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Finance Department

Purchase Orders

Purchase Orders (PO's) should be used when any acquisition of goods or services exceed $2,000.00. All PO's follow Union College's Purchasing General Terms & Conditions.

Documents:

PO Instructions

POs are submitted through Finance Enterprise. There are three prerequisites:

  • Permission to submit Purchase Orders. Please fill out an account request form to gain access (Login with your standard Union username and password). This is typically filled out when an employee is hired to a position.
  • Finance Enterprise installed on your computer. The account request should start this process, however you may contact the Helpdesk with questions or to request installation.
  • PO Training is necessary to properly navigate Finance Enterprise. Please contact Purchasing to coordinate a time and location to cover the basics of navigating the PO requisition process.

If after training there is a need for more concise information about the PO requisition process, here is a quick reference guide for creating POs.

Please note: The PO requester MUST submit their invoices to Accounts Payable once the PO has been fully approved in the workflow of Finance Enterprise, stating that the PO is "OK to pay."

Competitive bidding

Competitive bids and/or quotations should be obtained by the Purchasing Office or requisitioner prior to any Purchase Order being issued. The following guidelines apply:

Total Order Value

  • $500 - $9,999 Quotations may be solicited if desired
  • $10,000 - $24,999 At least 2 informal bids by telephone or written bids required
  • Over $25,000 At least 2 formal written bids will be solicited and need to be attached to a Purchase Request

Please attach a completed Competitive Bid Compliance Form to the Purchase Request.

If purchases involve sole source vendors, an emergency situation or an economic factor, please fill out the bottom portion of the bid form with justification for why you did not receive bids. Final responsibility in determining whether goods or services are from a sole source provider rests with the Purchasing Office.