FAQs

The short answer is always. If a department wishes to serve alcohol at a university event in a non-permanently licensed campus site (such as a holiday party or reception in an atrium or conference room), prior university approval must be obtained. The requirement to gain this permission does not apply to events held at on-campus licensed facilities, such as the Blackwell or the Faculty Club. For more information, review the Alcohol and Other Drugs Policy.

Pre-approval is not necessary to purchase alcohol at licensed facilities, such as off-campus restaurants. Approval may occur either before or after the event.

However, ALL ALCOHOL purchases must receive College approval on the Expense Report in WorkDay. The Cost Center Manager must add the appropriate College Finance Manager for approval.

The amount of alcohol purchased may not exceed $25 per person in attendance.

If the PCard was used for the purchase the cardholder who authorized the purchase will reimburse the college for the overage amount including tip adjustments. If the purchaser is seeking reimbursement, the reimbursable amount will not exceed $25 per person in attendance along with the tax and tip adjustment.

Alcohol may never be charged to general funds or sponsored research projects. Alcohol purchases must be charged to discretionary funds. Adding the College Finance manager in WorkDay on the Expense Report certifies that he fund used is a discretionary fund or an eligible conference(earnings) fund.

All contract, independent contractor agreements plus terms and conditions associated with the use of a purchasing card or a purchase order must be entered in OnBase by the ASC Business Services Center. These must be reviewed and signed by central University Purchasing and the vendor prior to any use of a purchasing card or issuance of a purchase order.

Terms and conditions submission form

Expedited Review Process

This is optional, and the traditional submission process listed above can still be used.

When the Expedited Review Process is Available

Suppliers may request a signature from The Ohio State University via an agreement, Statement of Work (SOW), Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), or Terms & Conditions when making a purchase.

If ALL of the following criteria are met, an expedited review process is available for obtaining signature:

• The purchase is less than $5,000
• The purchase falls within at least one of the following Spend Categories
  • SC10663 – Education and Training – Conference Registration
  • SC10671 – Food – Restaurants and Catering (only restaurants and caterers outside of Columbus and Internal Suppliers)
  • SC10726 – Meeting Facilities Rental (if a hotel rental, only non-Columbus hotels and Internal Suppliers)
  • SC10736 – Hotels and Lodging (only lodging outside of Columbus and Internal Suppliers)
  • SC10737 – Entertainment Services (only entertainment services outside of Columbus)
• Supplier agrees to attach Disclaimer Language to the agreement
• Senior Fiscal Officer (SFO) has reviewed and signed the agreement
• If the purchase is made under a Grant, and any part of the purchase is not allowable under the Grant, related expenses are the responsibility of the Unit. Contact the Grants Shared Service Center with questions.

If all of these criteria are NOT met, please refer to the following resources:

• Procurement Agreements under $500,000 – Procurement Agreements Management
• Procurement Agreements over $500,000 – OnBase Contract Management

Anyone in the department can initiate the request.

Yes. Find a PCard tracking log form here for non-travel and here for travel.

All alcohol transactions and transactions where the cost center Chair/Director are involved will require review by the assigned ASC College Finance Manager. Workday PCard transactions will require the Cost Center Manager to add the appropriate approver.

Yes. There is no limitation on how many vendors or transactions can be submitted on an Expense Report.

Yes.

Yes, create a new expense report with the credit documentation and include the original ER# in the comments.

No. You can only reallocate with OSP funding and GET card.

A pre-approved Spend Authorization (SA) is required for all travel expenditures including mileage for any destination 45 miles or greater from the traveler's headquarters or work location (as defined by HR or flexible work agreement if applicable). 

Creating a Spend Authorization in Workday Job Aid

Yes. For duty of care, a Spend Authorization must be submitted. This will also account for any unanticipated expense the third party will not be covering such as ground transportation. Estimated costs being covered by the third party should be listed in the “Justification” of the Spend Authorization. An expense item line must be added to the Spend Authorization such as “Travel Incidentals” for a low dollar amount.

You will create a Travel Expense Report for any reimbursement requests. 

All Ohio State employees are required to purchase airfare with the CTP travel agency either through Concur or working with a service agent. Rental cars must be procured via the Ohio State contracted agencies Enterprise, National or Hertz. Group travel (10 or more individuals sharing the exact same itinerary) must be arranged with ScholarTrip travel. To ensure the rental car contract pricing and included required insurance they can be reserved in Concur as well. Please refer to the Travel FAQ for details and links.

Student employees traveling for academic reasons not related to their employment are exempt from the initiative, however it is strongly encouraged for duty of care purposes to use CTP.

Travel exceptions are but are not limited to: lack of pre-approval(After the Fact travel approval/ATF), non-contract rental car procured, lack of rental car insurance purchased, cash advance not reconciled within 30 days of return from trip, reimbursement not submitted by the traveler within 60 days of the travel expense purchase, non-commercial housing was not pre-approved.

The cash advance is reconciled in a Workday  Expense Report (ER) which has been linked to the Spend Authorization (SA). The Cost Center will need to contact the BSC Fiscal Lead when there is a deposit for unused fund to repay the cash advance in Workday. 

Cash Advance Request Process Job Aid

If the contracted agencies are NOT available, or vehicles available do not meet business needs at the time of booking, screen shots need to be pulled at the time of booking and provided to avoid an exception.

If rental car is for domestic travel and is not rented under the contracted agencies, LDW/CDW PLUS liability need to be purchased.

International rental cars rented on contract do NOT include the necessary insurance.  Insurance options need to be explored prior to the trip and vetted through Risk Management to ensure coverage is enough to meet Ohio State University guidelines.

International rental cars rented outside of the contract need to have insurance options vetted through Risk Management.

Learn more about rental car discounts.

Business purpose should be written so an individual, unfamiliar to the organization’s operation can understand why the transaction occurred and how it benefits the mission of the University.

Using words such as “for,” “on behalf of,” “at the request of,” etc. help the reader to understand the justification of the transaction or expenditure.

Examples of Poorly Written Business Purposes

• Purchased 50 boxes of granola bars
• Lunch with donor
• Attend ASEE
• Gift card for research participants
• Airfare
• Research collaboration

Examples of Properly Written Business Purposes

• Purchase of granola bars to feed monkeys used in cancer research
• Lunch with donor, Joe Smith, to discuss giving opportunities to the college in support of the building campaign
• Attend American Society of Engineering Educators seminar to present paper on student retention
• Gift cards given to research participants according to protocol
• Invited to University of China to collaborate on chemical refinement processes on behalf of OSU
• Various trips throughout South America to research rural irrigation systems to provide data for journal publication titled “Improving Rural Irrigation Systems”

*Standard office supplies is an acceptable business purpose for typical office supply purchases(i.e. pens, paper, notebooks). However, you do need a specific business purpose for unique office supplies that are not purchased regularly(i.e. DVD player).

Please provide item/catalog numbers along with your item description. 

Important: Please provide quote # in the Quote ID box along with an attachment. If you do not have a quote number but an email from vendor then attach that to your requisition. If verbal or web pricing then mention that in Additional Information. 

University units that sell goods and services ex: FOD, Tech Hub, The Blackwell, UniPrint, TTM Charter Bus. Some of the Internal suppliers are available in BuckeyeBuy. Examples would include The Blackwell, FOD, UNIV Print, TTM Charter bus. Internal supplies such as Tech Hub, ASC Machine Shop, OCIO, ESL, BuckID, OIA, University Registrar need to be submitted as non-catalog.

It is an online store integrated with Workday, loaded with contracted suppliers for streamlined checkout and approval process. ex: Fisher Scientific, Adriatico’s Pizza, CDWG, etc.

Buckeye Buy order for services often carry over on a Goods line, please do not adjust the cart. 

When orders cannot be fulfilled through Internal or BuckeyeBuy supplier. 

Purchases made through non-catalog suppliers increase operating costs, delay your purchase, and negate the cost-savings negotiated by purchasing. Orders for non-contracted suppliers often include Terms and Conditions which need to be reviewed by purchasing and countersigned by vendor. 

Non-catalog requisitions must use existing suppliers whenever possible.  If a new supplier needs to be added to Ohio State's vendor list, it will require additional paperwork and approvals which will further delay the purchase and increase operating costs.

External supplier orders should never be submitted under BuckeyeBuy requisition type.

No. It will not result in a valid BuckeyeBuy requisition.   

No. One vendor per requisition.

No. One service line, one chart field. 

Updating the name of “Ordering For” would allow the blanket order invoice to workflow to that individual for approval instead of who entered the requisition. 

Purchases over $1,000 for external non-contracted vendors. 

The quote will allow the procurement staff to compare external pricing to existing contracts to ensure best prices associated with educational discounts offered by suppliers.  The quote also provides documentation that can be used during the payment process to ensure that we are billed for the amounts quoted.

A purchase order must be issued prior to the purchase occurring or the purchase is considered an After-the-Fact exception. All After-the-Fact Purchase Orders must follow the Exception policy within the Expenditures policy.

When Internal vendors issue an Internal Service Delivery (ISD) to charge the department, they also close out the PO. This type of PO will not show “paid” but will be closed by the vendor nonetheless.  

However, vendors such as The Blackwell, which is listed as external vendor in Workday, will not close purchase orders. In this case, department is responsible for verifying payment and completion of services and asking the BSC procurement associate to close the PO as for any other external vendor. 
 

External vendor contracts over $500,000 should be submitted by the Cost Center Manager to OLA for review and signature. Model Agreements should be signed by your Finance Manager. All other orders under the threshold should be submitted to the BSC for processing. When submitting terms and conditions to the BSC please include supplier contact email. 

Bid Waiver: All items that are not on contract and total above bidding limit.

Effective July 1, 2023 UNIV orders for non-contract suppliers for goods and services beyond $75,000 threshold must be submitted with a “Bid Waiver” Requisition Type. Include waiver of competitive bidding and a letter of justification 

• Waiver FAQ’s 
• Instructions for Waiver 
• Waiver Form 

All purchases, including business meals and alcohol purchases, must include a business purpose justifying the necessity of the expenditure. Purchases involving food and beverage must also include a list of attendees.

What If I don’t know who will be attending?

• If it is a public event, please attach a flyer or announcement.  If an invite list is unavailable at the time of the order, please add an audit comment that a list will be kept. 
• FOR ALL ORDERS, please comment if any university/college/dept leaders and/or CCM could potentially attend.  If they are, please ad hoc for additional approval.

Why do I need to state whether the Chair/Director or CCM will be attending for every request?

• Separation of duty.  We need to be able to confirm that appropriate approvals have been received for both the Chair and CCM.  We also need to be able to confirm that these approvals are not necessary in the case that they are not attending. 

Can the Finance Manager approve for Chair/Director and CCM?

• The college can serve as approver covering both, however it should be clearly stated in the comments they are requesting approval for both attendees to ensure separation of duties.

What is the Catering Marketplace?

• The Buckeye Buy Catering Marketplace is a multi-supplier catalog of drop-off and full-service caterers and event equipment rental suppliers. Menus, discounts, and service details are visible at order entry.

Contract Book

If I have a Quote, do I need to use the Catering Marketplace?

• Yes.  Buckeye Buy should be used for contract suppliers.

Do I need a Quote, and do I need to attach it to the requisition?

• Yes. It is best practice to obtain a quote for your event.  This will ensure that the vendor is available for the date and time of your event.  Purchase orders without prior contact with the supplier may not be filled because of the suppliers existing prior commitments.  Additionally, BSC can confirm that you are receiving correct discounts and your event details can be communicated in the PO details. 

What if my quote doesn’t match the pricing in the Catering Marketplace?

• A Catering Service line has been added to most of the drop-off service catalogs in the Catering Marketplace. This will allow users to enter a one-line order for event food, beverages, disposables, etc. as quoted by the supplier. 
• In the event this is not an option for your vendor of choice, you will need to build a cart listing individual items.  If the pricing does not match what is in the Catering Marketplace, then contact your BSC associate for direction. 

Full-service catering including alcohol.

• A copy of the itemized quote must be attached for the BSC to verify if there is alcohol, and that the OSU contract pricing is being provided.  Alcohol should be separated out.

What are “Area Worktags”?  Which one do I use?

Area Worktags are entered into the Additional Worktags column and allow the university to determine if there are non-OSU attendees at your event.  

• AR1440 for Internal attendees (Faculty, Staff, Students)
• ARE1442 for External attendees (at least one guest is not from OSU)

I don’t see a signature line, why does the Finance Manager need to sign the catering confirmation?

• Confirmations from Internal Catering Suppliers (University Catering, Ohio Union and the Blackwell) request initials or state that by issuing a PO, we agree to be bound by the terms and conditions expressed in this Event Confirmation and the accompanying Facility Policies and Procedures.  These are viewed as model agreements and should be submitted via DocuSign for department’s Finance Manager signature.

Order confirmation

• It is the department’s responsibility to follow up with the vendor to confirm the receipt of PO and conformation of delivery.