Payment Options
University Purchase Card
The NC State Purchase card is essentially a standard Visa card in which the liability rests with the University instead of the individual cardholder . The Purchase card is issued to an employee, empowering this person to purchase goods and services on behalf of the University. This program has been established to allow rapid purchase of low dollar goods and services while simultaneously reducing paperwork and handling costs associated with the small purchase process.
Small Purchase Vouchers
University departments are delegated the authority to make direct purchases for supplies, equipment and services from vendors when the dollar value of the purchase is less than $5k. If the vendor requires a hard copy document to complete the order, a copy of the University's small purchase order form can be faxed to the vendor. Each small purchase voucher requires a category code to identify the type of purchase for reporting purposes. It is recommended that users get at least three (3) price quotes when purchasing non-contract items with a value less than $5000.
Purchase Requisition
Large purchases, $5k and greater, are initiated and completed using an electronic processing system. The initiation of a request is termed a purchase requisition and the requisition is electronically assigned to a campus-purchasing agent. Agents are assigned requisitions by commodity type and the agent has the responsibility of processing the request. Processing may include quoting, formal bidding, or purchasing from the appropriate state term or convenience contract. Requisitions are converted to purchase orders and forwarded to the vendor.