Procurement

Important Purchasing Information

Some purchases are trickier than others. Please refer to the list of Unallowable Purchases and when in doubt, contact procurement at uaf-cfos-purch@alaska.edu to verify you are allowed to make a certain purchase on a ProCard and/or on your grant. Examples of some problematic purchases are air or marine charters, contractual/professional services, international vendors or foreign currency purchases, food purchases, animals, items for resale, etc. These are purchases that you need to have approval on prior to making the transactions or financial commitments. Absolutely no travel purchases can be paid with a Procard and vice versa. Refer to travel for information on travel cards.

Contact Denise Caissie dlcaissie@alaska.edu for inquiries about a waiver.

Please take a moment to log your purchases in the google form and upload your receipt as soon as you make your purchase. You should send your receipts and funding information no later than 24-48 hours after making a purchase.

Whenever you place an order yourself, place your name on the order and add the order/confirmation number ,and your fund-org information in your log. We process a lot of orders and payments and the more information we receive during the process the easier it will be and the faster you will receive your shipments.

ProCards

If you are not yet a ProCard holder and think you may need one, please email uaf-cfos-purch@alaska.edu. This only applies to faculty and staff and not to students. You will need to complete training and paperwork to be issued your own card.

General ProCard information:

If you have any procurement questions please email uaf-cfos-purch@alaska.edu
The UAF ProCard page is a great source of information if you are unsure or need a little refresher.
Consult the Unallowable Purchases List before placing an order.
For AMAZON purchases, please verify you are using our business account (see Account Number tab).
After making a purchase fill in this google form and upload your receipt.
To verify your entries or request changes, please email uaf-cfos-purch@alaska.edu
Make sure to describe the purchase you made and the purpose/use of the items purchased; also include fund/org and a final invoice with shipping.
If you are using funds that you are not the PI on, please email prior approval of the use of funds to uaf-cfos-purch@alaska.edu
Submission of receipts and information is required no later than 48 hours after making a purchase.

Custodial ProCards

If you rarely need to buy items for your research in person, or are a student with a small research grant that is attending CFOS, you can check out a Custodial ProCard and also a Costco card. Custodial cards are credit cards that you can use to make direct purchases on your grant. This is especially useful for making in person purchases, but can in some cases also be used to place online orders. Please check with procurement before placing any online order on these cards.

For Custodial ProCard checkout and more detailed information, please see either the Front Desk in 245 O’Neill, Tatiana Krupina in 245 O’Neill, or Heather McLeod in 256 O'Neill (outside of the Dean’s office) and fill in the respective forms.
Before checking a card out, familiarize yourself with ProCard usage rules and the list of Unallowable Purchases.

These rules are applicable to the custodial card borrowers while they have cards in their possession. You are borrowing a credit card that is issued to the University and therefore strict rules apply to the purchases you can and cannot make.

Forms needed when checking out a card:

Custodial Card Usage Authorization Form This form ensures that you do not run into any issues when using a card that has a different name than yours on it. You can make purchases without it, but may be asked to present an ID and could therefore be denied service. It is therefore useful to have a vendor memo with you. You will need to come in personally and have this filled and signed by Tatiana Krupina, so please let us know ahead of time when you are coming in.
Custodial Card Checkout and Purchase Approving Form This form is mandatory. It ensures that we have a record of who checked out a card, what grant to charge purchases to, and who approved the purchases. If you are a student it is especially important to inform your advisor and have them sign off on purchases you intend to make. You can send an email with the form attached and your advisor cc'd to ensure they can approve this purchase directly. Please bring a paper copy of this form with you when checking a card out. Alternatively, you can fill one out at the front desk in 245 O'Neill.

Please remember to contact JP Morgan (800-316-6056) immediately and email dlcaissie@alaska.edu, if the ProCard is lost or stolen. CFOS is responsible for all ProCard transactions until we report a lost or stolen card to JPMorgan.

When you return a card, bring or email all receipts with fund and org information.
Please do not keep cards longer than needed.
Should you return the card after hours or on a weekend, a dropbox can be found on the wall outside of the CFOS business office (O’Neill 245). Please send an email to alert us to the card being in there.
When you use a custodial card, your purchases need to be logged and the receipt uploaded in this google form
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to email us at uaf-cfos-purch@alaska.edu .

Ordering

When asking for an order to be processed please fill the Purchasing Request Form.

If you have any questions email uaf-cfos-purch@alaska.edu. If you order items this way, we can ensure they are being tracked and paid for and you have less responsibilities. You will be notified when your package arrives in the CFOS mail room in O’Neill 245.

Things to consider when filling in the form:

Make sure to have a good shipping address included.
When you are researching items, you can usually add them to the cart without even opening an account. Please do so when you are shopping: it lets you see whether the item you need is in stock or when it will be available (refer to the vendor list).
On some websites, you can just email your cart to Procurement and save a lot of time for yourself and for the procurement personnel. Just watch for availability and shipping costs.
Include valid fund-org information.
If you do not receive a confirmation email or receive further information on your order, please reach out to uaf-cfos-purch@alaska.edu directly

Account Number

Some vendors have special CFOS discounts with us. If you want to inquire about certain prices, you can call them with the respective account number and receive quotes that can be used for purchasing orders. You can request access to these account numbers through uaf-cfos-purch@alaska.edu.

To ensure we have an account with the respective vendor, refer to the current vendor list.

AMAZON

All Amazon purchases made on the ProCard must be made through the UA Amazon Business Account. Purchases made on personal Amazon accounts will be considered a ProCard violation.

No personal purchases are allowed on the UA Amazon Business Prime account. This includes personal purchases made with personal credit cards. Email uaf-cfos-purch@alaska.edu for an invitation to the Amazon business account.

SIGMA, Fisher, VWR likely will apply discounts if you purchase through us or a respective CFOS account.

Shipping

SHIPPING THAT IS $5000 AND ABOVE HAS TO BE SUBMITTED TO PROCUREMENT FOR PAYMENT

When you send a package, please email uaf-cfos-purch@alaska.edu right away with your shipping confirmation number, receipt, or tracking number AND with the fund and org you are approving the charges to be applied to.

Email subject line format: your surname, ship from, and ship to destinations

(Example FedEx - Warrenchuk- Juneau to Fairbanks)

If you are shipping something and expect to pay at the counter, you can use your ProCard or pick up a custodial ProCard before you go there.

Shipping account information can be requested for:

FED EX

CARLILE

ALASKA AIR CARGO/ GOLDSTREAK

Using the known shipper number and paying at the time of shipment is preferred

LYNDEN- Requires payment at the time of shipment

Reimbursement

The Direct Pay process is to reimburse employees for out-of-pocket expenses incurred on behalf of the university in situations where a requisition, call number, limited purchase order, or a ProCard purchase was not possible due to abnormal circumstances.

Please fill the Direct Pay Form and find additional information on the Office of Finance and Accounting information page.

You can email your completed form to uaf-cfos-purch@alaska.edu to be routed through Docusign for signature and approval.