PURCHASING
70.07
Revised 10-07
Purchasing Services
335-3541
PDF link
OVERVIEW
Departmental personnel may use a Department Order (DO) to make simple purchases of goods and services. The Department Order process generates an encumbrance against the supporting account.
Online Application
Personnel use the online Administrative Information Systems (AIS) application called Purchasing, Accounts Payable, Receiving (PAPR) to generate a Department Order.
Authorization
Process an AIS Access Request form (see 85.33) to obtain approval to generate Department Orders. Route the approved request to Purchasing Services.
This authorization grants the user the ability to prepare Department Orders. It does not include expenditure authority to approve departmental purchases. See 70.02 for a description of expenditure authority delegation.
NOTE: In addition to requesting approval to prepare DOs, the user must be assigned an AIS User ID. See 85.37.
Maximum Purchase
The total cost of a single Department Order may not exceed $3,000 including shipping charges and sales or compensatory tax.
Department Responsibilities
The requisitioning department is responsible for:
- Resolving problems, e.g., incorrect pricing, poor quality. (Purchasing Services can assist departments in resolving problems.)
- Following University requirements regarding allowable funding. See 70.03.
- Following University requirements regarding prohibited purchases. See below.
Dividing or stringing orders to circumvent the $3,000 limit of the Department Order is prohibited.
Prohibited Purchases
Do not use a Department Order to make the following purchases:
- Radioactive materials (see SPPM S90.30).
- Printing (see 80.05).
- Contracts for personal services (see 70.50).
- Alcohol (see 70.22 or 70.29).
- Items available from Central Stores (see 70.35).
- Any purchase requiring the review and approval of the central administration (see 70.10).
- Alcoholic beverages (see 70.29).
- Commodities which must be purchased through Facilities Operations:
Carpeting, floor coverings;
Window coverings;
Furniture (except free-standing furniture pieces requiring minimal or minor assembly)
Sponsored Programs Approval
Obtain any necessary prior approval for the purchase of equipment supported by a sponsored project. Contact Sponsored Programs Services.
Payment Terms, Net 30 Days
Accounts Payable pays the net due within 30 days of the receipt of goods or receipt of the invoice, whichever is later. If other terms are required, do not use a Department Order. Complete a Departmental Requisition. See 70.10.
PREPARING A DO
The following is a description of how to prepare a simple DO.
Sign On
Sign onto the AIS PAPR application.
Department Order Menu
Access the Department Order Subsystem Menu from the PAPR System Main Menu by entering the command DO or selecting the number that corresponds to DO. The Department Order Subsystem Menu may also be accessed by entering the command, DO, on the command line of the PAPR logo screen.
See below for a full list of DO functions available from the Department Order Subsystem Menu.
Access the Add/Update Department Order screen by entering the command, ADO, on the command line or entering the number that corresponds to ADO.
The Add/Update Department Order screen includes vendor information in the upper left, departmental information in the upper right, order description in the middle, and account information at the bottom. The following numbered descriptions correspond to numbered sections on screen exhibits. (See the PDF version of 70.07.3, 6, and 7.)
Vendor Number (1)
Enter the vendor number. In most cases a vendor has an existing WSU vendor number which is used for all University purchases from that vendor. Enter the applicable vendor number from a previous order or search the vendor number database. Search the vendor database by pressing PF1. See below for more about vendor number searches.
Contact Purchasing Services by telephone or e-mail for help with finding or creating a vendor number. If the vendor number is not available, enter the vendor name and address into the appropriate fields.
Contact (vendor) (2)
Enter the name of the vendor contact and/or telephone number. This information is not required by PAPR.
Dept. (3)
Enter the department number in the Dept. field. If not known, look up the number in the AIS application WSUORG. See 10.05. Department number is also referred to as organization number, WSU number, or home department number. NOTE: The department number is not a budget, zipcode, or telephone number.
Contact (department) (4)
Enter the departmental contact name. This information is not required by PAPR.
Phone (5)
PAPR completes this field by default on the basis of the department's organization number. Enter the appropriate departmental contact's telephone number if it is different than the default for the department.
Ref (6)
Enter any desired departmental reference number for the transaction. This number is not required.
Description (7)
Describe the purchase items. If more description space is required, press PF5 to continue the description.
Qty/Unit/Price (8)
Enter these values for each described item.
Exceeding Three Items
Before adding additional items to orders exceeding three items, do the following:
- Enter an appropriate budget/project and object/subobject in the cost distribution line at the bottom of the screen (fields 13 and 14 above).
- Press PF8 to enter (update) the order. The system assigns a Department Order Number.
- Press PF2 to add more items.
A maximum of 47 items may be included on a single Department Order.
Deleting Items
Enter a "d" in the first column of a line item to delete it. NOTE: This only applies to orders which have already been entered (updated) into PAPR by pressing PF8.
Shipping Charges
Enter shipping charges as a line item if known. NOTE: If the order is close to the $3,000 DO limit which includes shipping and tax, applicable shipping charges must be estimated and included as a line item.
Negative Values
Do not enter negative dollar amounts for discounts, trades, or exchanges in the Price field. Note a discount or exchange amount in Description. Enter a positive net value under Price.
Food or meal purchases or purchases supported by accounts in program 17A may require additional justification. If 03-BR or 03-BP is entered as object-subobject or if 17A is entered as program-subprogram, a message appears reminding the user to enter any necessary justification. The system then provides access to a comment entry screen. See below for more about comments.
Tax (9)
PAPR estimates the tax on the basis of the vendor's location. The tax amount is added to the order. Press PF9 to change tax location or to indicate that the purchase is not subject to tax. (NOTE: Items for resale, fertilizer, and seed may not be subject to Washington sales/compensatory tax.)
The tax amount does not appear on the vendor copy of the printed Department Order.
Deliver to: (10)
Non-Pullman Locations
Enter the appropriate delivery address for the location.
WSU Pullman
The default is Central Receiving's Pullman address. When special circumstances require that a vendor deliver directly to a Pullman department, enter the department's actual delivery location. Special circumstances might include a weekend or after-hours delivery or delivery of live animals.
If Central Receiving is to deliver an item to an address other than the department's address as shown in WSUORG, indicate the alternative address as a comment under Campus Delivery Change. To access Campus Delivery Change see below.
Staff Pickup (11)
If the order is picked up by the department, mark the Staff Pickup field with a Y and indicate the name of staff employee who will pick up the item in the Staff Pckp field (below Deliver to:). Print the staff pickup vendor copy of the DO (see the example on the PDF version of page 70.07.3).
Budg/Proj (12)
Enter the budget and project of the account supporting the purchase. The budget/project must be a currently valid University account.
Obj/Sobj (13)
Enter the applicable object and subobject. PAPR does not accept an order unless these values are entered. Press PF6 to access a picklist of subobjects.
%/Amt (14)
If only one account supports the purchase, % must be 100.00 with nothing under Amt.
Additional Accounts
Before additional supporting accounts can be added, the order must be entered (updated). (NOTE: Before creating the order, be sure that 100.00 is entered under %.)
Press PF8 to enter (update) the order, then press PF3 to access a screen that allows entry of additional accounts. At the Add/Update Department Order Cost Distribution screen, enter either a specified amount or a percent for each account. A dollar amount could be entered for one or more accounts and 100.00 percent entered for the final account, indicating that the last account will pay for 100.00 percent of the balance of the order. See the sample in the PDF version of 70.07.6. The total percent must equal 100.00.
Delete an account from the cost distribution by entering a "d" in the first column of the applicable account. See example above.
A single Department Order may be supported by up to 11 separate accounts.
CC (15)
CC refers to cost code. Departments may use this field to classify expenditures. Any alpha/numeric may be entered.
Fnd/Sfnd Pgm/Spgm (16)
These fields fill automatically, based upon budget/project.
Creating the Order (17)
Press PF8 to create the order in PAPR. PAPR assigns a Department Order Number when the order is created. Department Order Numbers begin with the prefix K.
Printing
After updating the order (PF8), press PF4 to access the print menu.
Options
The DO may be printed directly from the PAPR system or the record may be imported into the Adobe Acrobat DO form template available on the web.
PAPR
PAPR provides the following options for printing the Department Order.
- Screen print. (PF7)
- E-mail, i.e., the order could be e-mailed to someone in the office, copied to word processing software, and printed. (PF6)
- Print using Entire Connection software.
To print, start Entire Connection.
Windows: At the Data Transfer box under Format select "printer". Enter "PRN" in the File Name field. Select "download." With these settings, the software prints the requested orders.
Macintosh: Select Report Options under File Menu. Be sure that "Print after Download" is selected. Choose either "Delete" or "Save" after download.
Web
Web users print using the Adobe Acrobat template.
- Go to:
- Enter Network ID and password. See 85.37.
- Select "Submit."
After Department Order Select screen is displayed:
- Enter the Department Order number.
- Select the form type to be printed (Vendor, Department, or Staff Pickup).
- Select "Display Department Order."
The Department Order is displayed using Adobe Acrobat Reader. Print the form to obtain a hard copy.
NOTE: To download a copy of Acrobat Reader, select the "Get Acrobat Reader" image at the bottom of the page.
Departmental Copy
Print a departmental copy of each Department Order.
Vendor Copy
Print a vendor copy or e-mail the order to the vendor. A vendor copy is not required when the order is placed by telephone.
Vendor Copy - Staff Pickup
Print this version of the vendor copy if the order is to be picked up by a staff member.
Authorization
An employee holding expenditure authority for the supporting accounts must sign the departmental copy and any vendor copy generated. (See 70.02 for a description of expenditure authority.)
Records Retention
The signed departmental copy and the itemized packing slip or itemized receipt is the University's official public record of the transaction. (NOTE: A cash register receipt is acceptable if it contains sufficient itemized detail.) The department must retain these documents for six years after the end of the current fiscal year. See 90.01 for records retention and disposal procedures.
ORDER TO VENDOR
Methods
The department may submit a Department Order to a vendor by any one of the following methods:
- Giving the DO to the vendor at the time of the transaction (staff pickup).
- Mailing the DO to the vendor.
- Faxing the DO to the vendor.
- E-mailing the order to the vendor.
- Telephoning the order to the vendor.
Order Number
When placing an order, instruct the vendor to include the Department Order Number or Emergency Department Order Number on the shipping label and invoice. See below for more about Emergency Department Order Numbers.
If the Order Number is not on the vendor's shipping label, Central Receiving attempts to determine the identity of the recipient. If the identity is not determined within 24 hours, Central Receiving returns the package to the vendor.
Terms and Conditions
The department is responsible for providing the vendor with the University's Terms and Conditions for doing business with WSU.
Print or photocopy the Terms and Conditions on 70.07.15 and route or give the copy to the vendor along with the DO.
For telephone orders, fax or mail the Terms and Conditions to the vendor immediately after placing the order. While placing the order, notify the vendor that the Terms and Conditions will be forthcoming.
RECEIVING ORDER
Most equipment and supplies purchased by WSU Pullman units on Department Orders are received by Central Receiving, which delivers the items to the units. Shipping companies deliver merchandise directly to non-Pullman units and to some WSU Pullman units. In some cases, department personnel pick up items from a vendor.
Unit personnel at all WSU locations must use one of the reporting methods described below to promptly report the receipt of shipments. See also below regarding payment authorization.
See 70.14 for additional receiving procedures.
Department Reporting
Access to PAPR
Department personnel who have received PAPR access authorization record the receipt of order information into PAPR. See 85.33 regarding access authorization and training information.
Without Access to PAPR
Department personnel who have not received PAPR access authorization notify Central Receiving of receipt of the order by:
- E-mailing rdands@wsu.edu, or
- Telephoning 335-5575, or
- Submitting the information through the Central Receiving Completion of Order website at:
Accounts Payable is authorized to pay the invoice only when the goods are received and recorded in PAPR. Accounts Payable can only access receipt data that is reported by the department or Central Receiving in the PAPR system. Input of information ensures that invoices are paid.
The following is a description of the functions accessible from the Department Order Subsystem Menu.
ADO
Add Department Order: Use this command to enter an order, encumber the funds, and receive a purchase order number.
CDO
Copy Department Order: Use this command to copy an existing Department Order. The information from an existing order may be edited to create a new order. This feature provides a shortcut for those who frequently purchase the same product from the same vendor.
AEDO
Add Emergency Department Order: Use this feature to record emergency purchases made while the computer is down. Such orders must be entered into the system. Entering the order into the system assigns a purchase order number, encumbers the purchase, generates a copy of the order for the department file, and enters the order into PAPR for receiving and bill payment purposes.
UDO
Update Department Order: Use this command to update (change) the information for a previously-placed Department Order. The identity of the vendor cannot be changed. Other information can be updated until the first item is received from the vendor. The cost distribution information may be updated until Accounts Payable makes a payment on the order. Internal comments may be added at any time.
QDO
Query Department Order: Use this command to view a previous order. Enter the purchase order number to view the details of the order. Data may not be changed when using this command. To review the comments and notes, query comments by pressing PF7 after querying the Department Order.
QEDO
Query Emergency Department Order: Use this command to view an emergency order. Enter the emergency number order assigned when the order was placed.
QDORG
Query Department Order by Organization: Use this command to see open orders, closed orders, or all orders placed by a specific organizational unit. Enter the departmental ORG number.
QPCARD
Query Department Order by Purchasing Card: Use this command to view open orders, closed orders, or all orders which the department placed with a specific purchasing card. Enter the purchasing card number.
QDOV
Use this command to view open orders, closed orders, or all orders placed with a specified vendor.
PDO
Print Department Order: Use this command to generate a copy of the Department Order based upon information from the add or update screens. Entering the PDO command provides a menu of print options.
CLODO
Close Department Order: Use this command to cancel an existing Department Order. An order may be closed because the department no longer needs to make the purchase or perhaps the vendor placed the order on backorder and the backorder is not acceptable to the department. Closing an order liquidates the encumbrance.
PAPR requests an explanation of why the order is to be closed.
When an order is closed because items are no longer wanted, notify the vendor and enter an explanation.
Most orders are closed by Accounts Payable when all line items are paid.
DDO
Download Department Order: Use this command to download data. NOTE: Entire Connection software is required to use this function.
VENDOR NUMBERS
WSU assigns a vendor number to each vendor who does business with the University and uses the same vendor number for all transactions involving the vendor. A vendor number may be located on a previous Purchase Order or Department Order, by referring to Account Balances or the Budget Statement, or by searching the vendor database.
Vendor Database
Most vendors who have done business with WSU have a vendor number in the vendor database. To search the vendor database from the Add/Update Department Order screen, press PF1.
Vendor Name
If the exact name of the vendor is known, enter vendor name. NOTE: The vendor name must be entered exactly as shown in the database for this search method to be successful.
Key Word Search
If the exact vendor name is not known, enter words that comprise the vendor name. Enter one word per line. Enter the least common word on the first line. (See the example in the PDF version of 70.07.12.)
NOTE: The Department Order Subsystem will not search for the following key words or characters:
an at by if in of on or to is as and but for the from with la le der des les und die das & co corp dept inc ltd pub committee bureau press division institution subcommittee office corporation incorporated div etc edited company
Hard Copy
Central Stores stocks a hard copy listing of the Vendor Database. Request order number 56358. NOTE: If a vendor is not found on the hard-copy listing, check the online search described above.
New Vendors
Accounts Payable and Purchasing Services assign a number to a new vendor when Accounts Payable processes the payment.
At the Department Order Add/Update screen, press PF7 to access the Add/Update Department Order Comment screen. Use this screen to submit a request to add, update, or view comments. See example in the PDF version of 70.07.13.
Enter the code for the appropriate comment type in Add comment type: or Update comment type:. (Enter V for vendor notes, C for internal comments, D to change campus delivery address, or F for food/17A purchases.) Press PF8 to add or update comments. Press PF7 to view comments.
Do not enter data in the Glossary field.This function is currently not available for general use.
Vendor Notes (V)
Vendor notes appear on the vendor and department copies of the Department Order. Include information which assists the vendor in completing the order. Vendor notes might include special shipping instructions or a reference to the person who provided price information. Vendor notes are printed above the line items.
Internal Comments (C)
Internal comments are printed on the department copy of the Department Order only. Enter information which may assist the department, Accounts Payable, Central Receiving, or Purchasing Services with processing the order.
Internal comments might include descriptions of returns, a vendor's authorization number, records of telephone contacts with the vendor, or documentation of the quality of service.
Internal comments may be entered at any time, including after the bill is paid by Accounts Payable.
Select this option to instruct Central Receiving to deliver the merchandise to a WSU Pullman campus location other than the default delivery location for the department.
Food Purchase/17A (F)
See above.
Use the following procedure when a purchase must be made immediately and PAPR is not available due to technical malfunctions.
Create an Emergency Department Order Number. The first four digits are the four digits of the department's organization number. (See 10.05 for more about organizations numbers.) The next four characters are numbers or alphabetic characters assigned by the department. Do not reuse an Emergency Department Order Number.
Place the order with the vendor. Usually such orders are placed by telephone. If the order is placed by mail, fax, or staff pickup, print or photocopy the master form on 70.07.16. Enter the order information and Emergency Department Order Number on the form and route it to the vendor.
Request that the vendor reference the Emergency Department Order Number on the label of the package and on the invoice sent to the Accounts Payable, Controller's Office.
When PAPR is again available, use the Add Emergency Order (AEDO) screen to enter the order. Enter the assigned Emergency Department Order Number and document the lack of access to PAPR. Include the hour and date PAPR was not available. PAPR assigns the purchase a Department Order Number in the regular sequence and provides the regular Add/Update Department Order screen to complete.
See the PDF forms:
70.07.15: Washington State University
Terms and Conditions
70.07.16: Purchase Order (Department
Order--Vendor Copy for emergencies only)
Complete and/or print as needed