Special Purchasing Needs

Purchases of items such as service agreements, leases for space or equipment, maintenance agreements, software license agreements, and vendor sales orders generally require that the Office of Sponsored Programs sign the vendor’s contract form (ancillary agreement) before the item/service is purchased. After the Office of Sponsored Programs and the vendor have agreed on the terms and conditions, the necessary signatures of both parties must be obtained before a purchase order can be issued. A person may be liable for signing unapproved /unauthorized purchases.

Stores Receiving and Mail provides the following services:

• Campus Mail: Regular delivery and pick-up of internal university mail for the Columbus and Regional campuses including the University Medical Center.
• Mail drop-off boxes are conveniently located on-campus for sending campus mail, meter mail and express items.
• Special pick-up arrangements may be made through University Mail Services for large multi-envelope deliveries
• Meter Mail: UMS applies United States Postal Services (USPS) pre-stamped postage that provides university customers’ substantial discounts.In addition to substantial discounts, the meter mail system offers accounting efficiencies for university customers.

All compressed gases, regardless of type of cylinder, must be ordered from the university’s Cylinder Stores Department rather from outside sources. Monthly demurrage charges are assessed to all rental cylinders and billed directly to the project.

In the event a rental cylinder is in the possession of the project after the project ends, any demurrage charges will be billed directly to the PI’s department. Therefore, gas cylinders that are no longer needed should be promptly returned to Cylinder Stores. Upon request, Stores will also pick up empty lecture bottles and other non-rental gas cylinders for proper disposal.

Principal investigators sometimes find it necessary to lease off-campus space or facilities for their projects. If this need arises, the principal investigator should contact his or her sponsored program officer. The need for off-campus space for sponsored projects must be documented on the Authorization to Seek Off-Campus Funds (ePA-005) at the time a proposal is submitted. Leasing space requires Office of Sponsored Programs approval.

After the Office of Sponsored Programs approvals have been obtained, contact the university’s Division of Property Management (PMD), to convey your needs. PMD will seek suitable options and, after approval of the principal investigator, negotiate the terms of the lease document to the university Contracts Officer and the Vice President for Business and Administration for review and approval prior to final execution. The PMD will notify the PI of final arrangements.

Upon notification by PMD of the signed lease, submit the appropriate requisition. The requisition covering the lease should list the landlord as the suggested vendor, the location of the property to be leased, and the period of the lease, the monthly rental rate, any deposits, and the purpose of the lease. Attach a copy of the lease to the requisition form. The lease period should coincide with the period of the sponsored project. If the leasing period extends beyond the sponsored project period, the lease should contain a cancellation clause without penalty in the event that project funding is not renewed. Purchasing will make any required security deposits when the lease has been approved. The lessor will be asked to return all deposits directly to the Office of Sponsored Programs. Separate requisitions will be needed for the Property Management fee and for any utilities not provided by the lessor.

The lessee (PI) is responsible for notifying the Office of Sponsored Programs and university Property Management, in advance, of any request to change the status of the lease agreement and a minimum written 60-day notice prior to the end of the lease.

A purchase order will be issued covering the lease agreement after PMD, the Office of Sponsored Programs, and the lessee have come to an agreement on all terms of the lease and all necessary approvals have been obtained.

Material Stock Requests (MSR’s) – through the system. These requests will:

• come to Office of Sponsored Programs Purchasing via workflow
• be electronically sent to Ohio State Stores if approved by the Office of Sponsored Programs
• not be committed to the project budget at the time the PO is processed [the same is true for 100Ws]. Charges are electronically posted to projects at the end of the month.

Form 100-W and Stores electronic Material Stock Requests (MSR’s) may not be used for purchase of the following items:

• equipment (use Form 1303)
• building repairs and maintenance (use Form 1303)
• renovations (use Form 1303 and 6540)
• repairs for equipment items not used by the project
• purchase of services from unauthorized university cost centers
• purchases from University Laboratory Animal Resources (ULAR) (use Ohio State Animal Order Form 10238)

The university has several service centers that provide specialized services. These services may be obtained by submitting a Form 100-W directly to the appropriate service center providing that the service center has established university approved cost rates. This is a federal requirement for all purchases on federally sponsored projects. The university Resource Planning and Institutional Analysis Office establishes approved cost rates. Service centers with approved rates are listed in the University Schedule of Fees and Charges.

In the event a commitment is made to a vendor without prior authorization from Purchasing, the principal investigator is still required to provide a 1303 requisition form and a letter of explanation with reasons for not following established procedures. Any requisition or invoice that has not been pre-authorized by Purchasing, if not supported by a letter of explanation for the after-the-fact purchase or payment request, may be returned to the initiator for an explanation. Exceptions to established purchasing policies and procedures may be appropriate if justified by special circumstances.

The individual and/or the individual’s department will be responsible for payment of the invoice in the event that the purchase is disallowed by the sponsor or by subsequent audit.

The Internal Order Form (100-W) is used for on campus purchases of materials and laboratory supplies from General and Laboratory Stores and all other university authorized cost centers and business operations.

Note: the university is tax exempt. When making a small purchase, advise the vendor not to charge state or federal tax. The vendor should be given the Office of Sponsored Programs Tax Exemption Number, 38-1746722, at the time of purchase.

Conferences and Meetings Sponsored by Projects

Requests for conference services should be submitted at least 90 days in advance of the conference date. This is necessary in order to allow sufficient time for securing reservations and meeting any competitive bidding requirements.

Any advance deposits required to hold reservations must be indicated on the vendor price quotation and requisition. Any prepayment request will require an invoice from the vendor. Submit the vendor’s invoice attached to the requisition form. Conferences or meetings costing in excess of $25,000 will be subject to the competitive bidding requirements.

Each university staff and student conference attendee must create and submit a Travel Request/Reimbursement Form, (GA-002). Non-employees who need reimbursement must complete and send a Payment Request for Non-Employee form (AC-219) to Office of Sponsored Programs Travel. Reimbursement for meals, lodging, and other costs included in the cost of the conference may not be claimed.

The following additional information must be provided before payment of any invoices:

• list of all attendees and dates of their attendance
• detailed invoice must list the type of meals (breakfast, lunches, or dinners) served and the cost per meal per day
• invoices for rooms must indicate the date, number of nights, cost per room and name(s) of occupant(s)
• supporting documentation for any additional costs associated with the conference or meeting
• PI approval for all invoices

For other types of purchased services, the vendor’s bid or purchase order acknowledgement and the purchase order suffice as the contract. These are not normally considered subcontracted activities and should be budgeted as purchased services.

Following are several examples of purchased services:

• laboratory analysis
• clinical tests
• photographic and video graphic duplication services
• water treatment services
• machining
• personnel temporary services purchased from employment agencies

To satisfy cost sharing requirements of a project, a Office of Sponsored Programs purchase order may be issued using both sponsored project and university funds. When sponsored project and university funds are used to pay for a single purchase, prepare a requisition form and list the funding project and the university department and budget numbers in the body of the requisition form. Show the dollar amounts and the authorized signature next to the project and Ohio State chart field information. Submit the requisition to Office of Sponsored Programs Procurement and the purchase with the vendor will be placed.

Accounting pays invoices upon receipt of goods or services and relieves the project commitment. Accounts Payable then posts the cost sharing to the associated project and enters an internal departmental billing into the GL to bill the university fund. The title to Office of Sponsored Programs purchased equipment will vest with the Office of Sponsored Programs and is subject to the property policies and procedures of the Office of Sponsored Programs.

The Office of Sponsored Programs processes all procurements utilizing funds from Action and Hayes Investment awards funded through by the Ohio Board of Regents (OBR). All such procurements require approval from the State Controlling Board prior to the issuance of a purchase order. This will add time to the procurement process. It is important to contact Purchasing as soon as you receive notification of an OBR award to begin planning your procurements.

Regular Telephone Service

Instrument and monthly service charges are not allowable as direct costs on a project unless the project is located in an off-campus location. Requests for new or additional regular telephone service should be submitted via eRequest. These are routed to OCIO/UNITS for review and are forwarded to OSP for approval before being processed. UNITS charges will appear on monthly project statements.

The PI is responsible for contacting UNITS to cancel any recurring charges and have phones removed when the project ends.

Long-Distance Telephone Calls

Long-distance calls related to project business are allowable as direct charges to most projects. To assist a PI in making calls and tracking charges, a UNITS Authorization Code (Auth Code), a six-digit number commonly called a “PLUS number,” may be obtained for making calls from campus telephones.

UNITS will assign Auth Codes specifically to the project requested by the PI. The use of the Auth Code enables UNITS to charge the calls directly to the project. Such charges will appear on the monthly project statement.

The PI is responsible for maintaining proper security of the assigned Auth Code. The Auth Code should be safeguarded at all times to prevent unauthorized use. The PI should not divulge the code to anyone not authorized to place long-distance telephone calls on the project. Use of the Auth Code implies certification that the call is required for and properly chargeable to the project. The Auth Code should only be used for project business. In instances where long-distance calls are charged to department fund accounts in error or for occasional convenience purposes, it will be necessary to transfer the charges to the Office of Sponsored Programs project account.