Quick Facts

Per Texas Comptroller guidelines, advance payments are permitted for the following types of purchases:

• Library books (must be a collection),
• Databases and other published materials necessary for the efficient operation of ASU’s library;
• Payments to federal or state agencies;
• Lease payments;
• Subscriptions (up to six weeks in advance);
• Rental fees for a meeting or conference booth;
• Annual maintenance agreements
• Registration fees (up to six weeks in advance)
• ASU may make advance payments for additional reasons if cost savings will be realized or it is in ASU ’s best interest to do so to serve the public purpose.
• Texas Education Code § 62.021, prohibits the use of HEAF funds to pay for goods or services before the delivery of said goods or services.
• Federal Acquisition Regulations prohibit the use of federal funds to pay for goods or services before the delivery of the goods or services.
• Advance payments will not be made to vendors who sell to some classes of customers without advance payments, but require such payments from Angelo State, unless there is no alternative and the payments are approved in advance by the controller.

After the fact orders are not permitted. An employee shall not make any unauthorized commitments or promises of any kind purporting to bind ASU for any goods or services without an authorized purchase order, ProCard purchase, and/or contract. Invoices are not appropriate documentation to create an online requisition.

Please see the list of commonly used account codes and vendor ID numbers.

Per Texas Education Code, § 51.9335 – An institution of higher education may acquire goods or services by the method that provides the best value to the institution.

Remember to issue requisitions for blanket orders for items purchased on a repetitive basis when specific quantities or amounts are not known. Orders may not cross fiscal years, cannot exceed bid limits and cannot be back-dated to cover a previous purchase. 

Contact the Purchasing Director indicating you wish to make a purchase

• Is there a trade in? Must know the make/model & VIN of current vehicle (if applicable).
• Do you know what new vehicle you want? Please provide basic details to Purchasing Director.
• If vendor over 300 miles away – staff must pick up the vehicle
• If near the end of the fiscal year, please provide funding to Purchasing Director to ensure able to receive vehicle after 9/1 (if applicable)
• Staff may not sign for anything with regards to a vehicle purchasing.

Per the Texas Government Code, § 2155.063 – Competitive bidding requirement. Except as otherwise provided by this subtitle, a purchase of or contract for goods or services shall, whenever possible, be accomplished through competitive bidding.

A Conflict of Interest refers to a situation in which an employee’s financial, professional, or other personal considerations may directly or indirectly affect, or have the appearance of affecting, the employee’s judgment in exercising any duty or responsibility, including the conduct or reporting of research, owed to the Institution. All employees must follow OP 02.09 Conflict of Interest and Commitment when procuring goods or services.

A legally binding written agreement executed between the system or an institution and a third party in which the parties agree to perform in accordance with the obligations therein. Contracts include, but are not limited to: letter agreements, co-operative agreements, memorandums of understanding (MOU), interagency contracts, interlocal contracts, easements, licenses, leases, and purchase orders (Chapter 07, Regents’ Rules).

An emergency purchase is defined as the result of unforeseeable circumstances and may require an immediate response to avert an actual or potential public threat. If a situation arises in which compliance with normal Procurement practice is impracticable or contrary to the public interest, an Emergency Procurement may be warranted to prevent a hazard to life, health, safety, welfare, or property or to avoid undue additional cost to the Institution. An emergency purchase requires a letter of justification stating:

1. The reason for the emergency purchase by explaining what the emergency is and/or what caused the emergency;
2. The financial or operational damage that will occur if needs are not satisfied immediately (do not just state there will be a loss or damage); and
3. Why the needs were not or could not be anticipated so that items could be procured through regular procurement procedures.

If an exact cost is not available for a service request, a requisition can still be created with an estimated cost just so that we have an encumbrance in place prior to the service being provided.

Exempt purchases are purchases that are exempt from the competitive bidding process either by statute or if the exemption is in the best interest of the public. 

ASU will now be using the State of Texas FedEx contract for Overnight, Second-Day and Ground Delivery Services. Pricing will be determined by what Postal Zone your package is being delivered to. Below is an explanation of the USPS Zones:

USPS ZONES: USPS Zones are the Industry standard for the contiguous 48 states. Other than the contiguous 48 states: Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and International, including Canada and Mexico.

USPS Zones for the Contract starting from point of origin zip code are defined as follows:

• Zone 2 – 0-150 mile radius
• Zone 3 – 150 to 300 mile radius
• Zone 4 – 300 to 600 mile radius
• Zone 5 – 600 to 1000 mile radius
• Zone 6 – 1000 to 1400 mile radius
• Zone 7 – 1400 to 1800 mile radius
• Zone 8 – 1800 miles and over

FedEx Overnight Second Day and Ground Delivering Pricing Grid

Remember to always submit your requisitions with an estimated freight charge or a notation if no freight amount is to be charged.

All procurements of goods or services must have a clear business purpose that supports the mission of ASU and must follow the Texas Tech University System Contract Management Handbook which was created for compliance with Texas Education Code, § 51.9337.

HEAF funds are designated to be used for construction, major renovations, or to purchase equipment, as well as expenses associated with putting the purchased equipment into service. HEAF is not authorized to be used for operating expenses. There is a $250 per item dollar threshold for equipment purchases.

Current solicitation limits per fiscal year, regardless of the source of funds are:

• $0 - $15,000 Only one solicitation (bid or quote) is required; however, requisitioning departments are encouraged to obtain more than one bid. Purchases from a historically underutilized business (HUB) are encouraged to the fullest extent possible.
• $15,000.01 - $50,000 Three informal competitive solicitation responses (bids or quote) are required, with two being from certified HUBs. The Invitation to Bid form or an approved modified version is the preferred method to solicit vendor responses (contact the Purchasing Office for assistance). If one or more non-responsive solicitation responses are received from the HUB vendors, then solicit, at a minimum, three HUB vendors.
• Over $50,000 Formal solicitation responses will be obtained by the Purchasing Office on procurements in excess of $50,000 that do not conform with one of the other procurement types listed in this OP.

54.04 Purchase of Goods and Services

As an approver, remember to disapprove any requisition that shows up in your queue with a “Y” in the NSF column so that it can be corrected and resubmitted. As a requisitioner, remember to look at the bottom of the last screen to make sure that you do not get the message: Insufficient budget for sequence 1, suspending transaction, because if you do then you have an “NSF” transaction.

Orders may not be split into smaller procurements in an effort to avoid the competitive bidding requirements. Please do not do it.

The ASU Print Shop has first right of refusal for all printing and binding jobs.  Bids are not required if printing and binding are done by the ASU Print Shop. Competitive bidding is required in order to procure external printing and binding services.

The ASU logo, seal and name have all been trademarked, and any item on which they appear must now be purchased from a vendor licensed through ASU’s Collegiate Licensing Office. The office of Communications and Marketing has been charged with review of each product design. You can find a listing of licensed vendors on the vendor page.

A proprietary purchase is justified only when an equivalent product or service competition is not available.  When the specification requirement limits consideration to one manufacturer, one product, or one service provider, and the amount of the purchase exceeds $15,000 (either in a one-time procurement or repetitive procurements of the same goods or services during a fiscal year), a written justification must be provided. The Justification of Proprietary Purchase, must explain:

• Why the unique scope of work for the goods or services in are required.
• Details on the unique features of the goods or service;
• Reason that competing goods or services are not satisfactory, and
• Any other relevant information to support the sole source documentation;
• Price and personal preferences are not acceptable as determining factors.
• The Purchasing Office reserve the right to require additional quotes or bids on proprietary purchases.

Requisitioning departments must inspect all shipments delivered by Central Receiving against the purchase orders and report any discrepancies to the Accounts Payable Office.  Any discrepancy, including non-compliance with specifications, shortages, overages, and any damages must be reported immediately to the Accounts Payable Office, but no later than 15 days after receipt of goods and/or services.

A registration fee can be paid by the employee personally and reimbursed on the travel voucher upon their return; or an online requisition can be done so that the fee can be paid thru a PO; or it can be paid for using a PCard (a copy of the registration form/invoice and approved Chrome River Pre-Approval must be attached to the transaction log).

No food, drink, entertainment or floral arrangements from State Funds. For a complete list see OP 14.05.

As a rule, departments should procure new equipment, but sometimes it is necessary or advantageous to purchase used equipment. The most common reasons for purchase of used equipment include:

1. the inability to secure new equipment,
2. the lack of adequate funds for new equipment, or
3. substantial savings.

Contact the Purchasing Office for information on the steps that need to be followed.