Have a question that you never can seem to remember the answer to? Have a new question regarding your responsibilities to obtain quotes? Procurement has compiled the following list of frequently asked questions to try to help you! If you have a frequent question you would like to see on this list for future reference, contact Procurement to get it added. The FAQs are separated into the following categories:

Executive Order 35 & Quote Requirements

eVA, SPCC, and Works

General Procurement

Executive Order 35 & Quote Requirements

1. What are the major changes affecting Campus Buyers as a result of EO35?

For purchases up to $10,000 that require a SWaM quote, replace “SWaM” with “Micro” quote requirement. If the Micro quote you receive meets your specifications (items, quantities, delivery schedule, etc.) AND is within 5% of the total cost of the next lowest quote from a non-micro businesses, you must purchase from that Micro business.

2. Do I really have to pay attention to this Executive Order?

Yes! Not doing so can jeopardize your own department’s delegated authority ($5,000) as well as the University’s overall Procurement autonomy.

3. What companies are considered Micro, Small, Women, Minority, or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned?

Firms must be certified with the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity (DSBSD) in order to gain certain designations within the Commonwealth.

4. Does this Executive Order apply to every department on campus?

Yes! All E&G, Auxiliary, Capital, Local Funds, and Sponsored Programs are impacted by this EO. The only exceptions are Foundation Funds and 8 funds (8xxx).

5. What steps should I take to source appropriate vendors?

Visit the Sourcing and Contracts page on Procurement’s website to understand the appropriate steps to take when considering vendors for purchases. Additionally, for small dollar purchases that are not made on an existing contract and are not exempt from competition/quote requirements per the University’s Small Purchase Procedures, visit the Certified Business Quote Requirements page for information for sourcing appropriate vendors.

6. If I receive a quote from a contract vendor, but it doesn’t meet my requirements, do I still need a micro-business quote? Or can I purchase from the vendor I’ve identified as meeting my requirements?

If the contract vendor is NOT a certified-micro business, then yes, you will still need a micro-business quote before purchasing your good or service from a non-certified vendor.

7. If I need to purchase something and it’s on an available contract, do I still have to get a quote from a Micro vendor?

No. The use of State or University Contracts supercedes the requirement to obtain a SWaM quotes since a vendor’s SWaM status, among other factors, has already been considered during the contract negotiation process. Information is available on the Sourcing and Contracts section of the Procurement Services website.

8. How do I find certified-micro vendors to use?

Visit the Certified Business Quote Requirements page for instructions on different ways to search for micro businesses for items you need.

9. Is the only impact relative to EO35 on purchases up to $10,000?

No, there are additional requirements within the Executive Order that Procurement Services will implement for purchases between $10,000 and $100,000. Procurement will advise affected departments when these procurements are being processed.

10. Can I still purchase from TSRC (The Supply Room Companies) even though they are a certified small/woman-owned but not a micro-business?

Yes! You can still purchase from TSRC because they are under contract with UMW. However, if you need to make a purchase from another supplier, you CANNOT use a quote from TSRC to justify your purchase because TSRC is not a certified-micro business.

11. If I find an item on Amazon that I need to purchase and I’m comparing to quotes from certified-micro businesses, do I need to include shipping costs as part of my quote?

The total of all costs for you to purchase the good or service (including, but not limited to, shipping charges), should be spelled out in your quote (this is the amount that you will be invoiced once you have received the good or service). The total cost of the purchase should be compared to any other quote you receive, especially in consideration of the 5% price preference for the certified-micro businesses. Short answer, yes.

12. For EO35, what information do I need in my payment card file for compliance review?

Your file must indicate:

• • You purchased from a micro business, from a contract, or your good or service is exempt from competition.
  • If no certified-micro business exists for your commodity, documentation must be provided to that effect.
  • If the micro business(es) cannot meet your requirements, documentation must be provided to that effect.
  • If you received multiple quotes that meet your requirements, including from a certified-micro business(es), if the purchase was not made from the certified-micro business included in your quotes, that their pricing was more than the 5% allowed pricing differential and include sufficient detail (pricing) to support your determination.

13. Can I purchase my good or service from a certified-micro business who operates as a broker?

Yes, you can.  You must determine that the broker meets the requirements of your purchase and that the pricing quoted is fair and reasonable based on your market research.  However, it is strongly advised that broker services not be utilized for unique, specialized equipment or high priority items.  Also, take special care that Payment Terms are specified in the quote (i.e., any required deposits MUST be specified in the quote from the business prior to University acceptance and the purchase order entry into eVA).

14. If there is more than one certified-micro business available, how do I handle the quoting process?

The goal of the Executive Order, supported by UMW, is to give micro and other SWaM businesses opportunities to do business with the Commonwealth of Virginia.  To this end, Procurement Services will assist you in creating bidders lists for the commodities that you purchase.  If you make frequent purchases of the same commodity, it may be more efficient to put a contract in place. If you are already doing business with non-certified businesses who may be qualified to become micro-certified, provide contact information to Procurement Services and we will reach out to the vendor and assist in the certification process.   If there are multiple micro-certified businesses available, vary your quote requests or send a BCC email to the group when you require a quote for that commodity.  Through these processes you will be able to determine if there are micro-certified businesses available that meet your specifications and are priced reasonably from whom to make your purchases.  You just may find that you have found a great new supplier!

15. If I make a frequent purchase, and I’ve exhausted the micro-certified vendors available for quote requests and the pricing is not within 5% of a non-certified business quote, what do I do?

You may document your file to indicate that your pricing research has indicated that no current certified-micro businesses are available from which to purchase based on pricing being fair and reasonable, and keep the documentation for up to three (3) months before you should look for additional businesses that may have been certified as micro since your last quotes.  If you are making very frequent purchases of the same goods or services, talk to Procurement about issuing a solicitation to put a contract in place.

16. Inlight of this new initiative, as a Cardholder, what do I do when someone has placed an order without going through the proper vendor selection process and they are asking me to pay for it?

Procurement is not condoning or encouraging trying to satisfy vendor selection requirements after-the-fact – so please do not ask for a micro quote from vendors after-the-fact for file documentation. The intent of the law is to promote these businesses, not to disadvantage them by asking for quotes for work we have no intention of awarding to them. If you run into this situation, please contact the Procurement office for advice on how to proceed.

17. How many quotes do I have to get before I can make my purchase?

Unless your purchase is exempt from competition according to the Small Purchase Procedures (SPP), ONE certified-micro business quote is required for purchases up to $5,000.  If you do not purchase from the micro business that provided the quote, then a quote is required from the business from which you eventually make your purchase.

18. How long do I have to wait? I requested a quote from a micro vendor, but haven’t received a response. Should I request a quote from another micro vendor instead?

You only need to wait as long as you feel is reasonable for your purchase. If it’s a routine purchase you may choose to wait 24-48 hours. However, if your purchase is time sensitive, you may ask the vendor to submit a quote within as little as 1 hour. If you do not receive a response within the amount of time you deem reasonable, you do not have to contact a second micro vendor. You can order your good or service from whomever you choose and use provide the justification that the vendor was unable to meet your necessary deadline for submitting a quote.

19. I use a business that used to be certified small but I don’t know if they are certified-micro. What do I do?

Visit the Certified Business Quote Requirement page for instructions on how to look up if a vendor is certified-micro. If the business is not certified-micro, but you think they might be, contact Procurement with your supplier’s name and contact information and Procurement will work with the vendor to check if they qualify for micro-certification.

eVA, SPCC, and Works

1. What is the NIGP Commodity Code and how do I find out which one I should use?

The National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) developed a system of codes to describe different types of products and services and to classify vendors by the types of products and services they supply. A web-based, searchable version of the NIGP Code Book is available by clicking on NIGP Code Look-Up on the eVA home page. (There is also a link at the top of the NIGP Code Look-Up page which will allow you to download a copy of the entire Code Book.) Warning: When you search for your code, the NIGP may not have used the same terminology you use to describe the same commodity. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, try again with a similar search term (i.e. “cakes” or “desserts” instead of “baked goods”).

2. Do all of my orders have to be entered into eVA?

No. Refer to the UMW Small Purchase Procedures for a complete list of all orders that require eVA entry. Exemption tables A and C do not require eVA entry. If you have any questions about whether or not your order is exempt from eVA, contact Procurement Services.

3. My order is exempt from eVA and my vendor accepts the SPCC.  What do I enter in Works?

Use the SPCC to pay for the order and when allocating your transaction, select the eVA exempt option for segment GL10 and state the exemption category code in the comments of the transaction. If the vendor does not accept the SPCC, process as a Direct Pay in Banner.

4. I need to make a payment for a purchase already ordered and received and it exceeds my p-card single transaction limit, what do I do?

Is it under $5,000?

Your SPCC Program Administrator can raise your single transaction limit up to a maximum of $5,000 to accommodate payment for purchases above your current limit. Contact your PA to raise your limit by email or filling out the online SPCC Profile Change Request form.

Is it over $5,000?

The maximum single transaction limit for SPCCs is $5,000. Any purchase over $5,000 that is to be paid by credit card must be paid with a Gold Card. Your Program Administrator can help you find a willing Gold Cardholder to help you pay for your transaction. This may require an eVA change order depending on the circumstance.

5. I need to make a payment on an invoice but the invoice date is over 30 days old. What do I do?

If you have an invoice that you received and the date indicates it is past the 30 day payment period, contact your SPCC Program Administrator by email or by filling out the online Late Payment Request form to provide all required information in order for the PA to request authorization to pay from the Department of Accounts (DOA). Approval MUST be given by DOA PRIOR to making a late payment.

6. I’m trying to make a travel related purchase (airline tickets, train tickets) and my SPCC keeps declining. What do I do?

Contact your SPCC Program Administrator for assistance. You may need to have the travel restriction temporarily lifted from your card in order to make the purchase or you may not have enough funds available for the purchase.

7. I purchased an item through an online website, do I still need to do an eVA entry?

If your purchase is not exempt from eVA entry per the University’s Small Purchase Procedures, then YES, you will need to enter a confirming order in eVA (normal eVA purchase with the confirming order box checked) to satisfy the eVA requirement.

General Procurement

1. I received a contract from my supplier for the goods or services that I need, can I sign it?

Please refer to the Signature Card for current information regarding those UMW individuals who are authorized to sign contracts and obligate the University.  If your name is not on the Signature Card, you are NOT authorized to sign any type of contract or other procurement-related document. Procurement Services is always happy to review and discuss contracts with you.

2. I need to make a purchase that totals over $5,000.00. What do I do?

Refer to the Small Purchase Procedures (SPP) and check for University or State contracts.  If you still don’t find what you need, contact Procurement for assistance.

3. The vendor I need to purchase from does not accept credit cards as payment. I’ve followed all the quote requirements prior to purchasing. What do I do now?

If your purchase is not eVA exempt per the University’s Small Purchase Procedures, you will need to enter your purchase into eVA and uncheck the p-card box to indicate that this order needs to be paid by check.

When creating my eVA order, I don’t see the vendor listed as a Supplier…now what?

If your vendor to be paid by check is not eVA registered, we must first get the vendor registered in various systems before we can proceed. We prefer that the vendor self-register with eVA – Iiformation for eVA vendor registration can be found on the eVA website. If the vendor will not self-register, we will need to enter them manually as a state-entered vendor. To do this, you will need to get the Vendor Registration Form and Commonwealth of Virginia (COV) substitute W9 filled out by the vendor. Then send those forms over to Accounts Payable for entry into Banner and eVA to generate a Cardinal ID. Accounts Payable will inform you when your vendor has been created. Once the vendor is entered into the system, go back into your eVA order and select the vendor. Then proceed as normal.