Procedures Home

Procedure for Placing Purchase Orders

The following is the basic procedure for all orders no matter what the cost.

• Know where you would like to order item from before submission. If you're not sure, contact Dorothy Mallery at the Office of Accounting and Budget for suggestions.

• Obtain a quote where needed for clarification, or print information from the relevant website and attach to the purchase order form. Dell and KST Data require a quote before any order can be placed.

• All equipment orders ($5,000+) should have a quote attached. These orders are submitted to Campus Purchasing and it is a requirement. Department limitation is $5,000. If the vendor is on the UC or UCLA Agreement List, the department can place an order over $5,000. Should you require a specific vendor and do not want Campus Purchasing to go to another vendor, a Sole-Source Justification Form is required.

• Fill out the purchase order form with complete descriptive information to place order. Attach quotes and any order forms from vendors for back up. Shaded areas of the purchase order form are the necessary sections that should be filled out. All orders must have an approved signature and current account number before the order can be placed.

• Submission of paperwork for repair of lab equipment and instruments is the same as for purchases. Most are sent out for repair except on site repair work.

• A quote or order form from the vendor is an acceptable input as long as the PI signs, dates, and gives the current account number to charge the purchase to. If the PI is not present and a student needs to make a purchase, approval via e-mail is accepted with the student's input for placing the order.

• FOOD. Most eating establishments in Westwood will take a purchase order and you can always use UCLA Catering. UCLA Catering require a minimum of two days notice and the order has to be $50 or more. Call and make the arrangements with whoever you select (ask if you are not sure), submit the order to Purchasing, and the order will be entered and faxed. The requirements in processing payments for food orders is a justification as to why we are buying food, how many attended, a list of all who attended, and an itemized receipt.

• DEADLINES. All orders under $5,000 take 3-5 working days for processing and are placed in the order received.
  
  Orders over $5,000 are entered into the system by the department but go to the main Campus Purchasing Department for processing via t he Bruin-Buy System. We fax the quote and any supporting information like a sole-source justification or memo directly to the buyer assigned to that particular order. These orders can take up to 5-7 working days to process depending on their work load and the complexity of the order.

• GAS ORDERS. Industrial gas orders and specialty gases are placed through Campus Gas Cylinder Management Group Ext. 51127 and are received within 1-2 working days. Specialty gases take 7-10 working days. This input can be submitted via e-mail: quantity, name of gas, purity of gas and percentage of mixture for specialty gases, requesters name, room location, phone extension, and current account number with PI approval. Rare gases are placed directly with the vendor (Scott Specialty Gases, Matheson Tri-Gas, etc) and the same procedure is followed as all other orders filling out the proper purchase order form.
  
  Liquid gases are placed with Praxair and are delivered the next day for liquid nitrogen and two days for liquid helium using the EE Department Account Number (See Dorothy Mallery at the Office of Accounting and Budget). The input for placing orders for liquid gases is the same as all other orders filling out the proper purchase order form.
  
  NOTE: ALL GASES ARE DELIVERED TO THE RECEIVING AREA AND IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE REQUESTER TO PICK THEM UP FOR THEIR PARTICULAR LAB. THEY ARE NOT DELIVERED BY THE VENDOR OR THE PERSON IN CHARGE OF THE RECEIVING AREA.

• All requesters receive a confirmation copy of their orders unless they do not want one. The confirmation copy is either faxed, e-mailed, or a hard copy is picked up from outside the office. It is the responsibility of the requester to let the office know if there is a problem and then it will be expedited. Automatic follow up is not done.

• REIMBURSEMENTS. Use your credit card only if there is an emergency and where we have no alternative (e.g., a vendor will not take a Purchase Order from UCLA).

• WHAT TO DO IF YOU NEED A REIMBURSEMENT. Follow the same procedure in filling out the order form. You are now the vendor with your name, address, social security number or student identification number, phone number, and e-mail address. We need item(s) categorized and not each individual item listed on the purchase order form (e.g., lab supplies $50, electronics $15, software $100, etc.); itemized receipts, a copy of your credit card statement; and a justification for purchasing the items using your credit card. Reimbursements are processed after regular order inputs are processed. When in doubt and if you have any questions, it is best to contact the Purchasing Office before you use your credit card.