P-1 form. The 873 form (request for authorization to dispose of personal property) usually adds an additional two weeks to process through the Department of Audit. |
The timetable for bids:
- Advertise two (2) weeks, then open bid seven (7) working days after the last advertisement. Evaluate bid and send P-1 form to Office of Purchasing and Travel for approval. Then a purchase order is issued. The total time is approximately five (5) weeks.
- Bids requiring a P-1 form and justification letter take approximately six (6) weeks.
- Bids requiring a P-1 form, justification letter, and 873 form take approximately seven (7) weeks.
- Facsimile bids are not acceptable for purchases greater than $75,000.00.
Splitting Purchase Orders
The intentional splitting of a known purchase requirement into smaller lots with the intention of spreading the purchases over a period of days, weeks, or months in order to circumvent bidding requirements is strictly prohibited. When the Office of Procurement Services reviews purchase requisitions and finds orders being intentionally split, these separate orders will be canceled and consolidated into one purchase requisition, causing further delays in the procurement process. Furthermore, delegated purchasing authority may be terminated and the budget holder held responsible if splitting of orders is detected as a result of audit or procurement review procedures.
