Services

Purchasing Services: Service Purchase Contracts

Purchases for services require a "Service Purchase Contract" (SPC) document and is issued by the Regional Procurement Office (RPO), after receiving a fully approved Requisition (PR).

The SPC document requires signatures of all parties to the agreement; e.g. the Contractor and Contracting Officer. If the agreement is of a higher dollar threshold additional State System signatures are also required.

Note: When all University and Contractor signatures have been affixed to the contract, one copy is sent to the contractor, then and only then can the service begin.

The SPC document must be routed and signed by the Contractor, the University, and Legal Counsel prior to any service taking place.

It is extremely important to note that no one is authorized to sign any agreements on behalf of East Stroudsburg University other than those listed within the Delegation of Authority.

Any University faculty or staff member entering into contracts, either verbally or by signing an agreement without the proper authorization, may be held personally liable for the cost of the service.

Who to contact for more information

Please contact the RPO Liaison, Jesus Serrano, for more information.

Services Purchase Contracting Made Easy

Itemized "How to Order" Steps

The acquisition of service related purchases are very similar to the purchasing of supplies and equipment from the requesting department's point of view.

Purchases of Services follow the same rules and dollar limits for bidding, sole source procurement, and email quotations that are used for purchase of supplies & equipment.

Department's should follow the same "How to Order" steps used when completing a purchase requisition for a supply or equipment purchase.

1. Determine that monies are available in the departmental budget.
2. Obtain the necessary quote, estimate, or proposal.
3. Create an online SourcePoint PR.
4. Attach the quote, estimate, or proposal to the PR.
5. Once completed and saved, the PR is electronically routed for signature approvals.
6. The fully approved PR is electronically routed to the RPO for processing.

Please refer to the Supplies Purchases section for more information about the above ordering steps.

Purchase Requisition for Services Completion Instructions

PR's for the purchase of a service need to provide more detailed information than a PR for the purchase of a commodity.

The User will need to make sure that the PR indicates information regarding the "Who/What/When/Where/Why/How" of the service to be purchased.

The following breakdown will provide users with a guide to assist them in completing a PR for services.

Who: Vendors full name, address (not just a PO box), phone & fax numbers, e-mail address, point of contact, Federal ID number or Social Security Number, and SourcePoint assigned vendor number.

What: A detailed description of the service required (often referred to as a "Statement of Work" or "Scope of Work"). Itemized cost breakdown (Time & Material or Lump Sum/Fixed price). Requisition attachments will be reviewed by the RPO Contracting Officer. The "What" must be explicit enough to be enforceable in the event of a dispute.

When: The start and end dates and times of the service needed. Will this Contract be renewed in the future?

Where: Location where the service is to take place. Any Department(s) needing the service need to be clearly stated. If the service is for equipment, give a complete description (manufacturer, model, serial number, etc.), and the location of the equipment.

Why Why is this service needed? If the service is over the competitive bid threshold, the services must be bid unless a Sole Source request is approved in advance by Legal. If under the threshold, three written quotes are strongly recommended but only need to attach one to the Requisition.

Attachments and Terms & Conditions: Requesting departments are to attach any vendor issued quotations, estimates, or proposals and their terms and conditions, to the PR. These items will be incorporated into the SPC and/or made an attachment to the SPC when deemed appropriate by the Contracting Officer.

Examples of Service Purchases

Listed below are a few examples of service purchases that would apply under this section.

• Consultants or External Reviewers, Equipment Maintenance / Repairs, Tent & Other Equipment Rentals
• Speakers or Entertainers, Annual Inspections & Preventive Maintenance, Warranties, Photographers
• Outside Coaches & Officials for Athletic Camps, Bus Trip Arrangements Interpreters
• Models, Workshops or Training on University Premises
• Leases, advertising

Normally, a department would request the purchase of a service by creating a PR in SourcePoint, electronically routed for approvals, then forwarded to the RPO.

The SPCs are created and approved as follows:

For services costing $600 or more, a PR should be created in SourcePoint for review by the RPO in case the service carries elements of risk to the University, i.e., services such as limo or bus services involve significant liability to students and faculty. As such, the RPO will require a Service Purchase Contract (SPC) in such cases. The Requisitioner will be notified by the RPO if the service does not require an SPC.

If no contract is required, the department (Requestor) would place the order directly with the vendor. When placing the order with the vendor, USE your initials, phone extension, the month, and day, AS the PO number: i.e. AMZ3595-5/17. The Requestor should instruct the vendor to mail all invoices directly to the person requiring the service and to use the PO number on the invoice.

Upon receipt of invoices, the department should:

• List the cost center and general ledger account number to be charged for the service on the face of the invoice
• Obtain the cost center Budget Manager signature, signifying that the service was performed and approved for payment
• forward to Accounts Payable for processing of payment.

If a speaker requires a check on the date of the speech, send an email one week in advance to the Accounts Payable Office with the necessary information.

For services up to $5,000 informal quotes are used by University departments.

University departments may call for quotes, take advantage of volume discounts, existing DGS or SSHE contracts, and use other techniques to obtain the lowest possible prices in relation to the value received.

Written quotes are used as determined necessary by the RPO in its judgment, based on historical experience that the potential for appreciable cost savings exists.

For services between $5,000 and the bid threshold the Purchasing Offices require written/faxed quotes

Competitive Bidding Procedures for Supplies and Services over the bid threshold. (the competitive bid threshold established by the PA Dept. of Labor and Industry)

Pursuant to Act 188 and SSHE Board of Governors Policy 1983-02-A, all University purchases greater than the competitive bid threshold must be competitively bid under institutionally established business practices.

Such competitive bidding will be undertaken centrally by the RPO and documented appropriately for audit purposes.

Supplies and services may be bid on a straight cost basis and awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.

Alternatively, certain services may be bid using a more elaborate evaluative process, such as a Request for Proposal, which incorporates both cost and other technical criteria.

Exceptions to competitive bidding requirements are authorized for items available from the Commonwealth Warehouse, through State approved contracts, certain items specified under grant or restricted gift provisions, and items procured under the sole source and emergency provisions of the Commonwealth Procurement Code.

Exceptions to competitive bidding requirements may also be authorized for emergency facilities project contracts when a threat exists to public health, welfare, or safety, and the urgency does not permit the delay involved in using more formal competitive methods.

A written determination of the basis for the emergency and for the selection of the particular contractor will be included in the contract file.

Public Notice for Competitive Bids

All procurements exceeding the competitive bid threshold (except emergency procurements or other authorized exceptions) must be advertised publicly.

The Contracting Officer will determine the method of source selection and public notice to be given for each procurement to ensure competition that should produce the least cost for the procurement, using any or all of the methods outlined in Section 512 of the Commonwealth Procurement Code, except that a general notice must be given in addition to issuance of invitation for bids to bidders on a solicitation mailing list, or when using the pre-qualification method.

The Contracting Officer will consider the principles of responsiveness, accountability, fairness, and openness in determining the type of public notice given for each procurement.

Sole Source Procurements: Contact the RPO Liaison prior to preparing a requisition form for a service which you believe can only be delivered by one sole vendor.

It is mandatory that Legal Counsel reviews and approves all Sole Source requests.

If Legal Counsel determines that the service can be competitively bid, they will not approve the sole source and service must be solicited.

Emergency Purchases of Services

The RPO is responsible for the use of emergency contract procurement methods and are intended to apply only in special circumstances. If there exists a threat to public health, welfare or safety, or if circumstances outside the university's control creates an urgency of need preventing the use of a more formal competitive method.

Failure to properly plan does not necessarily constitute an emergency contract.

All emergency procurements which exceed the bid threshold, must be pre-approved by State System Legal Counsel; unless, at the time of the emergency, the University's legal counsel is unavailable.

The Contracting Officer must create written documentation to support the procurement decision. This will detail the basis for the emergency and for the selection of the contractor. This must be submitted to legal counsel with the eventual contract for signature.

The RPO maintains a record, listing all emergency contracts, for a period of three (3) years. The records include the contractor's name, the amount and type of the contract, a listing of the supplies, services, or construction procured under the contract.

The Emergency Contract Flow Chart illustrates the overall flow of an emergency request to purchase a service.