The Director of Purchasing will work with departments to locate and select vendors whose products
and services offer the best available prices and most favorable terms and conditions for the College.
The primary purpose of the Purchasing Department is to support our College in procuring required materials.
We strive to accomplish this as economically as possible, within acceptable standards of quality and service,
while utilizing professional ethics and our best business practices throughout this process.

New vendors are reviewed as to their standing with the Better Business Bureau before the College will enter into an on going relationship with the vendor.

Vendors that are no longer actively engaged in a business relationship with the College are flagged as inactive on our financial reporting system. Payments will not be issued to inactive vendors unless authorized.

Assumption College can utilize the MHEC ( Massachusetts Higher Education Consortium), E & I (Educational and Institutional Cooperative), and COWCJPG (Colleges of Worcester Consortium Joint Purchasing Group) contracts which have been negotiated for the entire buying group. Please note that certain contract discounts are extended to employees by vendors. Any personal purchase must not be billed to Assumption College. For more information, contact Gale Racine at (508) 767-7283, or visit the following web sites:

www.mhec.net

www.eandi.org

www.cowc.org

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Accounts Payable Department

The mission of the Accounts Payable Department is to provide payment service while controlling disbursements, other than payroll, made from College funds. This includes insuring that all disbursements are timely, accurate and made in compliance with established College policies and procedures.

All check request forms must be submitted with the proper documentation (receipts, subscription form, registration form, etc.) to the Accounts Payable Department by 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday in order to be processed for Thursday's check run. Check request forms received without proper documentation will be returned. The College pays all invoices approved for payment according to the payment terms stated on the invoices.

All checks requested for payment will be mailed from the Accounts Payable office. Checks for an employee reimbursement, a visiting lecturer or an on campus entertainer may be picked up at the Accounts Payable Office on Thursday's after 1:00 p.m.

To help facilitate the timely processing of all requests, please keep the following suggestions in mind:

1. Plan ahead - Be aware of upcoming needs for checks, etc.
2. Submit early - The sooner Accounts Payable receives documents, the easier it will be to meet necessary deadlines. Please do not hold check requests, invoices, expense reports, etc. They should be forwarded to Accounts Payable.

The contact person in Accounts Payable is Cynthia Baxter, Ext. 7349 . The office is located in Alumni Hall, Room 113.

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Purchase Order Cycle

The Purchasing Department requires a purchase order for the off campus purchase of all goods and/or services. Please request inside delivery of goods from the vendor.

The department completes a purchase order (see directions for completing a P.O.) and forwards the P.O. to the Purchasing Department (Gale Racine) for processing.

The Purchasing Cycle is as follows:

(1)	The ordering department completes a purchase order for goods and/or services and submits it to the Purchasing Department (all copies intact).
(2)	Purchasing mails the original (white copy) P.O. to the vendor. Purchasing retains The yellow copy. The pink receiving copy and the goldenrod requisitioner copy are returned to the ordering department.
(3)	The goods are received and/or services performed by the vendor. When the goods are received, inspect them for any damage or missing items and have any discrepancies noted on the packing slip at the time of delivery. The vendor remits the invoice to Accounts Payable.
(4)	Accounts payable sends copies of invoices to the departments for approval and requests the pink purchase order. If more than one invoice is received for a purchase order, please approve each partial billing with a signature and account number and write partial payment on the invoice. When approving the last invoice on a purchase order write final payment on the invoice and attach the pink purchase order.

Any questions concerning this procedure should be directed to Gale Racine, Director of Purchasing at Ext. 7283.

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PURCHASING AND RELATED TOPICS

I.	Purchase Orders
	Purchase orders are completed for the purchase of goods and/or services. The College cannot accept financial responsibility for goods or services ordered or delivered without an authorized signature from the Purchasing Department. Forms may be obtained from the Accounts Payable Department. (Cynthia Baxter).
II.	Confirmation or Verbal Purchase Orders
	Verbal purchase orders will only be used for emergency orders. When phoning in an order, verification of the actual price must be obtained and recorded on the appropriate columns of the purchase order. Please mark the purchase order "Confirmation - Do Not Duplicate" and forward to the Purchasing Department.
III.	Blanket Orders
	One purchase order may be used for repetitive small dollar purchases of goods and/or services from a particular vendor within a specific period of time not to exceed the fiscal year. Purchasing must approve the purchase order. All transactions are invoiced against the P.O. number and processed by the Accounts Payable Department. Place a B (for blanket) after the P.O. number when placing orders.
IV.	Equipment Purchases
	Please contact the Purchasing Department for information about equipment purchases. Purchasing will recommend manufacturers and contract prices. Approved departmental purchase orders will be processed by the Purchasing Department.
V.	Check Request
	The check request form is used by all college departments to initiate payment for the following purposes when authorized: a. Visiting lecturers and referees b. Reimbursements over fifty dollars c. Dues and subscriptions d. Other miscellaneous transactions that do not require the use of a purchase order.
VI.	Available Funds
	Invoices and check requests cannot be processed without sufficient departmental funds. Invoices and check requests submitted with insufficient budget funds result in delays.
VII.	Travel Vouchers
	When budgeted funds are available, employees are reimbursed by check for expenditures incurred on behalf of the College. A completed and approved travel voucher may be submitted along with proper documentation to Purchasing for processing. Travel vouchers must be approved by the department head. A travel voucher submitted by a Senior Administrator must be approved by the Executive Vice President/Treasurer.
VIII.	W- 9 Requirements
	It is the responsibility of the department bringing an unincorporated party on campus to perform a service to acquire that party's tax identification or social security number and address. This information must be forwarded to the Accounts Payable Department before a check will be issued.
IX	Outstanding Checks
	Assumption College has a policy that after 90 days outstanding checks will be researched. The College makes the determination as to whether the check will be reissued or voided. Please note that reissued checks may be subject to a $20 stop payment fee.
X	Mileage Reimbursement
	It is the policy of the College to adhere to I.R.S. guidelines as closely as possible. Please check with AP/Purchasing for the current reimbursement rate in effect .
XI	Typewriter and Fax Maintenance
	Contact Typewriter Service Company at (508) 791-4369.

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DIRECTIONS FOR COMPLETING A PURCHASE ORDER

(a)	DEPARTMENT CODE
	A three digit department number to be used after the five digit order number.
(b)	PLACEMENT DATE
	Leave blank - to be completed by the Purchasing Department. The only exception to this will be when the department places a verbal P.O.
(c )	TO
	The name and address of the vendor.
(d)	DEPARTMENT
	The name of the ordering department.
(e)	ITEM NO., QUANTITY, DESCRIPTION, UNIT PRICE
	Indicate the item number if applicable, the quantity ordered and the unit of measure (each, case, etc.). Specifically describe the items being ordered. Always refer to the manufacturer, the model number, the dimensions, color, finish, etc. Also, indicate the unit price for each unit of measure.
(f)	AMOUNT
	Record the amount to be charged to each account.
(g)	ACCOUNT NUMBER
	Indicate the seven digit department number plus the four digit object code to be charged. If more than one account number is being charged, please indicate in the space provided.
(h)	APPROVED BY
	The department head's signature. Once completed, please submit all copies of the purchase order to the Purchasing Department, attention Gale Racine, for approval and placement of the order. Please forward any questions to Gale at ext. 7283.

1099 Reporting

1099-MISC (Miscellaneous Income) forms will be sent to independent contractors who provide trade or business services to Assumption College when payments total $600 or more in a calendar year. The form is furnished to the independent contractor by January 31 for payments made during the previous tax year. The form is also filed with the IRS. The following payments must be reported on a 1099 form (as required by the IRS):

Payments made to an individual who is not employed by the College and not a corporation. Examples include:

- Payments to speakers, consultants and graduate assistants.

- Payments made to legal corporations (for services and/or gross proceeds).

- Payments made for faculty development grants.

- Payments made for any type of service.

- Payments made directly to performers.

- Payments made to a sole proprietorship.

- Payments made to a partnership for services.

- Payments made to medical and healthcare corporations (for services rendered).

- Payments made for awards and prizes.

- Payments to professionals (physicians, attorneys, etc.)

Accounts Payable-Purchasing Forms

Check Requests Word Document

Travel/Expense Vouchers Word Document

Request for Taxpayer Identification Number / W-9 Form