Purchasing, Payment & Reimbursement
Business Office Contact: Heather Alvarez, 520-621-4959, halvarez@arizona.edu
Purchasing Requests:
Purchases for items under $25,000 can be made using UA Financials Shop Catalogs which is in UAccess Financials or by using a University purchasing card (department or individual - see below for more details). For training on the UA Shop Catalogs system, please contact Heather Alvarez. Please note that capital purchases over $5,000 using grant funds must be budgeted or have approval from your program manager.
Purchases over $25,000 must be made via purchase requisition/order. A quote and sole-source justification (see 4.7 Sole source policy for additional details) or 2 additional quotes (if a sole-source is not applicable) are required to initiate the requisition. Please send your request to Heather Alvarez along with an account number and business purpose. Please allow ample time for the processing of your purchase request. The Purchasing office can take up to 10 business days to get your purchase order submitted to the vendor.
Purchasing Card (PCard) Use:
Researchers, Staff, and Faculty who use the purchasing card often are encouraged to obtain their own card. This is encouraged but not mandatory. The Department currently has two departmental purchasing cards that can be checked out. The cards can be checked out in the Geosciences Business Office. Upon check out, users will be required to sign a checkout sheet. Copying of the PCard information for future use is prohibited. PCard order logs are available in the Business office located in Gould Simpson, room 208, or here. Itemized receipts and order logs must be submitted to Heather Alvarez at halvarez@arizona.edu immediately following a purchase.
NOTE: purchases made with the PCard must follow purchasing card rules and guidelines. The current single PCard transaction limit is $10,000. PCard transactions that exceed $10,000 can be processed but will need an exception granted by the PCard Administration team. Work with Heather on securing an exception. Purchases such as hotels, software from foreign vendors, hazardous materials, alcohol, and expenses paid on behalf of non-employee foreign individuals may not be made with the PCard. For more information regarding the use of the PCard and for more detail on allowable/unallowable purchases please see the Purchasing Card Policy Manual. If in doubt, please reach out to the business office before making a purchase.
Business purpose
Expenses purchased on behalf of the University must have a clear written business purpose that details the benefit to the either a specific research project and/or University business related purpose. Click here for guidelines on writing a business purpose: https://www.fso.arizona.edu/financial-management/business-purpose
Request a PCard
Please fill out the Individual PCard Request Form and obtain your supervisor's signature. Once completed, please submit the form to Heather Alvarez at halvarez@arizona.edu
Employee Reimbursements
An employee can submit a request for reimbursement if the expense is reasonable and in accordance with University of Arizona Guidelines. Equipment such as computers, field gear, etc. that are reimbursed with University funds become the property of the University of Arizona. To avoid taxation, receipts must be received and processed within 90 days. UA Financial Services will not reimburse employees for alcohol and business expenses paid on behalf of non-employee foreign individuals. To prevent any delays, check with the Business Center prior to making your purchase.
NOTE: Use of a purchasing card is preferred over employee reimbursements, however not mandatory.
Non Employee Reimbursements
If you plan on inviting a guest (Guest Speaker, Visiting Scholar, consultant, etc.) and plan to provide any kind of reimbursement, please contact the Business Center prior to issuing any kind of commitment to ensure reimbursement is allowable under University of Arizona policy. Send an email to halvarez@email.arizona.edu.