Stanford University Procurement

Confirmed and Received Orders

Every now and then, someone will call Procurement with a story that goes something like this:

"Hi, we bought some stuff, and it costs a little more than $2,500. We haven't submitted a requisition, and no Purchase Order has been issued. What should we do now ? "

Should you find yourself in that situation, the first thing you should do is to review Stanford's policies about such things. This policy can be found in the Administrative Guide, Guide Memo 51. This Guide Memo addresses a number of basic policies, but the specific section in this context is Section 1, "Authority to Commit University Monies" , paragraph d, "Unauthorized Purchases".

Stanford has implemented a few different ways for department administrators and other staff to make purchases. These include the Rapid Purchase Order, the Purchasing Card, and Petty Cash. While each of these delegates certain purchasing authority to individuals in School and Department offices, each has limits. One limit is that the value of the purchase, including all sales taxes and ancillary costs, must be less than $1,500.

So the purchase described above is probably in violation of University policy. Procurement recognizes that this situation arises from time to time. Here's what to do.

• Prepare a Standard.Confirmed requisition in iProcurement. This requisition should include all the same detail that you would normally enter on a STD req.
• In Remarks, note that the items listed have already been ordered and received, and that you have an invoice in hand. Note the invoice number, and plan to fax a copy to Procurement.
• Also in Remarks, include an explanation of the events that led up to this situation, including steps that your department will take to avoid similar problems in the future.
• If competitive quotes were obtained, also include a summary of these in Remarks. If written quotes were obtained, plan to fax copies of these to Procurement.
• Route the requisition for approval in your department. It is a good idea to route it to the person who originally placed the order as well.
• Fax a copy of the Invoice, and any other quotes or backup documents, to Procurement (723-1267). Make sure you clearly note the req number on all these documents.

Please keep in mind that Confirmed and Received Orders are in fact a violation of University Policy. Every year or so, auditors from the Office of Naval Research visit Procurement to review the transactions and procedures in place. They always look at these kinds of transactions closely, and have for the last several years judged that Stanford has done too much of its business in this way. Your help in reducing these transactions is important to Stanford's continued ability to pass these ONR reviews.