Purchasing Services

Purchasing is committed to creating and maintaining a customer-oriented effort in product/services procurement and contracting services that supports the University of Arizona mission, and to provide for the responsive, efficient, and timely acquisition of quality products and services at a prudent cost. We administer procurement for all departments in accordance with the responsibility and authority delegated by the University President.

Purchasing Information

Training Materials

See All Training

Policies

Purchasing Policy Manual

Vendor Resources

Vendor Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Process a requisition for the exact amount of the purchase (including taxes, shipping, etc.). Purchasing will issue a purchase order and send it to Accounts Payable to issue payment. For any questions related to payments and their status, please email FNSV-Accounts-Payable@arizona.edu.

Orders $25,000 and under should contain one quote and a justification for not utilizing a small business. Only orders between $10,000 and $25,000 require the justification for not utilizing a small business if the vendor selected is anything other than a small business. When entering the vendor on your requisition, the business type will populate. If the vendor shows as a small business, no justification is needed. If the vendor shows as anything other than a small business variant, a justification is required. Additional documentation such as an ICON form, insurance, and agreement may be required.

For orders exceeding $25,000 but not exceeding $100,000, three quotes or a sole source is required unless you are purchasing from a contract vendor (click on the link to see contract vendor requirements). Additional documentation such as an ICON form, insurance, and an agreement may be required.

Orders exceeding $100,000 may require a formal solicitation. Please note, the $100,000 threshold for a formal solicitation is for a five-year period. For example, if you want to purchase software that is $25,000 a year and you want to sign a five-year agreement, the total would be $125,000 which exceeds the threshold for a formal solicitation.

The $25,000 solicitation requirement is for the total order regardless of the number of items. Please note that intentionally fragmenting/pyramiding orders to circumvent the solicitation requirement is a violation of University and ABOR Purchasing Policies, and applicable State Law, and may result in disciplinary action including civil or criminal charges.
Purchase Order issuance times can vary depending on the complexity of the purchase.
The University does not have a Bid list, Vendors should visit the Vendor Resources website for information on how to do business with the University.
If a Contracted Vendor does not meet your needs, justification must be submitted with the requisition. Purchasing will review the justification and if appropriate, will process the order in accordance with University Policies and Procedures.

Unless you have been delegated signature authority by the President, do not sign quotes or agreements. 

If you have signature authority, you will have a letter which explains the types of agreements you can sign and up to a specified amount (ex: $500,000). 

  • For purchases under $50,000, a requisition for the agreement will need to be submitted. Please attach the agreement in the notes on the requisition.
  • Purchases over $50,000 require a Significant Purchase Request (SPR) be completed and approval by unit leadership and the appropriate senior leader. This includes activities funded by sponsored projects, grants, contracts or gifts. 

Requests can only be initiated by a department or unit’s provisioned account manager or some fiscal officers in the university's supply chain management software. Please refer to our Significant Purchase Request page for more information. 

Non-procurement or revenue generating contract submissions must also follow the same procedure. Please refer to Contracting Services page for more information. 

Purchases through Amazon should be made on the University PCard under the Business Account we have established. For information on enrolling in this program, please contact FNSV-Accounts-Payable@arizona.edu
If you have been working with a specific individual or representative at a company, the best way to ensure that your purchase order makes it to that individual is to include their email address in the notes and attachments. Not all vendors include email addresses on their quotes, so often the buyer will have to send to a generic email address or fax. Buyers prefer to email as a first attempt and will often cc the requestor if there is a valid email address.