Office of Business and Finance

Overview: When purchases less than or equal to $5,000, there are many payment options, including Buy Carolina (especially for supplies), credit card (Ramp, T&E card, or p-card) or check (upon receipt of an invoice). Please submit a ticket to the Business Office for help identifying the preferred payment method.

When a service or good that needs to be purchased costs more than $5,000, a requisition and purchase order may be required, depending on the source of funds used to make the purchase. Please submit a ticket to the Business Office with as much information as possible, and we will let you know documents you need to submit. The Purchasing Requirements by SOG Business guide details additional requirements, which depend on the SOG Business and contract amount.

For purchases using UNC funding, the following documents are required, depending on the contract amount:

• Purchases between $5,000 and $25,000:

• No longer require a Waiver of Competition Form.
• Still require a requisition and Purchase Order (PO)
• Requisition may be submitted with a single quote
• It is strongly recommended that pricing is obtained from multiple sources to ensure price competitiveness.

• Purchases between $25,000 and $100,000:

• A Waiver of Competition is required if competition is not available.
• If not requesting a waiver of competition, requires at least three (3) formal quotes obtained through an official University Request for Quote (RFQ) which will be prepared and sent out from Purchasing Services.

• Requisitions should include a vendor quote to establish a reasonable pricing range and contact information for at least three vendors (if known) to assist the purchasing agent in obtaining quotes. (Vendor Name, Contact Name, Phone number, Email Address).

• At least one vendor should be certified as a Historically Underutilized Business (HUB).  Purchasing will assist in identifying these businesses if one is not readily known. HUB businesses can also be searched by category at https://evp.nc.gov/vendors/vendorsearchadvanceform/?id=353397d9-a6aa-ef11-b8e9-001dd830a8c9 

• Formal Requests for Proposals or Invitation for Bids will be required for all purchases exceeding $100,000.

• Requires a detailed Statement of Work/Scope of Work.
• Department should establish evaluation criteria for evaluation of proposals.

Step by Step Process:

At least 45 days before the event/services:

1. Once you have the contract from the vendor, review to make sure that all of the details are correct and complete. The contract must include an accurate quote from the vendor.

2. Collect additional information, which includes:

You provide:

 ⃣     Agenda or course announcement (if applicable)

 ⃣     Participant List (if applicable)

If the contract is for more than $5000, also include:

 ⃣    Waiver of Competition form (signed by Faculty

Vendor Provides:

To receive payment from UNC, the vendor must be enrolled in UNC's vendor portal, PaymentWorks. Provide the name and email address of the catering contact and the business office will initiate an invitation to PaymentWorks. For more info, please visit the UNC Vendor Management page. Please provide a contact person’s name and email to send a registration request for them to register as a vendor to ajones@sog.unc.edu. 

3. Submit contract and all completed forms to the Business office via the Business Office Ticketing System. In the description area of your ticket, please provide any additional relevant details or special requests. The ticket should also include the appropriate Course Code and/or Program Code related to the event.

Once the Business Office has received the request and paperwork, within 2 business days we will:

1. Review the paperwork for completion and accuracy, and let you know if any additional information is needed.
2. Submit the paperwork to the University Purchasing office for approval. If we receive feedback from the University that more information is needed, we will let you know. Once it approves the submission, the University will sign the contract and send it back to the SOG. Note: Because all contracts are reviewed and signed centrally, the time it takes for the University to review and sign a contract can vary significantly. You should plan for a timeline of up to 3 weeks for University review.
3. We will send you the signed contract via the ticketing system. You should then return the signed contract to the vendor.

After the event and services are complete, within 10 business days, you should:

1. Submit an itemized invoice to the Business Office for Payment.
2. Include in your submission the relevant Course and/or Program codes.
3. The Business Office will submit the invoice for payment within 2 business days.

More Information:

• Relevant University Policy: How to Purchase at UNC-Chapel Hill
• Questions? Contact Anitra Jones at ajones@sog.unc.edu