Purchasing & Spending
Purchasing and spending money is part of managing finances as a student organization. The Authorized Signer is responsible for the overall purchasing for the student organization. The Authorized Signer may not be the individual that is planning events and initiatives for the organization, so it is very important that the Authorized Signer educate these members on the information, documentation, and receipts/invoices needed to pay for goods and services in a timely manner.
Defining Terms
When purchasing goods and services, you interact with suppliers, University entities, like the University Contracts Office, and more. Before you begin to spend or purchase prizes and gifts, you first need to understand the difference between goods and services, and their relationship to the suppliers.
- Goods refer to physical and tangible items.
- Services are when someone/something provides skills, support or labor.
- Suppliers are the vendor being used to fulfill a request for goods or services.
How can I purchase goods?
- P-card (University credit card)
- Payment Request (Purchase Order; cuts a check to the vendor). Any purchase ≥ $5000 must be paid via Payment Request (Purchase Order / check payment) and include a Purchasing Checklist & Bid Summary Form. Be sure to attach competing quotes from similar vendors. The bid checklist form helps to ensure that we are getting the most competitive pricing for goods/services.
- On-Campus Purchase (On-campus vendor purchases, such as the Bookstore or Entropy)
- JE Transfer (Electronic transfer of money between 2 on-campus accounts)
- Expense Reimbursement (Out of pocket purchases, receipts submitted for reimbursement)
How can I purchase services?
- P-card (University credit card, for general services like rentals and printing (NOT professional services); must cost less than $5000; and a contract with University Contracts' approval is included with receipt)
- Payment Request (Purchase Order; cuts a check to the vendor)
- JE Transfer (Electronic transfer of money between 2 on-campus accounts)
- On-Campus Purchase (On-campus vendors such as the Bookstore and Entropy)
- Payroll (If the student has a position on campus, payment must be paid through Workday)
Important Note: You CANNOT reimburse for services. A contract is REQUIRED for services.
Special Types of Purchases & Spending
In addition to the everyday spending your organization does, you may want to utilize additional spending options, like making Amazon purchases, capital and travel purchases, external donations, and even purchases like hazmat/hazardous materials and prizes/gifts/awards.
Make an Amazon Purchase
Request UberEats Meal Vouchers
Make a Capital Purchase
If you were allocated funds for a capital purchase from the Joint Funding Committee (JFC), you must go through the Student Body Vice President for Finance (SBVPF) to make the purchase. Please submit the JFC Capital Purchase FY23 form to obtain approval.
Capital purchases are not part of your JFC allocation but are housed in the JFC Capital budget. Generally speaking, capital purchases are used over a period of multiple fiscal years. You can access your budget to see what capital items your organization has been approved for.
Make an External Donation
Make a Travel Purchase
Make a Hazmat/Hazardous Materials Purchase
Hazardous materials include, but are not limited to: propane, epoxy, lighter fluid, acetone, aerosol sprays, paints and dyes, etc.
For questions about hazardous materials, please email SLICE.
More Purchases & Spending Options
prizes/gifts/awards
Please complete the P-card Appointment request to make an appointment to purchase any Prizes, Gifts, or Awards. Appointments must be made one business day in advance.
- All Prizes, Gifts, or Awards will require the names of the winners to be submitted to the SLICE office to ensure that there is no conflict of interest in how prizes and gifts are awarded.
- Any Prizes, Gifts, or Awards valued over $75 will require a tax form to be completed by the recipient to ensure that the recipient does not receive an amount that would be considered taxable income ($600 per calendar year).
- Gift Cards and Cash of any value will require a tax form to be completed by the recipient so that if the recipient does receive taxable income, their information is available to report the taxable income.
raffles/drawings
Raffles: Under Pennsylvania state law, 50/50 raffles or raffles of any kind are prohibited without a license. Please contact SLICE prior to your event if you plan to give away prizes or awards. Specific documentation may be required to ensure that the University remains compliant with the IRS tax law.
Drawings: If all participants have an equal statistical chance of winning, a drawing, not a raffle, may potentially be permitted. Orgs interested in doing a drawing should email SLICE to ensure that the drawing is compliant with University policy.
Purchasing & Spending Forms
Working with Suppliers & Tax Forms
When possible, students should aim to use a supplier that the University has negotiated a Master Service Agreement. These suppliers already have pre-established rates and terms with Carnegie Mellon University. Additionally, students should consider utilizing small and disadvantaged suppliers.
To inquire whether a supplier is in our payment system, please email the SLICE Finance team with that supplier’s name. If the supplier is not in the database, then they will need to complete the university’s supplier tax forms.
What is the timeframe for submitting a new supplier to the system?
It can take 2-4 weeks from the time supplier forms are submitted to establish a new supplier in the system. The 2-4 week timeframe allows the suppliers a sufficient amount of time to complete the forms and also allows Accounts Payable to verify tax information and banking information that is submitted before entering the supplier into our system.
If a supplier is already set up, they do not need to complete the supplier forms. To find out if a supplier is already established, please email the SLICE Finance team.
Contracts & Services
Contracts & the University Contracts Office (UCO)
Any service that is provided on campus or as part of any official Carnegie Mellon University-sponsored event must have an agreement that is signed and executed by an authorized university official. Students are not able to sign and execute agreements or contracts as representatives of the university, so it is imperative that you communicate with SLICE.