PURCHASING PROCEDURES FOR
QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE

Revised July 15, 2003  

Purchasing Function

 Collin County Community College District has a centralized purchasing system, which requires the Purchasing Department to place all orders for all campuses.  The Purchasing Department assigns purchase order numbers to all purchases, confirms all purchase orders in writing and processes all change orders.  Our office is located at the Courtyard Campus, 4800 Preston Park Blvd., 4^th Floor, Suite A400, Plano, Texas 75093.

•   The Purchasing Department strictly adheres to Texas Education Code, Subchapter B, Section 44 http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/ed/ed0004400.html#ed012.44.031

•  All purchases must be entered on Buyspeed (automated purchasing software) as requisitions except:

• Check Requests

• Bookstore purchases (office supplies only)

• Petty Cash

Click the following link for more information on the above procedures:
http://intranet.collin.edu/quickreference/HomeFrame.htm

•  Purchase orders will not be processed for purchases under $50.  Purchases under $50 should be bought via petty cash.

•  Anyone using Buyspeed must have a password assigned by Purchasing, and attend Buyspeed training.  Training materials are available on the intranet. All Buyspeed questions are to be directed to the Purchasing System Specialist at 972-758-3873. 

•  Anyone who makes a purchase in a manner, which does not follow established purchasing procedures, enters into a private transaction with the vendor, and assumes responsibility for payment.  Confirming orders are not acceptable. The requesting department should enter a requisition and call all approvers on the approval path to expedite approval of the requisition. The requesting department should then contact the Purchasing Department to request that the requisition be processed promptly.

• Purchase orders can only be processed after the Buyspeed requisition is received into Purchasing.  There are no exceptions.

• Purchasing checks for requisitions that are "Ready for Purchasing" at least twice a day (usually 9 a.m. & 1 p.m.).

• If a purchase order needs to be faxed rather than mailed to a vendor, enter a narrative on the requisition requesting that the order be faxed.

• During non-peak times, requisitions are generally processed the same day that they are received if pricing is current, the dollar amount falls under the quote/bid threshold and necessary backup has been sent to Purchasing.

Purchasing Information Available on CCCCD's Intranet

 The following information can be obtained through CCCCD's Purchasing page on the intranet:

·        A list of various Contracts: audio visual equipment, computers (both desktop and notebook), copier rental agreements, fax/printers/scanner prices with a separate section on repair/service/maintenance, forms and mailers, pagers, cell phones, some standards on office furniture, a plant operations page, promo items (including t-shirts) and printing, a reprographics page, and temporary personnel;

•  A list of all Purchasing Staff and their responsibilities;

• General purchasing instructions and information;

• Change order form ;

• Buyspeed instructions for Requisitioners;

• Sole source and emergency purchase justification forms.

 Purchasing Thresholds

• Less than $1,000 - requesting department obtains one quote to establish price for requisition.*

• $1,000 - $4,999 - Three (3) quotes must be obtained by the Requesting Department. A quote form can be found at the following link to assist in acquiring quotes. The Requesting Department should send a copy of the quote form for backup. Phone, fax and e-mail quotes are acceptable. * If pricing is obtained from a cooperative purchasing contract as listed in this guide, then only one quote is necessary.

• $15,000-$9,999- Purchasing obtains written quotes.  Faxed and e-mail quote requests and responses are acceptable.

• Purchases of Personal Property Valued Between $10,000 and $25,000 - Purchasing  solicits  formal bids or proposals **.

• $25,000 +  - Purchasing solicits formal bids, proposals or requests for qualifications for all purchases $25,000 and over. All expenditures of $25,000 or more must have Board approval before a requisition can be processed. (See Purchasing Deadlines for board Agenda.) Board meetings are generally held the fourth Tuesday of each month with the exception of the December meeting, which is usually scheduled one week early due to the holidays. Bids must be on the preliminary agenda, which finalized by purchasing according to the "Purchasing Deadline for Board Agenda". A department representative should be in attendance at the Board meeting to answer any questions pertaining to the purchase.

• 5,000 + - Change orders must have Board approval before being processed.

• CISV (Technology items) - over $2,000 must have three (3) quotes from CISV vendors

*The Requesting Department should verify any pricing obtained from website and also verify that the company will accept a purchase order.

** Personal property includes, but is not limited to, any item or thing that can be moved from one location to another or is consumable and does not include real property, such as land, buildings, and repair or renovation to any building. The term "personel property" includes related classes or types of items. or consumble supplies, such as, athletic supplies, automotive supplies, office supplies, cafeteria equipment, cafeteria commodities, gasoline, books, instructional spplies, insurance, ans so forth.

Note:  State law requires legal ads be advertised once a week for two weeks before the deadline for receipt of bids, proposals or responses to a request for qualifications.  Bids must be submitted in sealed envelopes (no faxes), and must be opened in a public bid opening with the time and place indicated in the legal ad.

 Sole Source Purchases 

• When product/service can only be provided by one vendor, the department must provide sole source documentation to Purchasing Department as back-up (see Justification for Proprietary Acquisition).

Cooperative Purchasing Contracts  

The District participates in several cooperative purchasing programs that offer volume discounts for items commonly purchased by a number of public entities. Purchases made off of these contracts meet the competitive bid requirements set forth by the State statues. These contracts are typically used for smaller dollar purchases where it is not cost effective for the District to put out a bid for an annual contract. These contracts can be used to obtain pricing for those items under the $5,000 threshold. Following is a list of some of the cooperative programs that are available for use.

• Texas Building and Procurement Commission (TBPC) - http://www.gsc.state.tx.us/

• Texas Cooperative Purchasing Network (TCPN) - http://www.tcpn.org/

• U.S. Communities - http://www.uscommunities.org/

• Buyboard - http://www.buyboard.com/

• E&I Cooperative - http://www.eandi.org/default.aspx

• Collin County Governmental Purchaser's Forum

• Houston-Galveston Area Council of Governments (HGAC) - http://www.hgac.cog.tx.us/intro/introcoop.html

Emergency Purchases

• Emergency   purchases must be entered into Buyspeed - and expedited through the approval path by the requesting department. It is the department's responsibility to call all approvers on the approval path to expedite the requisition. The department is also responsible for the checking the status in Buyspeed to determine at what approval level it is.  Call  Purchasing to advise the emergency status and the  requisition number so that when it is received by Purchasing, proper action can be taken.  
  

• Emergency expenditures of less than $10,000  are defined as follows:

To remove hazards

To protect property

To protect people

To alleviate financial loss

To alleviate operation damage

To expedite repairs

• Emergency expenditures $10,000 + $24,999.99 are defined as follows:

If school equipment or a part of a school facility or personal property is destroyed or severely damaged, or as a result of an unforeseen catastrophe or emergency, undergoes major operational or structural failure and to bid would prevent or substantially impair the conduct of classes or other essential school activities, then contracts for the replacement or repair of the equipment or the part of the school facility may be made by methods other than a bid.  These purchases must be approved by Vice President Administration and Purchasing Director.          

• Emergency expenditures of $25,000+ are defined the same as expenditures of  $10,000 except Board approval is required.

 Preparing the Requisition:

• Quotes or bids will be processed only after the requisition has been through the appropriate approval path and been received in Purchasing.

• Combine all similar items that can be purchased from same group of vendors on one requisition. Requisitions received of a similar nature will be combined with other requisitions and bids or quotes will be requested. Purchasing staff keeps careful watch for the following types of purchases which attempt to avoid the bid/quote/proposal process: 
  
  1) "Component purchases" means purchases of the component parts of an item in normal purchasing practices would be purchased in one purchase.
  2) "Separate purchases" means purchases, made separately, of items that in normal purchasing practices would be purchased in one purchase.
  3) "Sequential purchases" means purchases, made over a period, of items that in normal purchasing practices would be purchased in one purchase.  

(Suspected purchases of the above nature will be brought into question and the proper procedures for the purchase will be followed.)

• Items to be delivered  to different campuses must be entered on separate requisitions.

• Sole source items, blanket contract items, or State of Texas contract items must be put on separate requisitions from other items.  Example:  PC's and printers are under different contracts and must be entered on separate requisitions.

• f the purchase is being made under an existing contract, including a cooperative purchasing contract, then the contract bid number and blanket P.O. number must be referenced on the requisition.

• Printing  requirements must first be approved by the Publications Department.  Each job will be assigned a Job Number.  That number must be referenced in a narrative when creating the Buyspeed requisition.

• State the required delivery date, taking into consideration the approval process and  turn-around times required in Purchasing.  When acquiring quotes from vendors make sure and ask about the time required for delivery after the vendor receives the order and add that amount of time to the required by date.  Be realistic when entering the required by date.  If the order needs to be expedited, please indicate so in a narrative item on the requisition and Purchasing will do their best to meet the needs of the departments requirements.

• When placing an order with a new vendor make sure that the vendor information is complete and accurate.  Information that needs to be included is:  Vendor name, contact name, address, phone number, fax number and e-mail address.  Make sure that the vendor will accept a purchase order, especially when dealing with internet companies.

• Be sure to note special delivery requirements in a narrative on the requisition (i.e. installation, contact person to schedule delivery, room number of installation, any time periods that the space would/would not be available for installation.

• Take into consideration issues such as warranty, training, annual maintenance.

• The more information that you include on or with the requisition, the fewer questions that will likely need to be addressed and the quicker the requisition will be processed.  If you have backup information such as quotes, sole source documentation, etc., send that to Purchasing with the requisition number noted on the backup.  A special file is kept in Purchasing for backup and is checked when requisitions are received.

• All requisitions must have an account number listed before a purchase order will be issued.

• All requisitions or IT related purchases (to include but not limited to software, hardware, printers, memory, etc.) must be sent through the PC/MAC approval path.

• Any requisition received into Purchasing that does not have the required information and/or has not gone through the proper approval path may be returned to the originator for correction.

Special Requirements for Capital and Controlled Equipment Purchases:

• Capital and controlled equipment that is being delivered to different campuses must be entered on separate requisitions.

• Items must be delivered through Central Receiving at the appropriate campus so that they can be tagged and the information recorded.

• A narrative should be entered on the requisition requiring the vendor to note the purchase order number on shipping labels.  A standard text can be set up in Buyspeed to add this.

• The description entered on the requisition must be adequate to assist in the identification of the item.  Listing only a part number is not sufficient.

• The header information of the requisition should list the name and phone number of the person entering the requisition. 

• A narrative should be included listing the name and number of the person originating the request.  This is the person with whom delivery and installation should be scheduled.

 Change Orders:

• Change orders cannot be done on purchase orders that have already been received in Buyspeed.  A new requisition must be entered.

• Change orders for additional items, which exceed $500, must be placed on a new requisition.  Exception would be for repair of equipment, building, etc. where the cost of the repair is estimated on the original order.

• Change order requests will be reviewed on an individual basis.  It is the departments responsibility to make sure that funds for the additional cost are available in their budget. 

  Open Purchase Orders:

•  Open purchase orders will be limited to $2,000 annually per vendor, per department.  Open purchase orders should be used for: 1) emergency purposes, when it is not feasible to enter a requisition and go through the proper purchasing procedures; or 2) many small dollar purchases are anticipated for supplies throughout the year.

• Single item purchases of $300 or greater should not be purchased through an open purchase order and should be entered into Buyspeed and a purchase order issued prior to making the purchase.

• The proper procedure for emergency purchases, where an open purchase order is not in place or the item is over $300, is for the department to: 1) enter a requisition in Buyspeed; 2) call each person on the approval path to expedite the approval process; 3) make Purchasing aware that the requisition is an emergency and will need to be processed immediately upon final approval; 4) Purchasing will process the requisition and fax the purchase order to the vendor. 

• Complete receipt should not be done on an open purchase order until the end of the fiscal year.

 Award of Quotes & Bids:

• Awards are generally made on the basis of the lowest bidder who meets the specifications of the bid.  In determining to whom to award a contract, the District may consider the following:

• The purchase price;

• The reputation of the vendor and of the vendor's goods or services;

• The extent to which the goods or services meet the District's needs;

• The vendor's past relationship with the District (documentation of past problems must be present before recommending non-award);

• The impact on the ability of the District to comply with laws and rules relating to historically underutilized businesses;

• The total long-term cost to the District to acquire the vendor's goods or services; and

• Any other relevant factor that a private business entity would consider in selecting a vendor.

Receiving orders:

• Receiving document should include the following information:  
  - Quantity received  
  - Date received  
  - Signature of the person who received the goods.  
  

• Document shortages, overages and damages on the receiving report

• Only approve payment for quantity received and kept

• Do a partial receipt for items that are received when backorders, stockouts, etc. are involved.

• Items should be checked-in immediately and receiving document should be sent to accounts payable as soon as possible.

    - Insures prompt payment to the vendor
- May be damages or shortages that need to be reported

• Before signing for goods, check boxes for damage.

• If there is damage to the box, check to make sure the contents are not damaged.

• If contents are not damaged, you can go ahead and accept delivery.

• If contents are damaged, refuse delivery.  

• Make carrier document damage to the box even if contents do not appear to be damaged.

• If damage that could not be detected upon receipt (latent defect) is noticed when the goods are put to use you need to notify the vendor immediately. 

• Always test goods to make sure there are no latent defects.  In most cases, there is a time limit as to when goods can be returned.

Shipping Terms:

• F.O.B. (Free on Board) determines the point at which title or ownership transfers and responsibility for the goods while in transit.

    - F.O.B. Destination: Shipper maintains ownership and is responsible for the goods until received by the buyer at the destination indicated on the purchase order.

   * Any loss or damages would be handled by the shipper.  

   - F.O.B. Origin: Buyer takes ownership and responsibility once the goods leave the shippers location.

* Any loss or damages would be handled by the buyer.  

Shipping costs:

• Important to include shipping costs on the purchase order.

• Should ask vendor to include shipping in their price or give a separate price.

• Ideal shipping term is F.O.B. Destination, freight prepaid and allowed.

• Shipper pays freight, owns goods in transit and files claims.

Vendor Documentation:

• Always document unsatisfactory performance by a vendor and keep on file.  You never know when unsatisfactory performance will become habitual, so keep good records in order to support any future debarment of the vendor or actions against the vendor.

• Contact Purchasing anytime a problem arises with a vendor that cannot be rectified at the department level.

Inventory Control:

• Keep records to determine usage history in order to maintain adequate inventory levels.

• Document item usage to get an idea of the volume of usage.  This information could be used to establish annual contracts.

• Have procedures in place to document where inventory is going.