Buying & Paying How To

Who? Staff requesting a purchase or a payment. Registration is only required at the time of the first purchase or payment.

When? Prior to submitting the requisition or payment request.

How?

• Email or send a Vendor Data Form (204 form) to the vendor, asking them to complete and return it to you.
• Submit the completed vendor form to Financial Services.
• Vendor information will be entered into PeopleSoft Finance by Financial Services.

Who? The staff member who will be ordering office supplies.

When? At the time they are assigned the duties of ordering office supplies.

How? Complete the Staples Advantage Application and obtain the appropriate delegated authority signatures. Submit the application to Procurement.

Who? One staff member in a department should have an Staples Advantage account. To obtain an account, complete the Staples Advantage Application to order and forward it to Financial Services.

When? Place an order when supplies are needed. It is advisable to email department personnel to give you their requests a couple of days in advance of placing an order

How? Log in to Staples Advantage. The price you see in the on-line catalog is the price you pay. Your order will be delivered to your desk by a Staples Advantage delivery person, usually within 3 working days from the date ordered. Equipment $500 and over must be ordered using a requisition because the item must be received and tagged as capital property.

No, Staples is the CSU's primary contracted source for office supplies. The competitively bid contract provides the greatest overall discounts and pricing on office products. To ensure that campuses are not using a PCard to purchase office supplies elsewhere, the CSU will monitor, at the cardholder level, changes in spending from other office supply vendors.

Information on how to obtain a PCard can be located on the University Credit page.

How to purchase low-value products with the PCard?

Visit the University Credit page.

How to Submit Monthly PCard Reconciliation Statement?

Visit the University Credit page.

Who? The manager who is assigning a staff member to be responsible for placing orders for products and services.

When? At the time they are assigned the duties of ordering products and services.

How? Complete the Office of Information Technology (OIT) Security Request using the SharePoint Workflow Application, requesting access to the PeopleSoft finance Requisition Module. Complete the workflow process as instructed on the OIT site.

Who? The staff member who has been granted PeopleSoft Requisition Module access. The PeopleSoft requisition process is complex and requires training.

When? After receiving notice that access has been approved and prior to attempting to use the module.

How? Contact Campus Training and Professional Development

Who? Staff who has PeopleSoft Finance, Requisition Module access.

When? Required for purchases that cannot be made with the PCard.

Procedure:

1. Access the PeopleSoft Finance Requisition Module - "Add/Update Requisition”
2. Creating Requisition: Requestor completes the Requisition in PeopleSoft Finance Requisition module including the following information if known to the Requestor: The requestor scans and attaches PDF copies to the requisition in PeopleSoft Finance any documentation pertinent to the purchase request (e.g., quotes, sole source/sole supplier justification, Independent Contractor checklist).
   • Preferred vendor (supplier)
   • Goods or service to be ordered, including the Category Code
   • Quantity to be ordered
   • Desired delivery date
   • Location for delivery
   • Accounting chart string to be charged
3. Requisition Authorization: The requestor will ensure that the requisition is authorized prior to notifying the Procurement department of the pending requisition. The requestor will obtain authorization for the purchase by notifying the appropriate reviewer within the division using the "notify" tool in the PeopleSoft Finance Requisition. The authorizations must be as follows:
   • Purchases under $10,000 must be reviewed and authorized by an Assistant Vice President, Associate Vice President, or College Dean.
   • Purchases of $10,000 or more must be reviewed and authorized by the division Vice President.
4. Preparing the Requisition for Approval: the person authorizing the requisition for submittal to the Procurement department will notify the assigned reviewer in Procurement using the "notify" tool in the PeopleSoft Finance Requisition. The Procurement reviewer will review the requisition for determination of appropriate purchase/payment process, completeness, and appropriate authorizations. If the Procurement reviewer determines that the requisition is not ready for processing, he/she will notify the requestor indicating what is needed. If the requisition is ready for processing the Procurement reviewer will determine if the requisition needs to be approved by the Vice President of Business & Finance (CFO).
   • If yes, using the "notify" tool in the PeopleSoft Finance Requisition the CFO will be notified that the requisition is ready to be approved for processing as a purchase order.
   • If no, the Procurement reviewer will approve the requisition for processing as a purchase order.

Purchasing electronic/IT products may require a TAR (Technology Acquisition Review) Process form.

• Technology Acquisition Review Process
• University’s list of items that require the TAR Form

View the Review-Approve requisition instructions.

Who? Approval of financial transactions is based on the signature policy (See About CSU Stanislaus Delegated Authority for Financial Transactions).

When? When a requisition is prepared and submitted in PeopleSoft Finance it requires review and approval from the appropriate delegated authority prior to it being placed in them purchase order queue for processing.

How? The delegated authority must enter the PeopleSoft Finance Requisition module and follow the steps outlined in the document "Requisition - Review Requisitions"

Who? The staff member who will be placing orders for products and services.

When? The provision of hospitality is limited; it must be necessary and in the best interest of the University. All food service for University events must go through Chartwells Catering.

How? Hospitality expenses must be pre-approved by the appropriate approving authority using the "Hospitality Food and Beverage Expenditure Form". The signed form must be attached to the payment document (e.g., requisition, direct pay, or PCard) prior to the payment being processed. Chartwells must be paid by PCard.

Who? Staff preparing the purchase or payment request is responsible for obtaining the appropriate authorizations.

When? Number of Signatures Required by Financial Services:

• Transactions under $10,000 can be approved by the appropriate College Dean, Assoc./Assist. Vice President, or Vice President (exceptions for Grants and Trusts).
• Transactions $10,000 or greater must be approved by the appropriate Vice President.
• Trust Fund transactions under $10,000 can be approved by the authorized Trustee. Trust Fund transactions over $10,000 must be approved by the appropriate Vice President.
• Grant Fund transactions of any amount can be approved by the Principal Investigator (PI). No additional approval is required since the fund disbursements are defined in the Grant contract.

How? If the purchase or payment is being processed in PeopleSoft Finance or through automated workflow, the authorization will be obtained as part of the procedure. If the purchase or payment is a paper transaction, the paper document must be submitted to the appropriate parties for signature. 

See Requisition Review Process

Who? The staff member who is responsible for preparing requests to purchase products and services.

When? At the time the requisition for service is to be submitted to Procurement & Contract Services.

How? Complete an Independent Contractor Determination Checklist. Sections 1 – 3 of the form are to be completed and signed by the Contractor. Section 4 of the form is to be completed and signed by the requesting department. Attach a PDF copy of the completed form to the requisition, using the PeopleSoft Finance Requisition Module.

Who? The staff member responsible for preparing requests to purchase products and services.

When? At the time the payment is required.

How? Complete the guest Lecturer/Honorarium Agreement form and submit it to Financial Services.

Guest Lecturer/Honorarium Instructions

Who? The staff member requesting a contract or who is involved in negotiating with an entity outside the University.

When? The staff member should contact the Procurement department at contracts@csustan.edu at the time it becomes apparent that a contract will be required to complete the transaction. The Procurement & Contract Services staff should be involved in all negotiations.

How?

• Complete and submit a Requisition using the Requisition Module in PeopleSoft Finance.
• Provide complete information and supporting documentation.
• Obtain the appropriate authorizations for the financial transaction.
• Procurement & Contract Services staff will complete the appropriate documentation.
• Procurement & Contract Services staff will obtain the appropriate signatures from the CFO and President.
• Procurement & Contract Services will retain original signed contract documentation.

Who? The staff member who thinks that an MOU is warranted

When? At the time that the parties are aware that a formal document is needed to define a relationship between departments or between the University and an auxiliary.

How?

• Contact the Procurement & Contract Services at contracts@csustan.edu and provide complete information using the Business Contract Request Form (BCRF).
• The Contract Specialist will prepare a draft MOU for review by all the parties.
• The Contract Specialist will prepare the final document and submit it to the appropriate delegated authorities for signatures.

Who? The staff member who is the Student Intern Coordinator for the department.

When? Prior to the beginning of the term when a student intern will be placed with an outside agency.

How?

• Agreement preparation: Student intern agreements are completed in either of the alternatives listed below:
• Procurement retains student intern agreement templates that have been approved by each discipline. Upon the request of the academic department, the template is completed with information about the cooperating organization (provided by the academic department) and is signed by the Procurement department.
• The cooperating organization submits a proposed intern agreement. The agreement is reviewed and approved by the academic department, the University Risk Manager, and the Procurement department. Procurement works with the cooperating organization to complete any required changes. If acceptable the agreement is completed and signed by the Procurement department.
• Agreement execution: The original student intern agreement is signed by Procurement and sent via email to the cooperating organization for execution with a submittal letter (template for each discipline). .
•  Agreement retention:
• The cooperating organization returns one executed copy of the student intern agreement to Procurement.
• A PDF copy of the executed student intern agreement will be emailed to the academic department that is a party to the agreement.
• A PDF copy of the executed student intern agreement will be retained by Procurement in a document management system until the date of expiration of the agreement.
• Agreement extension: Upon request by the academic department the student intern agreement will be extended by preparing an extension letter to the original agreement. The procedure for execution and retention will be the same as for the original agreement.

Who? Staff

When? When an employee is required by the University to carry a wireless device so as to be available to the University while away from campus and/or use a wireless device as an integral, non-optional tool in performing their assigned duties.

How?

• Complete Wireless Device Authorization Form (Please download for a fillable form)
• Obtain the appropriate authorizations.
• Submit authorized form to Financial Services.

Who? Staff

When? When a payment is required to a vendor or an employee (excluding payroll), and is allowed to be processed as a Direct Pay.

How?

• Fill out a Direct Pay - Vendor or Employee Reimbursement Form

• Obtain the appropriate authorizations for the financial transaction.

• Submit authorized form to Financial Services.

Who? Employee who wishes to have all reimbursement and payments (excluding payroll) sent directly to their bank.

When? Anytime during employment, but preferably before submitting a request for payment.

How? Complete Direct Deposit Form - Employee and submit it to Financial Services.

Who? Vendor or staff member working with the vendor.

When? Prior to submitting a request for payment.

How? Complete Direct Deposit Form - Vendor and submit it to Financial Services.