Revised: October 1, 2012; October 1, 2016; October 30, 2020

Funds are allocated by the State to the College for the procurement of instructional supplies, materials, and equipment. Within the limitations of these funds, faculty and staff members must submit requests for their needs to their supervisors. The proper forms are available online. The supervisors are familiar with the State purchasing procedures and can lend assistance in arriving at specifications, costs, vendors, etc. The approved requests are then forwarded to the Purchasing Agent.

Faculty and staff members are prohibited from placing orders, purchasing items, or otherwise obligating the College without prior approval.

For assistance in filling out forms, advice on purchasing procedures, or information on specific budget line item formula allocation, the employee should see the purchasing agent.

As requisitions for equipment and supplies are made, it is important to follow specific steps so that orders move expeditiously through the process. Employees should remember that centralized purchasing and fair-and-competitive bidding practices are the two key elements in the College requisition and purchasing procedures. Employees are reminded that personal purchases may not be made through the College.

The state negotiates with vendors to obtain quality products at the best price; needed supplies and equipment must be purchased on state contract if available. In addition, equipment costing more than $10,000 must be processed through and approved by the N.C. Department of Administration, Division of Purchase and Contract, which takes approximately 10 weeks. Employees should please allow adequate lead time for these purchases. The purchasing agent is available (ext. 3710) to answer questions regarding purchasing. Payment for unauthorized commitments to procure materials or services outside of the normal requisitioning methods may not be honored by the College.

Purchasing Procedures
Faculty and staff should use the Etrieve link provided under the Faculty and Staff – Tools – tab. Special notes: if this is a vendor the College has not used before, the person submitting the order must ask the vendor to send a completed W-9 to the College purchasing staff member. This form can be found at www.irs.gov , and if a credit application is required to make a purchase, the vendor should forward the company’s form as well.

The purchaser should next forward the form to the supervisor or department chair for signatures. The Purchasing Office staff cannot process the form without the appropriate signatures. The form then goes to the appropriate Vice President or to the President for final review of budget information, dollar amount and signature. Any orders over $10,000.00 must be submitted to the State Purchase & Contract Office to be put out for bid unless on state contract.

For emergency purchases that preclude notification to the Purchasing Office, the purchaser needs to submit a requisition following the instructions found on the form and attach the invoice to the request. The purchaser must indicate on the form that this has already been purchased to avoid duplication of the order. The purchaser should follow the instructions above for approvals. Once the purchase has been made, the card should be returned with the receipt for goods purchased.

After these steps are complete, the purchaser must follow these procedures related to accounts payable.

Accounts Payable Procedures
The purchaser should sign and date the receipt of goods (ROG) and attach any packing slips and invoice if available and forward to Accounts Payable office.

To return items, the purchaser should provide a return authorization number, the person’s name and phone number, and a note as to indicate how goods were returned.

Blanket Purchase Orders
In some instances, a department may need to ensure ongoing services from a known vendor. For blanket purchase orders (BPO), the purchaser should follow the instructions found on the appropriate form.

The Purchasing Manual is now available online.

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