• Payment requests and non-travel reimbursements are limited to $2,499.99 and under. UGA requires that anything over this amount be processed as a purchase request.

• All acquisitions using state dollars remain property of UGA.

• All acquisitions using federal or other restricted dollars remain property of the appropriate agency or UGA. Terms and conditions associated with the project will determine this.

• All agreements that require a signature will require University level review before returning the agreement to the vendor. Only individuals from SPA, Procurement, or UGA Legal Affairs are eligible to sign on behalf of UGA.

• Please consult with your finance contact if you have questions or concerns under any circumstance.

58-6001998

Please reach out to your finance contact if you need an actual form to provide the vendor.

A purchase that is contrary to the rules and regulations established by the State Purchasing Division or Board of Regents shall be void and of no effect. Any official of a state entity or institution who willfully purchases or causes to be purchased any materials, supplies, or equipment contrary to the rules and regulations will be personally liable for the cost thereof. If paid for from state funds, the amount may be recovered in the name of the state. (O.C.G.A. Section 50-5-79). Additionally, it is unlawful for UGA to make purchases for the personal use of its employees (Acts of 1939 40-1936 and HB1113).

You can find more information here.

An index of statewide contracts is available on Team Georgia Marketplace. Use tgmguest as both the user name and password.

Use the search functionality to search for the category of products, etc. Search results will show if the contract is mandatory or convenient. The Procurement Office may pursue a waiver from State Purchasing on your behalf. Please reach out to procure@uga.edu if you wish to pursue a waiver making sure to copy your Sr. Accountant.

The Ecology Business Office follows all State Accounting Office, State Department of Administrative Services, State Purchasing Division, Board of Regents, and University guidelines on when a purchase order is expected in the procurement of goods and services. If goods or services are on a mandatory statewide contract, the purchase must be from a supplier on the statewide contract and for goods/services offered under the contract. Convenience purchasing contracts offer a bit more flexibility.

Funds used must allow for the procurement/payment of goods and/or services acquired. If you have any questions about your fund type please reach out to your finance contact.

Note, all sponsored projects must have the anticipated expense identified in the approved budget.

Any purchase of $25,000 or more requires competitive bidding or justification for the lack of competition.

You can find more information here.

Employees are forbidden by law from acting for themselves, on behalf of any third party, or on behalf of any business in which the employee or a spouse or dependent of the employee has a substantial interest. It is also unlawful for a business in which an employee or spouse or dependent of the employee has a substantial interest to transact business with the University. Substantial interest is defined as direct or indirect ownership of more than 25% of the stock or assets of the business.

You can find more information here.

UGA defines a person or company who gives specialized or expert advice a consultant.

Ecology HIGHLY recommends processing consulting services as a purchase order so as to “protect” the funds via encumbrance.

Consulting agreements should only be entered into once it has been determined that the consultant should not be considered an employee of the University. Consulting services may be requested by submitting a purchase request.

~ Departments should complete the Independent Contractor Determination Checklist prior to entering into a consulting agreement with a consultant.

~ Once deemed a consultant is the best course of action a consulting agreement should be filled out. Departments should be aware that if the consultant is paid for the advice rendered, the consultant will not be permitted to bid on any work resulting directly from the consulting services. Advice rendered without payment does not prohibit the consultant from participating in resulting bid opportunities.

~ It is your responsibility to ensure that the daily rate paid is reasonable and, if funded by a sponsoring Federal agency – either directly or as flow-through from another sponsor – that it does not exceed the maximum approved rate of that Federal agency.

~  If the agreement is more than $10,000 three quotes or an explanation as to why pricing from three sources was not possible is a required attachment, along with the completed consulting agreement. Further tasks are required if $25,000 or more.

You can find more information here.

Please seek advice from your finance contact before entering into any commitment.

You can find more information here.

Effective November 30, 2020 chemicals must be purchased via UGAmart. View our “How-to” guides if you need to purchase a chemical.

You can find more information here.

It is advisable that you obtain approval from the account holder before incurring expenses for reimbursement.

• Employee reimbursement should not be used for purchases when a purchase order, or payment request can be used.

• Purchases become the property of the University of Georgia once an employee is reimbursed.

• Reimbursements are limited to $2,499 per UGA policy. Anything over this amount constitutes an unauthorized acquisition of goods or services.

• Reimbursements should be submitted within 30 days of incurring an expense otherwise there may be tax implications.

• Original, itemized, paid receipts are required for reimbursement.

• Ecology has created “How-to” guides to help assist you with your reimbursement request.

• Chemicals – ALL chemicals must be purchased through UGAmart. Chemicals are not eligible as a reimbursable expense.

You can find more information here.

Funds obligated for purchase will remain encumbered in the accounting system until a payment is processed for the purchase or until Procurement reduces the encumbrance. At the fiscal year-end (June 30th) encumbrances on state-funded accounts are converted to liability in the accounting system.

You can find more information here.

The authority to sign contracts for the purchase or lease of goods and services for the operations of an institution has been delegated to the University Procurement Office. Ecology personnel should not enter into any contract, verbal or otherwise, without consulting directly with Procurement and following proper guidelines.

​You can find more information here.

This mechanism of payment should only be used when the purchase order mechanism for goods and services is not available. This means the first attempt for acquiring a good or service should be via purchase order.

   Unallowable payment requests

• hazardous materials
• trackable chemicals (ALL chemicals must be purchased via UGAmart)
• firearms
• vehicles
• anything over $2,499

The Ecology Business Office will be happy to process payment requests on your behalf. The following is needed to process a payment request:

• an official company invoice, including the company logo
• information supporting the business need/purpose of the purchase
• speed type in which to charge the payment
• approval from the account holder, in writing, if you are not the account holder

Complete ‘packages’ may be submitted to your finance contact via email.

You can find more information here.

Accounts Payable must have completed a two-way match or a three-way match of purchase documentation to process payments.

You can find more information here.

Please consult with your finance contact prior to setting up a payment.

You can find more information here.

Ecology does not engage in the use of petty cash except, rarely, for field study or study away courses. The Ecology CBO reserves the right to approve based on financial liability.

You can find more information here.

Payment is allowed when the institution requires the license, certification, or training as a condition of employment. Requirements must be met.

You can find more information here.

Aside from project proposals, do not sign any contract on behalf of the University in any capacity without first checking with your finance contact.

You can find more information here.

Purchase orders are legally binding contracts between the University and the vendor. There may limitations on what changes can be made. Please consult with your finance contact if you desire to make any updates to your purchase order.

You can find more information here.

The University of Georgia’s web-based purchasing system, UGAmart, is utilized to establish all purchase requests. This should be the first option for acquiring goods and/or services.

• All UGA employees have shopper capabilities within UGAmart.

• Shoppers must have written spending authority on file with the Ecology Business Office prior to using an account. Otherwise, your request will be delayed until we have approval from the account holder.

• Visit Team Georgia Marketplace to verify if the item is on a mandatory state contract. Items on mandatory state contracts require UGA end users to purchase from the approved vendors only (i.e., office chairs, furniture, metal filing cabinets, certain research supplies, etc.). Feel free to also check with your finance contact, if needed.

• Ecology has created “How-to” Guides to help with processing a purchase order.

• Tax should not be included on purchase orders.

• Purchase requests will not be processed on an account that does not have sufficient funds available. All purchase requests undergo a system budget check upon submission.

• Chemicals – ALL chemicals must be purchased via UGAmart.

• Need a status update on your purchase order? Please email your finance contact.

You can find information here.

• P-Cards are limited to unit use only for the purpose of reduced liability.
• P-Cards should be the last option for making purchases and the cardholder reserves the right to determine the use of a P-Card.
• Ecology does not currently have a P-Card available for use.
• The Ecology CBO reserves the right to approve based on liability.

You can find information here.

The University of Georgia has four methods of making purchases:

     1) purchase requests: This should be the first method used to acquire goods or services at UGA.

     2) payment requests

     3) purchasing cards (p-cards): Ecology does not currently have a P-Card available.

     4) petty cash: Except on rare occasions, Ecology does not retain petty cash accounts.

You can find information here.

End users are responsible for examining incoming deliveries to ensure the goods received match the request for goods ordered in relation to quantity and type and that the shipment is free of damage. If there are issues with your order after delivery please reach out to your finance contact.

You can find more information here.

Before deciding that only one specific brand of goods will meet the University’s critical business requirements, research must be conducted by the end-user to determine if other brands exist which can also satisfy procurement requirements in a timely manner.

                Associated Form: Sole Source/Sole Brand Justification

You can find more information here.

This authority is vested in the Procurement Office and administered under the rules and regulations as set forth in the Georgia Procurement Manual.

You can find more information here.

Subscriptions or subscription services (i.e., Paperpile, LinkedIn, Remember the Milk, Slack, Overleaf, Wix, Gather.Town) must be included as a pre-approved line item in your restricted budget if using project funds. Otherwise, a MOD will need to be processed to obtain UGA-SPA approval for payment or reimbursement. Further, UGA Procurement prohibits subscriptions unless the subscription is in the name of the University and approved by a separate memo from the Dean. See Procedures B.13 at the link above.

NOTE:  Per UGA’s Associate Director of Central Accounting, Darlene McConnell (06.30.21), units need to start including a copy of the user agreement for software/subscription services to support whether there is a license component to the subscription service that is being used over the internet/web/cloud etc.

Software: 733100

Subscriptions: 727120

EXAMPLE: Gather.Town’s user agreement indicates their contract is for license to software and services. Therefore it should be coded as 733100.

You can find more information here.

It is recommended you submit requests for reimbursement within 30 days of incurring the expense to avoid tax penalties.

You can find more information here.

The University of Georgia is mandated by the Executive Order of the Governor of the State of Georgia to pay invoices within 30 days.

You can find more information here.

Includes consulting services. Please see advice from your finance contact before entering into any agreement.

                Associated Form: Consulting Agreement

You can find more information here.

Unrestricted competitive specifications allow for full and open competition between vendors as the specifications do not restrict the items being purchased to a specific brand or source, rather they identify the users’ minimum needs.

You can find more information here.

Please consult with your finance contact regarding any new vendors.

You can find more information here.