The Purchasing Office oversees the procurement of goods and services by collaborating with units and communicating with vendors to ensure all Commonwealth and Mason policies are followed.
Policy 2106 delegates purchasing authority for dollar amounts at $5,000 or less to certain employees at the department level. Use the searchable Can I Purchase….? table to learn about allowable and unallowable purchases and methods of procurement.
- Review the list of Mandatory and Specialized Purchases. Mandatory contracts for purchasing all furniture, office supplies, and others, as designated by the Purchasing Department, must be honored at all dollar amounts. In addition, all staff will assist in the standardization of purchases for commonly procured goods and services by utilizing institution-wide contracts, where available. Click here to Search Institution-wide Contracts.
- For one time-purchases that are not already under contract, departments are to attempt to use Micro SWaM, or if not practical SWaM (small, women, and minority-owned businesses) vendors. Departments may locate Micro/SWaM vendors at the following link: https://www.sbsd.virginia.gov/directory/ or at https://logi.cgieva.com/External/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=Public.Reports.Report9001_Data.
- The $5,000 departmental threshold must not be circumvented by “splitting orders”. “Splitting orders” is defined as awarding multiple orders within a short time period to the same vendor that would exceed the delegated signature authority and prevent appropriate competition. Purchases that are $5,000 or less, but are expected to regularly recur, should be bundled and entered into eVA to be assigned to a buyer in the Purchasing Department for execution.
- Goods and services that cost $5,000 or less may be purchased by individuals with account responsibility and their designees. These same individuals may also sign contracts with the same dollar value; however, there may be terms and conditions that we, as a state agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, cannot agree to. The Contract Addendum form should be attached to these contracts to “cancel out” or invalidate the prohibitive terms and conditions. Refer to the Contract Addendum Instructions for additional assistance.
- University faculty, staff, and students are not permitted to sign contracts or make obligations on behalf of the University for purchases that exceed $5,000. Only individuals with delegated signature authority which has been authorized through official communications from the University President have been granted this authority. Please review the Contract Quick Guide.
The P-Card is the recommended payment method for purchases of $5,000 or less. Units should continue to use institution-wide contracts and reference the contract number when allocating in Mason Finance Gateway. For Purchases not under contract, units must obtain at least 1 quote. The P-Card can be presented for on-site purchases, utilized on a vendor’s website, or processed over the phone. P-Card information may not be transmitted on paper, fax, or email. The receipt and all supporting documentation must be attached to when allocating the P-Card transaction
