Purchase Order (PO)

• Purchasing 101 at the University of Minnesota
• UMN Purchasing Goods & Services Policy
• University-Wide Pricing Agreements
  • University-Wide Agreements are special pricing agreements made with suppliers for goods and services. These agreements are managed by Purchasing Services, part of the Controller's Office.
  • University departments may order against these agreements for up to $249,999.

Needed Documents

All PO requests must include:

• Vendor Name
• Total Dollar Amount
• Justification
• Chartstring(s)
• Quote

Additional Information on Dollar Amount

• $10,000 - $49,999.99
  • Price and Supplier Justification for Purchases of Standard Goods and Services  (UM 1819) - This form will be sent to the requester after approval.
• >$50,000
  • Departmental Request for Exception to Regents Purchasing Policy (UM 1721)
     

A contract for service is used when hiring a company or individual (not a University employee) to provide some specific service, such as consulting or computer services. There is a specific contract document that must be fully signed by all parties involved BEFORE any work begins.

Types of CPS

There are multiple types of CPS.  See the Contract For Professional Services Policy to find the type that will work best for your needs.

Note: If grant-related, please ensure the services to be purchased should be a Contract for Professional Services versus a “sub-award” administered by SPA. If unsure, please check with Anjeanette Roy or Kristen Abernethy.

Needed Documents

• Service Provider Name
• Justification
• Chartstring(s)
• Statement of Work (SOW) (UM 1697) 
• Professional Services Information Sheet (PSIS) (UM 1669)
• If the Contractor is new to University, a W-9 (for US citizens) or W-8BEN (for international citizens) will be required to set them up as a supplier

See CPS Grid for more information on required documentation.

Justifications are needed for all financial transactions.  While an expense may be perfectly legitimate, it can be flagged in an audit if it does not have a complete justification in the documentation.

Components of a Good Justification (5W’s)

The Writing Justifications Guide contains further explanations and examples.

A reasonable justification requires a who, what, where, when, and why/how (5W’s)

• Who: Who is involved in the transaction? (Travelers, Stakeholders)
• What: What exactly is being paid for?
• When: For travel, when will the travel take place? For supplies/equipment, when will the items be used? For services, when will/were the services be provided?
• Where: For travel, where is the destination? For supplies/equipment, where will the items be stored or used? For services, where will the services be provided?
• How/Why: How does the purchase benefit the university? Why is the purchase necessary?

Other things to include

• For Charges to Sponsored Projects:
  • identify the project (project number, study title, etc.), principal investigator (PI), and a detailed explanation of how the expenses directly support the aims of the grant.
• For Subject Payments 
  • All identifying information should be removed and the statement "Documentation will be kept on file in the department, available for audit” should be included.
  • The identifying documents should be held in the lab in the case of an audit.
• Any Oddities
  • Anything out of the norm should be included in the justification. Clarifications and extra details pertinent to the payment should be included.