Procurement Services 204: Open Purchase Orders

Purpose

To provide a convenient method of encumbering and paying for regularly recurring purchases for a single service

Reference

University of Alaska Procurement Manual (not available online) Board of Regents Policy & Regulation 05.06.400

Definitions

Open Purchase Order: A purchase order method in which an order is established for an individual department for regularly recurring expenditure. Open Purchase Orders are fully funded (encumbered) in advance. Change Order: An amendment to a purchase order or contract that documents a change in the quantity or type of services or materials to be provided under the contract. 

Policy

Open Purchase Orders encumber funds in the Banner Financial system for one department, for the entire fiscal year and are used for predictable purchases that recur throughout the year such as cellular phone services, leases and other like expenses. Deductions are made from the encumbered amount each time a purchase is made. A Change Order can be issued by

Procurement Services to replenish funds to the open purchase order as needed. Departments typically track expenditures on their own soft ledgers.
For UAA, open purchase orders are typically numbered with a “V” preceding the fiscal year designation and a unique numeric identifier. An example of an open purchase order number for fiscal year 2006 would beV06325.
Open Purchase Orders are generally prepared in July, at the beginning of the new fiscal year, though they can be set up at any time. To request an open purchase order, enter a requisition into Banner and request that the purchase order be set up as an open purchase order.
Click here for Banner Finance Documentation on instructions for requisitioning for Purchase Orders.

Effective: 10/25/2005