Information for Departments - Purchasing Department

Departments are responsible for requesting price quotes from at least 2 suppliers when the estimated value of the purchase is between $2500 and $10,000. Competitive bidding for purchases between $10,000 and $50,000 is required. Purchasing will request at least three (3) competitive bids or quotes. Procurement transactions in this category must be processed by Purchasing. For purchases above $50,000 the Purchasing Department shall follow formal sealed bidding procedures.

If an item or items can be obtained under an existing competitively bid cooperative contract, consortium agreement, or OU contract the purchase may be made without obtaining additional competitive bids or quotes. Purchasing Policy containing bid thresholds can be found at the following link: Procurement Policy #1000

NOTE: Exhibit 1 to Procurement Policy #1000 - Delegation to Contracting Authority Authorization has been updated.

The Purchasing team will post formal solicitations on the OU Bid Opportunities page, and on the Michigan Intergovernmental Trade Network (MITN Purchasing Group). Once responses are received, it is the responsibility of Purchasing to award the purchase order or contract to the most qualified, responsive, responsible bidder. Purchasing may consider factors other than price. If you have questions about a particular solicitation, please contact the OU Purchasing Dept.

If you have any questions or concerns about the accessibility of the content or documents on this page, please view our Public Accessibility Statement.

Department Forms

Forms marked as [PDF] are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format and require Adobe Acrobat Reader unless otherwise specified. If you don't have Acrobat Reader installed on your computer, you can download it for free from Adobe software. Forms marked as [MS Word] can be opened with Microsoft Word.

Copier Equipment Requirements Form [MS Word]
FY23 Michigan Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Exemption
Purchase Order Adjustment Form [Fill-in Form]
Batch Closure Form [Excel]
- Batch closures will be processed before the end of the month received.
- Submit in excel format for processing
New Vendor Form [Fill-in Form]
To apply for a Purchasing Card, fill out the Purchase Card Application and send to Accounts Payable.
Software & Hosted Solution Purchasing Checklist
- Software is not a reimbursable expense per OU Policy 1020.
- Using a personal credit card for software purchases will not qualify for reimbursement.
- Full document listing the approved software and details on compliance with this new practice can be found here toward the middle of the page: pCard Approved Software
Sole Source Form (MS Word) Fill-in Form

Software Renewal Process

Multi Year Contracts
If your department has a current multi year contract (eg Year 2 of 5, Year 2 of 3, etc) and the renewal is due, a re-review is not required if:

There are no new documents to sign
There are no new modules or functionality being added to the existing purchase
There are no changes in technical requirements or existing security vulnerabilities in the news for the product or vendor.

Annual renewals still require a software form and review.

Purchasing Card (pCard) Approved Software Purchases
Any software not listed below requires a UTS review before purchase. Software is not considered a reimbursable expense per OU Policy 1020. Using a personal credit card for these purchases will not qualify for reimbursement. License entitlements are authorized for use by the paid receipt, which is, Oakland University.

The Reimagine OU Committee designated to review lean processes and efficiencies for the software purchasing process have reviewed and determined that these software packages are available to purchase as Preferred Software and are approved for pCard Purchases. A PO is not required for the following software packages:

Camtasia- request quotes from Camtasia. You can call the number on the quote to pay over the phone or pay online.
EndNote - request quotes from Clarivate. No fee, the vendor can provide a link to pay online with a card.
EndNote Upgrade -request quotes from Clarivate. No fee, the vendor can provide a link to pay online with a card.
Grammarly - request quotes from Grammarly. No sales tax or fees to pay online.
Nvivo (not student version) -request quotes from QSR International. No additional fees for using a P-card.
Stata- request quote from Stata. Link to order is in quote, no fee, must submit tax exempt document to account.
Stata Upgrades - request quote from Stata. Link to order is in quote, no fee, must submit tax exempt document to account.
All Adobe Renewals (New requests still require a UTS review, as we need to add them into the portal to gain access. This is an Adobe requirement)
Scrivener - The price listed on the website is all they charge. No additional fees for credit card transactions.

Any software NOT listed above requires the following steps, in order to purchase:

A UTS Review (Software & Hosted Solution Purchasing Checklist)
A Certificate of Insurance
Competitive quotes (as applicable by Policy 1000 bidding thresholds)
Interaction with a buyer Compliance

Fiscal Year End Purchasing Important Dates and Training Manual

FY24 open in Banner: May 1, 2023 - New Year REQs can be created

FY23 Requisitions: June 9, 2023 @ 5:00PM - The last day to submit FY23 requisitions

FY23 PO adjustments: June 16, 2023 @ 5:00PM - The last day to submit a PO adjustment form for FY23 POs

Batch Closure requests should be submitted in an excel format and should be submitted 2 weeks prior to month end.

View the FY23 Fiscal Year End Training Manual.