Purchasing Procedures

The purchase of all materials, supplies, and services must be processed on Rhode Island College Requisition. A requisition can be entered in PeopleSoft Financials by most department secretaries. The Requisition should include a detailed description of the item being purchased, including the manufacturer, make, model, if applicable, and any other information pertinent to the identification of the item being purchased. When ordering from a Master Price Agreement, select the pertinent MPA on the contract tab on the Requisition. The department name, contact information, reference quote#, special delivery instructions can be noted in the comment section on the online Requisition, quotes can also be attached in the comment section of the Requisition. Electronic signatures will be required to proceed with processing all Requisitions, signature requirements are based on dollar thresholds and departmental/division workflow approvers. Please use separate requisitions to pay for items or services payable to different individuals or vendors. Requisitions should be entered to allow the Purchasing Office ample time to allow for processing. This is particularly important in those instances where the items being purchased are required to go out for bid through the State. Sufficient time must be allowed to follow proper procedures through the State Purchasing System.

If you require Peoplesoft Financial Requester access please contact the Purchasing Office. 

College Requisitions requiring bids through the individual departments are those with a total dollar value of greater than $500.00 but less than $5,000.00. This dollar figure is for the total amount of the order, not for a singular item. For requisitions with a dollar amount of greater than $500.00, but less than $5,000.00, department directors must obtain faxed or written quotes from three (3) different vendors. Telephone quotes will not be accepted. One of the vendors must be a Minority Business vendor, if one exists for that particular commodity. The Minority Business Enterprise Vendor listing is now available on the Rhode Island College Website under the heading of Purchasing. The MBE list is offered by commodity as provided to the College by the Minority Business Enterprise Commission. If the price offer made by the Minority Business Enterprise vendor is determined to be within a competitive range (not to exceed five percent (5%) higher than the lowest responsive price offer) for the product or service solicited, it is required by State of Rhode Island Purchasing Regulations that the award be given to the MBE. The written quotes are to be attached to the Rhode Island College Purchasing Bid Award Determination Sheet and forwarded along with the College Requisition with the proper signatures to the Purchasing Office for processing. The College Requisition is then converted to a Purchase Order and forwarded directly to the vendor who submitted the lowest bid. Please note that a bid may be a quoted dollar amount, or an indication that the vendor cannot provide the item requested. The second case should occur only in the purchase of hard to find items where three local vendors cannot supply the item. Whenever possible, three dollar quotes should be obtained. Be sure to document the name of the individual who provided the quote, and the date they were contacted. When ordering from a Master Price Agreement please refer to the User Guide for each MPA on the contract board, this user guide will provide you with the MPA contract spend per project and other requirements to utilize the MPA. These are fixed prices set by the State and remain in effect until the expiration of the MPA. When ordering from a vendor that does not list items per the MPA, a proposal must be obtained from the vendor and attached to the Online Requisition.

Upon receipt of materials and/or services, Department Directors should sign the copy of the order as "received" and provide full signatures. Forward to the Purchasing Office so invoices may be processed for payment in a timely manner. This applies to all orders.

Purchases which exceed the $5,000.00 limit for delegated authority at the College will be forwarded to the State of R.I. Division of Purchases to be bid and processed through the State System. When processed in this manner, the average length of time from when the request arrives at State Purchasing until the Purchase Order is encumbered at the State Controller's Office and returned to Rhode Island College is eight to ten weeks. Please allow for this time when submitting large dollar requests. After the Purchase Order is received and materials and/or services have been delivered, the Department Director should immediately sign the copy of the order as complete and forward to Purchasing. It is imperative that this information be received as quickly as possible to expedite vendor payment.

On occasion there is only one vendor who is able to provide a particular product, usually the manufacturer of that product. This is considered to be a sole source vendor. To process an order where the vendor is a sole source, there must be written documentation from that vendor specifically stating that they are the only provider of this product. Attach the supporting documentation to the Award Determination Sheet, check off the section which designates sole source vendor, and proceed to order as usual, by submitting a College Requisition with the documents.

When awarding a bid to other than the low bidder, the record must include a statement explaining the basis for this decision. Any such rationale must contain objective criteria, for example, the item offered was not equivalent of that which was requested, the time of delivery could not comply with deadlines, the shipping charges were excessive, etc.

Any items purchased from the W.B. Mason Company through the Master Price Agreement Office Supplies Catalog will be placed online at W.B. Mason. There is no dollar limit on items purchased from the MPA Catalog. However, W.B. Mason is not to be considered a sole source for any office supplies or products other than those on the MPA. Items ordered from the standard Mason catalog are subject to bid (if they exceed $500.00), the same as any other type of order. If the order exceeds the $500.00 limit, you must obtain three written quotes, one being from a Minority vendor. If W.B. Mason is the lowest bidder, the order should be placed online and a copy of the written quote should be forwarded to Purchasing. If these procedures are not followed, the order will be rejected for correction. When items are received, please forward packing slips and/or a copy of the confirmation with the department head's signature for payment approval. Please forward this information in a timely manner.

Please contact the Purchasing Office to be set up as a requestor or an approver for your department. Once you are set up you will receive a password and a training manual explaining the ordering process. All contract items are noted online with a red check mark to make it easier to identify MPA items. The same rules apply when ordering online.

If an order is to be cancelled, the User must cancel the order in writing with the vendor, explaining the reason for the cancellation. A copy of this document must be part of the official record of the purchase order and must be kept on file in the Purchasing Office. Also, if an order is returned and a return receipt is received, that receipt should be sent to Purchasing to be retained with the original order.

Internal Revenue Service regulations require that payments to a vendor, organization, or individual be accompanied by the vendor's or organization's Federal Employer Identification Number, or by an individual's Social Security Number. The State Controller's Office now requires that a W-9 Form (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification) be on file with their office before any payment will be made. In many instances, vendors record their FEIN numbers on their invoices. This is not a guarantee that the vendor has a W-9 on file with the State. Department directors have no recourse but to call the vendor to obtain the FEIN number, and if necessary fax or mail a W-9 form to the vendor for completion prior to processing the College Requisition. If necessary, departments are advised to call the College Purchasing Office which has recorded FEIN numbers of vendors, organizations and individuals paid in the past. Please record the Federal Identification Number in the "Available At" column on the College Requisition.

All expenditures of funds, whether regular College funds or grant monies, should be approved in advance. If a purchase must be made in an emergency situation, department or project directors can be reimbursed for purchases, as long as College and State Purchasing Regulations have not been violated. Directors can be reimbursed by attaching paid bills to a Check Request form detailing the expenditures. Receipts must be marked "paid" and must be signed by the individual requesting reimbursement. The accompanying College Requisition should also specify that a reimbursement for the paid bills is requested. College Requisitions which are for payments to vendors that do not have an approved Purchase Order must include the invoice, proposals if emergency request is over $500 and a W-9 form must still be on file with the Purchasing Department.