Frequently Asked Questions

Whenever possible, requisitions, agreements and other documents related to a purchase that require VP or Presidential approval should be routed as a package instead of sending each document separately for approval. For example, sponsored research exemptions (SRE) require presidential approval, as do requisitions and agreements exceeding $500,000. Departments should create the SRE, agreement, and requisition to be routed to the university president (or other appropriate authority) at the same time.

Departments wishing to do business with a supplier must have them complete the UCF Substitute W-9 electronic form. The form requires them to include their contact information as well as the name of their UCF department contact. Departments should continue to notify Procurement Services that they will be working with a supplier so we can verify any supplier submissions we receive.

For questions about corporate (EIN) and individual (SSN) supplier requests, please email Procurement Services at procurement@ucf.edu. Review our Supplier FAQ page for more information. 

The Vendors Payable department, another department within Financial Affairs, is responsible for the payment of invoices. Please visit https://fa.ucf.edu/vendors-payable-about/ to view their contact list.

The PCard department, another department within Financial Affairs, handles all PCard-related questions . Please visit them at https://fa.ucf.edu/procurement-card-about.

The University Compliance, Ethics, and Risk Office houses the Enterprise Risk Management department, which is responsible for insurance and risk management at the university. Visit their website at www.compliance.ucf.edu/enterprise-risk-management for more information. Another university resource is the Environmental Health and Safety department at www.ehs.ucf.edu.

New outlined instructions are on the Vehicle Procedures page.

Please contact our vehicle buyer listed on the Meet Our Staff page for the State of Florida vehicle contracts listing.

The requestor must submit a change order requisition with the correct account code and amount. The requestor should also leave a comment on the requisition identifying which line for the buyer to close after the change order is applied. The reasoning behind the change order is that the requisition was originally approved by the department for a particular chartstring. If we are going to change it, that chartstring should be approved as well via change order. This also avoids encumbrance and year-end roll issues.

Please note: Editing is not possible if any payment has been applied to the purchase order.

Receiving – Send an email to the buyer describing the needed change. Editing is not possible if any payment has been applied to the purchase order.

Line Comment – Editing is not possible after the PO has been dispatched. A change order must be submitted with a request that the buyer close the incorrect line.

In the standard automated process, the PO is dispatched via email to the supplier using the contact information provided upon registration. If you do not want your PO sent to the supplier, insert a header comment in your requisition stating “DO NOT SEND PO TO SUPPLIER.” The buyer will email the PO to the requestor.

The department should insert a header comment in the requisition with the supplier’s email address and specific instructions. Please note that the university no longer dispatches POs via fax. 

Financial Affairs has a listing of category codes on their homepage at http://www.fa.ucf.edu.

Per UCF policy, departments are permitted to shop around for their own goods and services for purchases less than $75K. To ensure the university is obtaining fair pricing, purchase amounts between $10,000.01 and $35,000.00 require two informal competitive quotations, (i.e. verbal from the supplier), which must be annotated on the requisition. Purchases between $35,000.01 and $75,000.00 require three formal competitive quotations (submitted on the supplier’s letterhead). Purchases exceeding $75K must be formally solicited through Procurement Services via Invitation to Bid or Invitation to Negotiate unless there is a valid exemption to competition. Additional information can be found in the Procurement Services Procedures Manual under Section 3B.

The Office of the General Counsel provides a list of personnel authorized to sign contracts at http://generalcounsel.ucf.edu/legal-services/. For more information, please review UCF Policy 2-107.6 Signature Authority at https://policies.ucf.edu/.

All contracts should be submitted through the university’s contract management system, CobbleStone. Please review General Counsel’s Contracts Review page https://generalcounsel.ucf.edu/contracts-review/ and Legal Services page https://generalcounsel.ucf.edu/legal-services/ for more information, as well as UCF Policy 2-102.4 Contract Review.

All contracts submitted through CobbleStone must follow the appropriate procurement process (e.g., competition, exemption, piggyback contract). Contracts over $500k must also include a president contract review cover sheet. Email contracts@ucf.edu for a copy of the cover sheet or other contract review questions.

To indicate that a requisition is a blanket, add “BLANKET PO” to the line description as well as the start and end dates of the blanket (i.e. “BLANKET PO FOR JULY 1, 2013 THRU JUNE 30, 2014″). Submit your requisition for approval first. Important: Do not direct the supplier to render services before a PO is approved.

What do I do now?  Complete and submit the Unauthorized Procurement Action Justification form. It will require VP/Dean approval.

How can I avoid this in the future?  A purchase is “unauthorized” if the university is monetarily obligated to pay for something without having followed the appropriate procurement process. Submit requisitions with adequate lead time to allow for all approvals, including approval of the purchase order or bilateral agreement prior to goods being delivered or services being rendered. If a bilateral agreement is used to authorize a purchase, be sure to submit a requisition within 30 days of delivery or initiation of services. Review Section 4D of the Procurement Services Procedures Manual and check out our PURUPA webcourse for more tips to avoid UPAs.

UCF does not fill out credit applications. Please see our Credit Reference Letter for a list of banking and credit references. As per our W-9, UCF maintains business as a “Public Body Corporate.”

Under the Florida Statutes, UCF operates as part of the “Florida College System Institution.”

• Employee moves are now processed as stipends through Human Resources. The department must complete a Salary Supplement Request eForm to request a relocation stipend for an employee. Please see Policy 3-505.3: Payment for Relocation for more information.
• Laboratory and office moves are processed through Procurement Services. Requests to move laboratory equipment and professional books should be submitted on a requisition.
  • Acquire the appropriate number of quotes (see competition requirements) and attach them to the requisition.
  • Allow enough time for the purchase order to be processed prior to the scheduled move.

Please see the Diversity in Contracts About the Program page.

See the UCF Diversity in Contracts Database on our SMWVBE page.

Contact the Diversity in Contracts program manager with information about the goods or services you require. He or she can provide you with a list.

As of July 1, 2014, “Amount Only” is the default for all requisitions. Amount Only means that you want to distribute the amount of money in a requisition line by a specific amount rather than quantity. Select the Amount Only checkbox when:

• You create travel requisitions
• You create a requisition for a blanket purchase order
• Your purchase order needs to be received by amount

You can find detailed instructions on how to make your requisition “Amount Only” in the Addy Notes section, found on the UCF Financials webpage at https://financials.ucf.edu/addy-notes-epro.

When competition is not possible, and a UCF department must use a specific supplier, a Waiver of Competition or Sole Source exemption may be granted.

Waiver of Competition: Commodities, contractual and construction services between $10,000.01 and $75,000, available only from a single source.

Sole Source Purchase: Commodities, contractual and construction services exceeding $75,000, available only from a single source.

A Waiver of Competition or Sole Source may only be approved if the item/service is unique to only one particular supplier, cannot be obtained from another supplier, and is the only item/service that satisfies the department’s needs.

Additional information on the requirements for Waivers of Competition and Sole Source purchases can be found in section 7B and 7C of the Procurement Services Procedures Manual.

Procurement Services is now a part of Financial Affairs. However, Procurement Services still maintains distinct functions from other areas of the division. The following chart clarifies the differences between these areas.

Piggyback (or adoptable) contracts are existing contracts awarded by other public agencies or cooperative purchasing groups that the university can use to procure goods or services at any dollar level without additional competition. Although Procurement Services makes the final determination whether a contract can be piggybacked, some factors to consider include similarity in scope of work, pricing, and whether the contract is active. Please see our piggyback contract communication for more information.

Be sure to attach the original solicitation document and awarded supplier’s response to the solicitation to the piggyback requisition or contract. Procurement Services can review the contract and accompanying information prior to requisition or contract input—reach out to us at procurement@ucf.edu. 

Generally a PCard should be used for non-travel purchases $1,000 or less, with some exceptions (e.g., the supplier doesn’t accept PCards, the item is on the PCard Prohibited Uses list). When submitting a requisition for goods or services for less than $1,000, use standard comment DEP-D017.

Requisitions can be used for any purchases over $1,000. A PCard can be used for most purchases that aren’t included in the PCard Prohibited Uses list, subject to the single transaction limit and credit limit for that cardholder; however, all transactions over $5,000 require a purchase order first. See the UCF Financials Addy Notes page for instructions on linking a PCard transaction to a PO. Contact the PCard department for questions on using PCards and Procurement Services for questions about submitting requisitions for goods and services.